My blood is boiling...

[Heathenlass]

Many thanks everyone for your replies and concerns. I had a call this morning from my practice manager and I explained to her the situation about needing to keep my meter as it links up to my insulin pump. I was so ready for any conflict. She replied "that's ok, the letter was written incorrectly and we are giving patients the choice of keeping their old meters or renewing them". What an ANTICLIMAX!!!

So, I am keeping my contour link meter and my repeat prescription has not been changed and will not be changed! Thank goodness that little problem is now resolved. I can continue with my diabetes monitoring knowing that my meter will give me accurate readings.

Yay! Result! Shame they didn't make it clear there was an option, and there didn't appear to be an option in the letter I recieved

What are you doing to work off the adrenaline rush now ?

Signy

 

[Geordie lass]

Yay! Result! Shame they didn't make it clear there was an option, and there didn't appear to be an option in the letter I recieved

What are you doing to work off the adrenaline rush now ?

Signy

Funnily enough, I was driving to the gym when she called, so I had an extra long workout! burnt off lots of energy and calories.

 

[Geordie lass]

Can new machines not be synced in the same way?

Not the one they were offering. I don't think this meter syncs to anything. It might have a USB download option, but that's pretty useless to me when I already have everything that links up and downloads to my Medtronic carelink programme. Certainly not being inconvenienced in any way for the sake of the surgery prescribing cheaper test strips! It affects everything to do with my pump, not just the meter.

 

[graj0]

I came to this thread quite late and therefore tried to read the whole thing in one go. Apart from my previous comment I would just like to say that I have lost count of the number of times I've gone into a situation "ready for a fight", "prepared to stand my corner", armed with all the relevant information, only to find that there was no need, I've just said what I thought and the response has been "Oh yes, we understand completely". I hope you have a pleasant meeting today and the situation is resolved without any issues. Have a lovely day.

Glad to hear it wasn't so bad.

 

[Administrator]

I received a letter from my GP surgery today telling me that the practice has reviewed all Type 1 patients with the blood glucose monitoring and that I am having my blood glucose monitor changed to a recommended one and that my repeat prescription for blood testing strips will be changed to the new meter strips. I was absolutely furious as I was never consulted over this, neither was I given a choice as to whether I want to keep my own meter or move to a new one. The reason why I am so furious is because my current meter is synced to my insulin pump, so records my blood sugar levels automatically to my pump. Why should I be inconvenienced just because the surgery is having a cost cutting exercise, at the expense of their patients. This is so disempowering and I really feel very angry that the surgery can even do this. Of course, I tried to contact the nurse who sent me the letter, but guess what...she was not in today! What a surprise! So will be speaking with them on Monday and telling them that I am not changing my meter. Has anyone else had this same problem and how have you dealt with it?

Hi Geordie Lass -

You should be able to challenge your GP – if you go back and explain the pump connection, the GP should rollover and accept your situation. The patient can demand choice and you should refer to the "No decision about me without me" pledge.

Also, we spoke to Bayer who would like to offer you a CONTOUR NEXT LINK. If you can PM us your details we can get that sent to you.

 

[Geordie lass]

Hi Geordie Lass -

You should be able to challenge your GP – if you go back and explain the pump connection, the GP should rollover and accept your situation. The patient can demand choice and you should refer to the "No decision about me without me" pledge.

Also, we spoke to Bayer who would like to offer you a CONTOUR NEXT LINK. If you can PM us your details we can get that sent to you.

Many thanks for your post. I did speak with the practice manager and she stated that I can keep my own meter which links to my pump. So no need for any changes. Thanks for contacting Bayer too. Appreciate that.

 

[crunchieice]

I had to change my meter 2 years ago and am rationed on testing strips. I'm not allowed a pump and there is only one consultant in my local hospital. The care is awful...good job I know what I'm doing as no one else knows anything where I live

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[Heathenlass]

I had to change my meter 2 years ago and am rationed on testing strips. I'm not allowed a pump and there is only one consultant in my local hospital. The care is awful...good job I know what I'm doing as no one else knows anything where I live

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

Hi Cruchieice, and welcome

I can empathise with your situation, I was pretty much the same You do tend to become your own expert through necessity , but it would be good to have some support !

A couple of things though - I'm assuming you are Type 1 ? If so, you should NOT be having your test strips restricted as this is one of the key tools in glycaemic control. There is a letter that was sent out to GP's that states this, and Ill see if I can find it for you to print off and take to your GP. An appointment in which you state your case for unrestricted test strips is vital, and if you drive, you will need more than the average (whatever the hell that is!) anyway.

If you are happy enough with your prescribed meter, then fine, but if not, and there is a case why you are not, then it is worth pushing for a change to one that is not on the "approved" list. Some GP's are more open to this than others, but it's worth a try. One of my arguments against the rubbish meter they wanted me to have was that it actually used MORE test strips , because of the error messages when too little blood was applied , and my regular meter has a delay in which to apply more blood rather than have to start again with another test strip. Also, a control experiement with "their meter against my preferred one showed that theirs had wild fluctuations in accuracy, an important factor when making a decision on insulin dosage.

It's a process of educating the HCP's in this situation unfortunately, as if we didn't have enough to do

Another thing you may consider if it's practical, is to ask to be seen by a diabetic clinic at another hospital, even if it's more travel and inconvienience, it may help you have your case for a pump looked at .

Good luck!

Signy

 

[Heathenlass]

Letter here :

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa.../Safe-care-of-people-with-type-1-diabetes.pdf

Signy

 

[Geordie lass]

I had to change my meter 2 years ago and am rationed on testing strips. I'm not allowed a pump and there is only one consultant in my local hospital. The care is awful...good job I know what I'm doing as no one else knows anything where I live

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

That's awful crunchieice. I wasn't allowed a pump when I asked my consultant a few years back. He said because i didn't test my BG's often enough and i didn't carb count. My reply to that was...well, don't you think by being on the pump that I will do this? He didn't say much to that. It was just down to cost saving at the time! So, when I lived in Australia I got one on my private insurance and my HbA1c has improved immensely since then!

 

[Geordie lass]

Letter here :

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa.../Safe-care-of-people-with-type-1-diabetes.pdf

Signy

That's a great bit of info. For us T1 patients! Thanks for the link. I think it's terrible that testing strips are being rationed. I've not had that problem, but will be fully equipped if the need arises!

 

[iHs]

Letter here :

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa.../Safe-care-of-people-with-type-1-diabetes.pdf

Signy

Im not sure anymore on whether this letter carries any real weight. Dr Hillson is no longer a consultant. When she was....all GPs respected her view point and were ok with prescribing but now that she's not, it seems as though the £££s mean more as the cost of prescribing is soaring with many diabetics needing insulin and teststrips

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[Heathenlass]

Im not sure anymore on whether this letter carries any real weight. Dr Hillson is no longer a consultant. When she was....all GPs respected her view point and were ok with prescribing but now that she's not, it seems as though the £££s mean more as the cost of prescribing is soaring with many diabetics needing insulin and teststrips

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

Bah! That's bad news indeed Where has she gone?

Still, it's worth a try, flashing it at reluctant bean counters, maybe they don't know yet ?
It makes absolutely no sense to me, prevention of complications is always going to be cheaper than cure.

There are other savings that could be made within the NHS that would not affect life threatening conditions, but my thoughts on that is a whole other rant

Signy

 

[crunchieice]

Hi everyone and thanks for the advice. My meter is rubbish and will definitely be asking for a new one!!

I have chosen to have my diabetes reviews with my local gp surgery as the nurse I see is type1 also and no one understands a diabetic like another one, no matter how many books they've read

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[aileenb]

My surgery did same to me. I took the one (nexus)they sent me and tried it for a couple of weeks alongside my usual one (Acuchek Mobile).
I found the readings rarely matched with the new one showing higher mostly but occasionally much lower. It was also not so simple to use having meter, pricker & strips all separate whereas the Mobile is all self contained!
I then wrote to the practise manager telling her of my verdict and how I thought it was not as good or reliable and didn't give me confidence and I wanted my old prescription reinstated immediately. They did and I'm ok again.