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New to this ... need some advice on blood meter readings

T

Type28

Newbie
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3
Hi folks,
I was diagnosed with type 2 about 18 months ago and after the initial shock I was good for three months lost weight and my diabetes nurse was happy with progress and I was managing my condition with diet.
Anyway after the shock wore of I slipped back to my old ways diet gone, weight back up again.
I asked my nurse for a blood meter to help me better under stand the effect of food and drink on my blood sugar levels and had it for about six months before I removed my head from the sand and decided I better start to take this thing more seriously.
I am not sure the meter is that accurate? I took four readings one after another today -one from each finger on
My left hand, that I had washed with soap and water and got readings of 10.8, 9.7 , 12.2 and 9.6?
My best morning reading has been 6.5 and my best reading at any time has been 5.2
I have been using the meter for about two weeks now and I am not able to detect a pattern, even though I have been following a very low carb diet, with controlled deviations to try and ascertain the effect on my blood sugar level.
With what I have eaten today I would have expected a reading of about 6.4- it’s all getting rather confusing!

Can anyone shed any light on my readings?

Thanks
George
 
Type28 said:
Hi folks,
I was diagnosed with type 2 about 18 months ago and after the initial shock I was good for three months lost weight and my diabetes nurse was happy with progress and I was managing my condition with diet.
Anyway after the shock wore of I slipped back to my old ways diet gone, weight back up again.
I asked my nurse for a blood meter to help me better under stand the effect of food and drink on my blood sugar levels and had it for about six months before I removed my head from the sand and decided I better start to take this thing more seriously.
I am not sure the meter is that accurate? I took four readings one after another today -one from each finger on
My left hand, that I had washed with soap and water and got readings of 10.8, 9.7 , 12.2 and 9.6?
My best morning reading has been 6.5 and my best reading at any time has been 5.2
I have been using the meter for about two weeks now and I am not able to detect a pattern, even though I have been following a very low carb diet, with controlled deviations to try and ascertain the effect on my blood sugar level.
With what I have eaten today I would have expected a reading of about 6.4- it’s all getting rather confusing!

Can anyone shed any light on my readings?

Thanks
George
Click to expand...
Hi @Type28 ,

A meter has about 15% room for error, so they can be a little off, up or down. If you check, do it with a washed hand and the same finger, if possible, with the same drop of blood. But all in all the deviation seems okay to me.

As for a pattern, how are you timing your checks? You should test before a meal and 2 hours after, aiming for a rise less than 2.0 mmol/l. Keep a food diary so you can see what foods spike you and which don't, but as you probably already know, carbs turn to glucose once ingested, so bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, corn and most fruits aren't doing you any favours.

Hope this helps?
Jo
 
It is, I would say, far too early to do any experiments.
Stick to low carb until you see your postprandial readings dropping. I got down to 8mmol/l and stuck to the lowest carb salads and veges - then my readings sank even lower, but there was a period of erratic readings - I just stuck to low carb and waited for it to correct my metabolism - more an act of faith than fact, but it seems to have worked. Now eating carbs means that they are happily stashed away as fat - I can't win, it seems - but I stick to low carb anyway, as it is the best option I have.
 
This issue crops up frequently. My Drs has just given me a new glucose meter, I had a Freestyle optimum which I loved but they have insisted I have a Glucomen areo 2k (?) as it is in their words 'so good and you can download it on an app' (which I can't seem to do). Funnily enough, the strips for it are cheaper too. Now I know the NHS are looking to do things cheaper and I understand that. Anyway, first test on it was 6.2 compared with 4.9 on my old meter. I shall keep comparing for a few more tests but when I am trying to control my levels, a difference of 1.3 is too much as far as I am concerned, especially when my numbers are in the 4s and 5s. I act on low numbers as well as higher ones but this is making me think it's a waste of time. That's without bringing the driving numbers into it.
 
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