eyes

[tezza]

high im type two,still on no meds,last blood test one week ago was 7/6 have been to have eye test as my apointment for hospital is not for months yet and i found reading was a bit blury,anyway eye test results,right eye 16/16 this was ok ,i was told,left eye 22,i am worried this will get worse ,and for the first time since being told i was type two have got apointment with diabetic nurse at docs,only took about 9month or so ,still dont have meter to test daily as can not aford test strips ect,so i can see myself haveing another argument with docs over this ,my weight is also going up i try to eat as healthy as i can aford to do .it has cost me £47 for glasses so money very tight at the moment.can any one help on lets say force my docs into suplying a testing meter ect.

 

[CarbsRok]

y

 

[HLW]

Meters are not available on the NHS. So no idea where you got that idea from.

Yes they are. I was given one (it wasn't offered to me though, I had to ask for it) a year or so ago when they thought I had type 2 diabetes, and I've been offered one twice (the first time because the dr thought I didn't have one, the second time when I said to the nurse could they give me some test strips there and then, she said no but she could give me a meter which came with strips) since being re-diagnosed as having type 1 diabetes.

 

[CarbsRok]

y

 

[HLW]

Meters are not available on the NHS. So no idea where you got that idea from.

Yes they are. I was given one (it wasn't offered to me though, I had to ask for it) a year or so ago when they thought I had type 2 diabetes, and I've been offered one twice (the first time because the dr thought I didn't have one, the second time when I said to the nurse could they give me some test strips there and then, she said no but she could give me a meter which came with strips) since being re-diagnosed as having type 1 diabetes.

No the meters are not on prescription.
You were given a free sample end of story. The reps drop them into surgery's So you then either buy or get on prescription the test strips.
(Reps are not as daft as they look)
If you look at it in a logical way there is no way they would be on prescription as the meter companies give them away free. They wouldn't do that if they providing to the NHS would they?

I didn't say they were available on prescription. I said you can get them from 'the NHS', by which I meant GPs and hospitals, as that was what tezza asked.

tezza - do you mean your last hba1c was between 6 and 7? I'd guess that is why they won't give you test strips, as they would consider you well controlled at the moment. If your GP or nurse won't prescribe test strips, ask if there's a diabetic clinic with a consultant you can be referred to, and try asking there for strips.

 

[jopar]

Offically meters aren't on NHS, your doctor can not write you out a prescription that enables you to get one from the chemist..

Thats why you have to get them direct either from the hospital clinic or you may be lucky to secure one from you GP DSN...

If you rather have a choice of meters it's probably better to ask the hospital clinic as they are always dealing with reps there, so will have plenty of supplies of different meters, unfortunatly your gp might be only limited to several or even one type of meter or supplies, just depends mainly what reps they deal with or seen..

So strickly speaking meters aren't supplied by the NHS if they were then they would still be very expensive items to buy.. My first meter cost £150 (zero VAT) and only did time, date and BG, you could only get meters on loan from the hospital clinic when necessary for short periods of time... Boy have things changed

 

[tezza]

high hlw, no my bloods are 7/6 they come down from 8/2 what i was trying to say is i know docs are given so many meters off reps so why not give me one ,i could only aford a cheap meter ,i realy dont know which would be the best ,it,s the bits that go with it that i could not aford to buy,i know people who get these from there docs but mine will not ,he does not believe in home testing t
his is the only practice in my area.going to local civic centre in the morn to ask advice.

 

[HLW]

That's good that your blood sugar levels are down from before! Don't worry too much about which meter to use, any of the ones in eg. Boots would be fine. If you really can't decide, here is a web page I found with some reviews:
shootuporputup.co.uk/category/general-reviews/meter-reviews/

If you're having to buy the strips yourself I'd just go for the one with the cheapest strips, rather than the cheapest meter. The RRP of all the test strips seems to be very similar though. If you look online you'll find places that sell them cheaper than Boots though, so I'd get them online rather than from a shop.

 

[Synonym]

Hi Tezza

I think that I saw in another of your posts that you are waiting for a hospital appointment so would that be for the diabetes clinic? If so I suggest that you ask them for a meter. It will help your case if you start to keep a food diary and note how you felt and anything else you feel may be relevant so that you can show them that you want to be proactive in managing your condition.

It doesn't pay not to ask so if you are not offered a meter ask for one - and a prescription for the strips or at the very least a request to your doctor to give you a scrip. :roll:

Another thought would be to ask one of the manufacturers for a meter and purchase some strips from them. You could then add your tests to your food diary at the relevant points and discuss the spikes!

 

[cugila]

Here is a link to this websites own Community pages with information about many Blood Glucose meters available, and also consumer reviews:

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care ... guide.html

 

[tezza]

thank you for all the reply,s just filled form in online for free meter so fingers crossed,seeing diabetic nurse on the 15th so will see what happens then ,take care everyone

 

[Synonym]

....... seeing diabetic nurse on the 15th so will see what happens then ......

Let us know how you get on.