Laughed at for wanting test strips

[oldman1954]

Hi went to gp this morning told him the problem and showed bs readings he gave me a script for atorvastatin 20mg tablets and test strips big serprise as he said i dont need to self test so willsee how things go and report back.

 

[JAY1JAY1]

I went to see the practice nurse at the GPs on Thursday she has the reputation of being very hard and matter of factish
Was not looking forward to it one bit as the last time she virtual told me you have type 2 get on with it . My blood pressure was up and she asked if anything was worrying me ,only this diabetes and what your going to tell me this time was my response . She looked at the records again tutted and then went into great detail on what was diabetes how it can be controlled and the way we can monitor it .
God bless this woman she asked me to keep a record of my fasting BS to take a weekly blood pressure reading and did I need any Viagra ??? I think she would like to borrow my body for half an hour !!! .... Happy to say I came away with aGluco Rx nexus meter 50 test strips . And a blood pressure monitor I declined the Viagra . Who said the NHS are not helpful

 

[notafanofsugar]

Can't believe docs won't give test strips where needed it's outrageous!!!

 

[Eldorado]

I received a free Onetouch meter & a few strips & lancets with it to get me going. I went to my GP today & explained I would like to be prescribed strips as I was experiencing hypo like symptoms & needed to test my bg to see if my levels actually were low.
She said Metformin doesn't cause hypos. To which I replied, they may not cause them but it is possible to experience them whilst on Metformin. She actually laughed & said I was only type 2 & only newly diagnosed so I don't need to test. I quoted the Nice guidelines & she said Nice only recommend testing if you're on insulin. Then I told her it says medication, not just insulin & Metformin was a medication.
She sat there & actually laughed at me as if I was stupid. I'm fuming. How dare she?

That is unbloodybelievable. If that was me I'd see a different GP in the practice. I'd also be tempted to write a letter of complaint to the Practice Manager. My mother developed type 2 in her eighties and she tested her BG. No problem getting strips. Grrrrrrrr indeed!

 

[GoRachel1989]

Such rude and ignorant behavior from a healthcare "professional".

I would have just given her one long blank stare until she stopped laughing.

 

[Pipey]

I've been in a similar position to bopeep12300- but not the being laughed at bit. My nurse told me that I didn't need to blood test, (I'm T2) I was using my old One Touch Ultra then so I bought them off Amazon. I've had my new One Touch Select Plus about 2 weeks so I'm off to the surgery to order more

 

[BeccyB]

...lots of questions I asked were just fobbed of with oh yes its your diabeities..no clue as to how to fix it (the other probs not the diabeties )

I think this is really common! The first thing when we get some kind of medical symptom is "it's because of the diabetes" I complained to my doctor about fatigue and aches for so long and was just told it's because my bloods weren't balanced. It wasn't until I was in agony and out of breath walking for 10 minutes that he did the blood test to check for other issues - now I pop a folic acid pill everynight and feel so much better!!

And from reading some of the posts on here we're often guilty of it ourselves - it seems many of us check if other diabetics get the symptoms before we think of looking what else it could be. I dread the day I see a post saying "Does anyone else get chest pains and shortness of breath?" No, you're having a heart attack!!

 

[Yorksman]

I saw one doctor after another at the GP surgery. I went complaining about things like breathlessness and diffculty sleeping and got fobbed off with things like, 'well I get breathless too when I start to walk' and, try to be more active during the day, that'll help you sleep'.

So as advised, I got on my indoor bike trainer and started cycling. I used to go out but not feeling well, I didn't want to take any chances away from home so I also put a heart rate monitor on me.

I ended up in resuss in A&E and had to have four defib shocks to get me out of VT.

Imagine my annoyance to learn that a cardioechogram that I had last April had diagnosed heart failure with severe ventricular dysfunction. No one at the GP surgery told me and I suspect the cardiologist's report remains unread.

 

[tim2000s]

I dread the day I see a post saying "Does anyone else get chest pains and shortness of breath?" No, you're having a heart attack!!

Or Pins and Needles in my whole left arm....

 

[clareb1970]

I received a free Onetouch meter & a few strips & lancets with it to get me going. I went to my GP today & explained I would like to be prescribed strips as I was experiencing hypo like symptoms & needed to test my bg to see if my levels actually were low.
She said Metformin doesn't cause hypos. To which I replied, they may not cause them but it is possible to experience them whilst on Metformin. She actually laughed & said I was only type 2 & only newly diagnosed so I don't need to test. I quoted the Nice guidelines & she said Nice only recommend testing if you're on insulin. Then I told her it says medication, not just insulin & Metformin was a medication.
She sat there & actually laughed at me as if I was stupid. I'm fuming. How dare she?

I sympathise with you and am aghast at your GP's arrogant reaction. I was a Type 1 for many years until I received a kidney/pancreas transplant 9 years ago. The new pancreas meant I no longer needed to inject insulin anymore and my blood sugars, instead of being quite erratic were stable at normal levels. What surprised me, however, was that every now and then I would still get a hypo. I queried this with my consultant who said that this was not uncommon. My transplant, although amazing, was not my own organ and therefore slight "miscalculations" can occur. Nothing to worry about, but sometimes my pancreas would perhaps release slightly too much insulin per carbs (eat low carbs as it is).

Still having to cope with hypos meant I still needed to be able to test my blood sugar as and when. My transplant consultant recommends me testing anyway as these results are my only indicator of how well my transplant is working. According to the rules dictated by your GP it would mean I cannot get test strips on prescription as I don't inject insulin or take
metformin.

Your GP sounds quite immature and inexperienced, otherwise she would realise that not every situation is covered by a single set of rules. My advice would be to change to a more experienced, sympathetic doctor who is willing to listen to you - not laugh in your face.

 

[clareb1970]

I had a similar situation recently when my gp of 17 years asked me why I would want to use glucogel (formerly known as hypo stop gel)

I cannot believe some of these posts. Asking a diabetic why they would want to use a product to stop a hypo?!!

My own GP if many years is amazing. Extremely clued up and on the ball. I now appreciate him more than ever...

 

[MellitusTrap]

Diabetes is hugely personal.
When someone says I can't have something I think will benefit me, this animal inside me rears its head.

I am Type 2. I was on metformin and overtime other drugs too and now insulin aswell.

The truth is, I wish someone had explained to me it was nearly impossible to get a hypo back then - it would have calmed me down a lot.

However, a doctor who laughs or belittles you is not someone you should trust your health with.

My final bit, to back the NHS up a bit, is to say these strips are extortionate. If they weren't, we'd all just buy them ourselves. Don't blame the NHS - blame the fatcats!

We should all find a company that doesn't rip people off for testing strips and move in a huge group.
To quote muse,
"It's time the fat cats had a heart attack!"

 

[Shecat]

I had a life threatening experience while on no medication for my Diabetes and had no way of testing my blood sugar. I was walking my dogs on a Heath as usual and became drunk, staggered and draped myself over a metal fence to stop me hitting the ground. A fellow dog walker found me and saved my life by calling appropriate services, it was one week before Christmas 2007 and I required main line glucose from the Paramedics then hospital treatment for hypothermia. My dogs were looked after by he dog walker and returned home by Police for me, I've never been so grateful! Diabetes is unique to each person who has it as our bodies are different to each other so the treatment and maintenance required is unique. No Dr should laugh at you, I would have immediately torn verbal strips off of mine if he tried that then changed practice! What NICE actually says is you have to satisfy the reasons you need the test strips for so the GP standard question should have been "what do you do with your blood sugar readings"? You would have then gone on to either give your GP a reason to prescribe them or not satisfy them so not been given them!

 

[lynn007]

I bought my own and test myself 4 times a day to see what reaction I have to foods yea expensive testing but at least I know what food works for me ..no thanks to the nurse or GP

 

[lynn007]

I bought my own and test myself 4 times a day to see what reaction I have to foods yea expensive testing but at least I know what food works for me ..no thanks to the nurse or GP

 

[CollieBoy]

@lynn007 Love the avatar, but ears are a bit small!

 

[spaceman]

I received a free Onetouch meter & a few strips & lancets with it to get me going. I went to my GP today & explained I would like to be prescribed strips as I was experiencing hypo like symptoms & needed to test my bg to see if my levels actually were low.
She said Metformin doesn't cause hypos. To which I replied, they may not cause them but it is possible to experience them whilst on Metformin. She actually laughed & said I was only type 2 & only newly diagnosed so I don't need to test. I quoted the Nice guidelines & she said Nice only recommend testing if you're on insulin. Then I told her it says medication, not just insulin & Metformin was a medication.
She sat there & actually laughed at me as if I was stupid. I'm fuming. How dare she?

my partners a type2 hes got a meter, go to your local hospital diabetic centre tell them what your GPsaid myself and my partner both got free meters there, there give you a meter you can get a prescription off them for test strips and lancets even the diabetes log books.

 

[lynn007]

@lynn007 Love the avatar, but ears are a bit small!

It's not an avatar he is my cat!!

 

[Daibell]

What GPs don't realise when they refuse strips is that Late onset T1 is often mis-diagnosed as T2 (their fault) and high blood sugar can creep up without you knowing. My 22 yr old Nephew ended-up in Hospital with DKA and my blood sugar kept going up and it was only when I bought my own meter and strips that I was able to see the pattern. Yes, a 3 or 6-montly HBa1C can avoid that but in my year before insulin my Hab1C and meter readings shot up so I was aware of it.

 

[CollieBoy]

It's not an avatar he is my cat!!

That is what I mean, He is lovely our companions can be such a pleasure.