Picklelily
New Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes last October, should I have been given a blood sugar monitor so I could regularly check the levels?
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Blood sugar
- Thread starter Picklelily
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Picklelily
New Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Thank you.
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Whilst you are unlikely to be prescribed a meter and test strips unless you are on medication which can drop your levels dangerously low, many people here on the forum find that a meter is an invaluable tool in helping them to decide which foods are OK for them and which are best avoided or relegated to a very rare treat and as a result they self fund it. The meters them selves are not particularly expensive, with a basic meter kit consting about £15 and indeed some companies give the meter away if you buy a few pots of test strips, because they make their money on the test strips and these are individual to each model of meter, so it makes sense to acquire a meter which has the cheapest test strips but is considered reliable. We can suggest meters which members here have tried and tested and find economical and reliable, if it is something you are interested in, so do ask before you purchase.
I'm a complete newbie here, but since I was DX 'at risk' (high Hba1c - 45, ie, pretty close to T2!), I bought myself a meter online, and have used it a lot these last weeks. I find it really helpful in exploring and working out just how my BG levels fluctuate around the day, around my eating, and around my exercising. I am trying to learn how 'patterns' emerge from the various readings, and what that tells me about how I'm doing.
As for the NHS, do bear in mind that, like it or not, the decisions taken ARE influenced (though hopefully not totally determined!) by finances. So it's understandable they may set high criteria for giving away glucose monitors and strips! Worse (in a way!), the NHS does tend to deny that those decisions are influenced by financial considerations as well as medical ones, so tend to say, 'no, medically you don't need whatever it is you are asking for...' (I'd rather they were upfront and simply said 'based on the medical evidence so far we can't justify the financial outlay for whatever it is you are asking for')
OK, sometimes it IS a question of medical determination, but then another factor can come in here, possibly justified, possibly not. To some extent I would say they don't want patients either 'overfussing' (!) about themselves (all those jibes at the 'worried well'................!), or, reasonably, too, they don't want patients alarming themselves by, say, in the case of BG monitors, by jumping to (lay!) conclusions about their readings which the patients do not understand perfectly.
Of course, that is just why a forum and site like this is so very, very helpful, because there are a whole 'team' of folk who are very experienced in how DB behaves, and therefore can be, as you are finding, a very good 'sounding board'.
That said, some people simply don't want to get personally involved with their own treatment, and just are happier going along with whatever the medics say, and if that works for the, then that is fine too. It is about, in the end, what you are personally comfortable with, and what, above all, keeps you safe.
All the best on your journey.
As for the NHS, do bear in mind that, like it or not, the decisions taken ARE influenced (though hopefully not totally determined!) by finances. So it's understandable they may set high criteria for giving away glucose monitors and strips! Worse (in a way!), the NHS does tend to deny that those decisions are influenced by financial considerations as well as medical ones, so tend to say, 'no, medically you don't need whatever it is you are asking for...' (I'd rather they were upfront and simply said 'based on the medical evidence so far we can't justify the financial outlay for whatever it is you are asking for')
OK, sometimes it IS a question of medical determination, but then another factor can come in here, possibly justified, possibly not. To some extent I would say they don't want patients either 'overfussing' (!) about themselves (all those jibes at the 'worried well'................!), or, reasonably, too, they don't want patients alarming themselves by, say, in the case of BG monitors, by jumping to (lay!) conclusions about their readings which the patients do not understand perfectly.
Of course, that is just why a forum and site like this is so very, very helpful, because there are a whole 'team' of folk who are very experienced in how DB behaves, and therefore can be, as you are finding, a very good 'sounding board'.
That said, some people simply don't want to get personally involved with their own treatment, and just are happier going along with whatever the medics say, and if that works for the, then that is fine too. It is about, in the end, what you are personally comfortable with, and what, above all, keeps you safe.
All the best on your journey.
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I think the only other thing to add to @Callista 's very comprehensive post above is that many GPs and nurses really have no understanding of how a BG meter can be used to help you tailor your diet, because your diet is something they have no control over, so they only see BG monitoring as a means of keeping you safe if you take specific medications and assessing how your medication is working. It is really only people who live with diabetes day by day and meal by meal and night by night and who worry about what they can eat and will this food be bad for them, who can truly understand the benefit of testing, because it enables you to "see" in numbers on a meter, what is otherwise a mostly invisible condition.
Deb_l
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I was given a monitor by my diabetes nurse but have be warned the testing strips might not stay on prescription forever. That's fine, I have no issues with that. I will however continue to buy them because testing has been invaluable to me in working out what foods I can easily tolerate and what causes spikes in my BG.
My surgery normally offers a meter if you ask (or you can get one free from one of the manufacturers) but may or may not add strips to your prescription list. I think they will even if T2 if they can see you are taking testing seriously.
the benefit of testing, because it enables you to "see" in numbers on a meter, what is otherwise a mostly invisible condition
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I think this is key!! Absolutely. Testing makes the invisible visible, just as you say. I guess one problem could be that it can cause worry when it's not needed, or, conversely, give unwise reassurance (because newbies like me may not truly understand the implications of the testing figures I get, etc)
It's the same reason we have bp monitors. High bp is 'invisible' and usually intangible (unless it's really thumping!), and that's why measuring and monitoring is so helpful.
Someone somewhere said something along the lines of 'what you cannot measure, you cannot manage' and that sounds true of both DB and high BP.
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I think this is key!! Absolutely. Testing makes the invisible visible, just as you say. I guess one problem could be that it can cause worry when it's not needed, or, conversely, give unwise reassurance (because newbies like me may not truly understand the implications of the testing figures I get, etc)
It's the same reason we have bp monitors. High bp is 'invisible' and usually intangible (unless it's really thumping!), and that's why measuring and monitoring is so helpful.
Someone somewhere said something along the lines of 'what you cannot measure, you cannot manage' and that sounds true of both DB and high BP.
trophywench
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Unless the person actually does the full 'Test, Review, Adjust' sequence ie is learning some things from the testing, I've long maintained and still do, that it's a complete waste of time, effort and money - to test in the first place.
On insulin, that is exactly what we have to do every time we want to eat something in order to calculate the insulin dose necessary - for life. It's not quite that central to every non insulin user's life of course.
On insulin, that is exactly what we have to do every time we want to eat something in order to calculate the insulin dose necessary - for life. It's not quite that central to every non insulin user's life of course.
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