• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Testing Bloods with only arm

Hi @Al60733 , how did the appointment with your DN go? Did you manage to coax her out of a Libre or Accu Chek , or did she turn table on you and come up with a blinder of a solution? Either way, I hope it went well.
 
She was double booked. But I spoke to her on the phone. She said Kent doesn’t do libre on nhs yet. That I shouldn’t test my blood regularly because I’m a t2 and not a t1. It’s only for t1’s so they know how much insulin to use. Completely confused now.
 
Insert *totally unsurprised* emoji here. The diabetes educator on my Desmond course recommended all we type 2 request a monitor from our GPs because without having any information we cannot possibly take action. Easier said than done, the NHS seem to deal with patients who, for the most part, are unhappy to take charge of their own health and we have a situation where interested patients are denied relatively cheap equipment due to the uninterest of the many. Sorry to hear you had no joy.

The only thing I can suggest is that you test some standard meals at home where you have assistance, and stick to 'safe eating' whenever you don't have help to take a reading. On the plus side, this would probably mean a few more date nights, trying out various eating establishments so you know where you can get a meal in a hurry.

When going out I will often carry a bag of Brazil or walnuts with me in case I get seriously hungry and can't wait for a meal. Baby bel cheeses also travel quite well. I don't eat meat or fish, so my date night treats are mostly limited to "hmm, I think I'll try the side salad again". It could be worse, I could be allergic to dairy as well!
 
I’m a London cabbie and picked up a guy who lectures on diabetes. He was horrified to hear what she said. He asked how do I know what foods do what if you don’t test. But did more blame the nhs funding then the nurse. He said she’s just doing what she was told. He said STOP all carbs straight away. Bring nuts to work and some boiled eggs. These are for snaking if I’m hungry. But don’t get hungry cos that’s when it gets dangerous by eating ****. So I’m gonna not gonna listen to her. I’m gonna start taking bloods.
 
Your body, your health, your control. Go ahead, get some nuts! :D
 
Are mixed nuts ok or will I find that out for myself testing?
 
Hi Al60733,

It's great to see you are being so proactive in trying to get yourself sorted out with blood sugars, food diaries etc. Each time in my life I have decided to give my T1 diabetes some extra focus, it has usually paid off. So hope it is the start of a useful new chapter for you too.

As @Barrowbakers has already mentioned, the Accu-Chek Mobile blood sugar meters are really quite good to take your blood sugar with one hand. I have been perfecting it myself in the last couple of years whilst running after a toddler & dealing with him with one arm & then my blood sugar with my other hand (I have been getting a lot of hypos so have needed to stick close to it). The really good thing about the Accu-Chek Mobile is that there are no test sticks to fiddle about with, so with one free hand I find I can hold the meter, click on the pricker, which is attached to the meter, get the droplet of blood & then take my finger to the bottom of the meter which absorbs the droplet of blood.

I also use a Freestyle Libre device most of the time now, so as others have said, that would be really convenient & easy for you to continually scan the sensor on your arm, so you can get blood sugar readings easily. I don't know however about how to get these funded by the NHS & so I just buy them myself, but find it really worthwhile. Equally however, if you are about to make big changes in how you manage your diabetes, then the Freestyle Libre will be an excellent tracker of all the changes & good work you are doing, as it records your blood sugar throughout the day & gives you a profile, so you can see exactly what is happening & when.

Good luck.
 
Thanks sally. I’m gonna save up and get one I think. Time to take control myself and not rely on nhs. Might be a bit expensive but it’s my health. I’m working really long hours at the moment and right there is my down fall. Just trying to get my head around what to eat when your out. Wife says have salad but if I have that every time I’ll get sick of it. Been told not to eat carbs. But that’s hard sometimes. I usually take brown bread ham salad sandwiches with me. Any suggestions will be great full. Thanks for everyone’s suggestions and help so far. You’ve all been great and very knowledgable. Glad I joined in here. Thank you all.
 
@Al60733 . Have just been watching local news channel.
One of the items was about a charity organisation called REMAP.
It's a charity that is run by engineers and techno phoebes who help design and construct gadgets for people.
It seems they are desperate for new challenges......maybe a single hand finger pricking device :).
You sprung to mind:)
 
Al60733 said:
Thanks sally. I’m gonna save up and get one I think. Time to take control myself and not rely on nhs. Might be a bit expensive but it’s my health. I’m working really long hours at the moment and right there is my down fall. Just trying to get my head around what to eat when your out. Wife says have salad but if I have that every time I’ll get sick of it. Been told not to eat carbs. But that’s hard sometimes. I usually take brown bread ham salad sandwiches with me. Any suggestions will be great full. Thanks for everyone’s suggestions and help so far. You’ve all been great and very knowledgable. Glad I joined in here. Thank you all.
Click to expand...

Hi there - If you'rre looking for something to take as a packed meal to work, then have a look at some of the ideas on here: https://www.ditchthecarbs.com/category/lunch-boxes/

In my early-ish days, when looking for ideas, I found her ideas to be pretty helpful.

Good luck with it all.
 
therower said:
@Al60733 . Have just been watching local news channel.
One of the items was about a charity organisation called REMAP.
It's a charity that is run by engineers and techno phoebes who help design and construct gadgets for people.
It seems they are desperate for new challenges......maybe a single hand finger pricking device :).
You sprung to mind:)
Click to expand...

Thanks. I’m gonna look them up. Really appreciate your help
 
DCUKMod said:
Hi there - If you'rre looking for something to take as a packed meal to work, then have a look at some of the ideas on here: https://www.ditchthecarbs.com/category/lunch-boxes/

In my early-ish days, when looking for ideas, I found her ideas to be pretty helpful.

Good luck with it all.
Click to expand...

Thinking of taking a salad on some days and getting some cook chicken or some days fish. Just need to mix it up so I don’t get bored. Gotta get my head around this now a lifestyle and not a fad. Have you heard of lahmajoun? It’s Turkish pizza. I like it. Just wondering if anyone has had it.
 
Back
Top