Very new to diabetes

[wiseowl]

Good afternoon @Northerner @MikeTurin and @Grogg1 and thank you for all your replys my friends,I am going to get a test kit but have no idea what meter to get or how to do it.

 

[Northerner]

Good afternoon @Northerner @MikeTurin and @Grogg1 and thank you for all your replys my friends,I am going to get a test kit but have no idea what meter to get or how to do it.

I would recommend getting the SD Codefree Meter which has test strips at around £8 for 50. It's the cheapest option we have come across in terms of test strips, which is where the expense comes in (most High street shops sell meters that use strips that cost £25-£30 for 50 strips). If you have any questions about how to use it effectively, just let us know 🙂

 

[wiseowl]

Good evening @Northerner my friend I have just ordered it from the link you kindly gave me,many thanks,it should be here on the 21st December 🙂

 

[Grogg1]

Good evening @Northerner my friend I have just ordered it from the link you kindly gave me,many thanks,it should be here on the 21st December 🙂

Good move. My fingers are not vey good bleeders so I have to have my lancing device at mid point else I don't get blood first time. A more experienced pricker told me to make sure my hands are warm, use side of fingers near nail bed (there are you tube videos you can watch) and to prick and count to 3 before applying some pressure to get blood out (you need a pin head amount). I was wasting strips and over pricking fingers in not getting enough blood out first time (you can't top up blood on most meters). Thumbs and index finger supposedly more sensitive but I don't notice a difference and they along with my little fingers are the best bleeders!! From the link provided I bought 3 record books as I like seeing it written down before I input to my spreadsheet! I just record numbers in my booklet but my spreadsheet has food / mood etc. i.e. if you are stressed blood sugar rises - as I found out when I had a blazing row with my OH. It can all become a little obsessive which is no bad thing IMO. I went to a First birthday party today and had no trouble resisting the goodies as I've told myself they are poison to my body so a few pickle onions and piece of cheese with a broken off bit of icing was fine.

 

[Ditto]

Good, informative replies on this thread, thank you peoples. I'm learning everyday. Will go check out YouTube for blood pricking tips. It's like getting blood out of a stone with me!

Welcome to the forum wiseowl. 🙂

 

[robert@fm]

Off-topic for this thread I know, but this is too long for a profile post(!) which is where I was originally going to post it, so:

I see from your blog that you live in the Medway Towns. Beautiful part of the world; my elder sister lived there for the last ~30 years of her life (Strood), and I sometimes visited. No Christmas lights in Medway is a huge change from the time I visited at Christmas (circa 1995); there were plenty then, and I got plenty of pictures, although I also nearly got arrested by the Pentagon Centre security. 😱 (Apparently, if al-Quaeda get hold of our Christmas-light secrets it could spell the end of civilisation, or something.🙄) Don't they even have the Christmas tree at St. Nicholas' Churchyard in Strood nowadays? That's said to be haunted by Charles Dickens, so they had better watch out...

 

[wiseowl]

Good morning @robert@fm yes I am in the medway towns,Dickens Country just on the banks of the River medway,lovely people,salt of the eatrh,thanks for your post most friendly🙂

 

[HOBIE]

Keep going with the good diet ! & welcome WO