Blood Testing Kitsi

[Mcgreveya]

I have recently moved house and have been denied a prescription for my accu check mobile device. As the new CCG say they are to expensive and will not prescribe.. I work full time and have a busy life equally I don't want my home or car cluttered by sharp boxes and devices difficult to use during my working day.
I now have to purchase my own accucheck cassettes. Surely this is wrong in encouraging people to manage their diabetes for optimum health.
In terms of diabetic checks equally as poor I was on holiday so had to rearrange my last one . When I rang the surgery to do this I was told thank you very much with no option of a new appointment.
Well done Leicestershire CCG I'm not surprised that the effects of Diabetes is a rising problem for this area

 

[Prem51]

Are you on insulin @Mcgreveya? Type 2s aren't usually prescribed bg meters or strips unless they are on insulin.
I use the Accu Chek Mobile too, but have to purchase the cassettes myself.
I too have to arrange my own HbA1c tests myself as there are no reminders from my surgery.

 

[Mcgreveya]

Hi no I am on metformin however the NICE guidelines state that you should be prescribed BG testing kits so I suppose their cop out is to prescribe the cheapest version. May be not so cost effective long term as people give up and just don't bother due to the inconvenience ,hence leading to poor management of the condition

 

[Prem51]

The NICE guidelines don't say that Type 2s should be prescribed testing equipment, unless they are on insulin:

 

[Rachox]

Here’s some info on cheaper meters if you have to self fund:

Taken from a post by @Bluetit1802 as she wrote it so nicely:


The most popular meters for self funding T2's are the Codefree and the Tee2 because the strips are much cheaper than other meters, and you need a lot of strips. You can't buy them in pharmacies.


Try here for the Codefree meter

http://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/blood-glucose-monitor/


and here for the extra strips

http://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/sd-codefree-test-strips-to-be-used-only-with-the-sd-monitor/


There are discount codes if you buy in bulk.

5 packs 264086

10 packs 975833


The Tee2 is here and the meter is free.

http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product-category/shop/tee2/



Don’t forget to check the box that you have diabetes so you can buy VAT free. (for either meter)

 

[Boo1979]

The NICE guidelines don't say that Type 2s should be prescribed testing equipment, unless they are on insulin:

View attachment 26962

Or Gliclizide / other sulfonylureas due to potential hypo risk

 

[Bluetit1802]

The vast majority of non-insulin users have to self fund.

I also use the Accu-Chek mobile and love it for its convenience, but I buy my own cassettes and have done for years. As @Rachox pointed out, there are cheaper strips available with the Codefree and Tee2, which are very popular on this forum.

 

[Bluetit1802]

These are the NICE guidelines

1.6.13 Do not routinely offer self-monitoring of blood glucose levels for adults with type 2 diabetes unless:

• the person is on insulin or
  
  
• there is evidence of hypoglycaemic episodes or
  
  
• the person is on oral medication that may increase their risk of hypoglycaemia while driving or operating machinery or
  
  
• the person is pregnant, or is planning to become pregnant. For more information, see the NICE guideline on diabetes in pregnancy. [new 2015]
  

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng28/chapter/1-Recommendations#blood-glucose-management-2

 

[PDR]

Well I was given a testing kitwhile I was just on Metformin, and I get strips on prescription. After 2 weeks of testing I was put on Glic as well, but I'm not on insulin*.

PDR

* that is to say I am on insulin, but it's stuff my pancreas makes rather than stuff from an external source.

 

[PatsyB]

I am type 2 and have always been given strips...am now on Insulin and did get a free meter from this site however they will not issue me strips for it I am issued Omnitest 5 from the surgery but I have bought Code free and find it a very good meter to use also the strips are quite cheap and having a spare meter is handy when using the car as carry it so as not to forget the meter which I have done on occasion grrrr

 

[supersonic]

I guess I'm pretty lucky here in Lincolnshire
I was diagnosed 2 months ago and given a glucometer plus 150 testing strips

 

[Bluetit1802]

I guess I'm pretty lucky here in Lincolnshire
I was diagnosed 2 months ago and given a glucometer plus 150 testing strips

Is this because of your diabetes medication?

 

[Alexandra100]

I don't want my home or car cluttered by sharp boxes

Many of us here, including myself, prefer not to change lancets every time we test. Indeed I can't remember the last time I changed one - it must have been months ago! I never bother taking spare lancets with me when I take my testing kit out of the house. When I do change a lancet, I just put the old one in an old strip tub, and when that is full I put it in the bin with all my other non-recyclable rubbish.

 

[Alexandra100]

their cop out is to prescribe the cheapest version

Are you saying your GP will prescribe you a meter and testing supplies, but not your preferred option, the Accuchek? If that is the case, you are jolly lucky, as most of us are not given any sort of meter and strips etc at all. I think maybe you are exaggerating the inconvenience of using eg the Codefree meter. I have been using the Codefree and its rival the TEE2 for nearly a year now. I test many times a day, but I really don't find either of them at all difficult to use. My biggest difficulty when testing out of the house is finding a suitable place to wash and dry my hands and then test. However I am going to send for some wipes that will substitute for the hand-washing, and that should solve most of that problem. IMO the difficulty of testing in and out of the home is dwarfed by the difficulties of following a low carb diet.

 

[PatsyB]

I was on a one touch from the surgery I managed to get a new update from the internet but the surgery who had since given me an Omnitest meter will not give me strips for it as have to use what they gave me Omnitest