Is one blood test a year normal ?

[Bluetit1802]

OK, thanks.

Lots of things jump out at me - Weetabix, porridge, low cal sugar, banana, roll of bread, cup of milk, potatoes. Quite a lot eh?

Glucose in the blood stream is caused by carbohydrates (of which sugar is just one). All carbs convert to glucose once inside the system, and glucose is what we do not want. Therefore, the fewer carbs you eat, the lower your blood glucose will be (and the more weight you will lose if that is an issue). The worst culprits are bread of any sort, potatoes, rice, pasta, and anything made with or containing flour. We also have to be careful with milk and fruit (especially tropical fruits like bananas and oranges, and especially fruit juices) because they all contain a lot of sugar.

No doubt your nurse has told you to eat carbs with every meal, just change from white to brown. This is very poor advice, but sadly what most of us are told, and it is very bad advice for any diabetic. If you are to control this, you will need to radically change your diet. Diet is the key to this, with a little added exercise. How do you feel about this? Any questions?

 

[Scandichic]

I was diagnosed with type 2 just bout 18 months ago I received a letter last week asking me to come in for a check up is this a normal interval, I am on 3 tablets a day at the moment but was never told if I needed to monitor my levels more often.
Thanks
Dave

Hi Dave,
I was jumping up and down with rage when I read your post to see you've been fobbed off with the usual NHS dietary advice and neglected by your doc who is an idiot quite frankly. Having been in the same position I am going to give you the same advice as a kind poster gave me. Up to you what you do but this is what worked for me:
Read www.dietdoctor.com
Ditch cereal, cakes, biscuits, bread, pasta, rice and potatoes
Eat lots of steak, salmon, chicken, eggs, cream, green veg, salad, cheese
Watch the weight and your blood sugar plummet.
When they witter on about a cholesterol check (and they will) ask for a particle test. This determines the size of the LDL particles and you only need to worry if they are small. My bs is in the 5s, total cholesterol 7.2 but HDL 1.4 and triglycerades0.5.
The meter. Try and persuade them but if not go for an SD codefree. I will include the link in a minute with discount code. £12 for meter then £25 for 5 pots. Initially you will use more strips till you work out what what spikes you. We're all different.
Keep a food diary and test before food and 2 hours later. If you can afford it, test every half hour for 2 hours after eating. One foods cause quick spikes, others have delayed spikes, some rise steadily for a while then start to go down.
This sounds like hard work for 3 months and a lot of hassle but it is worth it.
http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/blood_glucose_monitor_testing.htm

 

[Ayrshire Dave]

Looks like I will have to sit down with my wife and discuss our diet changes, I was told by my dietician I need to eat cereals as I require roughage she also advised brown bread rather than white, cut down on sugar which I have done massively although I do use small amounts of the low calorie sugar, I have a lot of other things wrong with me it is not just diabetes and my diet is supposed to be balanced for them all, it would seem I have been told a lot of nonsense, we will have to work out what is going to change, our budget for food is fairly limited so it will be interesting to see what we can come up with
Thanks
Dave

 

[Scandichic]

Looks like I will have to sit down with my wife and discuss our diet changes, I was told by my dietician I need to eat cereals as I require roughage she also advised brown bread rather than white, cut down on sugar which I have done massively although I do use small amounts of the low calorie sugar, I have a lot of other things wrong with me it is not just diabetes and my diet is supposed to be balanced for them all, it would seem I have been told a lot of nonsense, we will have to work out what is going to change, our budget for food is fairly limited so it will be interesting to see what we can come up with
Thanks
Dave

My budget is too. If this is any help:
Brekkie bacon and egg (£1.30 for tray of 15 eggs and bacon £1.50 for 14 single rashers)
Lunch leftovers or cocktail sausages, bits of cheese, tomatoes, olives, homemade soup, etc
Snacks Lidl peanuts £1.19 a bag or any nuts
Dinner chilli (have got fab recipe) with sour cream and grated cheese but no rice.
You actually end up eating less because fat is more filling.
I have posted a recipe thread Scandis recipes which has recipes for chicken cooked in cream, chilli some desserts(yes you did read that correctly)
Anything we can do to help let us know. I also make a list of stuff I know we'll eat which goes in the cupboard or freezer any buy in bulk on payday for the month from wherever it's cheapest. It's possibly more expensive but as we don't eat take out anymore then it's cheaper.
You have got an exemption certificate for your prescriptions have t you? Also you should see the hospital once a year for free eye check.

 

[Ayrshire Dave]

My budget is too. If this is any help:
Brekkie bacon and egg (£1.30 for tray of 15 eggs and bacon £1.50 for 14 single rashers)
Lunch leftovers or cocktail sausages, bits of cheese, tomatoes, olives, homemade soup, etc
Snacks Lidl peanuts £1.19 a bag or any nuts
Dinner chilli (have got fab recipe) with sour cream and grated cheese but no rice.
You actually end up eating less because fat is more filling.
I have posted a recipe thread Scandis recipes which has recipes for chicken cooked in cream, chilli some desserts(yes you did read that correctly)
Anything we can do to help let us know. I also make a list of stuff I know we'll eat which goes in the cupboard or freezer any buy in bulk on payday for the month from wherever it's cheapest. It's possibly more expensive but as we don't eat take out anymore then it's cheaper.
You have got an exemption certificate for your prescriptions have t you? Also you should see the hospital once a year for free eye check.

Thanks for the good advice, we will be seriously looking at changes over the next day or two, I am sure we willl work something out, I will look at getting myself a meter as well though I am not a fan of needles in any shape or form, I was offered an eye test on several occasions but that wont be happening due to a very bad experience as a child with eye drops and as far as I know the test involves eye drops so its a no no.
I do need to exercise more as well.
As I said I have a lot of other problems as well diabetes is just one issue but I will be working on it more seriously in future
I meant to ad that My dietician said the low-carbs idea is very outdated and can actually be dangerous to diabetics, especially if it's controlled by metformin, as the metformin needs some carb in the blood to "grab on to, and I take 3 metformin tablets a day
Thanks
Dave

 

[noblehead]

Dave, the eye test doesn't always involve eye drops, although I always get the drops other members have reported that they don't, it's important that you have your eyes examined at least once a year.

 

[Ayrshire Dave]

Just having a look at ordering a meter, it says we are offering two meter types - One reading in mmol/L and the other reading in mg/dL. You can select which meter type you want by selecting.
What is the difference and what would you recomend I buy
Thanks

 

[noblehead]

You want the mmol/l if your in the UK, an explanation in the following:

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/blood-sugar-converter.html

 

[Ayrshire Dave]

You want the mmol/l if your in the UK, an explanation in the following:

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/blood-sugar-converter.html

OK thanks, the UK one for me then
Dave

 

[jack412]

Looks like I will have to sit down with my wife and discuss our diet changes, I was told by my dietician I need to eat cereals as I require roughage she also advised brown bread rather than white, cut down on sugar which I have done massively although I do use small amounts of the low calorie sugar, I have a lot of other things wrong with me it is not just diabetes and my diet is supposed to be balanced for them all, it would seem I have been told a lot of nonsense, we will have to work out what is going to change, our budget for food is fairly limited so it will be interesting to see what we can come up with
Thanks
Dave

I'm so glad you are open to changing your diet, I'll add a video about cholesterol and fats that's well worth looking at

 

[Scandichic]

Thanks for the good advice, we will be seriously looking at changes over the next day or two, I am sure we willl work something out, I will look at getting myself a meter as well though I am not a fan of needles in any shape or form, I was offered an eye test on several occasions but that wont be happening due to a very bad experience as a child with eye drops and as far as I know the test involves eye drops so its a no no.
I do need to exercise more as well.
As I said I have a lot of other problems as well diabetes is just one issue but I will be working on it more seriously in future
I meant to ad that My dietician said the low-carbs idea is very outdated and can actually be dangerous to diabetics, especially if it's controlled by metformin, as the metformin needs some carb in the blood to "grab on to, and I take 3 metformin tablets a day
Thanks
Dave

Silly woman! Bet she's not diabetic! If you low carb you'll probably be in a position to reduce meds! I reduced mine from 3 to 1. Doc wouldn't reduce, hospital said stop them (after I'd had a hypo) and pharmacist reduced to 1. The great thing about the lchf diet is that although you will feel **** initially, known as carb flu, after a week you will feel great. And you don't need to exercise to lose the weight or reduce the bs. You I'll also never get hungry and the food is yummy too. I was 16 stone 1lb last January and am now 11 St. 13 today. My bs was at 5 half an hour ago. My hubbie is a convert too and the kids. They still have some chocolate and sweets, we don't ban them, but they choose to have them less and less. You see bread, pasta, rice and potatoes turn into simple sugar in the stomach which is then released into your blood. Your body produces shed loads of insulin to deal with the excess sugar which is then converted into fat and stored around your major organs. This is all stuff I've discovered since becoming diabetic. We also make a weekly menu and shop and stick to it. Cutting the booze to a couple of glasses a week helps too. Shorts and wine are best. My non diabetic hubbie dropped 2.5 stones in 3 months.
Re the eye test, it does sting but only a bit. Eyes are important as need to be checked for neuropathy. Same with feet. I know this is a lot to take in but it'll soon become part of your routine and others did it for me so I try to return the favour.

 

[Bluetit1802]

I meant to ad that My dietician said the low-carbs idea is very outdated and can actually be dangerous to diabetics, especially if it's controlled by metformin, as the metformin needs some carb in the blood to "grab on to, and I take 3 metformin tablets a day
Thanks
Dave

Well, members on here report all sorts of rubbish thrown at them by dieticians and nurses, but I've never heard the one about Metformin and carbs before!!!!! What rubbish. Low carb is not outdated - it has come full circle and is the only way for diabetics to go. If you think about it, diabetics on insulin are sent on carb counting courses to learn how much insulin to inject to cope with the carbs they are about to eat/have just eaten. As non-insulin users, our own natural insulin has to cope with the carbs we eat. Our natural insulin isn't working properly, so we need to reduce carbs to allow for this. The less carbs we eat, the less insulin we need, the lower our blood sugars will be.

You can get roughage just as easily from vegetables and seeds. I get mine mostly from milled flaxseed that I add to my yogurts, and the one slice of heavily seeded wholemeal bread I allow myself each day, plus veggies.

 

[lessci]

I found when I reduced my Carbs I had fewer of the unpleasant side effects of Metformin! If I have a little cheat (sometimes the bread just jumps into my mouth!) My digestion soon tells me about it. BTW I'll be 2 years diagnosed in March and am still on 3 monthly blood tests as my meds/diet still aren't producing the desired results but getting there. I'd insist on 3 monthly tests until your levels are acceptable and then start reducing them down. I understand your fear of the eye test, but please get some help for your phobia of eye drops, Retinopathy (sic) causes Blindness if it's not caught and treated

 

[Kat100]

Hello and welcome , I have tests for hba1c every 8 to 10 weeks ...there is some flexibility ....and then discuss with GP afterwards ...
And one annual review every year ...with all other bloods ...those are tests which I need ...

Yes lots to read ..best wishes ..Kat

 

[Kat100]

Thanks for the good advice, we will be seriously looking at changes over the next day or two, I am sure we willl work something out, I will look at getting myself a meter as well though I am not a fan of needles in any shape or form, I was offered an eye test on several occasions but that wont be happening due to a very bad experience as a child with eye drops and as far as I know the test involves eye drops so its a no no.
I do need to exercise more as well.
As I said I have a lot of other problems as well diabetes is just one issue but I will be working on it more seriously in future
I meant to ad that My dietician said the low-carbs idea is very outdated and can actually be dangerous to diabetics, especially if it's controlled by metformin, as the metformin needs some carb in the blood to "grab on to, and I take 3 metformin tablets a day
Thanks
Dave

Hi Dave I must share that I have awful reactions to the eye drops ...if you can get a good picture of your pupils taken for examination , you can ask to try without the drops ....I have it written down without the drops in my notes ....worth thinking about ...you need to look after your eyes without being worried ....