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Monitoring

P

Preload

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Morning all. I'm a T2 and have trouble monitoring my glucose levels and looking for a device to check as the GP doesn't supply one as being a T2.
Which brand would you recommend?

Also what level would I be if insulin is needed as the nurse is very vague so not helpful.

Thanks
 
If it is a meter you are looking for GlucoNavii, TEE2 and Contour Blue are usually the cheaper ones with cheaper test strips - they can be found on Amazon
 
Preload said:
Also what level would I be if insulin is needed as the nurse is very vague so not helpful.
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I have seen treatment flowcharts for T2 that go along the lines of adding various oral meds over 3 stages lasting 3-6 months each stage and only considering insulin if your individual target is not reached after the third stage. So this could be 9 - 18 months after initial diagnosis. The target could be an HbA1c of 53 or less, but this would be an individual target set by your GP and/or diabetes HCP.

As a guide, an HbA1c of 53 equates to an average BG reading of 8.5.

Hope this helps!
 
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Eternal422 said:
I have seen treatment flowcharts for T2 that go along the lines of adding various oral meds over 3 stages lasting 3-6 months each stage and only considering insulin if your individual target is not reached after the third stage. So this could be 9 - 18 months after initial diagnosis. The target could be an HbA1c of 53 or less, but this would be an individual target set by your GP and/or diabetes HCP. Hope this helps!
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Thanks. It does help a bit as I get the feeling all the diabetes nurses etc have different criteria on what necessary
 
Preload said:
Morning all. I'm a T2 and have trouble monitoring my glucose levels and looking for a device to check as the GP doesn't supply one as being a T2.
Which brand would you recommend?

Also what level would I be if insulin is needed as the nurse is very vague so not helpful.

Thanks
Click to expand...
What are the difficulties you are having with monitoring your levels? Do you currently have a BG (Blood Glucose) meter to test finger prick blood?
The Gluco Navii and Spirit Tee2 have been recommended on this forum for many years for reliability and economy of use for those self funding.
I would not recommend a CGM (Constant Glucose Monitor) unless you already have a BG meter because there are times when you need to double check it otherwise it could cause unnecessary anxiety and CGM's are more expensive.
What are you hoping to gain from self testing? This is a really important question. Many people here on the forum use it to see which foods cause too much of a rise in BG levels and use that information to tailor their diet by reducing portion sizes or avoiding those foods which cause too much BG upheaval. They do this by testing just before a meal and then 2 hours afterwards and adjust portion sizes of the carbs in that meal to keep the rise in BG to less than 3 whole units(mmols/l) but ideally less than 2mmols. Once you build up a repertoire of meals which don't cause too much problem to your levels then you need to test less and just new meals or foods. Let's face it, many of us eat the same breakfast most mornings and a variation on just a few lunch options, so you can usually build up a basic menu to select from by testing over a couple of months.
 
I haven't any type of device so I don't have clue what affects me. It's as you say I'm looking to monitor what foods alter the readings and being honest seeing what I can get away with every now and then. I just want a reliable unit with easily available test strips. There so many different types and brands all at differing prices and i cannot see what the advantage is having a £80 over a £20 unit
 
If you are self funding, then it is the cost of the test strips that you mostly need to look at because that is where over time the costs add up and some pots of test strips can be 3x the price of others. For the testing that you are looking to do, then the meters mentioned above are available to buy online and have some of the cheapest test strips and will easily do the job you need. You would be well advised to order 2 or 3 additional pots of 50 test strips as the meter kit only comes with 10 which you will get through very rapidly especially as you will likely spoil a few until you develop a good technique. You may also want to purchase a spare box of lancets as they are supposed to be single use but many of us reuse them multiple times and indeed, I change my lancet once a year, provided that I am only using it on myself, so the 10 in the kit would probably last me 10 years! It depends how scrupulous you want to be. I have never had an infection from reusing a lancet and I have tested many thousands of times.
There are slightly cheaper ones on the market like the Kinetic and the Sinocare but people have reported having some issues with those so I would recommend sticking with the options which have been tried and tested by members of the forum and found to be reliable.
 
I have used a few brands, and stuck with Contour Blue in the end (Not the Contour Next, as the strips are expensive, although it's a nice device.)

I like it because the app synchronises the readings via bluetooth and it's all integrated with Apple health (On iPhones) and can then be read by other apps like mySugr.
 
Preload said:
I just want a reliable unit with easily available test strips. There so many different types and brands all at differing prices and i cannot see what the advantage is having a £80 over a £20 unit
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Some offer some extra functions (eg Bluetooth connectivity or a fancy app). As @rebrascora says it’s the cost of the ongoing strips that can really build up the £££. The brands that @mashedupmatt mentioned - the Gluco Navii, Spirit Tee2, and Contour Blue seem to have a good reputation on the forum. Their strips are £8-10 for a pot of 50, whereas some premium brands can be £20-30 a pot!

There are ultra-cheap options, but some of those can be a little variable in terms of consistency of results.

Getting a reliable meter with relatively affordable strips can be a real help in the early months when you might want to be working through a range of different meals and sources of carbs and checking each of them a few times with before / after checks.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Some offer some extra functions (eg Bluetooth connectivity or a fancy app). As @rebrascora says it’s the cost of the ongoing strips that can really build up the £££. The brands that @mashedupmatt mentioned - the Gluco Navii, Spirit Tee2, and Contour Blue seem to have a good reputation on the forum. Their strips are £8-10 for a pot of 50, whereas some premium brands can be £20-30 a pot!

There are ultra-cheap options, but some of those can be a little variable in terms of consistency of results.

Getting a reliable meter with relatively affordable strips can be a real help in the early months when you might want to be working through a range of different meals and sources of carbs and checking each of them a few times with before / after checks.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply. I'm looking at those mentioned however that is available in a local shop
 
Preload said:
Thanks for the reply. I'm looking at those mentioned however that is available in a local shop
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If you are buying from a local shop then do check the price of test strips for that monitor as they are not interchangeable. On line is usually cheaper but not always but worth checking.
 
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