Test strips and monitoring doc says no!

[Brightside]

Hi folks I'm a bit perturbed? Diagnosed typ 2 .... 3 months ago!

Was given a bg star glucose monitor....great! Started testing 3-4 times a day at first, now once a day fasting.

The issue is I asked my doc to prescribe me 2x 50 strips so that I reduce the no of times I need to get a prescription, run to the pharmacy etcetc also want a repeat prescription.

The message came back...."no....reduce the amount of testing to once a week"

My sugars are stable at between 5-7 mmol every morning! Although he doesn't know this!

I have enough medformin and cliczlazide for an army....but test strips appear to be a problem?..

I feel the nhs would rather see us using medication than allowing us to monitor and control our sugars with diet and healthy living!

I think NICE (national institute for cost evasion....arhg I mean national institute for clinical excellence) have dictated that testing should be reduced???

Any one feel the same, any comments?




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[Mushroom]

Once a day fasting? Test 2 hours after a meal. Don't need to test early morning or before meal. That will cut down the amount of strips you need to use.
Yes, it would seem that we the NHS likes to give out the meds, probably targets and incentives there somewhere!
I haven't even asked my surgery for strips. Buy your own from eBay.

 

[CollieBoy]

@Brightside,
Don't forget that if you are on a insulin inducing med like gliclazide, then you are required to test before driving and at least every 2 hours to ensure your BG is above 5! (DVLA regs!)

 

[CollieBoy]

If your tight *rse sorry GP won't spring for strips there are some cheap tester suppliers on ebay/amazon such as SD Codefreee.

 

[phoenix]

@Brightside,
Don't forget that if you are on a insulin inducing med like gliclazide, then you are required to test before driving and at least every 2 hours to ensure your BG is above 5! (DVLA regs!)

I just looked that one up. The regulation for those on Sulfs etc doesn't 'require'. It's very woolly unless you have a group 2 licence when you have to test twice a day and at times relevant to driving. For those with a normal car licence it says https://www.gov.uk/current-medical-guidelines-dvla-guidance-for-professionals-conditions-d-to-f

"Must not have had more than one episode of hypoglycaemia requiring the assistance of another person within the preceding 12 months. It may be appropriate to monitor blood glucose regularly and at times relevant to driving to enable the detection of hypoglycaemia. Must be under regular medical review"

 

[Brightside]

thanks folks for the advice. I know I can buy the strips, but what I wanted to know more is....is testing once a week sufficient with a stable BG? Or should it be done daily??? Also I still intend to go off the meds soon....then testing will be more critical I assume?

Coming back the buying of the strips....here we run into a principle thing....I know I can purchase these, but I pay contributions to the NHS, over 300quid a month, so I expect the NHS to pay when its time to pay....

I wish more people in the UK would see it this way as we are all too easily fobbed off with "what do you expect from a free service" rant over....

 

[Squire Fulwood]

If you are in the learning phase then once a week is unacceptable and you should be testing after meals every day. Once you know what you can eat then less testing is necessary but more often than once a week.

We are over a barrel with the testing strips. I paid my taxes for xx years and now buy my own strips. It's better than what might happen if I don't.

 

[CollieBoy]

In Short if you are on insulin promoting tabs, especially as a newbie you should be prescribed strips to ;
1) allow you to learn what foods & meds do to your BGs
2) To monitor if you drive or operate machinery

If you have a hypo and have an accident, what defence is "my HCP told me I didn't need to test"
Answer B*gger all!

That advice from your Doc proves he doesn't care about your health, doesn't care, and is in no way professional IMHO!

 

[Bluetit1802]

Testing morning fasting, before meals, or going to bed, is good if you want to keep an eye on your general levels to make sure you aren't creeping up. I like to know that I drop back to normal when not eating.

Testing before and after meals is really only to test out that meal to see if you can cope with it, and is vital for people just starting out and for the first few months. Once you have tested a meal several times I see little point in doing the same meal over and over other than occasionally to make sure your portion control isn't creeping up, or to test if new/altered medication is suitable.

Just my opinion, and it is probably different if on certain meds like you are.

 

[equipoise]

It was probably the request for 2x50 that triggered the over-the-top response. Try rewinding to 1x50 per month if that keeps GP happy. If your sugars are stable and under control, then fasting test each morning, and then every few days doing 2 hours after each meal, just to check that you're on target , should be OK, I would have thought. And whenever you're eating something different or your schedule changes.
I think the problem with the whole test strips issue is the all-or-nothing approach. Once sugars are under control (which I think cannot be done without initial intensive use of strips) then it should be possible to use them more sparingly, and that might reassure the GP.

 

[Brunneria]

My views on type 2 BG testing seems to be evolving rapidly.

I think it is vital to dietary control, and I test up to 5+ times a day, if my food intake warrants it.

But do I think the NHS should automatically pick up the tab? Not any more.
I now think that type 2s on low incomes who cannot afford testing should be supplied with meter and strips.
People like myself, who can afford to, should be buying their own.
I costs me 70p a day, or £5 a week. Most people earning above minimum wage can afford this.

The days of the NHS picking up every tab in some caring mother hen role are over.
The NHS is now groaning in agony. Staff are stressed, exhausted and over worked. Hospital hygiene levels are appalling. Underfunding is rife. The system simply cannot provide non essentials, and on a scale of medical necessities, then type 2 BG testing is lower on the scale than many other things.

I would definitely like to see all diabetics, whatever their type, testing several times daily. But I don't think it is possible for the NHS to pick up the tab for diet controlled type 2s.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

This is slightly off topic but interesting. When my supply of test strips was stopped I got the phone call from the pharmacist. I was only supplied enough to test once a day and so had been augmenting my supply by buying them.

Anyway she phoned and said that I was to get no more strips. Thinking I was being helpful I said, "That's OK I know where to buy them", and she said, "I'll pretend I didn't hear that".

Does this mean I am not allowed to buy my own either.

 

[Bluetit1802]

My nurse was pleased I test, and happy for me to continue, and even more pleased I am self funding for this!

 

[Brightside]

My views on type 2 BG testing seems to be evolving rapidly.

I think it is vital to dietary control, and I test up to 5+ times a day, if my food intake warrants it.

But do I think the NHS should automatically pick up the tab? Not any more.
I now think that type 2s on low incomes who cannot afford testing should be supplied with meter and strips.
People like myself, who can afford to, should be buying their own.
I costs me 70p a day, or £5 a week. Most people earning above minimum wage can afford this.

The days of the NHS picking up every tab in some caring mother hen role are over.
The NHS is now groaning in agony. Staff are stressed, exhausted and over worked. Hospital hygiene levels are appalling. Underfunding is rife. The system simply cannot provide non essentials, and on a scale of medical necessities, then type 2 BG testing is lower on the scale than many other things.

I would definitely like to see all diabetics, whatever their type, testing several times daily. But I don't think it is possible for the NHS to pick up the tab for diet controlled type 2s.

very noble indeed, you should ask for a reduction in your contributions though as you are not getting what you pay for....the NHS is a monstrosity with many inefficiencies brought on by a lack of competition. Sorry to put it so bluntly, but I have lived through various health care systems and the NHS are the worst. It starts off that my GP instead of helping me is more of a gatekeeper than a doctor....the fact that the hospitals are a mess is purely down to poor management....a private hospital can run with half the staff. At least give me a choice and I will go private, fully private not the private we have today that pays for acute but not chronic, but our government wont allow this...Anyway this is not what the forum is about but its exactly this kind of thinking that we should support the NHS that has lead to complacency in the NHS. A large part of my salary goes into funding the NHS, but when I get poor service I cannot go elsewhere....not good.

 

[Bluetit1802]

I have no complaints about my treatment on the NHS (other than hospital food). I have nothing but praise for my cancer treatment from the day of diagnosis (on a national screening programme) to the current time. I certainly got all my money's worth in 12 months, and more, with brilliant care, fast appointments, excellent consultants, wonderful nurses, and 12 months of extremely expensive drugs. (Just one of which was £1,800 every 3 weeks for 12 months). I can now look forward to another 5 years of close monitoring.

 

[Brunneria]

very noble indeed, you should ask for a reduction in your contributions though as you are not getting what you pay for....the NHS is a monstrosity with many inefficiencies brought on by a lack of competition. Sorry to put it so bluntly, but I have lived through various health care systems and the NHS are the worst. It starts off that my GP instead of helping me is more of a gatekeeper than a doctor....the fact that the hospitals are a mess is purely down to poor management....a private hospital can run with half the staff. At least give me a choice and I will go private, fully private not the private we have today that pays for acute but not chronic, but our government wont allow this...Anyway this is not what the forum is about but its exactly this kind of thinking that we should support the NHS that has lead to complacency in the NHS. A large part of my salary goes into funding the NHS, but when I get poor service I cannot go elsewhere....not good.

Lol. It has nothing to do with nobility - although thanks for the compliment. I am simply being more practical than people who beat the 'I'm entitled' drum, without understanding how things really work.

I have my own objections to the way the NHS functions (and it sure has its failings!), but I am very pleased to disagree with a lot of your opinions. Thinking that because you contribute £x therefore you are entitled to a return of £x is a major misunderstanding of the purpose of the NHS.

I hope you never need tens of thousands of cancer treatment, or dialysis, or similar, but if you do, the NHS will give you far more treatment than your measly payments would cover. None of us know what our personal future holds.

Edited to add: oops, Bluetit, you beat me to it!

 

[Brightside]

This is slightly off topic but interesting. When my supply of test strips was stopped I got the phone call from the pharmacist. I was only supplied enough to test once a day and so had been augmenting my supply by buying them.

Anyway she phoned and said that I was to get no more strips. Thinking I was being helpful I said, "That's OK I know where to buy them", and she said, "I'll pretend I didn't hear that".

Does this mean I am not allowed to buy my own either.

I think you may be breaching some NHS rule...I seem to remember that patients needing Herceptin (Breast cancer medication that costs a fortune) were told....should they purchase their own then they would be going outside the NHS and therefore would lose their right to further NHS treatment...this was a few years ago when NICE refuted the efficacy of Herceptin even though the rest of mankind was using it as a major defense against the disease...due to media pressure they finally relented, but unfortunately if you are a man with breast cancer in the UK you still wont get the medication....it simply costs too much and us males are more expendable than females it would appear....

 

[AndBreathe]

very noble indeed, you should ask for a reduction in your contributions though as you are not getting what you pay for....the NHS is a monstrosity with many inefficiencies brought on by a lack of competition. Sorry to put it so bluntly, but I have lived through various health care systems and the NHS are the worst. It starts off that my GP instead of helping me is more of a gatekeeper than a doctor....the fact that the hospitals are a mess is purely down to poor management....a private hospital can run with half the staff. At least give me a choice and I will go private, fully private not the private we have today that pays for acute but not chronic, but our government wont allow this...Anyway this is not what the forum is about but its exactly this kind of thinking that we should support the NHS that has lead to complacency in the NHS. A large part of my salary goes into funding the NHS, but when I get poor service I cannot go elsewhere....not good.

Brightside - A number of points.

Have you, or your family ever had any chronic care from the NHS? If you have, whilst significantly imperfect, you will not have had to sit down and work out how you pay for it, at a time you may have been unable to work, due to that incapacity.

I am currently living in a country where health care is priced, and paid for, at the point of delivery. No money = no operation/consultation/x-Ray/MRI/CT or whatever. To those living here, those things are sometimes a luxury they simply do not have. A couple of months ago, a friend of ours slipped and fell on his damp kitchen floor. Result: broken elbow. Treatment for his elbow? Certainly sir. That'll be $20,000 for the first phase, plus more for a second operation.

Secondly, whilst private hospitals in the ku I have fewer staff, they also have fewer patients, and none of the types of patients often absorbing so much manpower in NHS hospitals. Effectively, by finances, they cherry pick their patients.

And finally, in UK, you do have a choice. You can go privately for absolutely anything. I could introduce you to a practise of 3 fully private GPs tomorrow. Where I live in UK cannot be the only place with truly private practises. A private GP appointment isn't expensive, and thereafter, if you have comprehensive medical insurance most of your needs would be covered. Obviously, that depends on the depths of your pockets, just as the care the NHS provides is limited by the depths of tats pockets.

Good luck with your ongoing diabetes journey.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

I think you may be breaching some NHS rule...I seem to remember that patients needing Herceptin (Breast cancer medication that costs a fortune) were told....should they purchase their own then they would be going outside the NHS and therefore would lose their right to further NHS treatment...

This looks like a woolly area. I wonder how they feel about me buying my own sticking plasters, indigestion tablets, dettol, aspirin, moisturiser, laxatives ad infinitum. Test strips are just another non invasive treatment.

Let's not forget that they have already refused to supply any more test strips so not much of a threat since I am a T2 not currently on medication.

I think the culture of the NHS is changing. There was a notice in my surgery once that said that any patients who complained would be struck off. I don't think that attitude and many others would be tolerated today.

 

[duranton1970]

Hi folks I'm a bit perturbed? Diagnosed typ 2 .... 3 months ago!

Was given a bg star glucose monitor....great! Started testing 3-4 times a day at first, now once a day fasting.

The issue is I asked my doc to prescribe me 2x 50 strips so that I reduce the no of times I need to get a prescription, run to the pharmacy etcetc also want a repeat prescription.

The message came back...."no....reduce the amount of testing to once a week"

My sugars are stable at between 5-7 mmol every morning! Although he doesn't know this!

I have enough medformin and cliczlazide for an army....but test strips appear to be a problem?..

I feel the nhs would rather see us using medication than allowing us to monitor and control our sugars with diet and healthy living!

I think NICE (national institute for cost evasion....arhg I mean national institute for clinical excellence) have dictated that testing should be reduced???

Any one feel the same, any comments?




Sent from the Diabetes Forum App