I want to monitor my blood glucose as I have a family history of diabetes and have been diagnosed as early stage prediabetic. My GP says I don't need to do this and should monitor once per year with a blood test. I'd rather monitor it myself as well, so I think this counts as DIY.
I'm confused by the large number of meters & test strips available, and most articles I read are either marketing puff or clickbait that ends up talking about what meters do and why its useful, which I know already.
Just wondering if anyone on the forum has any opinions on a meter that:
a) Is simple & inexpensive (I don't need bluetooth, app integration etc) b) Is reasonably accurate (I'd hope they all need to meet an accuracy standard anyway) c) Has test strips that are reasonably cheap and easily available.
I'll only be measuring a couple of times a day at home, so no need for "lifestyle" stuff.
Just check that the meter reads mmol/L (the UK standard) rather than mg/dL (the USA standard) although if you do get the wrong one the conversion is mg/dL divided by 18 = mmol/L
Example:
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Get an extra 50 test strips with the meter Possibly get some more lancets but practically you can use the same one multiple times as long as not sharing.
I've had meters from the NHS but have found for me that they severely ration the test strips on prescription and if buying the branded strips they cost a fortune compared to Codefree. It a bit like printers and ink
- almost give away the meter and then make all the profit on the ink.
Some tips from personal experience. You get a better blood drop if you don't test soon after having a bath of shower. Remove any grease from your fingers before picking yourself. I've found a quick wash of the hands with washing up detergent works best.
Over the years I have acquired two meters - Accu-Check Aviva and Agamatrix Jazz. Both are OK, although on the odd occasion I've tested the same drop of blood with both, they seldom give exactly the same reading. But there's no need to be too fussy. As long as they agree to within a few tenths of a unit they'll be OK. They're basic meters, possibly with a few extra facilities built in, but I don't use those.
But don't try to get your blood glucose down all at once. I haven't monitored mine for a year or two now, having established a diet and exercise regime that works for me (and don't forget the exercise; it's very important!), although I still have annual HbA1c test.
In the early days, when, like you I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic (they called it glucose resistant then), I concentrated on one meal at a time, testing two hours after the end of the meal (people get very worked up as to whether it should be two hours from the time you start the meal or two hours after you finish. Such detail really doesn't matter, as long as you're controlling your blood sugar). I aimed to keep my 2-hour reading below about 6.5-7.0 mmol/litre.
So I sorted out my breakfast first - cereal with sugar followed by toast and marmalade had to be replaced by fruit with unsweetened natural yoghurt and sucralose sweetener, and rye bread with cottage cheese (first thing in the morning is often when blood glucose tends to be high so you need to watch the carbohydrates at breakfast).
Once I'd established a satisfactory breakfast routine I moved onto lunch, my main meal of the day. Again, no or very much reduced carbohydrates - no spuds, no rice, no pasta, and a glass of wine actually helped, followed by a brisk 45-60 minute walk, then testing two hours after the meal end.
Once that had been sorted I moved on to sort out my tea/supper, which required a similar low-carb regime.
Eventually I just tested two days a week, fasting, after lunch and after tea/supper.
I kept record on a spreadsheet and graphed the results to check on long-term trends.
But then the NHS decided that because my HbA1c tests were always good, I was obviously not in need of test strips any more and they stopped them. So I stopped testing, but it hasn't made too much difference as the diet and exercise regime I'd established kept me on track.
I was first diagnosed pre-diabetic in 2000, and I'm still pre-diabetic rather to the surprise of my diabetic support team who initially said I'd have full-blown T2 diabetes in a few years, thanks to sorting out my diet in the early stages and sticking to it.
Picking up the thread and running with it, I found the recent R4 interview with Tim Spector interesting. It struck me he was perhaps a bit "one track" but it was interesting that he described use of portable monitors bluetoothed to the phone to give a continuous reading as he was investigating his own metabolism.
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Anyone looked at that sort of monitor? Presumably for non-diabetics absolute accuracy is less important, the interesting thing is trending (cf heart rate monitors on fitness bands and watches).
I have had an Accu Chek previously and I am currently using an AgaMatrix wavesense Jazz. Once you are diagnosed as diabetic then you will probably be pushed towards a certain brand of meter. When I say pushed I mean given one free by whoever is monitoring your diabetes. The logic behind that is that the pharmacy who will supply the test strips and lancets on prescription only needs to hold a limited variety of both. I agree the code free type are the easiest to deal with. As a diabetic your prescriptions will be free immaterial of your age.
Last year I saw an advert for one and when looking at the price and ongoing cost my reaction was HOW MUCH! :) There are still consumables with this technology.
From memory, the cost to buy was something like £400 with sensors costing £50 a time.
The one I use is Freestyle Libre. Each sensor is just over £50 and only lasts 2 weeks. There's another which is even more expensive. My GP team do supply it but only to a very, very select few because of the cost.
Thing is, I suppose how much you want/need to monitor. The device has a tiny needle so instead of pricking fingers x times a day you simply apply once to the back of your arm. Recently, it seemed to me that it was giving a slightly higher estimated reading for my HbA1c than the one from an NHS blood test. The reader has the ability to take a blood test strip so I purchased a small box and found that the strips read lower than the device (which could be a good thing!).
The reader doesn't just collect your score at the moment you scan, it also collects the previous 8 hours which you can view as a graph although you only get numbers for the instant you scan. It's then possible to download the data from the reader (about a months worth) to your PC where a piece of free software gives you various reports/"insights".
For years when I had a medical at work, it would show a high blood sugar level and I would get a letter to take to the doctors. The test at the doctors was always normal, because I had to fast 12 hours before the the dextrose test.....long story short, I was prediabetic and had been for years, so they eventually decided I was a candidate for type 2 Diabetes. I control it with a diet very low in carbohydrates <60g and zero sugar.
The codefree strips I get have a least a year as a best before date. This is the unopened pack date. From memory, they recommend using an opened pack within 6 months.
Codefree come in tubes of 50 strips which for pre-diabetes a couple of tubes should be enough to establish a glucose pattern and what happens after diet/exercise changes etc. Afterwards I would expect their use to be a lot less frequently. The novelty of pricking your finger multiple times a day rapidly wears off, especially if having been told that you don't really need to do it :)
I'm type 2 diabetic and my doctor and diabetic nurse don't necessarily recommend testing with strips preferring instead to use the bi-annual blood test to see how well the diabetes is being controlled. One of the blood tests is much like taking an average value of glucose, over a couple of months.
[quote] What is being tested?
Some of the glucose in your blood binds to haemoglobin (the protein that carries oxygen in your red blood cells). This combination of glucose and haemoglobin is called haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). The amount of HbA1c formed is directly related to the average concentration of glucose in your bloodstream. Red blood cells live for 2?3 months, and because of this, the amount of HbA1c in your blood reflects the average level of glucose in your blood during the last 2-3 months. If your diabetes is not well controlled, your blood glucose levels will be high causing higher HbA1c levels. [/quote]
Thanks, that's reasuring. My fasting glucose is only slightly above the normal range, but I want to keep on top of it to avoid further problems later in life given my family history.
Ironically my main symptom at the moment is that I'm losing weight no matter what I eat, which kind of goes against the common perception of diabetes.
My plan is much like yours - to adjust my diet to keep my glucose levels from peaking plus regular HbA1c tests from the GP.
My problem was picked up by a high fasting glucose reading - it looks like the energy is there but my body can't use it hence the weight loss I've been experiencing over the past year.
I've been zero sugar for years, but probably need to start cutting down on simple carbs as well.
I've also been exercising more over lockdown - walking about 50 miles per week. GP initially put the weight loss down to the increased exercise even though I said I was eating like a polar explorer not a walker in greater London.
Yes, I've been told that I should get annual HbA1c tests.
I mainly want the machine to allow me to establish a baseline and determine my body's reaction to various diet & lifestyle changes.
I'm sure that pricking your finger multiple times a day isn't exactly fun, but it doesn't seem so bad to me when I look at the effects diabetes had on some of my relatives.
No, that is very much the indication of diabetes because instead of packing on the carbohydrates, you are pissing them away.
This happened to me 17 years ago; I was very pleased to have lost
3 stone in 3 months without any conscious effort on my part to be dieting and the doc, far from complimenting me, said that it was a sure sign of late-onset diabetes, which proved to be true, alas.
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