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Waste of time

Stuart.F

Member
Messages
14
Location
Manchester
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Selfish people
So I waited three weeks from diagnosis to see the nurse! Then I went to see her and all I got is weighed again informed my blood sugar level had come down by 2.
Then handed a book and that was basically it. I asked about dieting to be told to just cut sugar out and have a handful of carbs a handful of meat and fill up on veg.

I was then given a book and told about a clinic that meets twice a week and told to see the Dr in a months time and sent on my way.

I felt very frustrated at the lack of guidance and information and pointed this out that I had joined this website and contradict s the information that she was telling me, as she said I didn't need to monitor my blood sugar levels. How can I control this if I do not know what is going on with my body..

I feel totally lost at the moment and had waited three weeks to get information to be left wanting again.

Not happy and finding the lack of assistance annoying.

I'm so confused about all this and I thought the nurse may have been able to help and giude - what a let down
 
Welcome to our world. Although this site is supportive and resourceful, apart from that you are on your own for the most part.
 
What a nurse tells you will never stray far from the NHS official line, the better ones will point you towards sources of sensible up to date information especially this site.
Basically you already know the score from other threads cut carbs out as far as sensibly possible, with your meter keep testing to find out what foods trigger high blood glucose levels. Some of us can eat some foods that would send other Type 2 glucose levels sky high, Some of the foods you can't eat will surprise you and some you can eat will delight you.
 
Hi Stuart if you go on freestyle website they are giving some away at mo. It might be a starting place or at least reassurance until you can talk to your gp or consultant about concerns.
 
A lot of people on here use the SD Codefree blood glucose meter it is much cheaper to buy strips for than any other on the market and you will be doing a lot of testing at least until you learn how certain foods react with your body.

I have checked 4 types of meters against control solutions, the most accurate was the Codefree. I have two Freestyle Freedom Lites but found both not sufficient accurate and costly to run.
 
I agree that the most important thing when buying a meter is the cost of the replacement test strips. I use the SD Codefree, due to the price. 50 test strips are about £7 in Amazon and from the manufacturer, while most brands are 3x that cost.

Welcome.
You will get far more, better quality advice, on this forum than from your surgery.
 
I use the SD Codefree meter because, as others have already said, the strips are cheaper (total cost for 500 strips is £51.98) than those for other meters. You can get a starter kit from Amazon (as I did) but I now get my supplies from Homehealth and they also sell the meter:

http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/blood_glucose_monitor_testing.htm

If you buy 5 boxes (250 strips) or 10 boxes (500 strips) there is a substantial discount.
The discount code for 5 boxes is 264086 and for 10 boxes is 975833

Best wishes.
 
Stick with us and you will be fine. Its a very personal journey and everyone is different. It will take time to get your head around everything but remember we are all here to help you in your journey.
 
Hi Stuart

I hear you mate, pretty identical to my experience.

I use an SD Codefree which the wife had actually bought before I was officially diagnosed so I had been testing and following the advice on LCHF on here even before I saw the nurse.

She did give me a Glucometer but only one pack of strips, told me to test twice a day for a week, at different times, and monitor my Blood Pressure too, and trotted out standard NHS advice on diet and the healthy plate.

When i went back next time my HbA1C figure had dropped to 35 (from about 121) and she was amazed and asked how i done that..

I admit I took a slightly perverse delight in saying "by ignoring pretty much everything you said..."

She then told me I shouldn't test anymore and I have been unable to get strips prescribed since, so I buy my own and continue to eat to my meter.

I was initially shocked at how bad my morning orange juice was so I switched to cranberry and blueberry which is much, much better for me.

Best of luck with it mate - it gets on top of you every so often but there is support on here.

Cheers

Tim
 
Thanks for the info Tim. I'm due to see the Dr again in a months time but I have pretty much disregarded the nurse. I am going to get a monitor though so I can see what is happening and to see if I can get it under control
 
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