How many blood strips do you get a month

susieg

Well-Known Member
Messages
116
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
the confusion about what and what not to eat, provided by others who know it all!
I'm Type 1, and can have as many as I need, I usually order about 100 of my main meter, and another 100 about once every other month for a meter I carry in my handbag.
 

AndyS

Well-Known Member
Messages
784
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
ALso T1 and I have 150 on my re-order though I tend to get through those in just a touch over 3 weeks usually. Though my record I think stands at around 450 in a single month but to be fair I was quite ill and had a box that seemed to be full of duds that just gave errors and untrusted readings, actually sent it back to manufacturer for them to test themselves after a brief phone call with a very nice lady.

If you have done DAFNE and do what the DVLA say you should then you will be testing a minimum of 5 times a day.
1 - Before breakfast / heading for work
2 - Before Lunch
3 - Before Driving home
4 - Before Dinner
5 - Before bed.
That gives an expected minimum (not account for dud tests) of 150 per month.

Of course throw in basal adjustment testing over night and also additional testing for illness or longer driving trips or hypos and that number can jump in a big hurry.

When I moved Dr's recently they queried my "high numbers of strips" on repeat. I laid out the numbers above and they promptly shut up and gave me what I needed.

Waiting for next year when I have a long holiday planned (3.5 weeks :D) travelling a lot and will probably want to take in the region of 500 strips and I havent even worked out how much insulin. But since I had a huge bust up with the prescriptions clerk when I first signed up here they more or less do as they are told but this will be something special to look forward to :)

Of course on the subject of lots of testing. How does everyone deal with the wrecking our fingers take?
I have tried alternate sites but they don't seem to give results that are as reliable and my fingers are often a right mess. The skin isn't getting harder, if anything it is softer and more tender and tends to keep bleeding. I'm always getting told off by my wife for leaving bloody marks on lightswitches and surfaces.

/A
 

AMBrennan

Well-Known Member
Messages
826
Use a different finger each time? You have (presumably) six viable fingers, each with two sides, with maybe 2-3 sites, for a total of 24-36 location. At five tests a day that means that every location has a week to heal.
Maybe you should try a shallower setting for the lancet (if you're using something like Unistick regular - I got 300 of them by mistake...)?

I have found forearm testing to be quite reliable (+/- 0.5 mmol/l from the finger stick test using the same meter) and would consider them suitable for less important tests (before lunch and dinner, since I know that pre-meal readings are always 5-ish; guesstimating the carbs in a serving of fish and chips at the local takeaway is somewhat more error prone).

If all else fails you could always get a continuous blood glucose monitor.
 

steveinblackpool

Active Member
Messages
28
Hi all

Newbie here but been a T1 diabetic nearly 40 years.
I test 2/3 days a week changing the days/times to get an overall picture of how the blood sugars are.
I sort of know when sugars are low/high. But times i have pricked finger not at the end but the 3rd pad down which i have found it less sensative. I have pricked the end and checked it and it was 6.2 and when pricked it at base of finger 6.4; so there aint much difference although i have been told you dont get an accreate reading may be true but... 0.2 difference gives you a pretty good idea of ur blood sugars and its ALOT LESS PAINFUL :)

Steve
 

Unbeliever

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,551
I have very small hands and very thin fingers but find that , strangely, the least painful sites are the sides of my litttle fingers. They really are skinny little matchsticks but testing there is far less painful than on the better cushioned fingers. Although I can sometimes see a mark afterwards for some hours they seem to heal up quite quickly.
I use all 3 pads -alhough pad is something of a misnomer here.
 

davey b

Active Member
Messages
30
Having just converted from T2 to T1 I'm testing like a demon so this month I would expect to get through about 150 ordinary blood strips and probably about 10 Keytones blood test strips. I have no issues getting either of them from my doctor.
 

Esther1411

Active Member
Messages
30
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I haven't had a problem getting the testing strips (T1) my nurse is lovely and just wants me to get on top of this thing!! However my mum (T2) has been told she no longer needs to test which is a little worrying as she seems to suffer more lows than I do???
Interestingly I was running a bit low on strips the other day and thought that I might buy some rather than put in a prescription repeat for just one thing - I was in Sainsburys and went to the chemist who told me they were £27 !!! Needless to say I didn't buy them - but surely this was a mistake - does anyone know?
 

SparkJack

Well-Known Member
Messages
152
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I'm T2. No strips from the Drs so I buy mine online from Spirit Healthcare.
I buy 3x50 per month-(CareSens) = £38.25
By testing I have realised that for 4 years I was not in control of my BS despite my review meetings when I was told I was ok. When I started testing I used to see regular spikes of up to 13. Now my readings are generally much lower -mainly 6 - 8.0 although the fasting one is still 8+. I am working hard to lower my BS readings by learning to lower carb. I've now moved away from the solid protein of early attempts to a very varied and healthy diet.
 

Unbeliever

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,551
When I was first diagnosed I was given test srips and here was no limit put upon he number. I was not told how to use them properly and couldn't see the poin for a long time.
I changed practices and started to pick up on the problems of getting the strips because of the atitude of the younger doctors in the Practice. This was around teh same time as I had the time to research my diabetes and found this forum. At last I understood about testing,
I have been afraid to upset the apple cart and have been restricting myself to 50 per month from the Doctor .
I also buy another 50 from Spirit Healthcare. I have to say that I have had excellent customer service from them. I have difficulties i in both in ordering online and by telephone because of problems with my vision and they have been exremely helpful and efficient. After my experiences wih my current GP Practice and admin at the hospital it is a blessing to find someone who assists me to manage my diabetes
Yes I nknow I am a paying customer bu I hardly hink my £25.50 is so important as to lead them to give me special treament!
I too have bought test strips over the counter from a pharmacy and had to pay £22'50 ,I think without Vat. I would not do this again mainly because the pharmacist could not believe that I was paying for the strips. she lectured me sternly about testing three times a day. When I told her that strips were being refused or restricted elsewhere, I am sure she thought I was insane! She told me that some people were picking up large numbers of strips each week - definitely a post code lottery.i
 

dani-a

Active Member
Messages
27
I get 200 a month but that might be because I've attended a DAFNE course, before the course I used to have 100 per prescription
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
I am a type 2, living in Switzerland so I don't really know if this is relevant to this thread but just out of interest it works out at 33 a month for me. I have to pay a percentage of the cost.