Should I get a meter? Which one?

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Kaz34

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Hi I’m so confused about should I be testing everyday and if so should I buy machine and also which one . I have only been recently diagnosed with diabetes and I’m finding it all so overwhelming . After a very bad experience with metformin (side affects ) I have been put on a slow release so I’m hoping it will make me feel abit better . Please could someone help me with some advice about the testing machine . Many thanks
 
Kaz34 said:
Hi I’m so confused about should I be testing everyday and if so should I buy machine and also which one . I have only been recently diagnosed with diabetes and I’m finding it all so overwhelming . After a very bad experience with metformin (side affects ) I have been put on a slow release so I’m hoping it will make me feel abit better . Please could someone help me with some advice about the testing machine . Many thanks
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You have popped in on another tread but no matter.
What testing you do needs to be for a purpose to give you information about what dietary changes you need to make.
One thing many find very helpful is getting a home blood glucose monitor as it not only enables them to find out which foods they should definitely cut out but which foods they can tolerate and can be safely eaten. People adopt a testing regime to check out meals by testing before they eat and after 2 hours and would be looking for an increase of no more than 2-3mmol/l or no more than 8-8.5mmol/l 2 hour post meal. More than that and the meal is too carb heavy.
Testing to check on progress day to day week to week usually in the morning /fasting is also something people find useful.
A couple of monitors people find satisfactory are the GlucoNavii or TEE2, they have the cheaper test strips but worth shopping around.
 
Leadinglights said:
You have popped in on another tread but no matter.
What testing you do needs to be for a purpose to give you information about what dietary changes you need to make.
One thing many find very helpful is getting a home blood glucose monitor as it not only enables them to find out which foods they should definitely cut out but which foods they can tolerate and can be safely eaten. People adopt a testing regime to check out meals by testing before they eat and after 2 hours and would be looking for an increase of no more than 2-3mmol/l or no more than 8-8.5mmol/l 2 hour post meal. More than that and the meal is too carb heavy.
Testing to check on progress day to day week to week usually in the morning /fasting is also something people find useful.
A couple of monitors people find satisfactory are the GlucoNavii or TEE2, they have the cheaper test strips but worth shopping around.
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Thank you for the advice . Sorry about popping up on wrong thread . I’m a complete novice !
 
Hi Kaz

I’ve split your post and @Leadinglights reply into a separate thread so it doesn’t get lost or overlooked in that other conversation 🙂

Deciding whether you would find checking your own glucose levels helpful is a very decision really. Many members here find it a huge help - because while there are obvious things like cakes, biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks that you will want to cut out straight away after a diagnosis, you might be surprised how much *all* carbohydrate affects your BG levels, including rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, pastry, grains, cereals and many fruits.

But the tricky thing is that blood glucose responses to the same foods can vary a lot between different people, and it can be impossible to say which particular types and amounts of carbohydrate are best for you and which will ‘spike’ your BG without having a way of checking for yourself.

Using the before and after style of checking suggested above will give you confirmation of which foods suit you best, and which you have to keep to much smaller portions or just leave to spacial occasions 🙂

Over weeks and months of experimentation you can gradually tweak and tailor your menu to find one that suits your tastebuds, your waistline, your budget and your BG levels - and build a way of eating that is flexible enough to be sustainable long-term. 🙂

Good luck with it, and let us know what you decide to do.

Another affordable meter mentioned recently was the Contour Blue.
 
Kaz34 said:
Thank you for the advice . Sorry about popping up on wrong thread . I’m a complete novice !
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It is not a problem but just it may get overlooked, but it is now moved by one of the moderators, they are good at shifting things to a better place. You will soon get the hang of it.
 
Depends what you want.

I use a Contour Blue because of its connectivity (Bluetooth) and all the data gets uploaded to a portal that can produce reports. It also integrates with the health app on my phone and other apps that record blood glucose.

It also will let you have two attempts - if the first go fails to get enough blood, you can go again.

I do have a Contour Next, but the strips are double the price of the blue.
 
Kaz34 said:
Hi I’m so confused about should I be testing everyday and if so should I buy machine and also which one . I have only been recently diagnosed with diabetes and I’m finding it all so overwhelming . After a very bad experience with metformin (side affects ) I have been put on a slow release so I’m hoping it will make me feel abit better . Please could someone help me with some advice about the testing machine . Many thanks
Click to expand...
Other people will be better than me at suggesting brands of meters and they can be really helpful for getting on top of your diabetes. If you’re already feeling really overwhelmed with everything then it might be worth thinking about whether starting testing is the right thing for you now, and if it will help you feel more in control, or whether it will be even more overwhelming and something you might prefer to look into in the future.
 
The blood glucose meters recommended by my local hospital's Community Diabetes Service last November were (in random order):
Glucofix Tech
True Metrix
GlucoRx Nexus
Wavesense Jazz (Agamatrix)

Of those I chose the Wavesense Jazz - only to find that my doctor's surgery only had the Glucofix Tech in stock to be able to hand out to relevant patients, so I got that one! They are all much of a muchness, and if you can get the meter and the strips on the NHS, that would be excellent!
 
I would strongly recommend getting a meter. Between your HbA1c tests, it is the only tangible manifestation of the condition. You can see the impact of carbs, and you can measure your progress.

It allowed me to realise that pasta dramatically impacted my BG levels. Noodles sent it through the roof, but I could tolerate an extra spud!

In terms of what you buy, there are lots of good thoughts here, but like an expensive car, you need to think about the running costs, not the initial price. The test strips vary massively in price. My first meter was a lovely Accu Check Mobile, but the strips were about £20 for 50. If you measure 7 times a day (fasting then before and after three meals) those 50 strips will last a week - so around £80 per month just for strips. I don't use that many now, but when you first start testing that level of usage is quite possible.

I now use a Glucose Navii. I can get strips on their site with a discount code (navii5 for 20% off 5 boxes) for about £26 including postage. - so around £5.20 for 50 strips. It is nowhere near as nice as my Accu Check, but at least I can use it!!

Having said that the Contour Blue looks nice!

PS I hope my maths is right - not a strong point!
 
If you are self funding then the cost of the strips is important so bear that in mind when choosing a monitor. Some can be 4x the price of others and it is no good if the cost of strips stops you doing enough strategic testing.
 
John Gray said:
The blood glucose meters recommended by my local hospital's Community Diabetes Service last November were (in random order):
Glucofix Tech
True Metrix
GlucoRx Nexus
Wavesense Jazz (Agamatrix
Click to expand...

I personally wouldn't go with a glucoRx meter. Now this may just be experience and the meter listed there is a different make from the one listed there. But I discovered it didn't seem all that reliable. I posted a thread about this. I was given a glucorx q it by my hospital because I thought I lost my wavesense jazz and they were no longer supplied these. I use dexcom one and it's was almost always pretty close to what my blood suger meter when I using wavesense jazz even with out of range and numbers. But as soon as I started using the using the gulcorx meter I found it would show I was in range offen when dexcom was saying I was high we are told to trust meters over cgm but due to this being a rare occurrence with the wavesense jazz I got suspicious of it. I then found wave sense I did a test with the gulco rx q and then then a test with the wavesense jazz to compare. And found it dexcom and wave sense jazz both saying I was high 10.7 and 11.3(there are really not difference between these numbers) and gluco rx q saying I was in range at 7.7(I guess it's entirely possible for it right and dexcom and wavesense jazz both being out but hdppen to line up with each other but that seems unlikely to me). Like I said its only my experience but on my bief experience it's not something I would recommend.


To those that can if it's wrong of me to be saying this(@everydayupsanddowns?) then please delete it and appoljise if I shouldn't be.(I got bit unsure during typing)
 
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I have an Accuchek Instant. Admittedly, I get the test strips and lancets on prescription but I’ve seen the strips on sale for £15 for a box of 50. I only recently got my meter after being put on Gliclazide, which can cause hypos. It’s been a revelation to me. Ive discovered that I can’t eat bread (even whole meal), as it spikes my BS to 14-15 from a base of 7-8. I’ve found that I can eat a small portion of rice or pasta, so long as I have it with some meat in sauce. Last night I had Paella and my BS only went up to 9.1 afterwards. A meter is really good for finding out what you can and can’t eat. Having established that, you may not need to test so often and if self funding, not need to buy test strips as often.
 
rayray119 said:
I personally wouldn't go with a glucoRx meter. Now this may just be experience and the meter listed there is a different make from the one listed there. But I discovered it didn't seem all that reliable. I posted a thread about this. I was given a glucorx q it by my hospital because I thought I lost my wavesense jazz and they were no longer supplied these. I use dexcom one and it's was almost always pretty close to what my blood suger meter when I using wavesense jazz even with out of range and numbers. But as soon as I started using the using the gulcorx meter I found it would show I was in range offen when dexcom was saying I was high we are told to trust meters over cgm but due to this being a rare occurrence with the wavesense jazz I got suspicious of it. I then found wave sense I did a test with the gulco rx q and then then a test with the wavesense jazz to compare. And found it dexcom and wave sense jazz both saying I was high 10.7 and 11.3(there are really not difference between these numbers) and gluco rx q saying I was in range at 7.7(I guess it's entirely possible for it right and dexcom and wavesense jazz both being out but hdppen to line up with each other but that seems unlikely to me). Like I said its only my experience but on my bief experience it's not something I would recommend.


To those that can if it's wrong of me to be saying this(@everydayupsanddowns?) then please delete it and appoljise if I shouldn't be.(I got bit unsure during typing)
Click to expand...

Just want to add I could be wrong in this I have done another comparison test a little bit ago which was beter.
 
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