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starting to think nhs is right

numan43

Well-Known Member
Messages
262
Location
Glasgow
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I'm having second thoughts about testing, could my DSN and doc be right about no need to test as more and more of my results dont add up.
example 7pm tonight before dinner 5.8 then fish and chips from chippy, two hours later must be much higher yes, NO 5.1 and tested twice 5.3, waited another hour 4.8. This isnt the first time that these results show up.
 
everything in your signature shouts out that you have been testing , been low carbing , you are on the max dose of metformin and have been diabetic for 21 years
so if you don't think testing is the right way then don't

if your bloods don't right themselves without medication after eating then it is the ONLY way to know for sure what your body is doing
blood testing is vital for diabetics -- do you drive your car without a speedometer ?
 

Ok, so your not convinced about testing, so what I would do, is ask someone to put them away for you, so they are not to hand. Then continue as you have been. Treat your condition with your low carbing. And wait till your next bloods at your GPS, to see how you are doing.

Hope it works for you! You've done so well at getting your blood glucose levels down.

I can't get over you eating fish and chips though!
Did you have chip butties?
 
if my test results are not consistent with what i am eating then as dsn says, whats the point
 
The 2 hour test is probably not the one that is going to tell you how high your BG has gone after a meal. If you re-watch the video I believe I posted on another of your threads, it suggests testing at intervals after eating to discover your peak response (for most people that is 45-60 mins, but it's very personal). I also found this advice from Dr Lois Jovanovic:

"Have patients determine the best time for postprandial SMBG by testing 45, 60, 75, 90, 105, and 120 minutes after a meal to detect their peak postprandial glucose concentration."

However, it does sound like your control is now excellent and if you don't find the monitoring is helping you keep on track, it may be best to take a break. How often do you get your A1c levels done?
 
Our bodies are not machines, occasionally they will surprise us by not reacting how we expect.
You question the usefulness of testing. The whole point in testing is to learn from the results.
If I were you I would have the same meal again, if you get the same results. Then you have learned that you can occasionally enjoy fish and chips without any adverse effects.
I would say that was very useful information and highlights the importance of testing.
 
Fish and chips are high in fat so that will delay the spike massively, spike might happen hours later
 
Type1Bri said:
Fish and chips are high in fat so that will delay the spike massively, spike might happen hours later
Click to expand...
The wrong fats though! Most chippies use polyunsaturated fats and they are just wrong for anyone trying to get control.
There is a thread about the FDA in the States giving food produced there, three years to stop using trans fats!

Typically our government is asking the food industry for advice!

If I was using fats to cook with it would have to be natural fats like, coconut oil or goose, duck fats or if I could have chips it would be beef dripping.
 
if as Type1Bri says high fat content can delay the spike for hours after the recommended testing times of one then two hours, then whats the point, cant keep testing for god knows how many hours.
 
numan43 said:
. . . . . . . could my DSN and doc be right about no need to test . . . . . .
Click to expand...

Yes, they could be right, in fact they are right, just not for all of us diabetics. The thing I find interesting when reading messages on this forum is that some people seem to have an HbA1c done every three months, some every six and some like me, every year. So it's obvious that the medical profession think monitoring is sensible. I wonder if my GP and DN don't worry because they know I'm monitoring regularly.
 
Indy51 said:
"Have patients determine the best time for postprandial SMBG by testing 45, 60, 75, 90, 105, and 120 minutes after a meal to detect their peak postprandial glucose concentration."
Click to expand...
thanks for that Indy51, i will try that but as i have learned there are many variables, high fat etc.....btw i get my a1c done every three months
 
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Hi Numan

I think it was either me or someone else, who suggested that since your a1c is down and you have good control, may be ask the doc to reduce your metformin. Unless there is some other reason to it.
We will never get hang of what and where we peak, I could have an ice cream and still get very good reading and I could have salad and still go high, there are so many variants, your fingers, the meter the liver, pancreas.
Testing or not is definitely upto you, I only test new foods I eat or high carbs foods I eat, I dont test everything now. I have been diabetic for less than a year and I know this food will spike me and this food will not . But at times as i said I would get a spike on salad with no dressings just to be clear, I dont like dressings on my salad, I could be as high as 5.3 on a salad, It could be that I went too low and liver dumped a bit of glucose. In your case may be your liver took care of the spike that could have happened and hence low readings.
We can never get hold of it.
 
On the very rare occasion I eat fish and chips my blood sugar spike would be at about 4 AM the following morning after eating the meal at 5.30PM. I have to set a 30% plus bolus for 4 hours keep levels normal.
 
It seems to work different ways for different people, and just the same as one diet does not fit all, one testing regime does not necessarily suit all. I have established a diet that seems to work for me, testing shows that I'm not spiking. I check every so often, and they reveal that BG is under control.
Other people may have different and less predictable responses to food and need to test more.
I went to a talk about diabetes at my health centre recently - main focus was on reducing carbs. They said the expense of testing was the main reason not to do it.
 
Those results aren't all that weird. It's just your pancreas starting to work again after losing weight and having a spell of very low carb (which in some people seems to slightly reverse insulin resistance due to the low insulin demand nature of the diet).

I sometimes get results a little bit like that too (though not as good as yours) where my highest levels are my fasting levels. Then the act of eating or feeling full or something must trigger an insulin response and the levels don't rise or even come down a few hours later like yours did.

Now I'm accustomed to LCHF and know what meals don't spike me, I tend to just do a fasting test each morning. If that morning test is ok and I eat things that I know are ok then I'm pretty confident that I'll be ok all day. If my morning fasting levels start rising too much then I know I've got to adjust my medication.
 
Ok ... If you think the NHS advice is correct..then bin your meter and eat to the NICE guidelines .... Then come back and tell me the NHS are right !

If I had not had been using my own meter I would be on meds to control this and yes I understand at a later date I may need to go back on medication for the diabetes ..I feel a lot better without.

I don't test as often as I did a year ago because I don't need to .. I know what foods to avoide as I have tested them in the past .. Now and again may random test to make sure the foods have not changed my bs as ingredients change in the meals.

If I go for a walk or have a glass of wine with a meal the sugar spike will be reduced. The meter allowed me to understand what's going on in my body regards food and exercise.. The meter now reminds me I have diabetes and to respect this condition as it can slowly and quietly attack my body without me knowing .. I have my full blood tests yearly now from the Dr, so a long time without testing !
 
As @Enclave says, try a different way and see what happens. I'd keep the meter in a drawer though for now. It's your diabetes, your life, your choice. Eat what you think is right and if you feel ill, stop. You know by now what symptoms may arise and we're always here to try to help. Actually I'm fascinated by someone else trying something different.
 
i never mentioned eating to NICE guidelines as I believe that LCHF is the way to go, no its the self testing that i'm questioning. With so many variables and unpredictable test results good and bad and also the cost involved in buying test strips, I just wondered if it was worth it.
 
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brettsza said:
. . . . . may be ask the doc to reduce your metformin. Unless there is some other reason to it.
Click to expand...
May I suggest caution with Metformin, I read on another forum how Metformin can sometimes do nothing for BG at lower doses and then when the dose is upped it sort of kicks in. Still, the GP would probably say that if asked to reduce dose.
 
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