Newbie with questions

[nic wenham]

Hi all.

My name is nic, i'm 46 years old, 175kgs and have type 2.

I was told I had diabetes 3 years ago. I was already in a bad place mentally and although I cut out sugars, lack of advice at the time and me not looking into it myself, I was not aware of the issue with carbs'.

Again, due to my state of mind I ignored 3 requests for blood check ups. - I know, idiot.
2 weeks ago I eventually crashed with a chest infection, blood poisioning and cellulitis in my leg.
I've just come out of hospital and am now on Novo-4 dose and Levemir-6 dose as well as metformin-1000mg twice a day. I was told that my long term blood sugar level (CT1S?) was 158! which I'm scared, and amazed by. So to try and get on track ASAP, I've all but cut out carb's for now, cut down portion sizes etc and am really focused to get my life back.

My problems or at least confusion / questions are these:
When checking my blood sugar levels before meals, I never seem to get the same reading twice if I take it more than once at a time, sometimes it can vary by as much as 5 points?
Is this because the "Jazz" unit I have been given is poor?
Secondly, even with carefully considered meals with very little or no carbs my BS is bouncing all over the place; anywhere between 8-15 during the day. Might this be because I'm still battling the infection?
I have even tried increasing my dose from 4 to 6 of my Novo to try and bring my BS down nearer the suggested 4-5 but it seemed to make no difference.

I know it's early stages but I'm scared that things aren't right. I've tried getting hold of the Diabetres Nurse at the hospital but I get no call back. I'm hoping someone on here can help, advise or at least reassure.

Many thanks, Nic.

 

[HOBIE]

Welcome nic ! You are doing the right thing straight away "cutting down on carbs" . If I were you I would go for short walks everyday & be as active as possible. Really good luck & keep Hydrated.🙂

 

[nic wenham]

Thanks for the welcome Hobie.
Can you offer any advice / insight regarding my questions or am I asking questions that are too specific?
Reading some of the other posts, it appears that everybodies symptoms and reactions to food and drugs are different.

 

[Mark T]

Yes, an infection does make you numbers a bit unstable!

Is there any pattern to when you measure 15 and when 8?

With regards accuracy, most meters are +/-10% as I understand. I don't know the Jazz meter, but I'd be surprised if they gave you one that was not meeting current standards.

Yes you can get a variability if you do two readings at once! Its something to do with the glucose not being distributed homogeneously plus the fact you are measuring interstitial fluid not blood directly. Personally I don't get hung up over it.

 

[ClaudiaKiwi]

Hey Nic
I’m pretty new at this too ! I was diagnosed about 6 weeks ago now and what a journey eh ! I don’t have all the answers you are seeking but I can say that your blood glucose levels will likely bounce around a little as you have an infection and also if you have just made changes to your diet by carb cutting etc I think it takes a while for levels to settle as such. Mine were up and down quite a lot to begin with but the hospital team told me they wanted my levels to reduce slowly and not all at once. A few weeks on and on a low to no carb diet I can see the difference. I’m still struggling with some things but am learning daily. It can all be a bit scary can’t it but I know people on here are great and offer such awesome and clear advice. You are definitely not on your own and I have asked some questions that I have thought oh crikey they might think I’m a total egg but nope someone has always helped. Absolutely brilliant.
Take care !