am i within my rights as a diabetic !!!

[sandysan]

hi
am I within my rights as a diabetic to test my blood glucose sugars before a meal and 2 hours after a meal , hence , breakfast , lunch .tea time ,
as I am 5 weeks into a diabetic t2, and my gp says because the strips cost to much money , they want to save the nhs money and have told me to test my bs once a week ???
they are not interested in my readings only the habc1 readings , I disagree with this , because by me doing my bs everymeal time it is, giving me peace of mind that I am controlling my diabeties and eating the right foods and know when my bs spike
im a bit worried over this, as I need more than 5 weeks to know what food and what food doesn't spike my bs...

also im worried incase the don't give me anymore strips , can the do this ????

 

[mrman]

Unfortunately, he can, an on~ going problem for most type 2s, and other types also.

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[hotblack desiato]

i completely agree with what you are doing , I am on metformin , I have been diagnosed for just over three weeks and I also want to know what is going on with my system verses food and pills , I was never issued or told about blood sugars , diet or such like , just handed leaflets , pills and sent packing , so I have sorted out a freebie bg meter from glucomine to keep an eye on the blood sugars , as an example tonight I nearly keeled over in morrisons , so I don't know what actually caused it , or take last weekend , felt rotten all weekend , either diet or metformin , don't know which , I don't know if the doc will prescribe for me but I will keep at them when the time comes for more strips etc , best try ebay or amazon for your strips etc or change doctors , all the best HBD .

 

[Daibell]

I think in reality a compromise is necessary. As diabetics we are costing the NHS a fortune. Can I suggest once you have seen the effects of certain foods or meal types you then skip testing those except occasionally. Before I went onto insulin as a supposed T2 I used to buy all my own strips so had to adopt a compromise. In the early days you will need to test frequently but that need will recede. Now I'm on insulin I have them prescribed but try to keep down to an average of 2 a day where I can. Although testing before a meal as well as 2 hours after is the ideal, I soon found that the before meal test was redundant as I was only interested in the after meal peak not the before and after difference as you start to find out what your average is during the day.

 

[connie104]

Same in Spain where I live type 2's only allowed one pot of 50 a test. I buy them when in uk as much cheaper.


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[connie104]

That was meant to say one pot of 50 a year Sorry


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[Hobs]

That was meant to say one pot of 50 a year Sorry

You should check with your strip manufacturer as mine expire 6 months after being opened. Its something to do with the air degrading the chemical content.

 

[phoenix]

Same in Spain where I live type 2's only allowed one pot of 50 a test. I buy them when in uk as much cheaper.


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Not just in Spain, It certainly isn't considered a right in most countries with state healthcare systems. Most are looking at spiralling costs, strips are expensive and a series of recent studies showed no real benefit . An assessment done on behalf of the NHS is here:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20226138
The first sentence of the conclusion is damming.

The evidence suggested that SMBG is of limited clinical effectiveness in improving glycaemic control in people with T2DM on oral agents, or diet alone, and is therefore unlikely to be cost-effective

.
There is wriggle room in the second sentence

SMBG may lead to improved glycaemic control only in the context of appropriate education - both for patients and health-care professionals - on how to respond to the data, in terms of lifestyle and treatment adjustment

but somehow, I doubt those responsible for budgets get beyond the first sentence

There are actually very few countries that now prescribe free or even partially reimbursed strips to people not using insulin. About this time last year I tried to find out what other countries allowed free strips for T2s.

In 2007 out of these countries : Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Germany, India, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Tanzania, the U.K, and the U.S. only Norway and the UK were providing free strips for those on oral medications.
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/conten ... /e105.full
Some of these countries did then give partial reimbursement but since then several have reviewed it and no longer do so.(eg Germany in 2011)

I tried to list the situation in all European countries (almost impossible but I tried!) viewtopic.php?f=35&t=33751&p=317694&hilit=test+strips+poland#p317694

( In France,I get reimbursed for 6 strips a day as a T1 using a pump. This is the normal maximum so far fewer than many T1s on here seem to use but more than Daibell. The minimum I use in a day is 4, testing before meals to calculate bolus and at bedtime. The max depends on hypos and level of exercise. Every now and then I have to buy my own to supplement them. Unless on insulin, T2s won't normally get any . Exceptionally they may get a maximum of 200, if using oral medication and in the context of education. )

 

[sandysan]

being relatively knew to this , what is the best ways to reduce using the strips for testing , would I be better off testing my bs only after a meal or before a meal , my gp wants me to do it just once a week , I cant do that , ive only just been diagnosed and trying to see what I can eat and what I cant eat ,and what makes my bs go up ,,, im totally confused on how to use the strips for the best

 

[flash477948]

Once a week won't really tell you anything about what effect food is having on your blood sugar. At the start you should be testing before and 2 hours after meals so that you can see what the effects are.

It is worthwhile seeing if you are able to get some more strips from your GP, or else pick some up yourself. The end result will be well worth the effort and any cost.

 

[sandysan]

well flash this is the problem ,, my gp has told me im using to many strips and to do it once a week , to me that is silly , as that wont tell me a thing , but there is nothing I can do about it , unless buy my own supply ,,

I have been testing when I wake up ,,, before food and after food , and bedtime, but maybe I can cut a lot of this out and just test my blood either before food ,,, or after food , what is the best way ?

 

[mo1905]

The best way to reduce the amount of times you need to test is to write everything down and use the results to change your diet and lifestyle. What I mean is, most people test prior to eating and 2 hrs after etc but many don't actually change anything. There is no point in testing if you don't act on the results. If you test after eating porridge for example and your BG is high, either cut the porridge out or, if taking insulin, adjust dose. There will always be occasions when this doesn't always follow the same rules but generally it should. After a few weeks of testing and logging results with a variety of different foods, you should have gained some good info into what foods you can and cannot tolerate. Good luck.


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[sandyck1]

I have suffered from ins for years. I too suffered with upset stomach on the normal version. I now take 2000mg sr per day. It is a little better but to be honest, it didn't really change much. I ended up taking at least one diacalm daily to try to ease symptoms. However, due to recently becoming extremely carb sensitive I have had to reduce my carbs to a max of 50g per day. This has helped massively
The doc has also given me 40mg of gliclazide daily which also may have helped to reduce my bg. Not sure if this has alleviated my stomach also?!


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[connie104]

I still have to pay 10% for diabetic medication everything else 40% so can work out quite expensive . A pot of 50 test strips is 45 euros for contour Xt meter nearly double uk price no wonder they give you the meter


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[phoenix]

Sorry off topic except for connie.
Connie, if you are near the border with France, there is a fixed rate for strips which is far lower than that. Otherwise try online; this is the first one I found with a price of €19.31. (p&p is €12.50 to Spain but you can have 2kg for that!) I know nothing about it as a company http://www.moncoinsante.co.uk/contour-x ... -next.html

 

[connie104]

Sorry off topic except for connie.
Connie, if you are near the border with France, there is a fixed rate for strips which is far lower than that. Otherwise try online; this is the first one I found with a price of €19.31. (p&p is €12.50 to Spain but you can have 2kg for that!) I know nothing about it as a company http://www.moncoinsante.co.uk/contour-x ... -next.html

Thanks for info I will look it up . We live in southern Spain so France a bit too far ! I have bought things from amazon but postage is not cheap


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[laharvey999]

I get all the test strips I need Dr Bernstein advocates testing b4 and 2 hours after eating so at least 6 times a day. Use the argument that this is proactive and will avoid diabetic complications. Cost of leg amputation 11k which does not include recovery wheel chairs physio and the like. Test strips are cheaper in the long run

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[wd6ecc]

how things have changed i was given a free meter and free strips and when i left to go to the usa i took with me a months supply of test strips and lances i still have lances left after 8 years

 

[LucySW]

Sandysan, You'll have to fund it yourself. But move heaven and earth to do so. Eating to your meter will save your long term health. Get the SD Codefree ones from Amazon. I used them before I was finally diagnosed T 1, and they're fine. They're much much cheaper.

You have to do this for your future.

Good luck!

 

[catinahat]

Here's a link to the home health site that supplies the SD Codefree meter
http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/blood_glucose_monitor_testing.htm
And these are the discount codes for the strips
5 packs of 50 = 264086. 10 packs of 50 = 975833
It works out to about £5 for a box of 50 so it is worth buying them in bulk
The only way you can discover what food is right for you is to test before you eat and then at 2 hr's after. If there is little or no difference in the pre or post readings, you know that the meal has had no impact on your levels and is a good one. If however the post meal reading is 2mmol or more above the base level then you need to rethink that meal and reduce the portions or cut things out altogether.
If you record what you ate and your sugar levels, you soon start to get a good idea of what you can and can't have. Initially it means that you will get through lots of strips but after a while you can ease up on the testing because you will know what the meal you are about to have will do to your levels