Testing

[AlanC]

Only diagnosed with T2D on Monday, so only just coming to terms. Just wanted to ask a general question: do others use testing kits at all. Are they useful? Anyone got a quick view? Ta.

 

[Drummer]

I tested various foods to start off with, to see how I could cope with them - the answer for me is that I can't cope with many carbs at all and I don't have a high carb option. Some people find that some foods do not cause their blood glucose to spike, but it is only possible to find that out with a meter.
I have a Spirit Healthcare Tee 2 meter at the moment, as it is not expensive to buy the strips for it. They have a website, or you can phone them. As a type two diabetic you don't pay VAT in the meter etc.

 

[Jodee]

Hi Alan
Yes I am using a test kit, it helps as you will know what your blood glucose is doing before meals and after. Ideally no more than a 3 mmol rise after food.

You need to know what your current HBA1C is to start with so you can guage if what you are doing is working when you get the next HBA1C blood test done.

Reduced carbs and regular exercise help to bring blood glucose levels down (at least they did for me) along with metformin.

Codefree, is the one if purchasing, to keep costs down of strips, lancets and monitor. You could sound your doctor out to see if you can be prescribed one.

 

[Vonny]

Hi Alan, I was diagnosed in April and wish I'd bought a testing kit sooner. It wasn't until I came on the forum that I realised that different foods affect different people. I'd cut out carbs and started exercise, losing a stone, but when I got advice from these lovely people, I bought a Gluco Navii and am amazed at some of the spikes (and non-spikes) in my blood sugar that I didn't expect. Best of luck to you x

 

[Ralph-YK]

Yes, to see what affect food has. I did breakfast a couple of times once.

 

[grovesy]

Hi Alan, I was diagnosed in April and wish I'd bought a testing kit sooner. It wasn't until I came on the forum that I realised that different foods affect different people. I'd cut out carbs and started exercise, losing a stone, but when I got advice from these lovely people, I bought a Gluco Navii and am amazed at some of the spikes (and non-spikes) in my blood sugar that I didn't expect. Best of luck to you x

This meter is the newer version of the Codefree mentioned by @Jodie.

 

[trophywench]

Full name is the SD Gluco Navii

 

[rebrascora]

I replied to your intro thread with info on testing, but much the same as above.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Hello again @AlanC

Some members choose not to test, because they don’t find it particularly helps them, or they don’t like the idea, but for many members here a BG monitor quickly becomes an important part of their diabetes management toolkit.

One of the biggest questions when newly diagnosed is often ‘what can I eat’ and while there are obvious things like cakes, biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks that you will be wanting to cut out straight away, you might be surprised how much *all* carbohydrate affects your BG levels, including rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, pastry, grains, cereals and many fruits.

The really tricky thing is that blood glucose responses to various foods are highly individual, and it can be impossible to say which types and amounts of carbohydrate will ‘spike’ your BG without checking for yourself.

You can use a BG meter, taking a reading before and again 2hrs after eating, to see what the differences are, to identify any carbs that seem to be spiking BG (initially in a way the numbers themselves matter less than the differences between them). Once you can see how you respond to different meals you can begin experimenting with reducing amounts/portion sizes of carbs and trying different types (sometimes just having things at a different time of day makes a difference). Gradually tweaking and tailoring your menu to find one that suits your tastebuds, your waistline and your BG levels 🙂

As others have suggested, if you are self-funding it can make a huge difference to choose a meter with affordable strips as they can range from £8 per pot to £30 or more!

 

[leonS]

If you think that driving a car without being able to see out of the window is not a good idea, then you should realise that attempting to control diabetes without a meter is not a good idea either!

 

[Vonny]

As an example, tonight I had a small spoonful of stuffing with my chicken roast with lots of veg and no potato. I was 5.1 before and expected maybe 6.1 after. It was 8.3!! No more sage and onion for me! I wouldn't have known that without my monitor.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

I was 5.1 before and expected maybe 6.1 after. It was 8.3!!

There's an allowable error range. For real (as measured in a lab) values larger than 5.6, meters must be no more than +/- 15% at least 95% of the time. (Under that it's +/- 0.83 mmol/L.)

So 5.1 might really be close to 6.0 (or 4.3), and 6.1 might be around 7.0, and 8.3 could be around 7.0 really.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure the result is that your measurements quite likely don't actually mean much beyond that you went up a bit (somewhere between about 1 and 5 mmol/L, probably).

By all means skip the sage and onion if you like but if you really enjoy the stuffing I'd say go ahead and have it. I think there's a reasonable argument that the test results don't convincingly say much.

 

[trophywench]

When you make your own stuffing, the main component of it is breadcrumbs. Not sure exactly what Messrs Paxo use but it has to be similar.