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Testing?

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CycleShell

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
At risk of diabetes
Hi,

I'm officially pre-diabetic. I think my blood test reading had actually crossed the line into the diabetic range but I've been given a few months to go away and try to lose weight and get the numbers down. (I have been here before about 3 years ago and managed it that time with diet and exercise, but since then I've changed job and have clearly let things slide.)

I'm finding it much harder this time, I've lost a bit of weight but not as much as I would like, and I know that I'm not doing as well as I should with my food choices.

I'm wondering about getting a meter so I can test myself regularly and maybe that will help to spur me on to do better, if I can see the impact of what I am eating in actual figures. I am the sort of person that likes plans and numbers and to know the ins and outs of things - and I'm also quite impatient, so it's not enough of an incentive for me to wait for a weekly weigh in - or a blood test months away - to see if I've achieved what I need to.

But I have no idea what I'm looking for in terms of meters - what should my criteria be? On Amazon they mostly seem to be the same sort of price (between £15 and £25 - apart from a stripless one at £70+) so are there any pointers other than price for choosing a good one?

Thanks for any advice!
 
The issue with meters is the cost of the strips. You’re quite right that there’s a lot of meters out there to choose from.The SD Gluco Navii and the Spirit Tee2 are often recommended here so I’d recommend looking at those.

And welcome to the forum @CycleShell 🙂
 
Hi welcome to the forum. The two meters @Inka mentioned are the two meters that self funders often choose due to the cost of the testing strips m they are around £8 for a pot of 50 rather than £15 to £25 for 50 . When you are doing in depth testing to see how the various carbohydrates affect you, cost is important.
Imo you only need a basic meter rather than the ones those of us on insulin may need .
Here is a link to Gluco navii it’s test strips and lancets .
We use the mmol/l measurement in the uk
You will need to buy more test strips , I suggest 2 pots to start with and a box of lancets .
Sorry I don’t have a link for the other one mentioned.


To find out which carbohydrates and how many we can tolerate this is how we do it.
Test just before eating , then two hours after the first bite, if you are no more than 3.0 higher afterwards that meal was fine for you. Don’t worry about high pre meal levels as gradually any changes yo find you need to make will start bringing them down, ie pre meal 10.0 , 2hrs post meal 12.9 that meal was ok , honest.
Some people also test as soon as they wake in the morning and last thing at night , but that is entirely up to you.
 
Thanks @Ljc that is all useful stuff.
It seems strange to say this about something which involves making yourself bleed, but I am looking forward to getting a meter and hopefully starting to work out some of the parameters of what I can eat and what I really mustn't. I need to get on top of this!
(and I'm in awe of those of you on insulin, just a glance at some of the calculations people mention completely blows my mind, and I consider myself pretty good with numbers.)
 
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Thanks @Ljc that is all useful stuff.
It seems strange to say this about something which involves making yourself bleed, but I am looking forward to getting a meter and hopefully starting to work out some of the parameters of what I can eat and what I really mustn't. I need to get on top of this!
(and I'm in awe of those of you on insulin, just a glance at some of the calculations people mention completely blows my mind, and I consider myself pretty good with numbers.)
Remember to tick the box as diabetic and you won't need to pay VAT.
 
Hi @CycleShell, welcome to the forum.

Just popping in to say hi 🙂. Getting a meter is super helpful and give you the information needed to make informed decisions.

It's hard to advise as everyone ahs a different criteria but do consider the ongoing cost of the strips.

The page below has some info on testing and what you need to now. If we can help in any way, please just ask.

 
Thanks @Ljc that is all useful stuff.
It seems strange to say this about something which involves making yourself bleed, but I am looking forward to getting a meter and hopefully starting to work out some of the parameters of what I can eat and what I really mustn't. I need to get on top of this!
(and I'm in awe of those of you on insulin, just a glance at some of the calculations people mention completely blows my mind, and I consider myself pretty good with numbers.)
It’s relatively easy once you know how lol
 
Hello and welcome, I hope you find the advice helpful.
 
Welcome to the forum @CycleShell

Look forward to hearing how you get on with whichever meter you choose.

Try not to worry too much about the actual numbers to begin with, as @Ljc suggests, if you can get the meal rises to be relatively modest (usually by limiting the portion size of carbohydrates), your overall levels will come down gradually over time.

Many forum members over the years have found Test, Review, Adjust by Alan S a helpful framework for using a meter to improve results around eating.

Let us know how things go!
 
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