Obsessed with testing!!!!

[Petal50]

Yes that is what my GP told me yesterday.
The cheek... I thought, I was dx type 2 a month ago, and on seeing the practice nurse to discuss my condition she gave me a test meter and strips.
then after choosing to take up a low carb diet and loosing 8lbs in 3 weeks... I get told i'm obsessive with testing as i am testing before and 2hrs after meals to get an idea what is good for me to eat and keep levels down
on one hand gp says well done for weight loss then insults me by saying no to test strips on prescription!!! he only wants me to test morn & night a couple of times a week. I'm quite disheartened that it seems like i have control taken away from how to manage MY diabetes! GP wants me to have a hb1ac test in a months time. my diabetes has gone untreated for more than a year because previous tests have been borderline till a month ago. i feel i could have been dx earlier with more stringent testing!
just so you know when dx i was 12.9.
now on metformin 2x daily plus low carb and i am now on an average of between 8 and 9.
i know it's early days but what is a girl to do when professionals keep tahing control away.
has anyone else encountered similar issues??? advice please.

 

[hanadr]

It's a common thing. Strips COST, so we can't have them. I gave in a while ago and buy my own.
Hana
PS don't buy from a retail pharmacy they have a Humungous mark up.

 

[bowell]

I had the same problem when first diagnosed NO STRIPS at all. This really wound me up
sent letters to PCT MP back to GP quoting NICE guidelines ect with no luck.
Head of GP Practice would not back down
Found I was getting far too obsessed making me stressed out, trying to fight

I stopped and found a source from Ebay ,, BG was under control
with a lot less stress
When you find your way, you will not need to test as much

In luck when the Practice GP changed new one in favour of test strips

However new Practice nurse is not :?

only now ,Three years later do i get the strips i need

The way things are going be lucky to get anything soon :cry:

 

[CR741]

i'm type 1 and i used to test after meals aswell, but then i got told never to test after meals and only before! i really want to test after meals though as it is important to see what foods cause you spikes.
CR :wink:

 

[k9kitty]

yup, so familiar is this. You get the dx, take control, do well and they pay you back by taking away the very test strips that help you get things under control. Don't give up, you are doing well. I even got told not to keep a diary of the test readings I do anymore. I ignore this advice because I want to remain in control of my diabetes as much as I can.

I have been rationed to 2 test strips a week after getting the Hb1 result down to 6.5 from 11 in three months. I buy extra test strips and test when I get any symptoms of being too high or too low. Have had at least 3 reading of around 3.2 mml with the metformin so it's important to be able to know what readings are when dips occur.

Look around for your test strips, sometimes the companies like Abbot will sell them slightly cheaper too. High Street chemists always have a mark up on price. On Ebay do check the expiry dates.

I can't do anything about my GP's prescribing because he runs the diabetes clinic at surgery but would a different doctor if your able to go to one at your practice, be more sympathetic perhaps?

 

[Pneu]

I find this limit on test strips absolutely mad... I have regular arguments with my GP over the amount of tests I needed to do.. (at the moment I test at least 4 - 6 times a day, I am type 1).. My argument always comes down to control and there is no way I could keep my control (under 5% HBA1C) as tight as it is without the testing..

What irritates me the most is you often see the programs / hear the people complain about how much diabetes costs the NHS yet when an individual tries to take a pro-active approach to management of their condition you have to fight tooth and nail to get what you want... what irritates me further is the complete lack of up to date knowledge surrounding diabetes at the GP clinics I have been registered at.. You would think for such a common condition (and for other common conditions) the NHS would produce some sort of newsletter so that GP's can keep up with the most up to date thinking and ideas..

 

[Sue Morton]

Seems even the type 1's are now having to fight for their test strips which I thought was important for type 1's.

My last Stravation BS was on 10th May and my next one is 23 Sept a long time in between even though I am type 2 its only through testing that you know what foods you react to.

I had a polish rye & wheat bread it made lovely golden crisp toast and was lovely and tested after 5.1 the following day 6.1 didn't test the next but did the following day 9.9 tested the next 10.1 oops had to chuck the bread. If I had taken just the one reading I would have carried on using it as I love my toast. Was having porridge and porridge every morning and then having toast was such a nice break am back to my porridge with readings around 7.1 to 7.2 two hrs after.

I have to buy my own test strip and when I couldn't afford it the other month I felt lost but did manage to get some off of eBay for £16.99 for the bayer contour. I have a Boots moniter and their strips are £25 for 50. So stick to the contour if you try ordering off of the bayer site they are £23 a lot of difference why cant the pharmaceutical companies sell them cheaper. I saw a list on here for the retail price of various strips and most ranged in the £14.99 so the price up of them is very high.

I think the view is that if your type 2 its your own fault through being over weight and goorging. So why should they pay for us to have strips. I have never goorged and very rarely eat chocolate but I am 61 and think my being diagnosed as type 2 is because gradually my body has worn down.

We should be given strips at least in the first 6 months to a year to help us get the know what food affects us. Then test every now and again as what you once could eat your body can change and suddenly react to that food. The PCTs have gone mad which then makes all type 2s mad :evil: :cry: If they are now starting on the type 1s god help us all.

Sue :evil: :x :x :x

 

[Pneu]

It doesn't really even make financial sense?!

I use OneTouch Ultra strips.. these are £25 ish for 50 retail but I believe they cost the NHS £9.75 for 50 (what the doctor told me)..or 19.5p each..

Now I can't find an exact cost for one night in A&E for diabetic care in the UK but the US equivalent is averaged around around $3,500 - $5,000 / night or £2,000 - £3,000 (ish)..

So my six strips a day cost the NHS £1.17 / day or £427.05 / year... or I would have to use seven + years worth of strips to see a similar cost to one night in A&E... That is not including the added cost benefit that improved long term control brings vs. the indirect costs of treating poorly managed diabetes.. it just doesn't make sense to limit test strips..

 

[Petal50]

thanks for your experiences folks. i feel much more positive now. I have bit the bullet so to speak and bought more strips. but will try seeing a different gp and xomplain to the practice nurse when i see her again.
i am signed up to do the Xpert course at our beand new built community hospital.... can't wait to find out what they have to say about GP's attitude, as it is the very first of these courses to be run locally, wouldn't make for good PR when they have a pro active type 2 on their case :twisted:
will keep you all posted!!!!

 

[Anonymous]

Hi. I'm shocked to hear you're all having a problem getting strips from your doctors! I didn't know this was going on. I feel myself lucky then as in the 3 years I've been a diabetic I've always been given them on repeat when I need them. I thought it was the same for everyone these are the necessary basic 'tools' needed as part of the control of diabetes. And you're told by the GPs and nurses that you must keep a check on your sugar?!

 

[lyndy42]

I also have not had any difficulty in getting the strips on prescription, same at my previous GP surgery. I don't test 4 times a day like I used to, but I keep an eye on it, and at odd times when I feel its too high or too low.

 

[janetitherington]

I do consider myself obsessed with testing but for good reason.

I have type 1, diagnosed 7 years ago. My driving licence was revoked less than a month later
I am on 4 injections of two types of insulin daily- i was on an insulin pump for a few months but it resulted in me almost dying.

I had a hypo during the night whist attached to the pump- still being pumped with insulin.
I was in a coma for 2 weeks and in critical care for 3 weeks. I was in hospital for 6 weeks in total.

That was not my first admission or last but it was the worst.
My parents where told i was going to die or be severely brain damaged.

Luckily- and i say luckily because it could have been so much worse- my brain damage only amounted to short term memory loss- and while it is terrible- like forgetting what i am saying half way thru a sentence most days i could have died or been a vegetable and that is something to be thankful for.

But even before this i tested to an obsessive amount- at least 8 times a day- then a few times during the night. every day.
My first box of strips (50) lasted a weekend- i even started on my mothers as i didnt have enough til monday. ( she is type 2)

My strips where upped to 100, then the next week 200.
I now get between 200 and 400 strips a month.

I feel very lucky listening to you 'doctor' mine have been very understanding and there has been no shortage of treatment.

Maybe that is the difference between GP treatment and hospital.

I have other auto immune diseases that dont play well with the diabetes, as a result i have a lot of hypos- several times a week i need my mothers help to survive- she even carries a glucagen injection in her hand bag.

And it is hard for her- i am a placid person usually but during a hypo where the lights are on but no one is home i am like a jekyll & hide personality.

Violent, swearing and trying to get away from anyone trying to help me.
I also have seizures as a result of the hypos and that scares my mother.


I am 35 years old now- and could not live alone- i am under no illusion, i wouldnt last a week.

Good Luck

Jane

PS) why are you buying blood strips? I am disgusted it has come to that for you.

 

[AndyS]

I must admit that I do think it is sickening the way some GP's behave on this topic. I was only diagnosed T1 a year and a bit ago but I very quickly got my levels nailed.
My A1c at 6 months after diagnosis was 5.9, how did I do this? I tested my ass off!
I ran all sorts experiments in the first few months, that was how I got a handle on what food did what to my BS and when.

In recent months I have had a couple of rounds of increased testing as I try to get back to the gym and have had to do adjustments on my basal insulin but luckily my Dr's have not even commented.
I have gone through almost 100 strips in a week and a half and not a peep.

On a normal day I test probably 6 or 7 times. I ALWAYS test before I get in the car for the commute to / from work and then before every meal and before bed.
If something changes in a day, more physical activity etc then more testing ensues.

I do wonder if human rights legislation could be used to challenge GP's if they have a "difficult" attitude to prescribing strips.

/A

 

[skeltonr9]

Hi,sorry to hear you have to buy your own test strips i think it is an absolute disgrace,maybe you should change your doctor.I am type 1 diagnosed nearly a year ago and i must say i cant speak highly enough about my doctor and diabetic nurse.whatever i ask for,wether its strips insulin pens or blood moniter their has been no hesitation in supplying them for me on prescription.you should be entitled to what you need,so get back to the docs and demand them.
good luck
bob(skeltonr9)

 

[dansmum]

although i have been a diabetic for a long time (T1) this is my first time on any chats re diabetes. i thought it was only me who was battling with my GP and practice nurse re the amount of testing strips i am allowed. they are cutting my prescription every six months. i used to have 200 per month it is now 50. i have wrote and telephoned to complain to no avail. they say i should just "know" what my sugar levels are. i have always maintained excellent control of my diabetes, i have had it for 35 years now and have no complications whatsoever, have never been hospitalised and have HBA1C normally between 6-8. this is precisely because i like to test prior to each meal time, before going to bed and before driving long distances. most of the time the levels are fine but i do like to check. i am a single parent of two disabled children, who would care for them if i became ill.? i have never cost the NHS anything with my diabetes and am extremely angry that i can now only test once or twice a day. i feel like the control of my condition has been snatched away from me.i have been told that it is due to the cost. my GP said the strips cost a lot, i said so does methadone but you dont mind prescribing that do you ha he didnt like that.

 

[anniep]

To restrict a T1 in dansmums position is scandlous. I am T2 but AIUI T1's are obliged to test before driving to be legal? 50 a month is not enough to test even two journeys a day ie to work and back

A while back there was a T1 posted here who was a lorry driver and who was having this problem with his GP, he made a fuss higher up the chain about the legalities for driving and safety - his GP backed down and he got them.

If there are regulations about testing and driving can you throw them at your GP?

 

[hanadr]

Type 1s and insulin using T2s SHOULD NOT have their test strips restricted.
However, it is possible to test too much for T2[non insulin users]. Established T2s should not need to test before and after each meal.
As to the savings produced by good control. they are irrelevant to the accounting system which doesn't carry over from year to year. Also diabetics can fall between stools. Some things come from the GP budget, others the hospital. Both try to palm us off to the other. It MIGHT improve if we get personal budgets. However, since personal care plans exist more often in the minutes of meetings than in reality, It won't be soon.
Hana

 

[gocat]

I remember one time I put in a repeat prescription for some testing strips and the gp said I dont need to test so much. I said, Im not but Im putting in the repeat prescription as the strips I have are just gone past their expiry date. Shut him up :lol:

 

[Elderman]

I've never had a problem obtaining test strips, I asked the the consultant at the diabetic clinic local hospital to write to my GP explaining why I need to test between 10-12 times daily. Once you can get the consultant on your side the GP always backs down.
The reason I have to test 10-12 times daily is that I have secondary diabetes or type 1.5 caused by very high doses of steroids and antibiotics. My pancreas switches on and off and I have to be very careful with my insulin injection. Some weeks I'm on 50-60 units of insulin other 10 units. Which is a pain when at the gym and my pancreas decides to switch on, it's a case of hypo land here I come. But I've learnt for me having to tight a control isn't good, keeping my readings under 7 before a meal and under ten 2 hours after meal is ok and never go below 4 on any reading. But what the future holds with this govenment remains to be seen, with all the spending cuts. Who know we may have to start buying our own insulin.

 

[Marky4]

I've found the access to Blood testing strips are affecting where I can choose to live! I am extremely nervous about moving to a different area of London, because from what people are saying - it may be very difficult to get enough test strips to maintain my diabetes were I to move.

At the moment at my GP in Central London, I seem to be lucky, and my GP is prescribing as much as I need. Knock on wood this won't change. Since I am doing at least 5 tests a day, this is a huge advantage for me. I can't imagine what it would be like to have to limit my testing in the way some are.

I guess international Recessions, and Bankers earning 150k a year is likely to affect all of our health eventually. Grrr