Looking for a blood glucose monitor and other questions

[Dyrck]

Hi Everyone, my name is Dyrck and I have recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I am currently working my way up to 2000mg of Metformin and have significantly altered my diet. I have an online meeting with a dietician happening in a week or two.

When diagnosed my HbA1c was 99 mmol/mol and a second test revealed my fasting plasma glucose to be 13.3mmols/L. I have a BMI of 22 but I'm a skinny bloke with a fat belly, so BMI isn't the whole truth.

As I haven't as yet had any specific instruction on how much to reduce my carbohydrate intake by I am currently aiming for under 120gms a day and I'm just about achieving that. So my first question, is that low enough?

My second question, is it worth buying a blood glucose monitor? If so, do you have any recommendations, as reading reviews online would suggest they are of variable quality.

And thirdly, any other advice would be warmly welcomed.

Thank you in anticipation.

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi Welcome to the forum.
Absolutely worth buying a blood glucose monitor - would you drive your car without a speedometer.
Inexpensive monitor with the cheapest test strips are the GlucoNavil or TEE2 from Amazon or similar It is worth buying extra strips at the same time as you only get a few in the kit. They all have to conform to a standard.
Reducing carbs to 120g per day is a good start but it is recommended to reduce gradually to avoid damage to small blood vessels and eyes so reduce by one third for a couple of weeks, then another third until you get to where you need to be.
By testing with your monitor the effect of meals you can make better food choices. You should test before you eat and after 2 hours and don't want to see more than a 2-3mmol/l increase and aim at post meal of no more than 8.5mmol/l.
As you are a normal weight when you reduce your carbohydrates you should increase protein and healthy fats otherwise you may lose weight.
It will be a good idea to make a food diary of everything you eat and drink with an estimate of the TOTAL carb then you know where your starting point is for reducing them. You can use just a pen and paper but there are various apps people use.

 

[Nannawainey]

Hi
Yes defo worth getting a monitor I asked the same question on here and it was an overwhelming do it! I got the gluco navii and only had it a few days but have found it a valuable tool in the T2 box...currently test 4 times a day , breakfast , lunch etc...and its helping me understand how what I eat affects my levels and I'm learning slowly..to but things right (ish) got mine from Home Health uk .

 

[andyp64]

I have a sinocure activ-test I got from Amazon. It's nice and simple - an important factor for me.
The only real issue I have is getting new test strips. I can get them in 25 or 50 patches OK but they always come with lancets - I now have a glut of lancets spare and nothing to do with them! Frustrating as I feel I'm paying extra for something I don't need and I hate the idea of extra plastic waste.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Dyrck

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis, but great to read that you are tackling it head-on.

Yes many members find it very useful to have a meter so that they can see the effect of different portions and types of carb, and the effects of any carb moderation and/or swaps.

Two popular brands among forum self-funders are the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Tee2 - which both have test strips at around £8 for 50. Some meter brands cost more like £25+ for a pot of strips, which would soon add up if doing the before-and-after checks that can be so helpful.

You may also find test-review-adjust by Alan S a helpful read, which describes his approach to adjusting his menu.

If you are looking for ideas to help with your low carb meals, Diabetes UK have developed this low card meal plan (approx 130g carbs per day).

Low-carb diet and meal plan

Eating a low-carb diet means cutting down on the amount of carbohydrates (carbs) you eat to less than 130g a day. But low-carb eating shouldn’t be no-carb eating. Some carbohydrate foods contain essential vitamins, minerals and fibre, which form an important part of a healthy diet.

www.diabetes.org.uk

There‘s no one size fits all amount of carbs that works for everyone - different people have very different tolerances and sensitivities to both the overall total, and also specific types. These don’t always make logical sense, so it’s really a voyage of discovery, experimentation and working-things-out-as-you-go-along.

Good luck, and keep us posted 🙂

 

[Dyrck]

Thank you all for your comments and advice. A blood glucose monitor will soon be winging my way.
Stay healthy everyone.

 

[Mooshogi]

Hello , I was recently told by a friend whose Mum is type 2 to ask my doctor or diabetic nurse for a monitor . I was diagnosed 1 week ago but haven't seen anyone about diabetes yet .

 

[Leadinglights]

Hello , I was recently told by a friend whose Mum is type 2 to ask my doctor or diabetic nurse for a monitor . I was diagnosed 1 week ago but haven't seen anyone about diabetes yet .

You may be lucky but many GP won't prescribe monitors for Type 2 unless on certain medications which could cause hypos. Short sighted attitude in my opinion.

 

[Mooshogi]

https://www.contournextone.co.uk/register_uk/ My friend gave me this link to get a free monitor ,you could check it out before you buy one from Amazon

 

[Windy]

https://www.contournextone.co.uk/register_uk/ My friend gave me this link to get a free monitor ,you could check it out before you buy one from Amazon

The cost of test strips adds up, might be worth seeing if it's cheaper to buy a gluco navii etc if you're having to self fund strips.
I got the nurse to show me how to use the one I bought, and she said they could have given me one, so maybe it's on a GP surgery by surgery basis? She also said to only use 3 test strips a week, and I test a lot more than that, so I wonder if I'd have been able to get as many new test strips on prescription as I use.

 

[Mooshogi]

This site says you can ask your doctor if you can get the strips for it on prescription .

 

[PattiEvans]

https://www.contournextone.co.uk/register_uk/ My friend gave me this link to get a free monitor ,you could check it out before you buy one from Amazon

They give you the free meter so you will buy their strips. So the meter is free, but the strips are more expensive than the Tee2 or Gluconavii by quite a considerable amount. Many GPs are reluctant to prescribe strips for T2s.

 

[Mooshogi]

They give you the free meter so you will buy their strips. So the meter is free, but the strips are more expensive than the Tee2 or Gluconavii by quite a considerable amount. Many GPs are reluctant to prescribe strips for T2s.

OK thanks , think I'll just wait and see if doctor says I need a meter then .

 

[trophywench]

Hello , I was recently told by a friend whose Mum is type 2 to ask my doctor or diabetic nurse for a monitor . I was diagnosed 1 week ago but haven't seen anyone about diabetes yet .

If you haven't seen anybody - who the heck diagnosed you? Who even prepared the form that said you needed and HbA1C blood test? - or decided you needed one?

 

[Leadinglights]

OK thanks , think I'll just wait and see if doctor says I need a meter then .

If you have been diagnosed as either diabetic or 'at risk' then getting a monitor is an important aspect of getting your blood glucose levels managed and most people would regard it as money well spent even if you have to self fund.
I have seen e-bay have the GlucoNavil at £10 and £6.99 for 50 strips so if you test before and after 3 meals per day and first thing in the morning that would be less than £1 per day for strips. You many only need to go that for a while until you determine what foods you can tolerate.

 

[Mooshogi]

If you haven't seen anybody - who the heck diagnosed you? Who even prepared the form that said you needed and HbA1C blood test? - or decided you needed one?

My doctor diagnosed me after high glucose levels were found in my urine tests then had blood tests done .

 

[Mooshogi]

I haven't seen a diabetic nurse yet or been to a clinic ,I have an appointment for a foot clinic in March . My Doctor said he was going to make me appointments for eye clinic and diabetes clinic but haven't heard from them yet . I'm on Metformin and Alogliptin .

 

[Mooshogi]

If you haven't seen anybody - who the heck diagnosed you? Who even prepared the form that said you needed and HbA1C blood test? - or decided you needed one?

I didn't say I hadn't seen anyone

 

[Dyrck]

After the advice I got in this thread I have bought Gluco Navii. It cost me under £30 for the machine and its accessories, 100 test strips and 100 lancets. I have only had it a few days but it has already given me a much better insight into how my body reacts to carbs. Much more for me to learn but I am finding the information this provides really useful.

I am also using an app/website called Nutracheck, which tracks calories and all the major nutrients including carbs. It's British made and recognises all the packaging barcodes I have shown it so far. It also knows about dishes in restaurants etc. It's a subscription ( a free week is available) but I find it really useful.

Thanks again for the initial advice I was given at the top of this thread. My glucose level was 8 when I first got up this morning but has been between 6 and 7 since 9:30, (chilli con carne and cauliflower rice for lunch) which I am taking as a modest win as it was 13.3 on my fasting test a couple of weeks ago.

 

[rebrascora]

This site says you can ask your doctor if you can get the strips for it on prescription .

I am Type 1 so my GP has to prescribe test strips because I use insulin but they will not prescribe the Contour Next One test strips because they are too expensive. It is false economy from a users perspective to get a free meter and then find the strips are twice the price of some others. It is a marketing ploy on the part of the company and a waste of resources if you then ditch the meter for a one with cheaper test strips, so potentially bad for the environment too.
I would also steer you towards the Gluco Navii or the Spirit Tee2 as they are economical to use due to low test strip price and known to be reliable as many members here have bought and used them for many years. Some people here on the forum have experienced problems with the Sinocare and at least 2 reported sending it back for a refund, from what I can remember, so I would be less confident of that one. The Contour Next One is a really nice meter as it is small and neat but will be very expensive to fund and the others mentioned will do the job just as well.