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Have you been told not to test your blood sugars?

brottonmoores said:
Don't know if I mention anywhere on this thread I get my test sticks Bayer Contour Next from EBay they are the cheapest I've found especially ordering more than 1 box at a time I usually pay less than £10 for £50 ( chemist charges £24 for 50) just make sure you ask the expiry date, quite how we are expected to manage blood sugars without testing I'm not sure.
Does anyone have a crystal ball?
I am on metaformin and Gliclazide and horrified a Desmond nurse when I said I was only supposed to test twice a week
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When I asked my DN about having strips I was told that if I was on Gliclazide I would be able to have them but as I'm well controlled on diet only she couldn't prescribe them so shouldn't you be prescribed them?
 
rowan said:
Why does being on Gliclazide make a difference?
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Because it helps the pancreas create more insulin, and can cause hypos if you aren't careful over diet. It is dangerous to drive if you are likely to hypo, so with these drugs and also insulin, you have to test before you drive and every 2 hours whilst driving. It is the law.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Because it helps the pancreas create more insulin, and can cause hypos if you aren't careful over diet. It is dangerous to drive if you are likely to hypo, so with these drugs and also insulin, you have to test before you drive and every 2 hours whilst driving. It is the law.
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Really? I've been on Gliclazide for a few years now and no-one has ever told me that!
 
It's always the problem that testing is presented as something that you do to avoid hypos, not as a means of learning to control and regulate your blood sugar. For most T2s, learning to regulate in this way does not mean 200 strips a month for life, but just an initial amount until they can stabilize their sugars and get a sense of how their body responds to different foods. That is not unaffordable for the NHS.
The importance of using test strips in this manner was stated unambiguously by Sir David Nicholson (the Chief Executive of NHS England), who as a newly diagnosed type 2 was immediately handed a meter and strips. His farewell speech to the NHS contained a lengthy self-congratulatory passage where he praised himself for having dealt with his diabetes by testing systematically until he knew exactly how to control his blood sugars. He used this as an example for his broader solution to the NHS funding crisis -- namely, that patients need to learn to manage their own health. He ignored subsequent emails from diabetics pointing out that this was not a solution available for most other T2s.
Putting HCPs into a position where they tell patients that testing is wrong or unnecessary not only goes against the specific arguments of their own Chief Executive, but creates a situation where they are simply lying to patients. And that, surely, is against the basic principles of medical ethics.
 
Just had a call from my doctors receptionist to inform me that they only supply metres to T1 patients, ah well never mind I will have to make do with guesswork unless of course I developed T1.
 
Ayrshire Dave said:
I have been told testing is not required by type 2 so I have not bothered, have been toying with the idea of testing but apparently I would have to fund this myself and at the moment financially that won't be possible
Dave
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You can often get meters free from companies with a small sample of strips and lancets, though you would have to buy them once you run out if your GP won't supply them. Many on this forum buy code free which seems to be a lot cheaper.
 
Paul59 said:
I one of the lucky ones but only get 100 every 4 weeks so can't do much with them, but I can monitor enough to be able to keep my lvls down by testing only what I'm not sure of.
But what I don't get with the Nhs is either they are stupid & not realise that a few strips even 200 a month can stop us getting complications that will cost a **** sight more to treat than a few strips or they have no real idea about controlling the condition & think the stupid diet they tell us about is going to do the job, when we know first hand from some members that have followed thier advice thing they know about cause they are trained, when unless they actually have the condition & know what's involved they really only go on theory, which is all wrong & needs to be sorted out. Why can't they follow other countries ways & learn from them instead of making us worse & having to speed thousands on treatment that can be avoided. (Rant over)
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Totally agree Paul. In addition, by not letting peeps test and therefore monitor their condition they are also heading for increased treatment costs due to folks developing complications and needing more medication etc
 
Muggle71 said:
My doctor said that me testing my blood "isn't the way forward" what ever that means! When I asked her how i was meant to keep a check on what foods Have a bad effect on my bg levels she just repeated that she didn't think me testing is the was forward.
I very much get the feeling that it is "only type 2" and therefore doesn't require any level of medical care-i haven't been seen in 4 years since my diagnosis! It must be the same for us type 2s the whole country over. Im in northumberland.
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Hi Muggle, I had the same response from my GP, though admittedly they have been pretty good at ensuring I get regular check ups etc. They would only prescribe test strips once I started on insulin. If only they had given me the ability to test myself in the first place I may have not ended up on insulin, ironically. Im in South Tyneside. Ito pretty bad if you haven't been seen in 4 years, I would suggest you read up on the Nice guidelines and take them a copy, or save yourself the bother and find a new GP
 
Muggle71 said:
I wonder why we are 'fobbed off' in this way. Reading about the dangers of uncontrolled type 2 diabetes is terrifying, and seeing how my nanna ended up so ill after starting to take insulin when diet control failed youd think that gps would be taking this much more seriously. I don't want to be treat with kid gloves but I would like to feel my condition is at least taken seriously. Is it really a case of "it's JUST type 2" If they did the sums and compared the cost of prescribing test strips to the cost of treating the complications of uncontrolled type 2 diabetes they would see that we are actually saving the nhs money by keeping a good eye on our bg levels!
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When I have my 'conspiracy theory head' on I think they just want to kill us all off, which is the cheapest option in the long run. Oh, and also some dark goings on with drug companies too.
 
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sanguine said:
Statins have a clear impact in reducing cholesterol levels and boosting BigPharma profits, whether you think either of those are 'a good thing' is a very controversial subject. There is no hard evidence that proves that reducing cholesterol reduces CVD. (Plenty of threads elsewhere on that subject, no need to pursue it again here ;)).

Your last sentence says everything of course. Truly independent drugs research is very rare for obvious reasons.

This gives some idea on the costs to the NHS of diabetes http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Documents/Diabetes UK Cost of Diabetes Report.pdf

If you find anything in there that says "It's the carbs stupid" please let me know.
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Just reading this report page 9:

'...the cost of reduced productivity at work ( due to people with diabetes not working because of death or poor health, or working at a lower level of productivity)...'

So we're now being criticised for being unproductive at work due to death! How inconsiderate of us! Mind you, I work in the Nhs, so it doesn't surprise me :grin:
 
Thanks just read this and ordered miine on line, I have just gone to pharmacy for cough medicine and checked with them about the one I picked up. Answer from them oh no you can't have cough from shelf you will need to always get it from pharmacy. Just another 3.50 more then normal medicine. So thank you good find as newly diagnosed my expenses have already started to go up!
 
mrslmac said:
Thanks just read this and ordered miine on line, I have just gone to pharmacy for cough medicine and checked with them about the one I picked up. Answer from them oh no you can't have cough from shelf you will need to always get it from pharmacy. Just another 3.50 more then normal medicine. So thank you good find as newly diagnosed my expenses have already started to go up!
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@mrslmac
I must have a better pharmacist than you! Richard (the pharmacist) ran through the list of cough meds on the shelf and said These ones are useable, Those are not, this is lower sugar etc, just ask if you need further help!
In fact if I get prescribed anything he will advise a non prescription alternative if it is available/suitable/preferable ( I pay for scripts!)
 
Diagnosed type 2, almost 4 years ago. Immediately got control of sugar levels. At last review, 12 months ago, i was told i only need to test if unwell. I thought everything was grand until january tjis year when my thirst reared itself, went to gp surgery for diabetic nurse, sugars were off the scale for months. Never been told to stop due to the cost of strips
 
bonkers82 said:
Diagnosed type 2, almost 4 years ago. Immediately got control of sugar levels. At last review, 12 months ago, i was told i only need to test if unwell. I thought everything was grand until january tjis year when my thirst reared itself, went to gp surgery for diabetic nurse, sugars were off the scale for months. Never been told to stop due to the cost of strips
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I have bought my own as how can I monitor my levels of don't know, huge learning curve. It is wrong that we don't get them.
 
I have type 2 and been told by my doctor to only test only if I am unwell untill then I was told to test 3 times a week, also the last visit to my bi-annual check they took me down from 4 metforman a day to 2 a day strangely two other people I know have been taken down from 4 to 2 coincident or not !!
 
desidiabulum said:
This is not about whether the NHS should, or can afford to, provide test strips on a permanent or temporary basis to non-T1 diabetics. Having read #EveryCloud ’s post, and so many more like it over the years on this forum, I wonder whether we could gather together examples of Healthcare Professionals who have told people that it is either unnecessary or just plain wrong to test their blood sugars. It is a scandal that needs highlighting.
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