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Should i be monitoring myself?

K

kalman

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Hi, I was diagnosed type 2 almost two years ago which came as a shock, but eventually i changed my lifestyle, lost 2 stone and generally felt fitter than when i was in my 20's, I'm 36. I was put on statins for high cholesterol which runs in the family and use diet control for the diabetes.
Reading these forums has been great help but i notice many people self monitor themselves. I have never been told to or explained why i need not monitor myself. I have half yearly check-ups, my last 3 HbA1c results have been 5.2,5.4,5.3 and my cholesterol is 3.2 which i am happy with. Is there any reason why i don't self monitor myself as i whould be interested in what my levels are doing day to day?
 
Hi Kalman,

Firstly well done on your achievement. Unfortunately most people who are diagnosed as diabetic and put on diet control don't actually change anything and very quickly find themselves on tablets or insulin, or both. You seem to have taken the bull by the horns and have your diabetes under good control. Unfortunately in most people diabetes is a progressive disease, which means that over a period of time you will find that diet control is no longer enough. That time for you could be in 5 years, 5 months or next month. Unless you monitor your blood glucose in between the half yearly HBA1Cs, you won't know when the time has come to enhance your diet control.

I'm not suggesting that you monitor religiously 2 or 3 times a day, but if you just do a couple of tests a week (preferably always at the same time of the day so you have a benchmark to compare against), then you will get early warning of any developing problems and they can be dealt with before your health suffers any permanent damage.
 
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