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Hi
Diagnosed with T2 , 3 months ago, offered medication but decided to try lifestyle changes first.
Have lost 2.5 stone, struggling to understand
the mmL numbers on wrist monitor.
No help from GP surgery, Diabetes nurse is overwhelmed with patients.
Any advice/help appreciated.
I'm not sure a wrist monitor is of much use for giving an accurate reading of your blood glucose level which need to be from a actual finger prick sample of blood which is applied to a test strip inserted into a monitor.
Those monitors give a reading which is a moment in time and is given in mmol/l. The range people aim at is 4-7 fasting and before meals and no more than 8-8.5 2 hours post meal.
This is different from an HbA1C which basically is an average blood glucose over the previous 3 months and is in mmol/mol. Normal is below 42, prediabetic 42-47 and over that diabetic.
None of the various watches being advertised as measuring blood glucose actually work. They're generating graphs that look plausible for people who don't have diabetes, but they're of no actual value according to people with diabetes who've tried them and compared them against Dexcom. (There might one day be a watch that does work and I'm sure we'll all hear about it when that happens. But big companies have been trying for years without much success so I think it'll be a while. There's at least one invasive monitoring watch that I've seen described: the invasive bit sticks (or slots) on the underneath of the watch, and the projected price seemed to match that of CGMs.)
Thanks everyone for the replies. I purchased a Vitalfit monitor watch. It tells me I have 3 spikes a bay highest being 7.2 I will now be in touch with my GP and request the HbA1c average to be checked. I must say I feel I’ve been abandoned by the medical profession such a relief to find this site.
Thanks everyone for the replies. I purchased a Vitalfit monitor watch. It tells me I have 3 spikes a bay highest being 7.2 I will now be in touch with my GP and request the HbA1c average to be checked. I must say I feel I’ve been abandoned by the medical profession such a relief to find this site.
HbA1c is a routine blood test so I'm sure your GP won't mind being asked for that.
7.2 isn't really something to worry about. Studies on people without diabetes show their blood glucose fluctuates over time, easily going higher than 7.2 after a meal, sometimes.
Presuming the watch doesn't break your skin, it's not giving a measure of blood glucose since there's only one device I'm aware of that's available that can do non-invasive measurement which is the one Tim Cook was shown using once. Most likely yours isn't showing anything real at all.
Yes unfortunately many people are being targeted by advertising for products that simply don’t work.
Diabetes UK put this response together after a number of enquiries:
There is currently no regulation for this technology to be tested for accuracy in the same way that glucose sensors (CGM and Flash) are.
Where accuracy data is available and from customer reviews, this technology does not currently provide accurate enough data (especially for anyone living with type 1 diabetes)
People should continue to use the blood glucose monitoring equipment supplied by their diabetes teams.
If an individual with type 2 diabetes is considering purchasing one as a guide, they should discuss this with their diabetes healthcare professional. We should also make them aware of this GOV.UK webpage - Know what you're buying! which has information to help people buy medicines and medical devices online safely. Please note – this is not an endorsement of buying medicines/medical devices online – it is information on what people should look out for and check when looking at these products online
We would not recommend purchasing as a gift for a friend with diabetes
Needle-Free & Pain-Free, How Is This New Wearable Device Revolutionizing Blood Sugar Monitoring In The US
(link removed)
But it is it genuine? Besides measuring your BG (can a smart watch be accurate if not linked to a Libre or Dexcom?) it claims a whole array of capabilities! In addition to the Yankee spelling (and they dare think we named our country after their language) there are quite a few spelling and grammatical errors as you see in spam!
