Access to test strips - can you logically answer 'no' to these questions?

[ElyDave]

I have always thought that as a brilliant idea. Over the years (now 62) I've worked with many people whose sporting activities, although very laudable, have cost a fortune in time off work and hospital fees. Even my own brother in law, a keen footballer, ended up requiring expensive surgery for his shoulder, even after receiving several injuries to that shoulder (dirty opponents knew there was a weakness maybe?) he carried on until it was just too much and his shoulder needed some serious surgery.
Sorry, gone way off topic. I think at the end of the day the NHS wanted to save money, the government wants to save money. Type II diabetics just happened to be a soft target because of some research that suggested it was pointless to test, it made no difference. Unless of course you were changing diet to get the numbers down. In my case, if I was to follow the eatwell plate advise they dish out I'd be on insulin now and would need to test more regularly. As it is I take metformin but I know if I start eating the carbs again my BG WILL go up.

Just to be clear here (not picking your post out amongst the others, just part of the theme), if I'm out riding around the roads of the Fens, or even (God forbid) a competetive time trial or out for a run and I get knocked down by an Audi driver it's my fault for wanting to do something to 1) keep fit, 2) improve my diabetes managment 3) have fun playing with my friends and I should be insured for it?

Perhaps we should go down the US route and have everyone covered by medical insurance and marginalise those at the bottom end of the earnings pyramid even further. I'm sure that would work for the medical companies.

Yes the NHS is not ideal, but for every person that is an A&E frequent flyer there is soemone that's never used it in their life and keeps paying taxes and NI anyway, should they have a discount? If you ask me, this is trying to make a complex system even more complicted, rather than simplifying it. There's a good argument for a flat rate tax, same % rate for everyone, no other taxes or NI and no dammned avoidance schemes.

 

[Scardoc]

If you were trying to rile me, congratulations you did,

Absolutely no intention to rile anyone. We pay NI for a reason and are all entitled to what it covers. Some will get vastly more out of it than others will but if I didn't have T1 would I complain I'm not getting my share? **** sure I wouldn't, I'd count myself lucky and glad the money was being used for people less fortunate.

Which sadly isn't enough for what we expect out of the system, especially when you consider that it's meant to cover pensions, unemployment and sickness benefit as well as the NHS and the NHS alone seems to be expected to pay for more and more procedures.

We're living in the Western World and our expectations far exceed reality. My daughter has recently returned from an expedition to Malawi and, amongst the many awful things she saw, was a woman being turned away from the Doctor as she only had 1500Kwacha (£2.25) and needed 9000 for a check-up for her baby. My daughters words "I felt terrible because we were not allowed to give anyone money and such a small amount to us is huge to them".

 

[1andylock]

There is enough money if we stopped going to war every chance we have and spent the money on us all.
By the way i drank a lot and got drunk a lot but i never once went to A & E. I got diabetes also because i was a fat man.
But i pay NI and tax which amounts to 50% of my salary then everything i buy i pay VAT at 20%. So tell me why cant i have my strips.

 

[Jill the tt]

i think everything is run by the bean counters, their job to save money, but they only look at next week, next month, year end. the trouble with this is no one looks at long term, it's short term gain for long term pain. My Farther remembered a local doctor who charged a fee for patients who were well, they didn't pay while ill, he worked harder to keep people healthy, can you imagine that being put forward today.

 

[sanguine]

My Farther remembered a local doctor who charged a fee for patients who were well, they didn't pay while ill, he worked harder to keep people healthy, can you imagine that being put forward today.

The first two parts of that basically constitute health insurance (but with the added bonus that you don't have to keep paying the premiums when you are ill).

 

[StormyDog]

Another problem with testing is the accuracy ussues on domestic meters.
With a +-20% tolerance too many readings are too inaccurate.
For example If the expected pre-meal reading is 5.4 my meter could read anything between 4.3 & 6.5 would I be as happy with the higher reading even though the error is in the meter not the blood.

If my blood reading be in error with a reading of 8.5 the underlining blood could measure as 6.0 if one reading was 20% high and the second 20% low.

As medical policy is not to be carb restrictive but to use drugs to control your levels as a type2 I guess the medical opinion is that testing for type2's causes more hassle than it's worth.

Many on here understand how and what to test but for others ie the general type2 sufferers testing causes more problems than it's worth. Regular check ups are a better control.

Personally I believe that diet controlled t2s need support on testing but for those a who are not using diet to control their condition testing my cause more anxiety than it's worth.

 

[Jill the tt]

i'm going back to the 50s so he was ahead of his time i think the only GP in the area doing it

 

[Scandichic]

But most of the 'greed' that led to obesity and a diagnosis resulted from undiagnosed glucose intolerance, sometimes for decades. Certainly that was the case for me. I don't think I am alone.

There's actually a strong argument (that I first came across 20 years ago in Montignac's diet book) that anyone who is overweight has impaired glucose tolerance.

And that leads to cravings, bad food choices and weight gain... Sometimes to massively dysfunctional, uncontrollable, compulsive eating levels.

I'm sorry folks - I really don't want to derail this thread, but I am very uncomfortable with diabetics being blamed for their condition, so I always pipe up when I come across it.

Alternatively @Brunneria there's always the gentle reminder that 80% of obese people are not diabetics so therefore using that rationale, there's a lot more to the whole situation than someone simply eating themselves into this condition!

 

[Jill the tt]

Another problem with testing is the accuracy ussues on domestic meters.
With a +-20% tolerance too many readings are too inaccurate.
For example If the expected pre-meal reading is 5.4 my meter could read anything between 4.3 & 6.5 would I be as happy with the higher reading even though the error is in the meter not the blood.

If my blood reading be in error with a reading of 8.5 the underlining blood could measure as 6.0 if one reading was 20% high and the second 20% low.

As medical policy is not to be carb restrictive but to use drugs to control your levels as a type2 I guess the medical opinion is that testing for type2's causes more hassle than it's worth.

Many on here understand how and what to test but for others ie the general type2 sufferers testing causes more problems than it's worth. Regular check ups are a better control.

Personally I believe that diet controlled t2s need support on testing but for those a who are not using diet to control their condition testing my cause more anxiety than it's worth.

i can't agree, how can people come off or reduce meds if they can't check themselves

 

[Jill the tt]

Alternatively @Brunneria there's always the gentle reminder that 80% of obese people are not diabetics so therefore using that rationale, there's a lot more to the whole situation than someone simply eating themselves into this condition!

i don't believe it's always greed, we have been misinformed for years, and eaten wrong thinking we were being healthy, i always wondered why my weight increased but i ate less than people smaller than me, now i'm learning so much about this and getting healthy. many are still struggling not diabetic not greedy just don't know why

 

[StormyDog]

Jill I'm not sure that the medical profession believe that people can reduce their medication.

Though they try to encourage self management do they really expect anyone to be successful ?

The medical policy is to control t2s with metformin and statins not to dish out 12 week exercise classes and carb reducing meal plans

 

[Jill the tt]

Jill I'm not sure that the medical profession believe that people can reduce their medication.

Though they try to encourage self management do they really expect anyone to be successful ?

The medical policy is to control t2s with metformin and statins not to dish out 12 week exercise classes and carb reducing meal plans

i was lucky i was given the chance to turn it around with diet, 6 months on doing that, DN helping me and supporting my LCHF

 

[StormyDog]

You are one of the lucky ones who have a supportive health care team.

In my case I'm trying to keep off meds but my medical team want me to start takings meds. At 45 having just been tested while taking Cicosporins I was diagnosed t2. Through my time on the Xpert course and reading websites like this have led me to believe that I am type 2 I believe that I can manage myself without the meds.
So far I have reset my BP into the normal range 115/70 and I am 2kg from breaking the 30bmi barrier. (2years ago my bmi was 39).

All I need is moral support and a supply of test strips to allow me to learn what levels and types of food I can tolerate.

I am going to see my healthcare team next week and expect them to put me on drugs but what I really need is time.

 

[sanguine]

Personally I believe that diet controlled t2s need support on testing but for those a who are not using diet to control their condition testing my cause more anxiety than it's worth.

The problem with that is that it encourages T2s on medication to think the drugs will sort it all out and they don't need to change their diet at all. Or am I misunderstanding you?

There's too much knee-jerk prescribing of drugs to people who might be capable of dealing with it themselves if they were given the right information and proper incentives.

 

[Scandichic]

i was lucky i was given the chance to turn it around with diet, 6 months on doing that, DN helping me and supporting my LCHF

Hi Jill!
You were indeed lucky! I met with resistance from the DN who refuses to see me and the doc whose opening line was"still on that stupid diet then?" That was after I'd lost 11/2 stone! I now see a different doc at the practice. And I still eat LCHF and am now 3 stone lighter!

 

[Jill the tt]

You are one of the lucky ones who have a supportive health care team.

In my case I'm trying to keep off meds but my medical team want me to start takings meds. At 45 having just been diagnosed while taking Cicosporins I was diagnosed t2. Through my time on the Xpert course and reading websites like this have led me to believe that I type 2 I believe that I can manage myself without the meds.
So far I have reset my BP into the normal range 115/70 and I am 2kg from breaking the 30bmi barrier. (2years ago my bmi was 39).

All I need is moral support and a supply of test strips to allow me to learn what levels and types of food I can tolerate.

I am going to see my healthcare team next week and expect them to put me on drugs but what I really need is time.

support is here, keep us informed, i buy my own stuff to test, you can always come off the drugs, sometimes our bodies need a little help, thats how i see it, i think it's a slow process and we can get impatient, i wish you well

 

[StormyDog]

The problem with that is that it encourages T2s on medication to think the drugs will sort it all out and they don't need to change their diet at all. Or am I misunderstanding you?

There's too much knee-jerk prescribing of drugs to people who might be capable of dealing with it themselves if they were given the right information and proper incentives.

You understand my point sanguine the NHS are happy to treat with drugs as they believe people who have let their Bmi break the 30 barrier are unlikely to be disciplined enough to address their own health issues. Hence the pills over wasting time letting us try to loose weight.

Maybe for low bmi type2s are treated differently but us in the bmi 30+ club are in the main a lost cause for self improvement.

 

[Jill the tt]

Hi Jill!
You were indeed lucky! I met with resistance from the DN who refuses to see me and the doc whose opening line was"still on that stupid diet then?" That was after I'd lost 11/2 stone! I now see a different doc at the practice. And I still eat LCHF and am now 3 stone lighter!

hi Scandichic,

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/a...s-The-Fast-Diet-author-DR-MICHAEL-MOSLEY.html

print this out ask him if he still believes his stupid idea, also it takes a big man to say he's wrong.

you've done fab, keep at it the evidence is stacking up. yes i've been lucky tell myself every day, and lucky to have found this forum

 

[sanguine]

You understand my point sanguine the NHS are happy to treat with drugs as they believe people who have let their Bmi break the 30 barrier are unlikely to be disciplined enough to address their own health issues. Hence the pills over wasting time letting us try to loose weight.

Maybe for low bmi type2s are treated differently but us in the bmi 30+ club are in the main a lost cause for self improvement.

Bit of a sweeping generalisation (by them not you). I must be one of the bl00dy-minded exceptions then (BMI 31.6 when diagnosed).

 

[StormyDog]

Bit of a sweeping generalisation (by them not you). I must be one of the bl00dy-minded exceptions then (BMI 31.6 when diagnosed).

By definition a policy is an overgeneralisation. I just wish t2 treatment wasn't a postcode lottery.