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Hello. Newbie Alert

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EssexGary

EssexGary

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hello Everyone

Just recently been diagnosed with T2. Had my visit to the Diabetes Nurse last night, Was advised that I need to go on to metformin but after a short discussion it was agreed that I could try to self mange with diet for a 3 month period.

My HBA1C levels were 70 and was advised by my doc that they need to be 40, but the nurse said that she be happy if I could get it down to 58 to start with.

Started a diet as soon as I found out (2 weeks ago) and have already lost 5lbs doing a low GI diet, so I pleased with that.

Have read a lot about self testing. some say yes and some say no. (most say yes). asked about testing with nurse last night and she advised against it saying it could do more harm than good, not sure how really but hey ho.... I did think that If I want to manage my diabetes myself then it surely would be good idea to know my glucose levels throughout the day etc and to know what foods work for me and what doesn't.

Said that they only prescribe meters to those on insulin. those that are self controlling with diet do not need to know levels, and those that are T2 on pills don't get either for the same reason.

I understand why they don't give them out (cost) but I struggle as im sure it would benefit those on T2 to know and understand and deal with levels and to manage their diabetes better.

Oh well, soap box got off....lol.

Anyway..... Hello everyone.

Cheers Gary
 
Hi Gary, welcome to the forum 🙂 Sorry to hear about the diagnosis :( It sounds to me like you have got off to a good start, with a sensible and practical idea of how to tackle things - even if it is at odds with what your nurse advises! 😱 You are, of course, absolutely right, and there is no argument to supprt the assertion that testing 'will do more harm than good' or that you 'do not need to know your levels unless you are on insulin' - absolute poppycock! 😱 :( No-one who is motivated to test, and who is willing to use the information in order to modify their behaviour and adapt their diet accordingly should remain unsupported or dissuaded from doing so. It is by far and away the best approach to discovering your own particular tolerances to your food choices - and such tolerances can be very individual (thought to be partly due to our own unique gut bacteria 'microbiome'). If you haven't already come across it, have a look at the links in our Useful Links thread. Particularly recommended are Jennifer's Advice and Maggie Davey's letter, and the book Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker. Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S gives a very useful guide to efficient testing, and the SD Codefree Meter which has test strips at around £8 for 50 is the cheapest option we have come across if your surgery won't cough up - it really is money well-spent. Not all surgeries are so reluctant to encourage testing, but some, as you have found, think it saves money but tell their patients it will only cause them anxiety - it will only cause anxiety if you don't know what action to take if you see high numbers, we are here to help you understand how to deal with that, so always ask if you are unsure 🙂
 
Hi & welcome to the forum. I believe testing is vital otherwise how do you know how different foods affect you. I would advise looking into funding a meter yourself. The cheapest option is the SD Codefree from either Amazon or Home Health (the manufacturers) with test strips costing around £6 for 50. Test before meals & around 2hrs after. Also test levels when waking. This is your fasting level & a good indication how you're control is.
 
You beat me to it, Alan!:D
 
Thank you. Have already got a meter free of charge of one manufacturer and managed to get a good deal on test strips. Done my first test after I got home and found my meter had been delivered. Got a result of 8.3mmol/L (1.5 hours after eating). OOPS... GOT THAT WRONG... 5.3mmol/L LOL

Just not sure how often to test and when to test. I know I shoul dtest just before eating and then 2 hours after eating (lunch and dinner). But do I need to test when I wake up and before bed and other times??? Don't want to go test mad but then again I want a set of results I can work with.

Cheers Gary
 
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Hi Gary and welcome. I test on waking as this is effectively a fasting test and as Northie says gives a decent indication of overall control. I then test before meals and 11/2 - 2 hours after, and then again before bed. So it can be 8x a day. From this though I have a pretty good idea what foods do not spike my BG levels too much and which I either need to avoid, or as I am a 'lucky' T1 on insulin🙂, which I need to take additional insulin for.
 
Hi Welcome. I'm so glad that you have decided to ignore the nurse and test. It really is the only way to find what foods affect our BGs (blood glucose) badly.
As you are not on medications that can cause hypo's (low BGs) then imo it's your choice whether or not to test on waking and before bed.
I test on waking and before bed as I am on medication that can cause hypo's
 
A waking test will show you if your efforts apart from your meals are helping e.g. weight loss or increasing exercise 🙂 Testing at bedtime will give you an indication of how steady your levels have been overnight, so can be useful to know. The main thing though is to find out how to tailor your diet so you retain maximum flexibility over your food choices, but reduce or avoid items that give you grief 🙂 It can take a while, and a lot of testing to begin with, but eventually you will have a good picture of what suits you well and will only need to test when trying something new 🙂 Diabetes is 99.999% self-managed, so you need to do what you find helpful and sustainable - for many people that means knowing what's going on, not waiting for a test at the surgery every 3 or 6 months, perhaps only to be told that you're not getting it right and need to do better, but with no indication of where you might be going wrong! 🙄
 
5.3 is a very good figure.🙂
 
One problem with the HbA1c test is that it is an average over the past three months or so; hence although a useful guide in itself, it only gives the arithmetic mean of the BG level — not the standard deviation. 😱 It's at least theoretically possible that one could have a BG level graph like the Himalayas, and still get a "perfect" HbA1c result. 🙄 Which is why all D sufferers should test.
 
Hi Mark
I was diagnosed about 6 weeks ago. I'm still getting all the specialists appointments yet, so I'm just starting to find my way, but I did get a meter just after finding the forum, the forum was recommended by my diabetes nurse.

I love getting the readings. I do 5-6 a day right now and I like knowing the fairly immediate feedback. It seems like a scientific approach of how I respond to food. I will do it less frequently after a short while, I think. As they've changed my meds twice, so I keep starting over!
 
Welcome to the forum Gary. :D
 
Hi Gary and welcome to the forum. What part of Essex are you from. I live in Essex.
 
Hi Gary and welcome to the best place for information and support. Yes test test test is the only way to know how your body reacts to certain foods. It my seem like a hassle at first but completely worth doing to learn what spikes you and what you can tolerate well. As you get to know about the different foods and portions you can cut back testing so often. And I say portions because a smaller portion of something will satisfy the desire but result in less spiking so get to know your triggers. Trial and error and testing is the way to go for most of its here. Good luck
 
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