Re: Advise please on self testing blood glucose.

MC, I have been diabetic for over 30 years ( type 1, which means I don't produce any insulin myself, where type just 2 don't produce enough). Your nurse us right in saying that injecting insulin is is a much better way to control it, but it is essential that you get your dosage right...... and that is down to regular blood testing, so get into the habit of using your blood test strips. Here are a few tips.......

1) Try to get hold of a book that tells you how many carbs foods contain, and always read the carb content of any of any foods you buy. it takes a while but you eventually learn how much insulin you need to balance with how many carbs you eat.

2) Try to eat high fibre foods because you absorb them more slowly( I hope you like veg because they fill you up and are usually high fibre).

3) If you inject insulin always keep glucose to hand, in case you make a slight miscalculation, because if you have a hypo it will restore your sugar levels. I always keep Lucozade at home, because that helps, but there are lots of alternatives you can use.

4) All the medical staff will give you lots of good advice, but it is general advice. You are an individual so it is really down to you to learn what you need. For example, I know that if I have 2 slices of toast each morning my BS levels will be good at lunchtime with just 9 units of insulin at breakfast, but if I do a supermarket shop that morning, my B/S levels will be much lower. I can correct this by injecting less insulin that morning, or putting jam on my toast

There is no fool proof method got dealing with diabetes, but I have found that always carrying my blood test kit and a supply of sugar or glucose really helps to control it.
Don't worry about the jabs, they don't really hurt and, if they did, I wouldn't sit eating ,my dinner thinking " Hmmm did I remember to have my jab?"

I test my blood sugars before every meal and adjust my insulin a little if it is above 8.. so I am always starting B/S level that is normal. I must be doing something right, because over 30 years I haven't suffered any of the health problems that that diabetics often do!

Re: Advise please on self testing blood glucose.

MC I agree with everything Twink says as we are both the same Type 1 for over 30 years and we do the same things.

Have you looked at the Diabetes website?

Re: Advise please on self testing blood glucose.

www.diabetes.co.uk

Re: Advise please on self testing blood glucose.

Hi Twink and Susie. Thankyou so much for the advice. This diabetes thing looks complicated till I can work it all out so the info I've been given is really helpful.
I've joined the web site as you suggested and will start reading through the articles there.
Thanks
Alain

Re: Advise please on self testing blood glucose.

That's good MC, the website will help you.

Any question feel free to ask.

Re: Advise please on self testing blood glucose.

MC, If you decide to use insulin you need to be very observant of how you are feeling. Being tired, slurring your words, getting irritable or any other unusual behavior... means your blood sugars could be low and you will need to check and eat/drink something sweet ( preferably glucose), if it is lower than 5

You will get used to it, but it can be difficult at first, and a hypoglycemic attack can be dangerous..... so never be afraid of checking blood sugars too much.

Just remember, if you can't ask a nurse, Susie, myself, and I am sure a few others , are here to help.

Re: Advise please on self testing blood glucose.

Your Diabetic Nurse should have given you a Record book, that you can record all your readings and food diary during the week.

Re: Advise please on self testing blood glucose.

Because it was my first appointment she just showed me how to use the blood glucose monitor and the little needle gun. She said just test myself once a day and didn't mention about diet, sugar intake or anything, well except for adding another medicine. It was my decision to alter my diet straight away and cut out sugar plus to measure my bloods more often. I'm glad I did. I also decided to keep a record of my meals as well as the testing results.
My readings at the moment are too high so I read on the website that exercise will help lower the levels so tomorrow I'm going to start brisk walking in the park and see if that helps. Listen, thanks for all this advice as I got really frightened after seeing the nurse and the things she said would happen.

Re: Advise please on self testing blood glucose.

MC, make a note from early tomorrow morning until the evening of what your sugar levels are, morning, lunchtime & supper and what food you have eaten during the day, and let me know what they are please.

Re: Advise please on self testing blood glucose.

I'd like to add just two more things to all the excellent advice you've already had on here.

Firstly, I'm surprised that the nurse didn't suggest you see a dietitian (on the NHS) to advise you about which foods to eat/avoid. It's not just cutting down on sugar! In fact, it may sound contradictory if you don't understand the metabolism of various foodstuffs. For example, fruit contains sugar (fructose) which, in moderation of course, is recommended.

Secondly I, like most diabetics I suppose, have a biannual HbA1c blood test which measures average blood glucose levels over several weeks. I think I'd continue to do your routine finger-prick blood tests and suggest an HbA1c test in 6 months and see what the nurse says.

Incidentally, the recommended 4.0 to 8.0 measurements are for before meals. One would expect the numbers to be higher two hours after meals, but this would vary with individuals' metabolism: we are all different.