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Meters? What should I get?

S

Sally66

Well-Known Member
Messages
91
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi there. Pre-diabetic and no one has told me to start using meters but at the moment I'm clueless about what is working for me. I'm following Patrick Holford's diet and find it really makes sense but Diabetic nurse doesn't want my bloods tested until Sept. She didn't really give much dietary advice just said best way to prevent T2 was to lose weight. Fortunately, I have read up and found the Patrick Holford regime good - as far as losing weight is concerned. I think I need to be even more accurate in my control so please advise on meters. Going out for meals and visiting friends is what I find so difficult. Can I get away with the odd lapse or not? At the moment in declining anything with carbs but I do find this depressing in social situations. In a restaurant I try to pick salads and meat and veg dishes but I often find salad is covered in sweet tasting dressings and meat dishes sauces that I have no idea what has been added. Testing is bound to give me some indication of what I can get away with.
 
Some of the type 2's on the forum who have to self-fund use the SD Codefree meter as the test strips are by far the cheapest, they cost somewhere in the region of £7 for a box of 50.
 
Hi @Sally66 . A lot us use the SD Codefree meter because the strips are much cheaper than those for other meters. I originally bought my meter and some strips from Amazon but I now get my strips from Homehealth and use their discount codes (see below) to buy the strips in bulk.

Have a look here .http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/blood_glucose_monitor_testing.htm

5 boxes (250 strips) use the discount code 264086
10 boxes (500 strips) use the discount code 975833 - costs £51.98 after a discount of £17.92

I hope this helps.
 
Cheers. Will try and order today. Hope the instructions are comprehensive or I'll be back asking for help!
 
Ah. I'm prediabetic so does this mean I pay full price and get no discount?
 
@Sally66 It's really quite easy to use - just get the strip at the right angle to 'soak up' some of the blood drop - but feel free to come back and ask questions. I keep a spreadsheet and enter my readings and what food I ate. That way I know what food to avoid. I started testing very frequently (first thing in the morning, before a meal/snack, 1 hour and then 2 hours after, and, finally at bedtime) but, after some time, I knew what results I would be likely to get and have now reduced the number of tests.

I wish you well on your journey to lowering your BG levels.
 
Sally66 said:
Ah. I'm prediabetic so does this mean I pay full price and get no discount?
Click to expand...

You'll be able to get the discounts. A 'drop-down' question asks if you're diabetic and you should just say yes. As far as I know, they only differentiate between non-diabetics and diabetics and prediabetic is not non-diabetic.
 
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