High blood sugar level and insulin resistant so I’m on metformin - only just starting my journey got told I wouldn’t be at risk of hypos or need to monitor my blood sugars but I find this even more confusing when trying to decide what to eat!
Welcome to the forum
@Amanda733
Great to hear about the positive changes you have made already!
It’s quite common to be told you
don‘t need to test if you are not at risk of hypos, but for many on the forum hypo risk os just a small part of the helpful information that a BG meter can give.
An HbA1c is a great way of monitoring overall glucose concentrations over a period of 3-4 months, but it’s much less good at providing immediate feedback on how your body responds to particular food choices. For example, which fruits suit your metabolism? Are you OK with an apple? How about an orange? What about a banana? Potentially a similar amount of carbs in each, but some people‘s gut biome and genetic make-up can make one push their BGs through the roof, while another gives only a modest wobble.
And the same is true of other sources of carbs too. Bread? Cereal? Rice? Pasta? Oats? What portion sizes suit you? Which sources of carb is your body happiest with?
You can take a reading immediately before eating, and again 2hrs later. Ideally you’d want to see a rise of no more than 2-3mmol/L between the two readings. If you see a bigger rise try a smaller portion, or perhaps swap to a different source of carb.
If you want to try this method, the most affordable meters members here have found are the
SD Gluco Navii or the
Spirit Tee2 - which both have test strips at around £10 for 50. Some meter brands can have strips that cost 3x that much!
