New to this and need advice

[lthoel2]

Hi I am new to this forum and wondered if anyone could give me some info. I have had Type 2 for 2 years and have taken a metformin tablet twice a day for a year because the blood test I had was 7.6. The Dr wont give me test strips says its not neccassary. However my brother lives with us and he is diabetic and yesterday because I wasn't feeling well just before lunch I used one of his strips and it read 3.4. After lunch it was 6.7 and when I went to bed it was 7.2. Today I feel really awful and strange.Feel weak and wobbly and can't seem to focus on anything properly and can't think straight. I took a reading 2 hours after having breakfast (bran flakes and soya milk) and it was 13.2. Is this really high, and can this cause these strange feelings. Just a thought but how does the longreading blood test know what your sugar readings are surley its only an average. Thanks in advance for any help.

Linda

 

[hanadr]

The PCTs are bocking test strips for T2 diabetics, however, if you are ill, you need them and it's in the NICE guidelines that you should have them if you are, so call your GP and tell him/her that you are ill and need strips to keep control until you are better. You are most unlikely to have a hypo on Metformin, but it also won't keep down a very high BG.

 

[ChezMorgan]

It is most possible that you will get strange or unwell feelings from a reading of 13, when i get high, i feel a bit stupid, sleepy and feel sick .... oh very very irritable :evil:

You can buy test trips from any chemist , although they can be quite expensive. You should be able to get a free test monitor from your local diabetic center, which will come with a few strips to get you started. Id pester your doctor or even the nurse at your health center, sometimes the nurses can persuade the docs far more easily than the patients.

 

[tubolard]

Linda,

The Dr wont give me test strips says its not neccassary...Just a thought but how does the longreading blood test know what your sugar readings are surley its only an average. Thanks in advance for any help.

Firstly, your HbA1c should only be considered an indicator to how well controlled you may or may not be. A good HbA1c does not necessarily indicate good control. The only thing that would indicate good control is an understanding of what your BG levels are on a day-by-day basis.

Secondly, your PCT should not be denying you test strips on prescription, they may choose to restrict the number of times you test, but NICE recommendations are that self-testing should be made available to type 2 diabetics. Hana's quite right in that you should be able to test if you are feeling unwell, in that way you can find out when you are high or low and modify your diet accordingly; secondly as I posted here you need to know what to do if you go unexpectedly high for whatever reason.

There are a couple of slides here (pp16-17) that show how PCTs have decided to interpret NICE recommendations and also guidelines from NDST.

There's also a competition on this forum for a bayer meter which comes with 25 strips which is a good starter for 10

Regards, Tubs.

 

[Trinkwasser]

We seem to be seeing a lot of this around the various forums: it's called Reactive Hypoglycemia. You eat something with far too many carbs especially for breakfast, your BG shoot up, you pancreas is late on the scene and then dumps far too much insulin and you drop low after a few hours: it's the rate of change that causes many of the symptoms, you can get worse hypo symptoms from a rapid drop to non-hypo levels than from a genuine hypo (BTDT)

The only way to get a handle on it for sure is

http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/NewlyDiagnosed.htm

probably starting 1/2 hour after you eat then going out 1 2 and 3 hours

The treatment is to reduce your carb load to knock out the highs, and the rebound lows will hopefully then take care of themselves.