# Hi another newbie needs help



## Fifer63 (Feb 9, 2012)

Hi people, my GP surgery called me to go collect my blood glucose meter. I have Type2 & I'm on metformin.

Anyway nobody tells me ANYTHING at reception and now i'm home. I've tested before lunch & it says 7.2. 

Sorry to be so stupid but what the hell does that mean? I can't find anything in the instructions that I can make sense of!


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## Mark T (Feb 9, 2012)

Welcome to the forums Fifer63 

It would be just like the NHS to tell you that you should self-test, but not give you any information.

Many of us work to the principles outlined here by AlanS: http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2006/10/test-review-adjust.html

For me, I would consider a 7 to be high - but the values are very personal.  Not personal-secret, but depends on what your own targets are.  My target for a pre-lunch reading is under 6.


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## Northerner (Feb 9, 2012)

Hi Fifer63, welcome to the forum  a 7.2 is not bad at all, if you are newly-diagnosed. A non-diabetic person might expect to be in the region of 4-6 before a meal. 

It's great that you have been given a meter to self-test with, as this is one of your best tools for finding out how best to tailor your food intake so that it does not have too big an impact on your blood glucose levels. Have a read of the following for some idea of what it all means:  Jennifer's Advice and Maggie Davey's letter. A guide to using your meter to gain the most from the information is Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S . You'll find other helpful information in our 'Useful Links' thread.

Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. Nothing is considered 'silly', and there are lots of friendly and experienced people here who will be happy to help out


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## Blythespirit (Feb 9, 2012)

Hi Fifer and welcome to the forums. First of all I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis and subsequent confusion. Well done on finding this place though as this lovely lot will see you right.

You are actually quite lucky to be given a monitor and testing strips, as many Type 2's are told point blank that they don't need to test, especially on Metformin. The link Mark has given you should point you in the right direction. Yes, 7.2 is a little on the high side as you should be aiming for between 4 and 7 before eating and below 8.5 afterwards (some docs say below 10 here). However as you are newly diagnosed you can't expect to get perfect results straight away, so in the light of that 7.2 isn't too bad. 

Read that link and come back and ask as many questions as you want. Take care. XXXXX

And Alan and I were posting at the same time.....of course his was much more informative and worded better. Heehee!


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## Fifer63 (Feb 9, 2012)

Thank you.

I was starting to get annoyed at myself for being so stupid!

I was diagnosed in 2009 & I'm on 500mg Metformin 3 x daily.
Apparently I wasn't managing it well enough and they suggested self testing followed by "at the end of the day it's down to you", statement!

I felt like saying but you tell me nothing and it's all been guess work with me.

It feels as if it's as quick as they can get me in and out the surgery. Bit of a conveyor belt. 

Makes me want to bury my head in the sand sometimes. 

Geez this is so difficult.


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## Northerner (Feb 9, 2012)

Fifer63 said:


> Thank you.
> 
> I was starting to get annoyed at myself for being so stupid!
> 
> ...



Hopefully the links will clarify how to approach things. You would probably also benefit from getting a copy of Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker, which is highly recommended by many of our members. Just because you've been diagnosed a couple of years doesn't mean it's not for you, as it seems clear that you have not been given much information and this is an ideal starting point now you are equipped with the tools they ought to have given you in the first place.

You might also like to ask your GP what Type 2 education courses are available to you. A very good one that is run in many places is the XPert course, but there may be others such as DESMOND.


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## Mark T (Feb 9, 2012)

Blythespirit said:


> ...Yes, 7.2 is a little on the high side as you should be aiming for between 4 and 7 before eating and below 8.5 afterwards (some docs say below 10 here)...


Of course the annoying thing here is that most PCT's seem to offer differing guidance - for instance my PCT would state between 4 and 9 before meals and less then 11 after meals.  It's a good way to get confused 

What are your HbA1c's like?  That at least seems to have a more common target of less then 6.5% (48 mmol/mol) for Type 2's.


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## Fifer63 (Feb 9, 2012)

Sorry Mark, I know this must be like talking to a child for u but I don't even know what that means. 

I think i'm gonna head back down to the surgery as i'm just gonna get frustrated!


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## Mark T (Feb 9, 2012)

Fifer63 said:


> Sorry Mark, I know this must be like talking to a child for u but I don't even know what that means.
> 
> I think i'm gonna head back down to the surgery as i'm just gonna get frustrated!


Hope you have good luck and some good information down at the surgery 

Although you can find a good description of the HbA1c here: http://www.diabetes.org.uk/en/Guide-to-diabetes/Monitoring/Blood_Glucose/Glycated_haemoglobin_HbA1c_and_fructosamine/ (which is also accessed by clicking the HbA1c link at the top of the page).


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## Blythespirit (Feb 9, 2012)

Fifer63 said:


> Sorry Mark, I know this must be like talking to a child for u but I don't even know what that means.
> 
> I think i'm gonna head back down to the surgery as i'm just gonna get frustrated!



Fifer, don't worry about sounding silly. We all only know what we have been told. The fact that you don't know what HbA1c means says more about the lack of information you've been given than it does about you. That you have come here looking for help shows that you want to help yourself. You should be having regular blood tests to see how you are managing your diabetes. Some places do this every 3 months, some every six months. It tells you how good your control has been over the previous few weeks. This reading is given a a percentile and 6.5 or below is the level we should all be aiming for. You might notice that a lot of us put our levels on our signature below our messages. Your Doctor should tell you these results and advise you what to do to bring it down if need be. It's from this reading that he decides if you need to increase your meds.

I think it's a good idea to make another appointment to have a chat with your GP. Ask him what your HbA1c's have been like and when he wants you to check your levels etc. Then come back to us and we'll do what we can too. 

Determination, knowledge and the right tools will get you there. XXXXX


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## trophywench (Feb 9, 2012)

Hear Hear Fifer - it's absolutely hopeless telling a person it's all down to them - but not explaining anything to them so they can take it in their own hands.

The flipping Guidelines for providing meters and strips to any diabetic, say that there has also to be 'structured education' in their use! - clearly your doctor didn't bother readig that bit.

Never mind - we can do most of the structured education for you! (or point you at places where you will find the help you need, as several people have started to do already.


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## Steff (Feb 9, 2012)

Fifer hi and a warm welcome to the forum


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## Andy HB (Feb 10, 2012)

Hello Fifer welcome to the forum.

When I was diagnosed in October 2009, the DSN gave me a meter and strips and provided me with some really good guidelines on how to use the meter and what blood glucose ranges to aim for :

Before meals : 4 - 7 mmol/L
2hrs After meals : 7 - 9 mmol/L
Avoid > 10 mmol/L (hyper)
Avoid < 4 mmol/L (hypo)

I was also advised to test once a day at different times (before breakfast, 2hrs after breakfast, before midday meal, 2hrs after, before evening meal, 2hrs after and finally before bed). This works well if control is gained quickly, but if you have problems, then testing before and after a meal on a daily basis would be better. The advice already given tells you how to do this.

The simple advice given to me allowed me to get good control pretty quickly, though. So much so that I was able to stop the medication after three months.

In addition, I was also able to attend a course run by the NHS called Diabetes X-Pert (there are others available to, DESMOND being one). This gave me all the information I needed to understand what Diabetes was and how I could best control it through diet and exercise changes. It also covers all the medications available.

When you next see your healthcare bod, ask whether there are any courses in your area.

In the meantime, just ask questions here. Eventually, you will work out a regime which works for you and you can start looking forward to controlling your Diabetes rather than it controlling you.

Good luck,

Andy


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## margie (Feb 10, 2012)

Hello and welcome to the forums. 

One of the arguments that is used by people to not prescribe strips and meters for a type 2 is that they don't do anything with the results. Well when you don't give people any information what can they expect.

My suggestions would be for you to write a list of questions for your Dr, explain that you want to use the meter to better your control - but you haven't a clue as to what levels you should be trying to achiever. You could also ask what other treatment options there are if despite your best efforts you can't get the levels they want.

You have been given some good links - good luck with the testing.


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## Fifer63 (Feb 10, 2012)

Thank you, everyone, i've learned more here than in the last 2 years at my docs.


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## slipper (Feb 10, 2012)

Hi Fifer63, welcome to the forum, many of us get minimum advice and rely on the good folks on here for guidance, if only to go back to the Dr/DN with the right questions.

I'm 6 months in and still learning a lot.


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## Lilies (Feb 10, 2012)

Hi and welcome
Monitor on the nhs? - scuse me whilst I pick myself up off the floor, which pct are you?


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## teapot8910 (Feb 11, 2012)

Welcome to the forum Fifer


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## Fifer63 (Feb 12, 2012)

Must be doing something wrong. After meals (tried 1 hour & 2 hours), I'm getting 12.2 - 13.6 & I'm sure that's not right?


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## Mark T (Feb 12, 2012)

Fifer63 said:


> Must be doing something wrong. After meals (tried 1 hour & 2 hours), I'm getting 12.2 - 13.6 & I'm sure that's not right?


What were you before the meal?  What did you eat?

If you were 12 before the meal, then being 12 after is not a bad raise due to the meal.  If you were 7 and climbed to 12, then that would indicate you need to look at what you ate.


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## Fifer63 (Feb 12, 2012)

Hi Mark, well for the 13.6 one I was only 5.5 before the meal. All I had was Fish n chips with a coffee.


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## Northerner (Feb 12, 2012)

Fifer63 said:


> Hi Mark, well for the 13.6 one I was only 5.5 before the meal. All I had was Fish n chips with a coffee.



Fish and chips can be a real no-no for a lot of people unfortunately, especially  if bought from the chippy and with the batter eaten also. You need to weigh the portion of chips to determine how much carbs you are eating in the portion. The Carbs & Cals book suggests that a large portion of fish and chips from a chip shop may be in the region of 160g of carbs (remember that there is flour used in the batter, so more carbs there), which is more than I would eat in a whole day, so it's important to measure portion size to make sure you are not overloading your system with carbs.


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## Fifer63 (Feb 12, 2012)

Thanks guys - I can see this driving me mad!


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## Northerner (Feb 12, 2012)

Fifer63 said:


> Thanks guys - I can see this driving me mad!



For details of other members' experiences with various 'problem' food, have a look at the Food Experiments thread:

http://www.diabetessupport.co.uk/boards/showthread.php?t=7311


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