Newly diagnosed

If you have been given a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes then you will have a Hba1c over 48, which is due to high blood sugar levels.
Blood sugar comes from our diet in the first place, so not overdoing the carbohydrate is usually where to start.
An ordinary type 2 should see that their blood glucose 2 hours after starting to eat a meal alters with the amount of starch and sugars in the meal. Using a meter to monitor the levels and then tweaking the content of the meals is how many type 2s control their diabetes and reverse it back to normal levels.

A bg meter will show you exactly what foods do what to your body. A few finger pricks a day for a couple of months will be invaluable as you build a woe (way of eating) that lowers your bg.

@Rachox has a list of meters she can send you

It may seem a daunting learning curve, but take it steady and you will get there. Plenty of help and support here

Hi @Daizee and welcome to the forum. Thanks for the tag @MrsA2

Here’s some info on 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 if you use this link and select the meter plus 5 packs of strips, and then add the code dcuk (all lower case) at check out you may get money off, I’m not sure if this code is still valid.

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/


There are also discount codes for when you come to buy more strips - "navii5" and "navii10" will give you 20% off purchases of 5 packs of strips and 25% off 10 packs of strips respectively. Again I’m not sure if these codes are still valid.


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/

Discount codes for the Code Free strips

5 packs 264086

10 packs 975833



SPIRIT HEALTHCARE

They have a meter called the Tee2 + which is quite popular however I haven’t been able to find it on their website lately.


(Old link which doesn’t work for me now but maybe works for you, if it doesn’t try the phone number below

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


Some members have got a free Tee2+ by phoning up to order, with a large order of strips they often throw the meter in for free:

Phone number 0800 8815423



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 pre diabetes or diabetes so you can buy VAT free. (for all meters and strips)

Hi Daizee,

Welcome to the forums

Yes I agree with the others above, get a BG meter then test just before you eat the 2 hours after the first bite. This will tell you what spikes you and what doesn't. I decided to go Low Carb and it has really helped me by lowering by BG levels and losing weight (slowly) plus feeling better.

It is all a bit confusing at the start but you will get used to it as long as you don't ignore it, it never goes away by ignoring it so tackle it straight on, read posts around the forums and I'm sure you will learn a lot, I know I have.

Looking forward to reading more of your posts.

Hi Daizee and welcome to the forum.

As the others have said, blood glucose testing is a great way of seeing how different food/drink effect you. @Rachox has shared details of the popular meters. I've attached a guide to testing which will help. Keep a food diary. I used the app 'mysugr' to put my blood glucose results in, it gives an estimated hba1c. This is the blood test used to diagnose type 2 diabetes.

Here's some info on hba1c levels and what they mean:


If you contact your surgery they will give you your number, you will know where you are then. You can then cross reference with attached chart.

When I was diagnosed I followed this advice on testing and it soon became very apparent what I needed to avoid. I made myself a swaps list which I've also attached. My hba1c came down nicely with these small but significant changes.

A good thread to look at on here is the success stories thread.

There seems so much to take in doesn't there? I made a short video putting the important bits together that you might find useful, it's in the success stories thread. Here is the link:


This is a wonderful forum, there is always someone there to help and guide you. Just ask if you have any questions.