• Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
  • We seem to be having technical difficulties with new user accounts. If you are trying to register please check your Spam or Junk folder for your confirmation email. If you still haven't received a confirmation email, please reach out to our support inbox: support.forum@diabetes.org.uk

New to this

Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Z

Zosoche

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi, I was diagnosed just before Christmas, so decided to ignore everything until Jan. I've done dry January and have been sober week days in Feb (Man that sounds bad) I have been going to the gym and have cut down on carbs, but not lost any weight, although I do feel better in myself. Early Jan the nurse set me up with a tester and I average 8.4 and my long range test was 95. I test about 3-4 times a day and keep a food diary, but I don't know what to do with this info?
 
Zosoche said:
Hi, I was diagnosed just before Christmas, so decided to ignore everything until Jan. I've done dry January and have been sober week days in Feb (Man that sounds bad) I have been going to the gym and have cut down on carbs, but not lost any weight, although I do feel better in myself. Early Jan the nurse set me up with a tester and I average 8.4 and my long range test was 95. I test about 3-4 times a day and keep a food diary, but I don't know what to do with this info?
Click to expand...
Welcome to the forum Zosoche, I am glad that you have found us.

The purpose of testing is to find the impact of certain foods on your BG. The focus tends to be on the carbs as that is what gets converted to glucose inside you. These come in the obvious form such as sugar, biscuits and cakes but also potatoes (and all root veg), rice, pasta and also from fruit.

If you test before your meal, and again 2 hours after the meal, and record these readings alongside the amount of carbs that you ate at that meal. This can come from weighing the foods you cook, and/or reading the info on the back of packets. Your aim is for your post meal reading to be the same as your pre meal. If it is higher than the premeal then your body has not processed all the glucose in your blood, which has come from the carbs you ate. You mention that you have already reduced your carbs. Have you calculated how much you eat at each meal. If your body is not clearing these, then you may need to reduce the amount.

You can also help your body to cope with carbs if you opt for slow release versions, such as brown rather white rice, low GI bread ( such as Bergen) rather white loaves, although many find they simply need to avoid such foods. Through testing you can work out what you need to do. It will be different for each person. It may sound like a lot of work at the start but you soon become a carb expert. (Name me a biscuit and I can tell you the carbs. Attending too many meetings with biscuits there and me, as a T1, needing to stuff in a bit of insulin to match.)

For ‘sober’ I am reading alcolhol free days. We do the same and only have alcohol Fri, Sat and Sun, although I have found a glass of wine in front of me because of my OH’s adaptation of this rule for when we are programme that was recorded at the weekend!!!
 
The usual guideline is no more than a two whole numbers (in mmol/l) increase in two hours, having taken the first reading just before the meal.
I found that getting below 8 mmol/l was the turning point. Once I reduced the carbs to the point where I did not exceed 8 my metabolism began to change. I stuck to the same foods, all under 11 percent carbs, except for small amounts of chocolate. After that my number reduced down to normal, though with some bouncing about at first.
Having tested low GI foods - it makes very little difference for me.
I can't help with the alcohol, I saw too many people drinking far too much in my days at the Polytechnic and although I do have a drink once in a while, it is just one, and a small one at that.
 
Zosoche said:
Hi, I was diagnosed just before Christmas, so decided to ignore everything until Jan. I've done dry January and have been sober week days in Feb (Man that sounds bad) I have been going to the gym and have cut down on carbs, but not lost any weight, although I do feel better in myself. Early Jan the nurse set me up with a tester and I average 8.4 and my long range test was 95. I test about 3-4 times a day and keep a food diary, but I don't know what to do with this info?
Click to expand...

Have a look at
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/managing-your-diabetes/testing

(Ignore the rise of two.
If you are low to start, say four, a rise of two gives you a ceiling of only six.
The link to the site advice obviously is correct)
 
Drummer said:
The usual guideline is no more than a two whole numbers (in mmol/l) increase in two hours, having taken the first reading just before the meal.
I found that getting below 8 mmol/l was the turning point. Once I reduced the carbs to the point where I did not exceed 8 my metabolism began to change. I stuck to the same foods, all under 11 percent carbs, except for small amounts of chocolate. After that my number reduced down to normal, though with some bouncing about at first.
Having tested low GI foods - it makes very little difference for me.
I can't help with the alcohol, I saw too many people drinking far too much in my days at the Polytechnic and although I do have a drink once in a while, it is just one, and a small one at that.
Click to expand...

As a guitarist I am more confused by a Drummer that doesn't drink than by all the carb counting!
 
Another question if I may. I'm using the "OneTouch Select Plus" tester, as provided by the doctor, but I keep getting strip not working messages, sometimes I use 3 strips per test. Do others have a problem like this. It is not everytime but frequent, Not a big problem but frustrating.
 
Zosoche said:
Another question if I may. I'm using the "OneTouch Select Plus" tester, as provided by the doctor, but I keep getting strip not working messages, sometimes I use 3 strips per test. Do others have a problem like this. It is not everytime but frequent, Not a big problem but frustrating.
Click to expand...
I don’t use that machine, but every test kit I use has the odd hiccough. It is irritating but just happens sometimes. Perhaps with the electronics inside the business end of the strips it just gets made badly.

Sometimes I can con the test kit, by just taking the strip out, waiting a moment and then putting it in again.
 
Is the error message before you apply the blood or after? If before, try reinserting as SB2015 says above. An occasional duff strip happens, if it is happening a lot from one pot, might be worth asking the issuing pharmacy for a replacement.
If the error is after applying blood, could be your technique as a new tester! Make sure you have a flashing blood drop symbol before you add blood (I am not familiar with your meter, but think most of them show this as an indication ready to test), or maybe you are not applying enough blood in one go.
Good luck!
 
Zosoche said:
Another question if I may. I'm using the "OneTouch Select Plus" tester, as provided by the doctor, but I keep getting strip not working messages, sometimes I use 3 strips per test. Do others have a problem like this. It is not everytime but frequent, Not a big problem but frustrating.
Click to expand...
I had that at first, I wasn’t getting enough blood on first go
 
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Back
Top