BGM - complete numpty

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saffron15

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When I saw my HCP earlier this month I mentioned the possibility of testing and was gifted a monitor and shown how to use it. It has the reading I gave of 6.8 in its memory. I have an appointment next week when I will be given a statin/ discuss whether I should take a statin. I've got the monitor out and read everything. I thought I had better do the test with the red glucose stuff. Had to put it on the cap of the bottle no probs, had to programme monitor QC to show test. Done. However I got in complete mess getting it on test strip despite being told in my lancet thread it is a capillary action. I cleaned the test strip with a tissue and repositioned so liquid was absorbed.
I assume it was tested before I got it.
The result was 10.1. I now don't know if it's appropriate or if my wiping the glucose solution of the test strip will invalidate it.
Do you position your finger with the globule of blood under the test strip?
I see I can put depth of pricker from 1 upwards. I've twisted around so don't know what he used on me. I thought I would try 3 but how would I know if need more penetrative or could get away with less? I have been a blood donor and have every sympathy with Tony Hancock but was impressed how gentle it was when my blood was analysed this time.
Following threads I expect to use lancet more than once but I have a sharps container if needed. With continued use are you likely to need it to be programmed for deeper?
The meter is a Nexus which I recall from posts can be a little expensive for test strips

Finally the leaflet suggests testing with glucose solution 3 x before first use. I assume it's so you don't waste blood.i intend to use blood tomorrow. I'm not hungry and last ate at 3pm so doesn't seem any point testing tonight.

They also say do a glucose test each week. Is this just caution? I don't want to waste a test strip each week. If I buy more test strips I'm happy to do one before I use new strips.

The glucose says use within 90 days of opening. Are test strips limited once you open them? I have closed the lid and they are well within the expiry date.

To all those who have no choice but to finger prick I am sorry for being pretty useless!
 
Last edited:
saffron15 said:
When I saw my HCP earlier this month I mentioned the possibility of testing and was gifted a monitor and shown how to use it. It has the reading I gave of 6.8 in its memory. I have an appointment next week when I will be given a statin/ discuss whether I should take a statin. I've got the monitor out and read everything. I thought I had better do the test with the red glucose stuff. Had to put it on the cap of the bottle no probs, had to programme monitor QC to show test. Done. However I got in complete mess getting it on test strip despite being told in my lancet thread it is a capillary action. I cleaned the test strip with a tissue and repositioned so liquid was absorbed.
I assume it was tested before I got it.
The result was 10.1. I now don't know if it's appropriate or if my wiping the glucose solution of the test strip will invalidate it.
Do you position your finger with the globule of blood under the test strip?
I see I can put depth of pricker from 1 upwards. I've twisted around so don't know what he used on me. I thought I would try 3 but how would I know if need more penetrative or could get away with less? I have been a blood donor and have every sympathy with Tony Hancock but was impressed how gentle it was when my blood was analysed this time.
Following threads I expect to use lancet more than once but I have a sharps container if needed. With continued use are you likely to need it to be programmed for deeper?
The meter is a Nexus which I recall from posts can be a little expensive for test strips

Finally the leaflet suggests testing with glucose solution 3 x before first use. I assume it's so you don't waste blood.i intend to use blood tomorrow. I'm not hungry and last ate at 3pm so doesn't seem any point testing tonight.

They also say do a glucose test each week. Is this just caution? I don't want to waste a test strip each week. If I buy more test strips I'm happy to do one before I use new strips.

The glucose says use within 90 days of opening. Are test strips limited once you open them? I have closed the lid and they are well within the expiry date.

To all those who have no choice but to finger prick I am sorry for being pretty useless!
Click to expand...
I suggest you look for a YouTube Video on how to use the monitor, I found one quite easily, though you will develop your own technique with practice.
The monitor I have doesn't have control solution and the strips can only be used once.
The strips for your monitor are probably a bit more expensive that for some monitors.
 
saffron15 said:
Do you position your finger with the globule of blood under the test strip?
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear you had a bit of trouble getting blood into the strip. Some of the different strip brands are ‘slurpier’ than others, but it does help to get to know the right ‘angle of attack’ between finger+droplet and strip.

I use far fewer strips these days than I once did - I’m not sure whether pots I use these days go past 90 days, but I can’t say that I start counting when I open a pot - perhaps I should!
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Sorry to hear you had a bit of trouble getting blood into the strip. Some of the different strip brands are ‘slurpier’ than others, but it does help to get to know the right ‘angle of attack’ between finger+droplet and strip.

I use far fewer strips these days than I once did - I’m not sure whether pots I use these days go past 90 days, but I can’t say that I start counting when I open a pot - perhaps I should!
Click to expand...
This was just a test. No blood was spilled. I used a red glucose solution that came with it. I intend to have a proper go tomorrow. I ate at three and am not hungry so I wouldn't learn anything from a test tonight. Annoyingly a different machine by same company has considerably cheaper test strips. I assumed Boots would stick them but they don't.

I need to start planning. At the moment I just make sure I have lots of choice. Over next few days I have Cromer crab, cod, trout and sea trout plus humus and lots of fresh veg plus strawberries blueberries nuts and seeds and yoghurt.

Thanks for your encouragement.
 
Leadinglights said:
I suggest you look for a YouTube Video on how to use the monitor, I found one quite easily, though you will develop your own technique with practice.
The monitor I have doesn't have control solution and the strips can only be used once.
The strips for your monitor are probably a bit more expensive that for some monitors.
Click to expand...
Yes I must check youtube. When I opened it I was surprised to see the glucose solution and the suggestion you use it to practice. I don't intend to try to reuse the strips.
 
@saffron15 if you want to do some experimenting to find out what foods suit you, have you thought about taking out the free Libre trial for a couple of weeks?
 
helli said:
@saffron15 if you want to do some experimenting to find out what foods suit you, have you thought about taking out the free Libre trial for a couple of weeks?
Click to expand...
I am a little wary at the moment. I'm due to see HCP on Monday when I assume he will persuade me to take a statin and I'm due cataract ops but don't know when. I'm not very techie. At some stage I need to start organising my food etc. As I started thinking I needed to reduce cholesteral I cut out all the naughty bits and ate lots of fish which is low carb. I haven't yet figured out a purposeful way of doing things. The drugs I am on are dulling my appetite and I either don't fancy breakfast or skip supper. Today I've actually added everything up and I've only had 900 callories and 64 gms of carbs. This is not typical as I often buy a flat white at a local cafe and cannot resist the tiny biscotti with it. That automatically ups calories and carbs as I either have a toasted tea cake or if later a sandwich. Obviously not every day.
I'm now concerned I should be eating more. I am now on a SGLT2 and was warned must've at sufficient carbs but when asked pharmacist they weren't sure and when I emailed HCP no,reply.

I think the more I read the threads the more I feel inadequate or nervous even though there are lots of kind helpful people on the forum. The good bit is having been a fatty for decades hit almost 90 kg 15 years ago ( though have never hit that number) I'm now down to 79 kg and know it is good for my health.
I mucked up the blood tests today. Will make an effort tomorrow.
Do the companies have an almost permanent trial offer? I think one beginning with D has one too.
I don't have a smart phone though do have a tablet
Compared with all the type 1s who are almost immediately in a lifelong change, I haven't pushed myself sufficiently yet.
I feel a bit of a wimp. I need someone to kick me up the backside ( metaphorically of course)
 
Leadinglights said:
I suggest you look for a YouTube Video on how to use the monitor, I found one quite easily, though you will develop your own technique with practice.
The monitor I have doesn't have control solution and the strips can only be used once.
The strips for your monitor are probably a bit more expensive that for some monitors.
Click to expand...
I watched an excellent video yesterday with a Glaswegian nurse. I have however messed up today but will have a go tomorrow. I woke up reread everything washed hands and eventually carried a test out. I wasn't hungry yesterday after 3 pm but woke at 3 am and thought maybe should eat something had two strawberries and glass of water. Eventually the reading I got was 7. I had a peculiar breakfast because I had bought a homemade pie from WI market minced beef carrot onion and peas to share with my sister but she said she had enough food. I had the quarter left over for breakfast plus mushrooms and sprouting broccoli. I thought test could tell how I was responding. However I went out to boots and other shops and realised I'd missed the window of two hours after the meal.

I later decided to test before next meal but came unstuck. I got blood on test strip putting finger close but not touching but couldn't get a result. I decided not to test again before eating and assume my second meal is fine medium cromer crab medium avocado cherry Tom's lettuce followed by 12 strawberries - no cream or sugar. Will definitely have a go tomorrow.

Thanks for encouragement.
 
saffron15 said:
I am a little wary at the moment. I'm due to see HCP on Monday when I assume he will persuade me to take a statin and I'm due cataract ops but don't know when. I'm not very techie. At some stage I need to start organising my food etc. As I started thinking I needed to reduce cholesteral I cut out all the naughty bits and ate lots of fish which is low carb. I haven't yet figured out a purposeful way of doing things. The drugs I am on are dulling my appetite and I either don't fancy breakfast or skip supper. Today I've actually added everything up and I've only had 900 callories and 64 gms of carbs. This is not typical as I often buy a flat white at a local cafe and cannot resist the tiny biscotti with it. That automatically ups calories and carbs as I either have a toasted tea cake or if later a sandwich. Obviously not every day.
I'm now concerned I should be eating more. I am now on a SGLT2 and was warned must've at sufficient carbs but when asked pharmacist they weren't sure and when I emailed HCP no,reply.

I think the more I read the threads the more I feel inadequate or nervous even though there are lots of kind helpful people on the forum. The good bit is having been a fatty for decades hit almost 90 kg 15 years ago ( though have never hit that number) I'm now down to 79 kg and know it is good for my health.
I mucked up the blood tests today. Will make an effort tomorrow.
Do the companies have an almost permanent trial offer? I think one beginning with D has one too.
I don't have a smart phone though do have a tablet
Compared with all the type 1s who are almost immediately in a lifelong change, I haven't pushed myself sufficiently yet.
I feel a bit of a wimp. I need someone to kick me up the backside ( metaphorically of course)
Click to expand...
Personally I think you are better getting to grips with a routine of using your monitor doing finger prick tests and making some sense of those before considering something like getting a free trial of the Libre or Dexcom for which you would need a compatible smart phone.
It is very easy to over react to the information unless you know how to interpret it.
The medication you are on is one which encourages the kidneys to work to get rid of excess glucose so it is important to drink plenty of fluids but it also says there is a risk of low blood glucose if you don't have sufficient carbs however getting a straight answer about how many is difficult but in the 130g per day region is thought to be a safe amount but there are some people who do seem to go lower but they do keep a good eye on their levels by regular testing with their monitor. Hence the advice to be guided by your monitor.
The best thing is to get your meals sorted out with foods which are nutritious and will give you a balanced diet which will be sustainable.
 
saffron15 said:
I watched an excellent video yesterday with a Glaswegian nurse. I have however messed up today but will have a go tomorrow. I woke up reread everything washed hands and eventually carried a test out. I wasn't hungry yesterday after 3 pm but woke at 3 am and thought maybe should eat something had two strawberries and glass of water. Eventually the reading I got was 7. I had a peculiar breakfast because I had bought a homemade pie from WI market minced beef carrot onion and peas to share with my sister but she said she had enough food. I had the quarter left over for breakfast plus mushrooms and sprouting broccoli. I thought test could tell how I was responding. However I went out to boots and other shops and realised I'd missed the window of two hours after the meal.

I later decided to test before next meal but came unstuck. I got blood on test strip putting finger close but not touching but couldn't get a result. I decided not to test again before eating and assume my second meal is fine medium cromer crab medium avocado cherry Tom's lettuce followed by 12 strawberries - no cream or sugar. Will definitely have a go tomorrow.

Thanks for encouragement.
Click to expand...
You must touch the strip into the drop of blood otherwise it will not be sucked up into the strip.
It is important to be strategic with the timings of your testing otherwise it won't be very informative. But do keep a record of what you have eaten, when and your readings and when.
 
I find it quite difficult to get enough blood when finger pricking as I generally have cold hands. I find washing with quite hot water and clenching/ unclenching fist just before testing helps improve the blood flow
 
Leadinglights said:
You must touch the strip into the drop of blood otherwise it will not be sucked up into the strip.
It is important to be strategic with the timings of your testing otherwise it won't be very informative. But do keep a record of what you have eaten, when and your readings and when.
Click to expand...
The blood was sucked up but no reading. I do keep a food diary but only recently started adding it all up. I was making sure I kept my carbs up when I went on new drug last week. I assumed the warning was aimed at keto diets but I've never dropped below 60 and am usually over 100. I do have keto sticks so if worried can easily test my urine. I just feel I'm drifting a bit. DN mentioned I think a course or possibly a group. I'm not sure what. I did emaill my hcp about carbs and asked if he could ask nurse to email me about course/ group but i
 
I must try and organise things better. I decided not to do pre breakfast test. I had full fat yoghurt the last of the delicious local strawberries with seeds including chia. Later needed to go to a local shop and ended up sitting by the river eating an icecream. A magnum lemon something. It is only the second time since diagnosis. This evening I tested before I ate 5.3.
I made my simple supper 130 gms of cod some sliced red onion and an impulse buy from Tesco The real Greek white kidney beans ( looked like the giant beans they use in paella) tomato onion garlic and dill. 33 gms carb from the beans. I realised I hadn't timed when I sat down to eat. Nevertheless I tested at 9.20 which I suspect wasn't the full 2 hours and I hadn't gone out for a walk. How crucial is hitting the two hours? Would for example 3 hours be pointless? I suspect it was nearer an hour and a half. I also had a few sips of tea before I tested.
The reading was 8.6 which may mean I shouldn't eat those beans. It was a lazy supper because the beans were ready prepared. They were marked as one portion.

The good news is the failed test yesterday is a blip. I'm finding it easy.
 
saffron15 said:
I must try and organise things better. I decided not to do pre breakfast test. I had full fat yoghurt the last of the delicious local strawberries with seeds including chia. Later needed to go to a local shop and ended up sitting by the river eating an icecream. A magnum lemon something. It is only the second time since diagnosis. This evening I tested before I ate 5.3.
I made my simple supper 130 gms of cod some sliced red onion and an impulse buy from Tesco The real Greek white kidney beans ( looked like the giant beans they use in paella) tomato onion garlic and dill. 33 gms carb from the beans. I realised I hadn't timed when I sat down to eat. Nevertheless I tested at 9.20 which I suspect wasn't the full 2 hours and I hadn't gone out for a walk. How crucial is hitting the two hours? Would for example 3 hours be pointless? I suspect it was nearer an hour and a half. I also had a few sips of tea before I tested.
The reading was 8.6 which may mean I shouldn't eat those beans. It was a lazy supper because the beans were ready prepared. They were marked as one portion.

The good news is the failed test yesterday is a blip. I'm finding it easy.
Click to expand...
You have to bear in mind that when something says 1 portion then it may still be too much if it is a high carb food which having beans would have. Still it was just over so if you liked it then make it do 2 meals and add something lower carb like cucumber to bulk it out.

I'm not sure why 2 hours is suggested as being a good time to test, I'm sure somebody will explain.
Well done on cracking your testing technique.
 
saffron15 said:
I must try and organise things better. I decided not to do pre breakfast test. I had full fat yoghurt the last of the delicious local strawberries with seeds including chia. Later needed to go to a local shop and ended up sitting by the river eating an icecream. A magnum lemon something. It is only the second time since diagnosis. This evening I tested before I ate 5.3.
I made my simple supper 130 gms of cod some sliced red onion and an impulse buy from Tesco The real Greek white kidney beans ( looked like the giant beans they use in paella) tomato onion garlic and dill. 33 gms carb from the beans. I realised I hadn't timed when I sat down to eat. Nevertheless I tested at 9.20 which I suspect wasn't the full 2 hours and I hadn't gone out for a walk. How crucial is hitting the two hours? Would for example 3 hours be pointless? I suspect it was nearer an hour and a half. I also had a few sips of tea before I tested.
The reading was 8.6 which may mean I shouldn't eat those beans. It was a lazy supper because the beans were ready prepared. They were marked as one portion.

The good news is the failed test yesterday is a blip. I'm finding it easy.
Click to expand...
I think for most people (and most meals - higher fat meals often slow carbohydrate absorption so the peak can be later, or lower but longer) the peak BG is past by 2 hours. When I was using the free Libre2 CGM I sometimes found the peak was between 1-2 hours so my 1 hour post meal reading looked good, and so did my 2 hour reading, but if I had checked at 1.5 hours then it wouldn't have looked so good
 
Leadinglights said:
.

I'm not sure why 2 hours is suggested as being a good time to test, I'm sure somebody will explain.
Click to expand...
If you Google 'Two-hour Postprandial Glucose' it will return multiple health sites, all of which refer to the two-hours-after-eating test, as does the instruction book that came with my meter. I haven't had an oral fasting glucose test, where you drink a glucose liquid, but from what I've read they test 2 hours after that, too. It seems to be the standard.
 
Martin.A said:
If you Google 'Two-hour Postprandial Glucose' it will return multiple health sites, all of which refer to the two-hours-after-eating test, as does the instruction book that came with my meter.
Click to expand...

Yes I think it seems to be the general advice. Not that I think a 3hr check would be meaningless @saffron15 (in my experience for some meals my 3hr might be higher than my 2hr!), but I think it would make it less easy to compare with other results you have taken, and perhaps a little trickier to interpret.

Glad you are generally getting the strips to work more easily now <3
 
Thank you all. The beans were actually 23 gms of carbs so may buy again and test in proper window. Noone has told me how low is too low carb for my SGLT2 so am trying to make sure I have a reasonable number of carbs but I keep finding I miss a meal either breakfast or supper as not hungry.
 
saffron15 said:
Thank you all. The beans were actually 23 gms of carbs so may buy again and test in proper window. Noone has told me how low is too low carb for my SGLT2 so am trying to make sure I have a reasonable number of carbs but I keep finding I miss a meal either breakfast or supper as not hungry.
Click to expand...
I think nobody has been able to tell you how low is too low for carb intake because 'nobody knows' as it may be different depending on the circumstances. I have scoured a number of research papers from some quite extensive studies and they all seem to point to there would be other compounding factors that would make euglycemic DKA likely, such as illness, dehydration, very high blood glucose, and quite a few others.
I would say in my non medical opinion that as long as you are around 100g per day that would be fine under normal circumstances.
The guidelines suggest there should be no need for regular ketone testing in people taking the 'flozin' medications but clearly would be needed if people were unwell.
 
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