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Type 1 Blood glucose testing strips

paulaannbennett

Member
Messages
6
Please could I ask for some advice. I lived in Surrey and have been using the Accu-Check Aviva glucose testing machine and sticks. I use this machine as I count my carbs and it gives me the bolus reading according to what I am going to eat. I have since moved to Somerset and my GP is not prepared to prescribe me the same sticks. I have asked umpteen times and they have now refused. Please could you let me know what the best steps are to get these sticks prescribed? Who can I contact to get this sorted out? Many thanks
 
Are you under a hospital team with DSN's and under a consultant where you have moved to? If so have a chat with them and ask them to get in touch with your GP, if the bolus calculator function is necessity for you then they shouldn't really be able to refuse you anyway, what has the GP actually said about it? xx
 

Hello the GP says it’s not covered and he says it’s not his fault it’s the NHS. Went to the pharmacy and they said the same thing. They are just useless. This my reading are useless as I am using expired strips from my last repeat prescription in 2018. The Dr is not concerned cot be honest. Just unbelievable really!
 
@paulaannbennett are you T1 or T2 diabetic and on any medication? I live in Somerset and was told that strips are not prescribed for patients not on insulin or similar drugs regardless of whether or not it helps us control our BS.
 
Have you been referred to a diabetes team at the hospital? Diabetes team can write to your GP to prescribe test strips etc. I would try and call NHS 111 because you aren’t supposed to use expired strips and if you are type 1, your gp is putting you at danger for not being able to test. Did you ask what other strips they are willing to prescribe? You can use another meter and different test strips until you see your diabetes team and you get the strips you need for your other meter.
 
Daphne917 said:
@paulaannbennett are you T1 or T2 diabetic and on any medication? I live in Somerset and was told that strips are not prescribed for patients not on insulin or similar drugs regardless of whether or not it helps us control our BS.
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Type 1 and is a vital part of my control. Never had a problem in Surrey getting any medication but in Somerset it’s a nightmare
 

They have given me proforma test strips but as my meter advises on my bolus rate and what carbs I eat any other blood glucose machine does not help me. Guess I am trying to prove a point
 
paulaannbennett said:
They have given me proforma test strips but as my meter advises on my bolus rate and what carbs I eat any other blood glucose machine does not help me. Guess I am trying to prove a point
Click to expand...
you really should be under a hospital team who can then push the GP to prescribe the strips you require, in the meantime I'd suggest you go into each time block in your expert and write down your ratio's, correction factor etc and keep them to hand and use a calculator to judge your doses for the moment xx
 
paulaannbennett said:
They have given me proforma test strips but as my meter advises on my bolus rate and what carbs I eat any other blood glucose machine does not help me. Guess I am trying to prove a point
Click to expand...

Your GP cannot prescribe the strips you want because the Accucheck Aviva is not approved by the Somerset Care Comissioning Group (CCG).

You can find a spreadsheet of the approved strips 1 level below this link......

https://somersetccg.nhs.uk/about-us...cribing-guidelines-by-clinical-area/diabetes/

No point in asking your GP really, try writing to the CCG but don't expect too much, especially if you are the only person in Somerset asking for them as they will not have any leverage to negotiate bulk discounts with the supplier.
 
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@urbanracer I was trying to access that but laptop wouldn't allow me to open the document lol, from what I can see now (on phone) it looks like the Accu-Chek Mobile cassettes are prescriber where you are living @paulaannbennett so it may be worth seeing about that meter and strips, the meter itself doesn't give bolus advice but connected with the MySugr app on a mobile phone it can xx
 
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