Specialist appointments and blood sugar tests

The process of getting my blood sugar levels is quite simple, 1st I have to clean my hands so that there are no external sugars to alter the readings.

I have to insert a test strip into the monitor and make sure the batch numbers match, after this the monitor shows a symbol to indicate it’s ready for the blood sample.

I then have to load a pen with a lancet which then punchers a hole in the skin of one of my fingers, this produces a small drop of blood which I place on the test strip; the monitor then counts down from 5 to 1, and then gives the result.

For a person without diabetes this reading should be between 4 and 6, and as you guess this is the range I am aiming for on each test.

My results came and I was shocked to find my level was 24, no wonder why I was feeling unwell this been 4 times the max it should have be.

I had been instructed that for the first weeks I was to take just 1 metformin, and increase this by 1 each week until I reached 3, this 1st should be with my main meal of the day, which I decided would be dinner, so I had 10 hours to go before I took my 1st metformin.

I then went through the test procedure before I went to bed, I did not know what to expect from just 1 metformin, and suppose I was hoping for something spectacular, this was not the case and my reading as now at 28.

Now to explain why I needed the specialist appointments, due to the way diabetes can affect the blood flow both hands and more often feet can be harmed, the lesser can be just numbness but the worst can be the need of amputation. This is why I was made an appointment will the foot specialist, so they would test my feet to see if I had started any loss of feelings in them.

The appointment with the eye specialist is needed due to the small blood vessels which again can be damaged by the high sugar levels this can lead to blared vision and worst case blindness.

I will leave things there for now and my next post will tell you about the following weeks appointment and blood sugar test results.