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To test or not to test....that is the question....

Molly56

Molly56

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,844
Type of diabetes
Don't have diabetes
Treatment type
I do not have diabetes
Just wondered what advice people had been given by their GP or diabetic nurse about self testing and whether this is strictly necessary or not.

My reason for asking is that my partner is Type 2 and does not currently test - he says that he was advised in the past (before I met him) that this was not necessary, an argument he has used with the diabetic nurse since we have moved to where we live now.

As stated in my other post his diabetes is not well controlled and I have real concerns that it is not being managed effectively and that he is not fully aware of the seriousness of his condition. He currently has diabetic checkups (reluctantly) with the nurse every three to six months approx (closer to six monthly by the time he makes the appointment!) so this is the only time that his levels are checked.

We are due to see the diabetic nurse in a couple of weeks so it would be helpful to know how many people do test on a daily basis or whether there are other people out there who have also been given the message that regular daily testing is not strictly necessary.

Not being diabetic myself I am rather confused by this issue but want to become better informed so that I can support my partner and ask the relevant questions.

Am considering if I can or should speak to the practice nurse myself about my concerns (without breaching patient confidentiality) but not sure if this is actually possible / advisable.

Any suggestions would be gratefully received.
 
Hi,

I'm a T1. As a rule al T1's are issued with a meter & prescribed test strips due to the nature of the medication..

I've read a few threads on here where T2's express concern that they are advised by the professionals that self testing is "not necessary", while other T2's are issued & encouraged to self test by their consultant.. Mixed advice for T2's.
This is a concern as this is a vital tool for T2 control/management just as a T1..

Incidentally my father was a T2 & was prescribed & encouraged to test by his GP.. Though sadly he had dementia too which left the responsibly in my hands. (I didn't mind, it got me to understand a little T2.) Which by means of sorting out his diet as well, got him off the tabs...

Some T2's will be along later with a little more info..
 
I wold always advocate testing. Since bs can be reduced by weight loss, diet and exercise, I test to see where I'm at. If I'm unhappy, I tweak diet and testing helps me see if my tweaks are successful. Many docs won't prescribe strips due to cost but claim it can make people obsessive and miserable. My doc tried this but eventually admitted that it was a cost issue. So I bought my own. 4 months later, a locum at that practise gave me one and the dn, who is a complete cow, was furious. Don't know whether I'll get any more strips! Lol!
If you do have to buy your own, the sd codefree is the best one as the strips are between £5-£7 depending on how many you order. If you buy a starter kit from
http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/blood_glucose_monitor_testing.htm
Then it costs £13.92 and you get a code which gives you discount on the additional strips box. I paid £26 for 5 x 50 strips. If you pay an additional 50p for first class, they are there within 2 days.
 
I would always recommend testing. It gives you a reliable way to counteract what food does for you.

However, there are many ways to help without his knowledge, if you do the shopping, you buy low GI food, if you do the cooking smaller plates, healthier meals, drop the unhealthy foods slowly, get him to do a little more around the house, nag him (sorry if inappropriate) to change his lifestyle slowly, be annoyed with him (even if you're not!)
You are his support and because you have posted, you deeply care for him, men are stubborn things, just ease him into this, don't do it suddenly and all at once.
 
Test test test!


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

Diagnosed prediabetic Easter 2014. Just left to get on with it, no guidance or help from GP. Every day I'm learning something new.
 
I was diagnosed in late Feb/March and was told to test on waking. When I saw my thyroid consultant and I told him I was now diabetic he advised me to test every morning fasting and then the next day fasting then before lunch. Next day fasting and then before dinner and finally, testing fasting and then before bed. I don't know if this works for everyone but it seems to have worked for me along with a strict diet as I'm not on medication.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Do you know what his last HbA1c levels were?

I also say testing is the only way to manage type 2.
Click to expand...

Don't know the figures for his last HbA1C test other than I do know that both of the last two were, I believe, on the high / very high side....should have more info on this in a couple of weeks as he is having a blood test this Friday and seeing the diabetic nurse in a couple of weeks time.

Will take a close note of the figures when we get them and come back for some more advice then.

I have the feeling he is a small step away from going onto insulin injections in which case I guess testing will become a necessity.
 
I'd say just test! You have nothing to lose really! and you can see if the medication is working etc??x
 
Bluetit1802 said:
You can see if the DIET is working ;)
Click to expand...

What diet????...... and as for exercise....even moving would be progress...

Sorry if I am not sounding very sympathetic at the moment but as my friend pointed out to me today I have done everything possible to try to point out what is required but it just doesn't happen....you can only try for so long until you lose patience
 
I feel a bit uneasy about not testing. I am T2, diagnosed 9 years ago. Told no need to test just over a year ago, because after following Newcastle diet almost 3 years ago haven't had a single BG reading in diabetic or pre-diabetic range. Fasting glucose always under 4.8. Last HbA1c was 41. Even when I was in hospital a few months ago, where they insisted on stabbing my finger several times a day to test, and I had been immobile for months, eating a lot of carb, the readings were still on the low side of non-diabetic.
So why am I uneasy? I came off metformin a few weeks ago. Although I am exercising and eating low carb, how do I know what is happening to BG? Or am I just being paranoid? Would welcome opinions and advice.
Thanks
Pipp
 
Molly56 said:
What diet????...... and as for exercise....even moving would be progress...

Sorry if I am not sounding very sympathetic at the moment but as my friend pointed out to me today I have done everything possible to try to point out what is required but it just doesn't happen....you can only try for so long until you lose patience
Click to expand...
Sorry, just re-read the thread, and looks like I am hijacking it.
I sense you are very concerned and frustrated by your partner not taking his diabetes seriously. I have seen this with a friend who gets so worked up about her partner with diabetes. I think some folks can be in denial about a diagnosis. I know I was at first. Partly because the nurse was so laid back about it, probably having been on a course where the agenda was 'don't make the poor patient feel guilty or panic them as this is a lifelong, progressive illness'. Unfortunately it is difficult to make someone face reality unless they want to. The only thing I can think of is to get your partner to look at this forum himself..

Pipp
 
Yes I understand your frustration, but he is trying to deal with it in his way, which at the moment is to ignore it and pretend he doesn't have a serious illness. Who wants to face that? He probably doesn't feel so bad in himself, just getting older, so why should he make any changes? It will take an incident perhaps for him to wake up. (for me it was a little bluriness in the eye and I suddenly woke up to the fact that perhaps I was heading for blindness.)

Perhaps he might read the first chapter(s) of Dr Bernstein's book - some of it may be available for "Look inside" on Amazon for free. If he realises that if he doesn't take care he is heading for having his feet amputated bit by bit, going blind, having heart attacks, strokes, losing feeling in any nerves, having to go on dialysis, liver transplant etc etc etc, it might alert him.

As for moving, that's also because his illness is causing his body to close down and save as much energy as possible (the leptin cycle)

Tell him from me: "Mate, wake up!"

best wishes
 
In some ways there's only a point in testing if he is going to try and do something about his blood sugar levels. If the GP or diabetic nurse say his BS is well controlled each time he has a review then there's probably no need to test.

With myself, I was told each time I had a review that my BS was going higher. I was given drugs. I was given a monitor and told to test twice a week. I did test occasionally and the results were invariably higher than they should have been. I didn't really understand how high they were and what that meant for my body. I didn't really want to know either, if I'm honest. So in my case testing was pointless because I wasn't prepared to do anything to change things.

I have changed my attitude these days and so now testing is very important to me. I want to know that I can get my BS under control and to know what sort of foods I can eat. I'm not sure what works for other people to give them a reason to take control. There has to be a "what's in it for me" for each individual. In my case it was being refused a knee operation due to high blood sugar. The prospect of continuing with pain and very restricted mobility was my wake-up call, and I have now changed my diet, my lifestyle and am making a big effort to lose weight.

I don't think health professionals always get the message across about the dangers of type 2 diabetes and if we feel fine, it's all too easy for us to roll merrily along holding our own personal time bombs!
 
Molly56 said:
Don't know the figures for his last HbA1C test other than I do know that both of the last two were, I believe, on the high / very high side....should have more info on this in a couple of weeks as he is having a blood test this Friday and seeing the diabetic nurse in a couple of weeks time.
Click to expand...

As an aside & for future reference.. My DSN has my mobile number on file. They tend to text me my HbA1c.. I'm not sure this applies across the board..?
I pretty much get reminders for everything health wise via text these days...!
 
Pipp said:
I feel a bit uneasy about not testing. I am T2, diagnosed 9 years ago. Told no need to test just over a year ago, because after following Newcastle diet almost 3 years ago haven't had a single BG reading in diabetic or pre-diabetic range. Fasting glucose always under 4.8. Last HbA1c was 41. Even when I was in hospital a few months ago, where they insisted on stabbing my finger several times a day to test, and I had been immobile for months, eating a lot of carb, the readings were still on the low side of non-diabetic.
So why am I uneasy? I came off metformin a few weeks ago. Although I am exercising and eating low carb, how do I know what is happening to BG? Or am I just being paranoid? Would welcome opinions and advice.
Thanks
Pipp
Click to expand...
You have to test to find out! What was the hospital looking for? Did you have a 72 hour fast?, wonder why you are eating a lot carb? If you want to lose weight and keep your levels down or am I missing something? No you are not being paranoid, you want to know!
 
Hi,
has your husband told you how he feels about his diabetes?

Does he believe he has good control or is he in denial?

Would a shock tactic work? There are some horrific photos of diabetics gangrene feet on internet - tell him this happens to body parts we can see like feet but also to our insides that obviously we cant see.

There was a TV program called the Food Hospital that was shown about 18 months ago (might be available on demand - channel 4 or 5?) It used same tactic to shock a man who wasn't taking his diabetes seriously.
 
nosher8355 said:
You have to test to find out! What was the hospital looking for? Did you have a 72 hour fast?, wonder why you are eating a lot carb? If you want to lose weight and keep your levels down or am I missing something? No you are not being paranoid, you want to know!
Click to expand...
Thanks nosher
I was in hospital January, after an operation on my abdomen to correct problems from surgery years ago. Quite a big op, and had been in ICU. Even though I hadn't been testing on advice of GP the hospital staff insisted on testing several times a day. I don't normally eat high carb, but that was the only sort of food they were providing in the hospital, and the only way I was getting out of there was if I could digest food. It was a lot of rice, pasta, and cheap hospital stuff. I also has to rely on other people for meals at home for a couple of months, easy for them to make pasta etc. Was brought lots of chocs and stuff by visitors and it would have been rude not to eat them. So even after all that, my HbA1c and fasting BG in May were non-diabetic levels. Now off Metformin, and was going to wait till next HbA1c in August, but I am wondering if I should test in the meantime.

Sorry @Molly56 this is going off topic and highjacking.
@nosher8355 I will try to continue this in a new thread tomorrow
 
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