Blood Glucose Monitor

[Blodders2]

Hi all after having had a result of 48 on my Hba1c test I am thinking of purchasing a blood sugar level monitor to keep a check on things, anyone point me in the right direction?

[Fatsiajaponica]

Ooh Blodders, you ask all the right questions, I'll wait for the replies!

[Koalajane]

I think the monitors are much of a muchness. The price of the test strips is what is expensive!

I have an Agamatrix Wavesense Jazz monitor provided by my GP surgery, but they are not easy to come by. There are plenty of monitors being sold on Ama##n. I have seen people mention the Sinocare and accucheck as being good. you also need one that measures in mmol.

[Blodders2 in reply to Koalajane]

I do have a Accu Chek Mobil monitor which you have to purchase cassettes for but they come as 50 or 100 the trouble is they can have a very short expiry date which I found out when I went to use it, I don't need to use it every day so it can as you say work out to be expensive so that's why I am thinking of purchasing a cheaper one. Thank you

[Fatsiajaponica in reply to Blodders2]

I've just had a look at past related posts and it seems that it may not be worth using BS monitors as pred makes the liver produce spikes of glucose, randomly, which if you test at that time could be alarming! So, bottom line not really reliable and worth waiting for the next Hb1c blood test which covers the last 3 months with a bias towards the last 4 weeks.

[Blodders2 in reply to Fatsiajaponica]

Thank you, I will leave it as don't want my blood pressure to rocket up after seeing high blood sugar levels 😤😀

[Koalajane in reply to Blodders2]

I started by discovering when I got the spikes. Mine happen about 4 hours after taking pred and dies down about 5 to 6 hours after. I found this out by testing a lot! Of course the CGMs would help with that and you can get one on free trial I think.

I now avoid eating in the spike times so breakfast and then evening meal no lunch!

[Viveka]

Purchase a continuous blood glucose monitor - they are pricey but you don't need to use them all the time. Just to get a baseline of what triggers your blood sugar spikes. Then whenever you want another look at what's going on. Haven't looked at what level of pred you are on but once you get around 5 ish the spikes should be far less. Have a look at one of my posts about CGMs and others have posted too.

[Blodders2 in reply to Viveka]

I have been up and down with pred since I started in June, started on 15mg now up to 20mg Oh for the day when I get down to 5mg. What is the make of the continuous monitor you mentioned or are you not supposed to say on this sight due to advertising.

[Viveka]

I used freestyle libre 2 . There's another brand that seemed good too, can't remember its name. You could also look at the Zoe website.

[Mfaepink1973]

I got a Freestyle libre 2 on 2 weeks free trial which was interesting but I wouldn’t use one regularly firstly because they are very expensive (£50+for 2weeks!) and secondly not worth it while you are on pred because of the random sugar spikes. I’ve gone back to the finger prick testing which I think is more accurate

[Blodders2 in reply to Mfaepink1973]

Thank you

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Honestly, just cut your carbs drastically, especially processed ones, added sugar and limit fruit and root veg. You can't influence the liver effect on releasing spikes of glucose, you can influence the added dietary effect, and koalajane reversed Type 2 diabetes just by doing that. Steroid induced diabetes is another animal and needs different management though medication will do something.

Keep a food diary - an honest one! - and work out what carbs you are eating! If you are also looking at weight control, you may need to get very low, well under 50g carbs a day. Not sure what that does to Hba1c but it is a good guide and not one you obsess over on a daily basis, having it done every 3 months will do as long as it is stable and on the low side, If it climbs, you may want to keep a closer eye on it. 48 is as high as you want to let it go ideally - what was it before pred, do you know?

If you have the money to use a CGM bear in mind they are NOT perfect and may lag a long time behind. You can use one to identify which particular foods spike YOUR BS levels and avoid them as far as possible. Or see how exercise affects your BS level - just a walk shortly after eating can have a massive effect. Or, as koalajane did, find the time window where pred is shoving your BS up and avoid adding to that effect by restricting food intake then.

[Blodders2 in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you. My HBa1c was 34 last year, 38 just before I started prednisolone. I will try very hard and put your advice reference carbs into practice.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Blodders2]

Any idea why it had risen in that time?

[Blodders2 in reply to PMRpro]

No, the only thing I can think of is that it increased a lot after I started taking prednisolone.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Blodders2]

Well yes, pred will increase the average BS, but you said it had risen BEFORE you started pred.

[Blodders2 in reply to PMRpro]

I have no idea why it increased the first time as I had not changed my diet or put on any weight, whether the result was an error.

[Wouldlovetorun]

I have used the Abbott glucose sensor twice now. It's a useful tool. I take my pred with breakfast and by lunchtime my glucose spikes and stays high end of normal. I generally wait 7-8 hours before I eat my next meal. I try and eat low carb meals most of the time. My first sensor was free and the second one I bought. I plan on getting another one when I've tapered down a bit more.

x

[Blodders2 in reply to Wouldlovetorun]

Thank you