getting ready to test...

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Yey, you got a pretty one!

I have a paper BG diary, but I also copy my results onto a spreadsheet so I can play around with graphs

Just open one up, and put across the times of day you might want to test:

I do:

Pre B'fast, 2 hours post, Pre-lunch, 2 hours post, Pre dinner, 2 hours post, and pre-bed.

I also stick an extra column on for any weird anomolous results. Then put dates down the other side.

Job done 🙂
 
I use this...

http://beta.glucosebuddy.com/

I have an app on my iphone that synchronises with this site, but you can use the site alone to input all your readings and it will give you nice little graphs and reports that you can print out for your healthcare team. It's free to register and use.

Hope this helps

Karina :D
 
5.8 would be good in my book 🙂 I try to aim for under 6.5 and my current 30 day average is 5.7.
Keep testing, it's essential to monitor your BGS.
Ken
 
Thanks so much for all the help folks - really appreciate it - no idea what I'd do without you lot lol *hug*

Sacredheart - someone has offered to send me a spreadsheet, so I'm sorted - thank you for the offer though that was really kind xxx

And on a side note, another 7kgs off this month - 19kgs in total (only a gazillion to go!) :D
 
4.4mmol before brekkie.
9.6mmol 2 hours later.

*sulk* 🙄
 
LisaLQ said:
4.4mmol before brekkie.
9.6mmol 2 hours later.

*sulk* 🙄
Click to expand...

Hi Lisa, that's not too bad! What did you eat? Remember to record the food, and if possible, the carbs. I'm often around that level after two hours and think nothing of it, so don't despair! This is about finding out how you tolerate certain foods and establishing trends, so it will take some time.🙂
 
LisaLQ said:
4.4mmol before brekkie.
9.6mmol 2 hours later.

*sulk* 🙄
Click to expand...

Lisa dont worry at Northerner said it takes time you will start seeing a pattern on the certain things you eat, for example every morning i have the same thing for breakfast that is porridge and that has me at about 7.6-7.9% every morning so i know whats coming.Just keep a record and then when things maybe do go wrong like a bad reading you can look at what you have eaten to cause the hi reading and adjust or not eat it again .
 
LisaLQ said:
4.4mmol before brekkie.
9.6mmol 2 hours later.

*sulk* 🙄
Click to expand...

Hey you're a Type 2 Diabetic 🙂
I dread to think what you scored at the 1 hour mark😉
I think you should test for your peak - have the same brekkie tomorrow ( I know - you've demonstrated its a poor choice for a T2 who is not injecting insulin) and test at 45 mins, 1 hour, 75 mins and 2 hours. The idea is find your peak/spike and be physically active at that point in future to blunt it.

Anyway back to those sites I recommended to you waaaay back last year ...
Jennifer's Smart advice
http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/new.php

And the Australian guru, Alan S's "Test,Review,Adjust" advice
http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2006/10/test-review-adjust.html

While you are at it you should check out Alan S's list of breakfasts for T2s.

Otherwise its bacon and egg for you !!!! No toast, no cereal. Try porridge by all means but don't expect too much.

You might want to print off and read Maggie Davey's Open Letter to Newly Diagnosed Type 2s in our links section.

--------------------------------------------
"Eat to your meter"
 
Thanks so much for all the advice and yes, I'll read it this time 😱

The doctors appointment was really rubbish, cant believe I expected more from him (he's usually so supportive and helpful).

He made me feel really stupid today. He said I dont need to test as glucose levels arent important and will vary a lot on diet alone, he said it wont make any difference to my levels whether I test or not. He said there's no point being referred to a dietician for help finding a diet to suit, in his words "If you have a choice between chips and salad, which do you pick? Exactly - you dont need a dietician to tell you that". He didnt think the pain/shivers in my back was a kidney infection (but has taken a sample just in case), he asked if I was going to the loo more often and I said "I'm diabetic, how would I know?!". When I said how low I've been (bearing in mind I have a history of severe depression several years ago and can tell when I'm feeling low), he said "you might just be feeling flat (?!) because of what's happened in the last few months, now is it really a chemical reaction in your brain or just you getting used to this change, and feeling fed up about the diet changes - do you really think a pill will fix it?" but precsribed me fluoxetine (am I right in thinking that's just seroxat - which I told him I didnt want as it made me really ill?). He made me feel like I was just upset because I'm fat and greedy and am fed up because I cant eat what I want - when that's not true at all!

So no test strips for me. He said that they did a study with type 2 diabetics, and there was no difference in the glucose levels between those testing and those not testing. I said I wasnt one of them - and told him how I'd make choices for the next day(s) based on the readings, rather than starve myself to bring it down again - and he said that levels fluctuate so much that there's no point testing at all, he said it's only useful for those at risk of a hypo (eg those on medication).

I feel worse than when I went down now, basically it was a waste of time. :(
 
LisaLQ said:
Thanks so much for all the advice and yes, I'll read it this time 😱

The doctors appointment was really rubbish, cant believe I expected more from him (he's usually so supportive and helpful).

He made me feel really stupid today. He said I dont need to test as glucose levels arent important and will vary a lot on diet alone, he said it wont make any difference to my levels whether I test or not. He said there's no point being referred to a dietician for help finding a diet to suit, in his words "If you have a choice between chips and salad, which do you pick? Exactly - you dont need a dietician to tell you that". He didnt think the pain/shivers in my back was a kidney infection (but has taken a sample just in case), he asked if I was going to the loo more often and I said "I'm diabetic, how would I know?!". When I said how low I've been (bearing in mind I have a history of severe depression several years ago and can tell when I'm feeling low), he said "you might just be feeling flat (?!) because of what's happened in the last few months, now is it really a chemical reaction in your brain or just you getting used to this change, and feeling fed up about the diet changes - do you really think a pill will fix it?" but precsribed me fluoxetine (am I right in thinking that's just seroxat - which I told him I didnt want as it made me really ill?). He made me feel like I was just upset because I'm fat and greedy and am fed up because I cant eat what I want - when that's not true at all!

So no test strips for me. He said that they did a study with type 2 diabetics, and there was no difference in the glucose levels between those testing and those not testing. I said I wasnt one of them - and told him how I'd make choices for the next day(s) based on the readings, rather than starve myself to bring it down again - and he said that levels fluctuate so much that there's no point testing at all, he said it's only useful for those at risk of a hypo (eg those on medication).

I feel worse than when I went down now, basically it was a waste of time. :(
Click to expand...

So sorry Lisa this really does get up my nose , he says this study says they wa no diffirences nlevels between those who test and those who dont he should come in here and speak to some of us .
 
OK, that is completely unacceptable behaviour. You should NOT be spoken to like that. I would be writing a serious letter of complaint to the practice manager, asking for this behaviour to be followed up. No-one has the right to make you feel that way. Do you have the option of asking to see a different doctor? You can switch GPs for any reason you like.

But for now, *hugs*. You are doing all the right things, and he's a (expletive) for making you feel like you're asking for things that you shouldn't have, or are entitled to.
 
He's normally really good, and to be fair on him - he didnt say it to be rude, he was trying to reassure me that it wasn't necessary...

I forgot to say - my cholesterol level is now 2.9, but get this - my nurse started me on statins in December because she said it was 5.7 and needed to be under 5, but when he checked my notes today to compare - he said it was 4.6 in December, so she told me the wrong number and theoretically I didnt need the statins...but now they're working they want me to stay on them? :confused:
 
I totally agree - Lisa this doc is a total 'rectal orifice' and needs telling. My doctor told me that I don't have to test. I explained to her that by testing, I was able to identify the foods/quantities that cause my bs to spike and by adjusting my diet accordingly, I have managed to bring my levels right down. I showed her my results and she (reluctantly) agreed that I'd made progress.

It seems to me that doctors automatically asume that we T2's have developed diabetes because we're prone to over eating and under exercising therefore it is unlikely that we will make significant changes and will eventually move onto medication and complications anyway. I don't think it's right that we have to 'prove' that we are willing to make changes, but the only way it will work is if we are given the right dietary advice (dietician) and the right tools for the job (meter/strips).

I hope one or both of the petitions bring some progress in this.

Lisa, keep testing and keep improving - show him he's wrong. We're right behind you babe.

Karina
 
Get a different doctor Lisa, you've nothing to lose - what this person has said is pure nonsense based on some stupid research they once did where people were allowed to test but were NOT allowed to act on the findings - they got depressed about it and it didn't help their levels - well DUH! You are testing so you CAN do something about it.

Diabetes is all about food and finding how it affects you. Knowing a good starting point (i.e. advice from a good dietician) gives you a head start, tailored to your own particular circumstances. Saying 'eat salad not chips' doesn't really tell you anything - are you just to eat salad for the rest of your life? Idiot!

Try not to let this get to you Lisa - you are the one with diabetes, not him. You are making intelligent and informed decisions about your treatment, he is spouting half-remembered generalities that are generally laughed at by the diabetic community who have an awful lot more knowledge and experience than him. Not all doctors would agree with him, thankfully, and many of them would be disgusted at such a dreadful show of ignorance.
 
karinagal said:
I totally agree - Lisa this doc is a total 'rectal orifice' and needs telling. My doctor told me that I don't have to test. I explained to her that by testing, I was able to identify the foods/quantities that cause my bs to spike and by adjusting my diet accordingly, I have managed to bring my levels right down. I showed her my results and she (reluctantly) agreed that I'd made progress.

It seems to me that doctors automatically asume that we T2's have developed diabetes because we're prone to over eating and under exercising therefore it is unlikely that we will make significant changes and will eventually move onto medication and complications anyway. I don't think it's right that we have to 'prove' that we are willing to make changes, but the only way it will work is if we are given the right dietary advice (dietician) and the right tools for the job (meter/strips).

I hope one or both of the petitions bring some progress in this.

Lisa, keep testing and keep improving - show him he's wrong. We're right behind you babe.

Karina
Click to expand...

Absolutly Lisa we are all 100 percent and more behind you, keep doing what your doing YOU are the one who lives with your diabetes day in day out x
 
LisaLQ said:
He's normally really good, and to be fair on him - he didnt say it to be rude, he was trying to reassure me that it wasn't necessary...

I forgot to say - my cholesterol level is now 2.9, but get this - my nurse started me on statins in December because she said it was 5.7 and needed to be under 5, but when he checked my notes today to compare - he said it was 4.6 in December, so she told me the wrong number and theoretically I didnt need the statins...but now they're working they want me to stay on them? :confused:
Click to expand...

I'm surprised they put you on them in the first place - they did that to me too and I stopped taking them when I dropped to 2.4. You can't just drive your level to zero - the body needs SOME cholesterol to function, and there is evidence that too low a level can increase the risk of stroke. I'd ask to see how you go on without them, if you can maintain good levels without them it's one less pill to worry about.
 
Lisa just wanted to say what excellent pre brekkie levels ...was that on waking? you obviously not experiencing the dawn phenomina xxx well done ...now to look at what you ate to bring levels up ....
 
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