Type 2 and Daily Testing

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  • posted by Mrs S
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    Today was my first day on the BSD and so far so good 😊
    I was wondering though, how many of you test your sugar levels daily. My doctors claim it’s not necessary if I’m only taking Metformin and not on insulin. The only support I have is a yearly clinic and blood test with fasting. What are your experiences. My yearly readings are usually between 7 and 9.
    Look forward to hearing from you x

  • posted by catlady
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    Hi Mrs.S, I’ve just started the diet too, and haven’t tested my bloods for years, but I think I will start , just so I know when they are falling so that I can start to reduce medication. My yearly readings are between 7.5 and 8, last one was 7.9 earlier this month, so my control is quite good, I do worry about hypos though. Do you know your signs for when you are going low-(confusion, sweating, mild panic or whatever)? Perhaps if you are aware of these, you can estimate drops? I’m so new to this diet, I’d be glad to hear what other people think as well x

  • posted by nettyrim
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    Hi. Well done on starting the diet. I test several times a day because otherwise I don’t know how foods are affecting you. The diet has helped my fasting glucose drop from 8 to 5.2 this morning. I would recommend buying one and trying to get the strips from your doctor.

  • posted by Mrs S
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    Hi catlady, and nettyrim 😊 didn’t think I could get hypos when only taking Metformin?And I agree Nettyrimm about not knowing how food is affecting me, it seems common sense to test but apparently not to my doctor. When pushed I was told they would supply a monitor but I would have to buy my own strips does this sound like your experience?

  • posted by nettyrim
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    HI, Mrs S. It was the other way round for me, I bought a monitor then asked them for strips. I think if you look on the diabetes uk website there is some info about getting strips from your doctor. They are I think supposed to give you them. I think I told my doctor that monitoring would help me with my control. A yearly test really isnt good enough, especially with the diet they recommend.

  • posted by captainlynne
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    Hi. I move around the country a lot so have seen gps in different areas. Occasionally they’ve prescribed test strips but always discontinue doing so. It’s easy to get a free meter from the manufacturer because they know you’ll need to buy their strips. Let’s just say I’ve had some ‘interesting discussions’ with gps and diabetes nurses about this over the years. My current diabetes nurse says she’s hearing from lots if type 2s now that they should be given the strips and that the practice should listen. I’m not holding my breath!

  • posted by catlady
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    My doctor is quite happy to supply the monitor and the strips, I’ve just been lazy about testing because everything was a status quo. Now however….? Mrs.S, as to hypos, I did get them when just on metformin, if for example I missed a meal, or moved furniture etc. I’m wondering if this low calorie intake will mimic the effect of overexertion, ie burn up all the sugars too quickly. I’ll keep you posted!

  • posted by Fi
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    I live in Ireland and we get free monitors, test strips and needles and have been told by the hospital clinic to test every day. However, I test about twice a week which I think is fine. We have to take our book to the clinic appointments but sometimes they don’t look at them. I wouldn’t want to rely on the once a year test as you need to know whether your readings are going up (or down!) so that you can do something about it straight away.

  • posted by Mrs S
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    Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences…think I need to speak to my gp again and see if I can be a bit more persuasive. I’m guessing its probably up to individual practises how they allocate their money and test strip are obviously not on my gps agenda! And thanks nettyrim I’ll have a look on diabetes uk to see what they advise x

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