Not sure what I should do.

You can answer that better than we can. A glucose monitor is just a measurement tool. It's not going to correct your glucose levels just like a scale isn't going to help people lose weight.

If you use a reason to test, then I probably would. In this case, the more information you have the better.

I think many of us type 2s here would definitely say yes - It can be one of the most useful tools we have to help us learn to manage our diabetes, by showing us how different foods affect our glucose levels. But have you asked about getting a meter and strips on prescription to save you the running costs - you just might be one of the lucky ones? Otherwise, the SD Codefree brand has the cheapest strips.

Robbity

Di, if you're going to be cutting down on carbs in your diet, you won't need to eat or drink dairy stuff, as you can get extra fats from oily fish, fattier meats, most nuts and nut butters, avocados, olives and olive oil, coconut oil, etc. Good luck with your appointment, and please don't be persuaded to use the Eatwell Plate.

I have to pay for my meter too... and was never offered an appointment with a dietician either - this forum has been where I've found most of the better dietary advice. My practice apparently has a rather poor record for diabetics with good glucose control - I wonder why!!

Robbity

Welcome
Testing has been the best tool possible for me. It has shown me what I can't eat and what I can. I was very fortunate as I was given a meter and test strips to begin with. I still test but fund most of them myself. Seems doctor thinks I now have things under control.
I don't think you have had Daisy's information so I will tag @daisy1 who will post some very helpful information.
Do ask questions and people will try and help.

@Di Adams

Hello Di and welcome to the forum Yes, you do need to test in order to see what effect a particular food has on your levels. Do this by testing before a meal and 2 hours after. Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask more questions and someone will be able to help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 150,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

Welcome to the forum.

Definitely worth purchasing a meter and testing regularly if you are making, or considering making changes, to your lifestyle or medication.

I tested initially before each meal, one hour after and then 2 hours after keeping a diary of what I had eaten. It became very apparent which foods caused high readings. Since establishing a core set of 'good' foods, those than don't increase my readings by more that 2 mmol/L, I now test less regularly, perhaps 3 times a day. 'Good' foods for me are definitely not bread (of any sort except Flax Meal) and not rice, potatoes, most root vegetables and pasta.....so a lot of the stuff that would probably appear on the NHS 'healthy' eating plate.....and dare I say it, will probably be recommended by your dietician.

I also found it interesting to see the effect exercise had on my readings.

I recommend you read on the forum about Low Carb, High Fat (LCHF). Start will reading the success stories. Then google Dr Jason Fung and watch his videos on UTube.

The other great thing about testing, for me at least, is that it reminds me that things are not what they were. I am on a different regime.

Good luck!

I was also diagnosed when they were looking at something unrelated (although it turned out diabetes/fatty liver was the root cause). I consider myself one of the lucky ones. I would put you in that category also. One third of all T2 diabetics out there are undiagnosed, or that is what I read anyway. You don't want to find out when the really nasty side-effects of untreated diabetes show up. Best to start treating this thing straight away and there is a good chance they will never occur in the first place. My personal advice would be to be grateful for that ear infection and start acting now.

Personally I wouldn't set my expectations too high for your consultation with the dietician. I haven't had one myself but I understand much of what they tell you is pretty formulaic and will include the 'health eating plate'. You will see quite a lot of disillusionment on the forum with some of the support they receive. Many have been engaging with their medical practitioners for years and still probably feel 'in limbo'.

Within 1 week of going on a LCHF diet I started to have much more energy. Now 8 weeks in I have lost just short of 10kg and find my daily 5 mile walk does not leave me exhausted.

Just my personal advice Di. I am pretty new to this as well.

I'd say yes if you can. Not necessary, but it will be helpful if you do monitor your glucose level from time to time. Diet and exercise is the number one way to control your blood sugar level, that's for my personal experience. Daily walking time for about 30 minutes at least can do help a lot.

Like you I was diagnosed because of infections (in my case UTIs). I thought about getting a meter. But as I read people's accounts, I realised that everyone was more or less saying the same thing. If they didn't eat carbs, their blood sugar didn't spike. So I thought to myself that the real point of the meter was to test carby foods to see if you can get away with them. As an alternative I thought I'd just forget testing and avoid all carby foods. That worked for me, and actually now my blood sugar is back to normal levels, and could perhaps start using a meter to experiment with some of my old carby favourites (like porridge, or roast potatoes), I rather feel like there's no point. Life without carbs is fine. I don't really miss them anymore. Finding out which ones I can tolerate best might just act like a gateway drug and draw me back into my old food habits.

Devonbear said:

Like you I was diagnosed because of infections (in my case UTIs). I thought about getting a meter. But as I read people's accounts, I realised that everyone was more or less saying the same thing. If they didn't eat carbs, their blood sugar didn't spike. So I thought to myself that the real point of the meter was to test carby foods to see if you can get away with them. As an alternative I thought I'd just forget testing and avoid all carby foods. That worked for me, and actually now my blood sugar is back to normal levels, and could perhaps start using a meter to experiment with some of my old carby favourites (like porridge, or roast potatoes), I rather feel like there's no point. Life without carbs is fine. I don't really miss them anymore. Finding out which ones I can tolerate best might just act like a gateway drug and draw me back into my old food habits.

Click to expand...

I have to say I am very low carb and very disciplined. My readings have stabilised, averaging 5.2. I don't really do much testing of new foods now. So I guess you are right I could test less or not at all.

However, I do vary my exercise and also I have just started Metformin. So it is good to see what effect this has on my Blood Sugars. But actually for me probably the most important thing in starting the day with testing my blood sugar is that it reminds me I need to control this thing, that I am on a journey and have still a long way to go.

Also I am a techie and love gadgets.