Newly diagnosed but given nothing except medication?

Hi Neil, welcome to the forum.

That was pretty much my experience too. I was given a script for metformin as well, but I can't remember how long I had to wait for a nurse appointment, but it was a good few weeks.

As for glucometers, they're not routinely given for Type 2, but I bought one soon after, for around £15. @Rachox has a list of glucometers and test strips, including links for getting free trials of Continuous Glucose Monitors.

Have a look around the forum and feel free to ask any more questions.

Hi @Neils1970 and welcome, points to sort out are, find out your HbA1c result, this is the blood test used for diagnosis. If it’s not too high you could normalise levels with diet alone. Many of us here have had success with low carb dieting. Metformin is not that powerful a drug so some dietary changes are normally necessary too. A blood glucose meter is a valuable tool to monitor how any changes you implement are helping so thanks for the tag @IanBish , here’s some info with links for UK meters, and to be clear I have no commercial connections with any of the companies mentioned.



HOME HEALTH have the Gluco Navii, which is a fairly new model and seems to be getting good reviews.

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-produ...ose-meter-test-strips-choose-mmol-l-or-mg-dl/



Links to the strips for future orders:

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/glucose-navii-blood-glucose-test-strips-50-strip-pack/



Then they sell the older SD Code Free, details to be found here!

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/codefree-blood-glucose-monitoring-system-mmoll-or-mgdl/





SPIRIT HEALTHCARE have a meter called the Tee2 + which is quite popular:

https://shop.spirit-health.co.uk/co...e2-blood-glucose-meter?variant=19264017268793



The strips are to be found here:

https://shop.spirit-health.co.uk/co...py-of-tee2-test-strips?variant=19264017367097



If there is a choice of units of measurement then ‘mmol/L’ are the standard units in the UK, ‘mg/dl’ in the US, other countries may vary.



Don’t forget to check the box if you have diabetes so you can buy VAT free. (for all meters and strips)



Abbott usually offer a free 15 day trial of the Freestyle LIBRE 2 plus:

Sampling | Diabetes Care | Abbott



Dexcom also offer a free trial of their Dexcom ONE + here

The Dexcom ONE+ CGM (Continuous Glucose Montoring) system | Dexcom



HOME HEALTH have the Gluco Navii, which is a fairly new model and seems to be getting good reviews.

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-produ...ose-meter-test-strips-choose-mmol-l-or-mg-dl/



Links to the strips for future orders:

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/glucose-navii-blood-glucose-test-strips-50-strip-pack/



Then they sell the older SD Code Free, details to be found here!

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/codefree-blood-glucose-monitoring-system-mmoll-or-mgdl/





SPIRIT HEALTHCARE have a meter called the Tee2 + which is quite popular:

https://shop.spirit-health.co.uk/co...e2-blood-glucose-meter?variant=19264017268793



The strips are to be found here:

https://shop.spirit-health.co.uk/co...py-of-tee2-test-strips?variant=19264017367097



If there is a choice of units of measurement then ‘mmol/L’ are the standard units in the UK, ‘mg/dl’ in the US, other countries may vary.



Don’t forget to check the box if you have diabetes so you can buy VAT free. (for all meters and strips)



Abbott usually offer a free 15 day trial of the Freestyle LIBRE 2 plus:

Sampling | Diabetes Care | Abbott



Dexcom also offer a free trial of their Dexcom ONE + here

The Dexcom ONE+ CGM (Continuous Glucose Montoring) system | Dexcom

Neils1970 said:

Hi
My name is Neil and I was newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes on Friday march 6th by my GP and given a script for metformin 500mg tablets and told to start taking them the following day. The GP also told me to expect a phone call from a diabetic nurse to book me in for an appointment to go through everything.
How long a gap from diagnosis to that first appointment with a member of the diabetic team would you expect??? I would have thought within a week or two at the maximum. But I received a phone call confirming an appointment in six weeks time April 22nd with the diabetic nurse as the earliest available date. I expressed my concern and was told that was it and there was no earlier appointment.
I have not started taking the metformin as I have no way of testing my blood glucose levels as I have been given no blood glucose meter and finger pricker.
Is this normal ???
An email has been sent to my GP explaining this but is there anything else I should do??

Click to expand...

While you are waiting for an appointment, cut down on white flour goods. So have wholemeal bread, rice flour, pasta. Drink lots of water to flush out your kidneys. Eat berries as opposed to high sugar fruits. Don't eat between meals. I did this while I was waiting for an appointment. It stood me in good stead for when treatment was to start.

Neils1970 said:

Hi
My name is Neil and I was newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes on Friday march 6th by my GP and given a script for metformin 500mg tablets and told to start taking them the following day. The GP also told me to expect a phone call from a diabetic nurse to book me in for an appointment to go through everything.
How long a gap from diagnosis to that first appointment with a member of the diabetic team would you expect??? I would have thought within a week or two at the maximum. But I received a phone call confirming an appointment in six weeks time April 22nd with the diabetic nurse as the earliest available date. I expressed my concern and was told that was it and there was no earlier appointment.
I have not started taking the metformin as I have no way of testing my blood glucose levels as I have been given no blood glucose meter and finger pricker.
Is this normal ???
An email has been sent to my GP explaining this but is there anything else I should do??

Click to expand...

Hello!

I was diagnosed in 2015 and my doctor said to me, "You're diabetic" in such an offhand way that I had no idea if i was or not. It's taken me 11 years to get my first, yes first, appointment with a diabetic dietician, and I have only had regular diabetic health checks in the last 6-7 years.
A lot of us seem just to be prescribed medication, then left to our own devices. I empathise.