Don't waste your money. The HbA1c assesses what you blood sugar has been doing as new blood cells form and the old ones are disposed of by your body over 3 month period - this is how long it takes your body to replace the red blood cells.
They don't like us T2s testing :evil: How the hell they expect us to get to grips with our blood sugar without doing this is beyond me.
I bought my first box of strips from the pharmacy and before the VAT was removed they were 25.50 :shock: As this is equipment needed for managing an illness/disability it is VAT exempt. You may have to persevere with this - I don't think many people ask for it, you have to fill in a form at the checkout.
My GP has given me my first prescription for strips and lancets, but implied that he didn't expect to see me back soon as I don't need to test that often as a T2.
I have bought some strips on eBay - shop around, make sure the expiry date is okay and check the sellers feedback before you part with any cash. I have just acquired 3 boxes for just over the price of 1 box at the pharmacy.
I originally told my GP that I was going to do the glyceamic index (GI) diet (before I arrived here and realised that low carb made much more sense) and wanted to know what my blood sugar was doing after I ate. He agreed to support this but said he was not allowed to prescribe the number of strips I was asking for.
I got my meter (Accu-chek Aviva) as a freebie from Roche by ringing their customer services. They keep your meter in working order - free replacement batteries, replacement lancet devices, test solutions and replacement if the meter breaks down. I know the other manufacturers do similar things, but they told me that "if your GP wants you to test he will give you a meter" and they ask for the serial number before they give you any freebies.
When I went back to my GP to ask for strips last week he told me I didn't need to test and I asked how else I would get to grips with my BS. We will see what happens when I ask for another box of test strips at the end of next week.
My reading of the NICE guidelines does allow for test strips if you are using them to manage you condition.
