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Should I buy a blood Glucose meter?

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orchidlady

Well-Known Member
Messages
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Hi

I have just had my first appointment with the Diabetes Nurse, so yes it is official I am diabetic, 2 blood fasting of 15 I don't suppose I am surprised but confused yes. Another blood was taken yesterday and she said unless this came back horrendously bad then I should try to manage my diabetes with diet and exercise. Not sure what this other blood test was for something to do with red blood cells???, could anyone please explain that to me. Also re diet am pretty familiar with a low GI diet so should not have too many issues, also do exercise but could increase this and not really over weight. I asked about a testing my own levels over the next few months and was pretty much told there is little point to this. Having read a number of posts on here I think many people tend to disagree. So two things really should I ignore her advise and purchase one anyway, if so is there any recommendations to which one to buy and secondly is 15 a horribly high. I am feeling a little overwhelmed to be honest, there is such conflicting advice out there. I think I am beginning to realise how serious this could be, I don’t want this to take over my life and keen to get to grips with everything. Any comments really appreciated.
 
First of all, don't panic. You can get it all under control. My friend was diagnosed after a fasting reading of 16, but 3 months later after adjusted diet and exercise he was running normal blood sugar levels with an HbA1c of 5.8%. This "HbA1c" is the other test your nurse was referring to - it gives an indication of how your blood sugar levels have been over the last few months. YES, you should definitely get a meter, and the cheapest option is to get the "SDcodefree" from ebay or Amazon, because the testing strips are by far the cheapest to buy, at about £7 for 50 compared to £27 for 50 for other brands like Bayer.
Low GI helps with diet, but in itself isn't enough. Below is some more general advice on diet and testing, I hope it helps.
In general terms you will need to reduce the total number of carbohydrates you eat per day. All carbohydrates turn to sugar when we eat them, and no type 2 diabetic on diet only, or on diet and metformin only, can control their blood sugars (BGs) without controlling their carb intake. Even those on strong medication normally choose to control their carb intake to keep the level of medication they take down. The total number of carbs per day you can eat depends on how advanced your diabetes is. It’s perhaps worth starting at about 50% of normal levels for a non-diabetic then adjusting up or down according to how you get on. So that means eating 150 grams of carbs per day for a man, 125 for a woman. You can read the total carb content of food under “nutritional info” on the packet or wrapping, or look it up on the internet for loose food. Just google “carb content..”
You also need to stop or reduce the bad carbs; that is the starchy ones that make your BG go up quickly.
So obviously no sugar or glucose! But also no white bread, white rice, pasta, flour products like pastry, cake and batter. You can eat a little basmati rice, wholewheat pasta or the tri-color pasta fusilli ones in small quantities. Boiled new potatos (again not too many) are OK but not old pots mashed, boiled or in their jackets. (Roast is not so bad, the fat slows their absorption and conversion to glucose in the blood) Amongst other veg, parsnips are about the worst for BG, and carrots not great but ok in smaller amounts.
Multi grain bread (not wholemeal) is not SO bad, but lots of us eat Burgen soya and linseed bread from tescos and sainsburys, although all bread should be in limited amounts.
All fruit has carbohydrates, and needs to be included in the amounts of carbs you eat in a day. For most people, bananas are about the worst for pushing our BG up and berries (like strawberries, raspberries etc) are the least bad.
No sweeties!
Exercise is important. I tend to exercise about an hour after eating when I know my BG will be peaking. This helps to bring it down quicker and further. I do ten minutes hard work on an exercise machine, but you could run up and down stairs for ten minutes or go for a brisk walk.
Returning to types of food and quantities of carbs - you can only find out how many you can eat by testing. Most type 2’s are not given access to testing equipment, so you should get your own – although try arguing with your Doc that you want to manage to NICE guideline blood sugar levels, and can’t do that without testing! If you have to buy a meter, they are cheap and most manufacturers will give them away for free. They make their money on the strips you have to use! So go for the meter with the cheapest testing strips. The SD Codefree available on the internet is about the cheapest at the moment. Some people test before and after eating, on waking (fasting test) and before bed. But if you have limited strips because of cost, the key to me is testing 2 hours after eating. If your BG is above, say, 7.8 at that stage, you need to cut down on the carb content the next time you have that meal. Test after various different meals and you soon get to see a pattern of what you can and can’t eat, and in what quantities. Keep careful records of what you ate and when, together with the result, so you can refer back at a later date. You can then reduce your testing. I said “below, say, 7.8” because NICE guidelines are below 8.5 but most of us think that’s a little high. 7.8 is the max. level at 2 hours after eating that a non-diabetic normally gets to so is perhaps a better target. Some then set progressively lower targets.
Do ask lots of questions; there is normally an answer on here. The more you get to learn about your diabetes, the better it will be.
Good luck!
 
Thanks Grazer, that is encouraging about your friend. I shall look on Amazon and buy the meter, I think this is going to be a bit of trial and error as each person seems to have different reactions to certain. Also resigning with the Gym Ugg!!!!, got to be done
 
DON'T buy a meter. Write a nice letter to the manufacturer, and they will send you one for free.

Just tell 'em that you get prescribed strips (even if you don't) and they'll send you one free of charge.
 
orchidlady, You will probably be better off with the Codefree as strips are way cheaper than others, and for now you will be just testing to see the results from what you are eating to adjust your diet. I use one and have got my BG under control from May, also managed to lose 31/2 st from my new eating regime (low Carb) I wont say diet because it's not, you need to continue it if you want to keep your numbers down, don't get to down about the Gym, I go 4 times a week and it's more of a bit of socialising, I have met lot's of new friends and have a good laugh after training in the sauna and steam room. On the plus side, stick with diet and training and you will feel great. Good luck.
 
orchidlady said:
****** too late, just ordered one on Amazon viewtopic.php?f=39&t=33300#
Click to expand...

Do't worry! I agree with Roy (no offence Patch). It's easy to get a free meter for sure, but then you'll be paying a bomb for strips. MUCH cheaper to pay for the codefree and get cheap strips. You'll be in profit with the codefree in a month compared to a free meter and expensive strips.
 
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