Hi Deel, wow, you must be frustrated. First, in answer to your question about
using a monitor, I believe
yes. You can buy one without a prescript
ion but to get the supply of test strips you'll need every month, you'll need a prescript
ion. Talk to your doctor. Are you old enough for Medicare? Look into that and your insurance so you don't have to put a lot out of pocket. Talk to your doctor and tell him you would like to have a monitor - shouldn't be too hard to convince since you have a history of high fasting readings. Since you're so-called "borderline" like me, there's no way to know what your blood sugar is if you don't test, absolutely, it's important use the blood glucose monitor. It would be easy to tell you to cut way back on the carbohydrates (starches) like bread, rice, potatoes and pasta and to exericse but you're also dealing with other ailments and medications that might complicate that. Only you know what you can eat that will not bother you. All I can say is that the starchy vegetables like potatoes, carrots and corn (a grain, actually) will keep your blood sugar elevated. If you can stick to meats/chicken/fish, eggs, other vegetables, cheese, nuts, salads - depending on what you can eat - you'll be better off with your blood sugar. Smaller meals more frequently to avoid some of those hypos. Swimmng? Do you have access to a pool? Walking around the neighborhood a couple of times a day? However, could those spells you're having be low blood pressure? Do you have a cuff to measure your blood pressure? Maybe you need to go back to the doctor and talk about
these episodes. Let us know what happens.