just brought a glucose measuring machine!

[SantaHolly]

I was concerned that I had no idea what my glucose level was, so I brought a Accu-Khek machine.
My first reading yesterday morning was 17. I spent the day trying to contact nurse at GP only to be told that next appointment was due in April. Try again Monday see if I can get a phone cccall she said.
I was very careful through the day and went to bed with a reading of 11.5
after a break of no food I was still 11.7 at 8am.
after breakfast 14.9.
really worried now.
any advice please.

 

[Kaylz]

Hi and welcome to the forum 🙂

I see you are self funding, the Accu-Chek meters are quite expensive to run as they are one of the dearer test strips to purchase, we generally advise self funders to go with the SD Codefree meter as this is the cheapest to buy strips for

What are you eating?
xx

 

[SueEK]

Hi @SantaHolly and welcome to a great forum. Are you testing just before and 2 hours after testing, that gives the most accurate results. Also as @Kaylz says can you give us exa,piles of what your meals are like, we may be able to help you adjust then if that may be the problem?
NB I also use the same glucose meter reader , I was given it for free from where I work but it’s true that the strips are more expensive than most, when my strips run out I will probably change to the cheaper Codefree meter as it does get expensive.

 

[Docb]

Hi SantaHolly. Can I say that you should stop testing and stop panicing!

With spot readings in the teens you really should be getting an appointment ASAP with your GP to get some full blood tests done. If, as is likely, these lead to a formal diagnosis of Diabetes then you will be put in the system and a proper plan drawn up to get your blood glucose back to more normal levels. First off you should get an appointment with a specialist nurse well before next April.

 

[SantaHolly]

thanks for your replies everyone.
I have a medical condition that makes me tremble at times so using strips would be very difficult .
I have brought some extra real strips off ebay at a cheaper price.
yesterday I had porridge for breakfast with Greek yogurt and some raspberries. I am now sure I had
twice as much porridge than I should have. so corrected that this morning, even got the scales out.
mid morning had an orange.
through the day I do suck on worthinghams sugar free sweets to help with my dry mouth.
lunch was egg with mushrooms and peas, followed my Greek yogurt and washed peaches from a tin.
dinner. brown rice with peas and broccoli and fish.
didn't eat anything after that. to scared to.

 

[Kaylz]

strips aren't all that difficult to use whilst trembling. been there many times with low blood sugars and visual troubles due to said lows
that seems like a lot of carbs, have you cut down any? just carbs are what diabetics struggle with
xx

 

[Ralph-YK]

Welcome to the forum Holly, from a fellow T2.
How long is it since you were diagnosed? Have you been put on any meds? Do you have results for a HbA1c test?
If you're newly diagnosed, or not been able to manage you're diabetes, then you're readings will be high.

after a break of no food I was still 11.7 at 8am.
after breakfast 14.9.

A rise of 3.2 from breakfast isn't that bad. Though a rise of 2.5 might be better.

My first reading yesterday morning was 17.

went to bed with a reading of 11.5

These readings on there own aren't that useful.

You're best testing before and 1 - 2 hours after eating. Keep a food diary along with a record of your levels. After a couple of weeks you should start to see a pattern. You'll then have an idea of what you can eat. And see any affects changes you make have.

 

[Drummer]

I'm afraid that, as a type two - if your practice is run on the same lines as mine - they don't really bother about type twos except to dole out prescriptions for tablets.
All you need to know about the right diet is avoid carbs - sugars and starches, particularly those from things such as rice and peaches, but bread, potatoes, pasta, pizza, porridge, are all high carb.
You can eat meat, fish, seafood, eggs cheese full fat plain yoghurt, and salad stuff such as cucumber celery radish tomato coleslaw - I buy bags of ready made salad, but check the carb content. Sometimes they even put sweetcorn in - a grain - not a salad vegetable at all. I also eat mushrooms, courgette, aubergine, sweet pepper - but keep to things below 11 percent carbs. Once or twice a week I have some frozen berries, with cream, often with sugar free jelly.
If you don't eat those high carb foods you should soon see a drop in your blood glucose levels.

 

[Drummer]

PS my level at diagnosis was 17.1 mmol/l - it came down to normal levels in about a week, but I went straight to low carb from that moment.

 

[SantaHolly]

so you are saying you can't eat brown rice or wholemeal pasta , they are no different to the white when it comes to carb content

 

[Drummer]

so you are saying you can't eat brown rice or wholemeal pasta , they are no different to the white when it comes to carb content

Well - yes - how would a few grams of fibre bring the carb content down to a safe level?

 

[trophywench]

Exactly Drummer - my and yours pancreas are completely unaware what colour the food is! LOL

 

[SantaHolly]

this morning I am still 13.4 and after breakfast 13.9.
have phoned 111 as I am very worried. they are going to ring me baci

 

[Kaylz]

this morning I am still 13.4 and after breakfast 13.9.
have phoned 111 as I am very worried. they are going to ring me baci

sorry to see this but I don't think there is much 11 can do for you, those aren't that high in regards to needing any hospital treatment or anything and there are a few members that have levels there occasionally xx

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome from me too.
Can you clarify if you have been diagnosed with Diabetes or you are self diagnosing as a result of buying a test meter? If you have been diagnosed can you tell us how that came about and what your HbA1c reading was and if you were prescribed any medication.

Please do not panic about these readings. Yes they are higher than you would like but they are not dangerous levels. If you were up at 25-30 then that would be the time to possibly be seeking urgent medical assistance but mid teens is a common-ish occurrence (much as I wish it wasn't) even for me using insulin. As long as you can identify why they are so high.... ie that you have eaten something high in carbs like porridge or bread or rice and yes even "healthy" wholemeal varieties. Some people can get away with small portions of these but others can't. The problem with the brown varieties is that they take a bit longer to release the glucose. I will get a spike in my BG which lasts 8-10hours after eating a wholemeal sandwich or pasta meal. Any carbs I eat at the next meal cause another spike in my BG which piggybacks onto that previous meal so my BG progressively steps higher after each meal and even by the following morning it may not have returned to normal.
There is an art to eating low carb and it takes a bit of getting your head around but one you learn which products to buy and how to prepare/cook them it gradually becomes easier until it is second nature. Fruit and fruit juice are other high carb foods which you need to be very careful of. Tropical fruits are usually higher carb than berries, so a few raspberries or strawberries are better than an orange or a banana or pineapple or peaches. Or try just eating half an orange and keeping the other half for another day.
Nuts and cheese and olives and boiled eggs are good low carb treats if you need something to fill you up.