The Type 2 Testing Program is a subscription program where you receive test strips and lancets by post which you then use to test your blood glucose in order to self-monitor your diabetes and understand how food, diet, lifestyle choices and illness can all affect your blood glucose.
When you sign up for the Type 2 Testing Program, you receive a free blood glucose meter and subscribe to receive test strips each month, quarter or year. Your test strips will come with lancets.
By seeing the effects of food, lifestyle and illness, you should be able to make lifestyle choices which can help to reduce your average blood glucose levels and HbA1c.
The benefits of self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) in type 2 diabetes highlighted in research papers include:
Better understanding of diabetes/more control
SMBG can help you to understand how your blood sugar levels respond to the food you eat, thus allowing you to make the necessary lifestyle adjustments needed to achieve your blood glucose targets and take control of your condition.
Reassurance & motivation
SMBG offers instant results and continuous feedback, which can be both reassuring and self-empowering.
Diabetes regression/remission
Improved blood sugar control through SMBG and subsequent informed diet and lifestyle choices could put your diabetes into remission, which may allow you to come off any diabetes medication you're taking.
Avoiding complications
Better blood sugar control can mean a considerable reduction in HbA1c levels, which in turn, lowers the risk of developing both macrovascular complications (including heart disease and stroke) and microvascular complications (including eye, kidney and nerve damage) of diabetes.
GP assistance
SMBG can help GPs make informed decisions based on their patient's results. For example, if you're experiencing hypoglycaemia (abnormally low blood glucose levels) once or twice a week, your doctor may decide to reduce a dose of a particular drug or switch you onto a different medication.
The effectiveness of SMBG depends on a number of factors, most notably your willingness and ability to use SMBG appropriately.
For example, you must:
- Possess the knowledge and skill to accurately perform SMBG and record test results and related events (manually or electronically)
- Know how to accurately interpret blood sugar readings to identify issues with your diabetes control and make appropriate changes to your lifestyle changes and drug treatment plan
This programme will help equip you with the knowledge and techniques to get you started with making sense of your blood glucose results and help you, together with your doctor, to make changes to your lifestyle and treatment regime.