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Newly diagnosed Type 2

G

granice04

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Was sent home with metformin and just told to watch what I eat. 6 hrs after taking I feel chilled to the bone and end of fingers don't want to bleed. Have only taken 2 tablets. (1 a day ) any advice?
 
@daisy1
hi and welcome granice04 I have tagged daisy1 for you who will provide you with a lot of info.
You will find on this forum many people who will gladly answer any questions you have if you peruse the forums you will find lots of help and tips on how to manage your diabetes don't worry too much as we have all been where you now are.

When you say fingers don't want to bleed do you mean you are trying to check your blood sugar with a meter if so then follow the instructions that came with it and wash hands and dry thoroughly before testing also if having difficulty getting blood droplet to test try massaging finger from base towards tip of finger this will move blood towards the tip if this does not work try shaking hand in out ward direction again to move blood to tips of fingers and remember when you have droplet to test always move test strip to finger not finger to test strip.

All the best

John
 
JohnEGreen said:
@daisy1
hi and welcome granice04 I have tagged daisy1 for you who will provide you with a lot of info.
You will find on this forum many people who will gladly answer any questions you have if you peruse the forums you will find lots of help and tips on how to manage your diabetes don't worry too much as we have all been where you now are.

When you say fingers don't want to bleed do you mean you are trying to check your blood sugar with a meter if so then follow the instructions that came with it and wash hands and dry thoroughly before testing also if having difficulty getting blood droplet to test try massaging finger from base towards tip of finger this will move blood towards the tip if this does not work try shaking hand in out ward direction again to move blood to tips of fingers and remember when you have droplet to test always move test strip to finger not finger to test strip.

All the best

John
Click to expand...
Using warm water to wash as John says has helped others experiencing this problem. I am on an anti coagulant, so do not suffer this myself, but I used to massage my finger in the early days.
 
I'm curious. What difference does it make whether you take blood to the strip or the strip to the blood.
 
If you take your finger with the blood droplet to the test strip you are likely to smear the blood on the test strip that does not work very well but if you bring the end of the test strip to the finger and the blood droplet the capillary action of the test strip will as it where suck up the blood which works much better. My son who used to be a hospital diabetes link worker told me this when I was having difficulty when I started testing myself sorry should have made it clearer before.
 
JohnEGreen said:
@daisy1
hi and welcome granice04 I have tagged daisy1 for you who will provide you with a lot of info.
You will find on this forum many people who will gladly answer any questions you have if you peruse the forums you will find lots of help and tips on how to manage your diabetes don't worry too much as we have all been where you now are.

When you say fingers don't want to bleed do you mean you are trying to check your blood sugar with a meter if so then follow the instructions that came with it and wash hands and dry thoroughly before testing also if having difficulty getting blood droplet to test try massaging finger from base towards tip of finger this will move blood towards the tip if this does not work try shaking hand in out ward direction again to move blood to tips of fingers and remember when you have droplet to test always move test strip to finger not finger to test strip.

All the best

John
Click to expand...
Hi. I move either the finger or the meter towards the other - same thing
 
Hello and welcome,you have come to the right place for advice.
testing is not difficult and dosent hurt,its only a small drop of blood,dont worry.
 
Hi and welcome!

Do you know what your blood test results were, in diagnosis?
And what foods were you told to 'watch?'

Sorry for all the questions, but sometimes people turn up here having been given some old-style dietary advice that really doesn't help! :)
 
When I first started testing I was holding the meter in one hand while bringing the other hand to the meterand the blood droplet to the test strip instead of allowing the capillary action to take place wasting several strips my son who noticed this who in his previous job had to test the blood of the patients on his ward explained to me why I was being unsuccessful in obtaining a reading and demonstrated the method he had been trained to use after this I have always done it that way and not ruined a test strip since. The doctor who tested my daughters blood the other day wasted a couple of strips then said sorry I have been doing it incorrectly then did it again using the method I described earlier its just easier to get a proper reading first go. You may find it unnecessary but for some one just starting out it may help and I was trying to be helpful
 
Brunneria said:
Hi and welcome!

Do you know what your blood test results were, in diagnosis?
And what foods were you told to 'watch?'

Sorry for all the questions, but sometimes people turn up here having been given some old-style dietary advice that really doesn't help! :)
Click to expand...
Read the Daily Express tomorrow. Theres a new diet for Diabetics on the block. Something about smoothies and shakes, I get the shakes naturally don't need no smoothies to tell me what to do.

EDIT: to add - apparently the new diet is a dry mix it yourself powder containing skimmed milk powder, soya protein flour, artificial sweetner, and the advice is to add chocolate for flavouring. YEUK. And you are expected to pay for it too.... NHS approved apparently.

I was looking for a LC replacement for porridge, and remembered from my youth a meal replacement stodge similar to the above that was for bedridden invalides with no teeth. It was called Complan, and is still available in pharmacies today. i read the label, and it has:
Carbohydrate: 68.9 g per 100 g
of which sugars: 54 g.
And this is aimed at patients with low mobility ! so NO it is not an LC replacement.....
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi. As has been said, you will find the site really helpful..just keep asking what you need to know. I had a little difficulty getting blood the first few times...but you will get there, so don't get too frustrated. It's not an issue now at all for me. On the "watch what you eat" front, I agree with @Brunneria. Basically, it's not just the sugars that are the issue, it's the carbohydrates (pretty much sugar in waiting). I stick to a low carb diet (you should research this), and many many here have also cut carbs to very good effect. In my case, as with others, this alone brought my levels down. So, if you are not aware of this yet and want to see if it has any real impact....try a week with no bread, no cereal, no pasta, no rice and no spuds (as well as the obvious sugary stuff) and I am willing to bet that you will see the difference quickly (if you can get your fingers to part with blood!). Good luck.
 
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