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BG testing 'advice' tomorrow

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pippin

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We are going to see the practise nurse tomorrow and will know for sure if we are going to be allowed testing strips. I have just read the leaflet she gave dad about self testing when not on Insulin. Whilst they still maintain the nurse check is enough if diabetes is under control there is a question "What if I want to test my BG?" There is a glimmer of hope in the reply although this may have changed and maybe as dad has other test for his INR etc they wouldn't add to expenses.

We have to take our monitor tomorrow, hopefully to learn how to use it correctly. If the leaflet advice is true we *might* get some strips although they say x2 times a day once a week! If we get some it will be helpful plus the support of the nurse. If not I have sent emails to see how we can buy the strips until we get an idea of what dad's levels are. Would test a wee bit more to start & also ease my mind. Just hope I'm well enough to go trying to do as little as possible today to make sure I have some energy although I don't like
the needle side of things I will be keeping the logs & working on foods which are best for him.

I am waiting for Amazon to deliver the two books recommended on this site for GI foods and the other one about the 1st year with TY2 as copies to keep for reference as the other books were from the library.
 
Thank you Northerner I am going to read this right now!
 
Pippin hope it all goes well tomorrow for your dad

p.s Happy fathers day to him x
 
Pippin, don't just read it, print it if you can, otherwise copy it longhand! - otherwise you may not be in a position to challenge any put down you may receive which you might think, I'm sure Diabetes UK didn't say that, they said this - and you can prove it which is always helpful !

Incidentally if it is just the nurse at the GP surgery, of course the GP themselves can override the nurse if you were to convince the doc that you will use em wisely, to learn from the results and adjust food intake and/or exercise accordingly.

Good luck!
 
Thank you I have copied all to my iPad which will be in my bag plus I found a PDF up there which I sent to iBooks complete with links as I know with nerves it is all too easy to forget. I'm hoping they know us well enough to know we wouldn't waste and it is to try and work out just what type of food is best as if I cut out any more for dad he would be eating very little!
I have the one Dr there but dad seems to have two one of which I don't think really considers diabetes as much as I would like him to as dad reminds him when prescribing other meds.

I know in my mind exactly why we need to do this just hope the white coats don't affect what I want to say! It's ok to tell me to increase dad's carbs and not knowing what affect they have until his next HbA1c last time the nurse told dad to tell me to relax about his diet :( I love him too much not to worry about what I am doing when I cook! Thanks trophywench 🙂

Thank you Steff 🙂 it's the only day I can treat dad although he still argues he doesn't need anything. Just wish he was a lot better with his other conditions and walking with freedom again. xxx it's a happy day for some but I always remember those who no longer have their dad :( I feel the same pain on mother's day.
 
Good Luck Pippin. Some people find that visualising what they need to say helps them remember when they go.

The important thing is to focus on what you are trying to achieve. Unless your Dad is eating the same food each day for breakfast, the same meal every day for lunch and then the same thing everyday for his evening meal 2 tests a week will tell you nothing and even then you would need to use them at the same meal in order to see what affect something is having.

You could stress that once you know how things affect your Dad, and can juggle his diet accordingly you will be able to test less. You could also add that you know its high BG that lead to complications and you want to know what foods are affecting him so as to minimise his risk. You could also try asking what they would want to do in your position.

Hope you get some success.
 
Thank you margie I will keep all of this in mind and have been telling dad so at least one of us will remember most of it hoping we get the time we might need. The only meal which is almost the same each day is breakfast but. Both agree when winter arrives I normally made casseroles etc so I would need to know which adjustments if any need to be done as I don't have labels to read when they are home made!

I'm hoping they will understand more frequent testing to begin with and if there are accurate logs to take I can assure them they will get detailed ones from me. Bread is something I would really like to test as we have yet to find one dad really enjoys. Hopefully I will have something to report back on and we don't end up coming home feeling totally lost back to square one.

It's all the other bits for the monitor I need to understand and also see if we can buy above what we might get if necessary. Diabetes week confirmed to me that diabetes is a condition which needs to be controlled even when dad was just over (I thought thy had made a mistake but now I know) his HbA went up one point (possibly because of the steroids etc) but I don't want it to keep going up if it's possible to control with his diet. Just can't give him any less as he is very close to low BMI

Thanks to everyone will let you know what happens keep thinking it might get cancelled as it was a while ago or the nurse will be off!
 
Home again with a prescription for x50 strips x100 lancets & a sharps box!
Both of us had lots of questions to answer and we think it was mainly due to me being very aware of everything and stressing myself (very run down) with dad's diet. I explained why we wanted to try SMBG although they consider dad to be well controlled the nurse knows both of us and knows it is affecting me too.
The first test we did came out LOW but something must have been wrong as the nurse tried and she was fine then tested dad again 5.2 which she was happy with. We were there quite a while so his lunch was late. I am going to let him test about 3.30pm just to see. For the next while we will test until we get a picture and maybe I can gain confidence in cooking as they don't want me to restrict correct food guessing if it is ok.

We got another date for his HbA test in August and it seems to be we can get another prescription.

Books have arrived so I will have plenty to read, learn and inwardly digest!

Thanks to everyone for guiding me this board really does help as most of the literature I read yesterday contained the questions we were asked today in making th decision to let us test.
 
Great news about the strips Pippin! 🙂 I'm sure you will use the information they provide to good effect! 🙂
 
Excellent result. At least you can make your own judgements now about which foods you can compromise on.

I'm sure your dad will benefit greatly and I hope it allows you to destress a little.🙂

Rob
 
Thank you Northerner chemist had to order strips so we are really limited today and the reading after lunch was higher than it should be. We have an Abbots monitor too with a few strips so we used this to test again although I know it should be with one metre. It still wasn't as low as it should be before tea but I am keeping note on everything just now. Have to keep x2 to get a fasting reading at least tomorrow and allow for an error reading.

Going to see if we can buy extra strips for the Glucomen and the Abbots one so we can re-test for this initial time until we can sort this first bit out. We also need the control solution as the nurse said this was from the brand. Don't think Boots would have the strips to get them soon might be best to ring both companies to see if they sell strips. We wouldn't need as many when we get sorted and would have had more if the chemist didn't have to order. Hoping they are there tomorrow. It's helping dad to understand why I am watching what he eats. Think I need time to think!
 
Try not to stress too much over individual tests, it's the patterns that emerge that are important. A test needs the conditions repeating before you can start to trust it to be the likely outcome, so if there is a higher than normal reading after a meal than you expect then the meal should be tried again to determine if there is any consistency. Unfortunately with diabetes there are many factors involved and food may not always be the most influential.

It takes time and patience, but I have no doubt you will start to uncover the most appropriate and flexible diet for your dad without affecting his levels adversely 🙂
 
Oh thank you this really helps I know the nurse was hesitant of making me panic more although I didn't realise the reading would be higher as the meal was following rules. I will be keeping details of each meal and hopefully start to see a pattern. Must admit this was the first result when we were on our own which had my mind spinning.

Thank you yet again 🙂 I think I will keep the books to read when my mind clears. Will look forward to DUK's app to help me keep track, will have to find the stop button now to let me unwind 😉
 
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