Supportive Diabetes Nurse

patticat

Member
Messages
14
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
nosey, unkind and intolerant people; mushy-textured, doughy food
I think it's possible to get free meters in UK as the profit is made on the test strips. The main difference is diabetes is considered a long term disability and it means we get free prescriptions for drugs, meds etc. I think in the US everything is either paid for or insured so I can see why you would be encouraged to test. Is this correct ?

You are correct up to a point. In the US, we do the daily testing and then go every three months like you to have our HC1C done. Also, here we are mostly encouraged to do the "low carb" eating, which is what I do, and it seems to work pretty well at keeping the BG under control. Don't really understand the propensity in UK for high carb eating??? Mine usually stays around 105 ml/dl with a 5.5 to 6.0 HC1C, which is considered good. Believe that would translate to 5.5 to 6.0 mmol/l for you. Here in the US, there is no such thing as "free" medical, unless you're one of the fortunate ones like myself. Since my husband was a Vietnam-era veteran and died of what was considered a service-related illness - in his case ALS - I have veterans' insurance and get all my diabetic supplies and any generic meds (not name brand though) free through their mail med service. Also, those on what we call Medicaid get a certain amount of test strips and diabetic meds free. Most people though have to pay for their strips and meds in full, unless they happen to have some insurance, which a lot of people heretofore have not had because like me they couldn't afford it. Now, of course, our medical system is going through the change of Obamacare, which is not considered a good "fix" by a lot of people, myself included. I myself was without any insurance at all for six years because I couldn't afford it, and I had to pay through the nose for everything, and it was costing me a good $600 a month on a very fixed income until I started receiving my husband's veterans' benefits, so I didn't test as frequently or go see my doctor as often as I should. But don't get me started on that!
 
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FatGenes999

Well-Known Member
Messages
265
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Smug health care professionals; pretense, pomposity and presumptuousness; people who have a disregard for other people's health and safety; being "fenced-in"; arbitrary authority; nonsensical rules; political correctness; stupidity that masquerades as profundity.
You are correct up to a point. In the US, we do the daily testing and then go every three months like you to have our HC1C done. Also, here we are mostly encouraged to do the "low carb" eating, which is what I do, and it seems to work pretty well at keeping the BG under control. Don't really understand the propensity in UK for high carb eating??? Mine usually stays around 105 ml/dl with a 5.5 to 6.0 HC1C, which is considered good. Believe that would translate to 5.5 to 6.0 mmol/l for you. Here in the US, there is no such thing as "free" medical, unless you're one of the fortunate ones like myself. Since my husband was a Vietnam-era veteran and died of what was considered a service-related illness - in his case ALS - I have veterans' insurance and get all my diabetic supplies and any generic meds (not name brand though) free through their mail med service. Also, those on what we call Medicaid get a certain amount of test strips and diabetic meds free. Most people though have to pay for their strips and meds in full, unless they happen to have some insurance, which a lot of people heretofore have not had because like me they couldn't afford it. Now, of course, our medical system is going through the change of Obamacare, which is not considered a good "fix" by a lot of people, myself included. I myself was without any insurance at all for six years because I couldn't afford it, and I had to pay through the nose for everything, and it was costing me a good $600 a month on a very fixed income until I started receiving my husband's veterans' benefits, so I didn't test as frequently or go see my doctor as often as I should. But don't get me started on that!

Yes, patticat, things are somewhat different here in the States. My GP is OK, but, I have noticed her subtly negative reactions to my use of naturopathic remedies for a lot of my health concern. Some of that was done because I couldn't afford all of the specialist and Rx meds for heath issues, (other than my DB). I can tell she is silently annoyed that I have chosen to go the diet and exercise route rather than use Rx meds for my DB. I do, however, use a glucometer for BG readings.

Now that Obamocare is raking ("taking") over the health-care field, we are faced with other problems, which are too tiresome to go into, but, I will say that applying for Obamacare and monitoring your application is a job in itself, with lots of foul-ups and backtracking. Fortunately, I am not so ill that I can't keep up, but, if I was that ill, I would have to get a community volunteer to help me through the bureaucratic mess that Obamacare is.

Other than local clinics which give a limited-use kind of voucher, Obamacare will be the only kind of insurance i will have to help me when I need specialists and special tests done. I am awaiting acceptance so that I can get the eye, foot, neurologist, etc, specialist appointments that I will need to see if my DB has caused other problems.
 
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patticat

Member
Messages
14
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
nosey, unkind and intolerant people; mushy-textured, doughy food
Yes, patticat, things are somewhat different here in the States. My GP is OK, but, I have noticed her subtly negative reactions to my use of naturopathic remedies for a lot of my health concern. Some of that was done because I couldn't afford all of the specialist and Rx meds for heath issues, (other than my DB). I can tell she is silently annoyed that I have chosen to go the diet and exercise route rather than use Rx meds for my DB. I do, however, use a glucometer for BG readings.

Now that Obamocare is raking ("taking") over the health-care field, we are faced with other problems, which are too tiresome to go into, but, I will say that applying for Obamacare and monitoring your application is a job in itself, with lots of foul-ups and backtracking. Fortunately, I am not so ill that I can't keep up, but, if I was that ill, I would have to get a community volunteer to help me through the bureaucratic mess that Obamacare is.

Other than local clinics which give a limited-use kind of voucher, Obamacare will be the only kind of insurance i will have to help me when I need specialists and special tests done. I am awaiting acceptance so that I can get the eye, foot, neurologist, etc, specialist appointments that I will need to see if my DB has caused other problems.

I'm glad to see that you are trying the diet and exercise route first, especially since you are only "borderline" at the moment. Personally, I think proper diet is the way to go. I wish I had realized this at the outset of my T2 diagnosis instead of allowing my doctor at the time to start me on meds. I really think I could have licked the DB completely if I had really understood about diet and exercise then. Hopefully, you will be able to do so. All the best to you in your progress! I really consider myself fortunate that I don't have to worry about navigating the "mess" that is Obamacare right now, but I am glad it will be of benefit to you and that you have the strength to navigate it for yourself. Good luck!
 
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FatGenes999

Well-Known Member
Messages
265
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Smug health care professionals; pretense, pomposity and presumptuousness; people who have a disregard for other people's health and safety; being "fenced-in"; arbitrary authority; nonsensical rules; political correctness; stupidity that masquerades as profundity.
I'm glad to see that you are trying the diet and exercise route first, especially since you are only "borderline" at the moment. Personally, I think proper diet is the way to go. I wish I had realized this at the outset of my T2 diagnosis instead of allowing my doctor at the time to start me on meds. I really think I could have licked the DB completely if I had really understood about diet and exercise then. Hopefully, you will be able to do so. All the best to you in your progress! I really consider myself fortunate that I don't have to worry about navigating the "mess" that is Obamacare right now, but I am glad it will be of benefit to you and that you have the strength to navigate it for yourself. Good luck!

;)Thanks for your support and good wishes. The one positive factor I have going for me, regarding getting my application processed properly, is that I have a phone connection with one young lady in "the system" who is actually trying to assure that my case goes through the proper channels. There are still errors and foul-ups going on, but she is acting as my guardian angel:angelic:, which is an enormous blessing. I told her all of my diabetes-related specialist appointments are on hold until I am officially accepted into the new health program. She is really going to bat for me. Thank God for the caring people in the system.

And "good luck" to you should you decide to go purely the diet and exercise route; your numbers seem pretty good with the Rx meds.
 

patticat

Member
Messages
14
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
nosey, unkind and intolerant people; mushy-textured, doughy food
;)Thanks for your support and good wishes. The one positive factor I have going for me, regarding getting my application processed properly, is that I have a phone connection with one young lady in "the system" who is actually trying to assure that my case goes through the proper channels. There are still errors and foul-ups going on, but she is acting as my guardian angel:angelic:, which is an enormous blessing. I told her all of my diabetes-related specialist appointments are on hold until I am officially accepted into the new health program. She is really going to bat for me. Thank God for the caring people in the system and "good luck" to you should you decide to go purely the diet and exercise route; your numbers seem pretty good with the Rx meds.

I was T2 diagnosed August 2001 in a small country community in Oklahoma, and I'm afraid the local GP just didn't know enough about diabetes care and just thought meds were the easiest way for him to go. In 2003, I moved to the Oklahoma City area to be closer to my daughter, and had specialists there who were, of course, much more knowledgeable, but still not infallible. Long story short, in 2006 I almost died from what they called an "Addisonian episode" of Addison's disease, which necessitated me going from pills to two types of insulin, Humalog (fast acting) and Lantus (long acting), and I have been able, along with diet, to keep my DB under control. Unfortunately, my BMI is way over what it should be, and I am really working on trying to get that under control once again.

Recently, I have "discovered" a product called NutriBullet, which I'm sure a lot of you have heard about. In their accompanying booklet describing the proper use of the product, they have a six-week "diet program", which is really just a very sensible low-carb type of diet. However, what this product actually is, I believe - they don't state this - is a mostly "raw food" program, because what the NutriBullet does is "extract" all the nutrients from the veggies and fruits you put in it, for the most part skin and all. I could not believe how well it actually works, but going on the six-week program and having at least two daily of these "shakes" - for lack of a better term - started almost immediately - within only two days - to bring my blood sugars down dramatically and helped reduce my weight. Also, I was amazed at how much better I felt, and it also seemed to help with the severe sleeping problems I had been having for about a month and which had affected my blood sugars quite a lot, as well as my blood pressure. I promise I have no connection with this company or any of its products, but just thought I would mention it as something that might be of help to people like yourself, who are trying the diet and exercise.
 
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FatGenes999

Well-Known Member
Messages
265
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Smug health care professionals; pretense, pomposity and presumptuousness; people who have a disregard for other people's health and safety; being "fenced-in"; arbitrary authority; nonsensical rules; political correctness; stupidity that masquerades as profundity.
I was T2 diagnosed August 2001 in a small country community in Oklahoma, and I'm afraid the local GP just didn't know enough about diabetes care and just thought meds were the easiest way for him to go. In 2003, I moved to the Oklahoma City area to be closer to my daughter, and had specialists there who were, of course, much more knowledgeable, but still not infallible. Long story short, in 2006 I almost died from what they called an "Addisonian episode" of Addison's disease, which necessitated me going from pills to two types of insulin, Humalog (fast acting) and Lantus (long acting), and I have been able, along with diet, to keep my DB under control. Unfortunately, my BMI is way over what it should be, and I am really working on trying to get that under control once again.

Recently, I have "discovered" a product called NutriBullet, which I'm sure a lot of you have heard about. In their accompanying booklet describing the proper use of the product, they have a six-week "diet program", which is really just a very sensible low-carb type of diet. However, what this product actually is, I believe - they don't state this - is a mostly "raw food" program, because what the NutriBullet does is "extract" all the nutrients from the veggies and fruits you put in it, for the most part skin and all. I could not believe how well it actually works, but going on the six-week program and having at least two daily of these "shakes" - for lack of a better term - started almost immediately - within only two days - to bring my blood sugars down dramatically and helped reduce my weight. Also, I was amazed at how much better I felt, and it also seemed to help with the severe sleeping problems I had been having for about a month and which had affected my blood sugars quite a lot, as well as my blood pressure. I promise I have no connection with this company or any of its products, but just thought I would mention it as something that might be of help to people like yourself, who are trying the diet and exercise.

Sounds like you have a good grip on your DB situation:).
I'm temporarily out of meter strips, but my BG readins were starting to look good. i am doing very low carbs, with all of them from low-starch veggies, expect for some of the nuts which are higher starch. I am off of all wheat and grain, industrialized oils, above-ground veggies, and refined sugars. The only "sweetner" I am using currently is the organic coconut palm sugar which has a good reputation among people with diabetes. I also am not "advertising" the product, but, it supposedly has a low glycemic index and some very good vitamins and minerals, some of which -- magnesium -- can help stabilize blood sugar. Still lots of debating about the product.