perscribtion of test strips.

[marty1234]

I have received a letter from my doctors informing me that they will no longer perscribe test strips for my existing meter and everybody who has diabetis within the surgery has now got to use the only meter that they will perscribe too, the iCare meter. I am more than happy with my existing meter the onetouch verio IQ. Has anyone else been through this with their surgery and were they able to overcome the matter and carry on using their own meter?

 

[mo1905]

I've heard of this happening to a few people. This may not be too popular but I honestly think it makes sense for the NHS to stick with one metre and strips. Think of the money they could save by using one manufacturer. It could mean less people with have their strips stopped or rationed. Sorry if that's not what you want to hear. I wouldn't care what meter was supplied to me to be honest. The results are within accepted limits. That's all I care about.
For yourself, it can't hurt to ask to keep your existing meter. Tell your doc that you feel comfortable with the one you've got and you feel a new one may cause distress or something ? Good luck !
Mo


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[mickey121]

If they start to only recommend 1 meter with a captive audience the price will creep up


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[Gloucestergirl]

I live in Gloucestershire and have had the same thing happen to me, the excuse being that the test strips are much cheaper. I have been given the Glucolab monitor and so has my friend but my sister who also lives in Gloucestershire has been given a different monitor. My friend and I couldn't get on with our new meters at first as we were getting quite a few error messages, the main one being that it was a wet or used test strip when it had come straight out of the closed tub. This defeated the object somewhat as we were using twice as many strips. Things have settled down now and we are both sure that it was a faulty batch of strips rather than us not testing properly. The meter I had been using before was an Accuchek Aviva Nano, a tiny little meter that fitted discreetly in my hand and had test strips that had a large square to place blood. The Glucolab meter is larger and uses strips that have a tiny little place to put the blood. The blurb brags that you only need a very small spot of blood to get a reading but that's not a lot of help if you're hypo and your hands are shaking and you can't get it in the precise place. If you don't get the blood on the spot correctly you get an error message, usually that theres not enough blood. I was only given the one Glucolab meter which I use at home and keep the Accuchek meter in my handbag but I buy the test strips for that from the chemist They cost about £6.80 for 10 which I don't mind buying because I don't use them very often so they last a while and the other thing is that I have got another meter to fall back on if the Glucolab one goes wrong. I agree that I think once many thousands of people are using the same meters that the price will go up and the other thing is, what if there's a problem with the test strips? There have been recalls on faulty test strips and a warning a couple of years ago about counterfeit strips so who's to say that thousands of people won't be left without strips if something goes wrong again? It seems a good idea for the NHS to try and save some money but it could be a recipe for disaster if something goes wrong or the factory burns down, then what happens? The NHS would save more money if they stopped paying chemists a fee for every "free" consultion they do. According to a newspaper report, every time a person goes in for a consulation on their medication the chemist receives £28 - that's £70million a year!

 

[Thommothebear]

I would not mind this if they picked a meter that was consistent and reasonably accurate with its readings. I have 4 meters which I use and the only one which I find reliable and consistent is the freestyle freedom lite. Sadly the strips are more expensive so not in favour with the National Hopelessness Society so I will continue to self fund to the tune of £50 per month and get readings which are more consistent with my HbA1c results.

 

[phoenix]

It's a basic meter with none of the 'bells and whistles' of the verio. whether that's important depends on how much you use them.

Looking at the spec for the icare, one thing I did notice was that the temperature range was narrower than the Verios. The lowest temp it will work at is 10c compared to the Verios 6c. It also says that if you get a low temp warning that you have to put it in a warmer place and wait 30 min before trying again.
Yes, you obviously have to keep both meters insulated when outdoors in winter (I have to when I go skiing) but that difference of 4 degrees could be significant if you spend much time outdoors in a UK winter or even in a non centrally heated bedroom or bathroom.