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Nurse Told Me Not To Self Test Sugars Til I Am 3 Months In?

Sprocket 2

Well-Known Member
Messages
53
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi,

Couple of weeks in. I've been to see the practice nurse at my GP today who did my first diabetic review. She has referred me to an 2hr information class which sounds like its going to be food education, plus an eye clinic and wants me to have repeat bloods in 3 months.

I have tolerated the metformin SR 500 well and felt an big improvement after a few days, though still very tired mid afternoon. She was going to leave me at 500 til the next bloods but i asked for more (thought can always reduce it right?) So am now on 500 BD.

I am already on Slimming World and prior to diagnosis had lost 2 stone, typical eh! That said i have several stone to go my bmi is 39 so will take any food advice i can get.


I asked about testing my bloods after meals as has been suggested to me on here, and she said it wasn't recommended at this point but if i was still having trouble further down the line she would give me a glucometer to use.

Didn't feel like I was being fobbed off and am not stressed about it, but wondered what folks think?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi @Sprocket 2 , just in case you haven't had it, I'll tag @daisy1 for the new member information. Now I'll get down to your actual question, which was what do folks think:

I totally disagree with your practice nurse, who says you don't need a blood glucose monitor. You do need it, but she needs to save money, short term money, that is. With the aid of a monitor you can test your blood sugars immediately before a meal and then again two hours after first bite. If you then keep a food diary, this will show you which foods put up your blood sugars (and tend to make you put on weight), so that you can avoid them. Goodness knows how your nurse can truly justify doing drugs rather than looking at the effects of your food intake and making necessary alterations. Slimming World, as far as I know, is not geared towards lowering blood sugars, though it may assist with weight loss for some people.

Has anyone recommended the Diet Doctor site https://www.dietdoctor.com/ Lots of information and recipes for low carb food, which is great for normalising blood sugars and for weight loss.

Sally
 
I would test now. Why wait three months when you can get on the right track right now? You might be eating food that your nurse (and the food education session) says is OK only to find that for you it isn't OK. I can tell you what will happen if your BGs are worse in 3 months time...she will say you aren't following her advice, when in fact you are. I wonder if she would be so blasé with her own health?
 
Thanks, i have the daisy info but hadn't seen the diet doctor website so thanks for that. I am not really a sweet eater so reckon its the carbs that are doing it to me but would like to be sure. Do you recommend folk to buy their own testers?
 
Good advice
 
Sprocket 2 said:
Thanks, i have the daisy info but hadn't seen the diet doctor website so thanks for that. I am not really a sweet eater so reckon its the carbs that are doing it to me but would like to be sure. Do you recommend folk to buy their own testers?
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It's best you can't rely on the NHS. There's the SD Codefree and the TEE2. I don't have the details to hand, but someone will post them
 
If the food education is the standard NHS one it will be based on the Eat Well Plate, aka by many diabetics as the "Eat Badly Plate" it will not do much to reduce your BG.
Most commercial weight loss programmes are not focussed on reducing blood glucose, though may well result in weight loss, though are reckoned by many to be yo-yo diets as weight is gained as soon as the diet ends.
In my experience self-testing is invaluable. If you keep records and better still a graph of your running average BG you be able to see your progress and gain an insight into how your medication and diet influence your BG level. Taking pre and post prandial readings will give you a very good idea as to how different foods affect your BG and what foods to avoid. It also gives you very valuable positive reinforcement when your BG going in the right direction; and maybe a kick in the pants when you scoffed something you really hadn't ought to!
 
Thanks am definitely leaning towards self testing now. Been reading about low carb high fat but bit worried as my bad cholesterol is also too high
 
I too think testing has been beyond useful for me. It’s good motivation when you get good numbers and food for thought (excuse the pun) when you get high numbers.
If you do decide to get your own meter here are some that are popular on the forum:

Taken from a post by @Bluetit1802 as she wrote it so nicely:


The most popular meters for self funding T2's are the Codefree and the Tee2 because the strips are much cheaper than other meters, and you need a lot of strips. You can't buy them in pharmacies.


Try here for the Codefree meter

http://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/blood-glucose-monitor/


and here for the extra strips

http://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/sd-codefree-test-strips-to-be-used-only-with-the-sd-monitor/


There are discount codes if you buy in bulk.

5 packs 264086

10 packs 975833


The Tee2 is here

http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-plus-blood-glucose-meter/


Don’t forget to check the box that you have diabetes so you can buy VAT free. (for either meter)
 
BG testing changed my life. I now feel in control. I highly recommend it.

BTW if Sprocket is hungry I suggest you catch a Fraggle rather than a Doozer. There is more meat on them and Doozers are way too sweet.
 
Thanks so much am just googling meters now!
 
Sprocket 2 said:
Thanks am definitely leaning towards self testing now. Been reading about low carb high fat but bit worried as my bad cholesterol is also too high
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You need not lean toward it ... please just do it. No-one else here would tell you any differently.
 
Totally agree, in fact if you look closely doozers are actually JELLY BABIES!

BTW if Sprocket is hungry I suggest you catch a Fraggle rather than a Doozer. There is more meat on them and Doozers are way too sweet.
 
Hi @Sprocket 2 like many on this forum I would highly recommend testing. Pre-testing I ate a "perfect" diet according to NHS dietitian I saw, low fat, complex carbs, more that 7 portion fruit and veg a day etc...
I had to buy my own meter (SD codefree as the strips are cheap and easily available)
I was shocked at how my "healthy diet" was raising my blood sugar levels and keeping them raised for hours! Out went the porridge, multigrain rye and spelt bread, wholewheat pasta etc

Took me a while testing foods and finding what did and didnt raise my blood sugar, basically had to go low carb
It took me even longer to embrace the higher fat/healthy fat aspect, after over 30 years being given an avoid fat message it was really really hard. Once I began eating more fat I lost weight, felt fuller and my cholesterol level stayed the same.
 

Thats really good to know. I am a wholegrain/spelt bread addict so will be interesting to see what it does to me.
 
Sprocket 2 said:
Thats really good to know. I am a wholegrain/spelt bread addict so will be interesting to see what it does to me.
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Interesting yes. Outcome almost without doubt - they will raise your blood sugar levels! Sorry. There are some low carb breads on the market. With a meter it is all trial and error, and finding a suitable portion size of carbs for each meal. This is why a food diary is so important, and should include portion sizes. Recording BS levels alongside will guide you. The actual levels aren't as important as the amount of rise you see from before to after - any rise needs to be as little as possible, and no more than 2mmol/l, preferably less.
 
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