Have you been told not to test your blood sugars?

cold ethyl said:

What pees me off isn't so much the non prescribing of strips but the lies that go with it. I can understand that budgets are tight ( but surely a nationalised strip making factory would reduce cost if profit was removed from equation?) but would far rather my GP and other HCPs just said that testing is needed and recommended the Codefree. Ok so not everyone wants to test and there will be those who can't afford it, but at least they'd be maintaining my faith in their capacity to treat illness. As it is , I now take much of what they say with very large pinch of salt.

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I feel sure that I have saved the NHS a fortune by testing and "supposedly curing" myself.

cold ethyl said:

but at least they'd be maintaining my faith in their capacity to treat illness. As it is , I now take much of what they say with very large pinch of salt.

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Yes, if they told the truth they would have some chance of maintaining my faith in their integrity on this, and other matters.

cold ethyl said:

What pees me off isn't so much the non prescribing of strips but the lies that go with it. I can understand that budgets are tight ( but surely a nationalised strip making factory would reduce cost if profit was removed from equation?) but would far rather my GP and other HCPs just said that testing is needed and recommended the Codefree. Ok so not everyone wants to test and there will be those who can't afford it, but at least they'd be maintaining my faith in their capacity to treat illness. As it is , I now take much of what they say with very large pinch of salt.

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Exactly, if they just admitted it was about budgets rather than all the **** and bull stories that people report on here..."you are too thick to understand the test results", "once a year is enough", "you will lose the feeling in your fingers if you prick them too often." Etc Could they not just be honest and supportive if people want to self fund?

Avocado Sevenfold said:

Exactly, if they just admitted it was about budgets rather than all the **** and bull stories that people report on here..."you are too thick to understand the test results", "once a year is enough", "you will lose the feeling in your fingers if you prick them too often." Etc Could they not just be honest and supportive if people want to self fund?

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I lost the feeling in my fingers before I started pricking them.

this is too difficult two said:

I lost the feeling in my fingers before I started pricking them.

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How are you getting on with that? Are you getting any treatment?

Avocado Sevenfold said:

How are you getting on with that? Are you getting any treatment?

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Nah. absolutely nothing.. have managed to bully them into a GTT.

this is too difficult two said:

Nah. absolutely nothing.. have managed to bully them into a GTT.

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I remember reading about your numbness on another thread and being quite shocked. Particularly as you have non-diabetic levels

this is too difficult two said:

Nah. absolutely nothing.. have managed to bully them into a GTT.

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who knows they may be right and there me be another(fantasy) reason for me not being able to take sugar.

Avocado Sevenfold said:

I remember reading about your numbness on another thread and being quite shocked. Particularly as you have non-diabetic levels

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It is supposedly the b12 issue. It seems to be worse than diabetes.

smidge said:

Sorry, I really don't agree with 'one rule for all'. Just because we all have diabetes, doesn't mean we all need the same medical treatment. I need insulin, many diabetics do not so the risks etc are different. In my view, the important thing is that our treatment plans, including test strips, are tailored to our needs and not based on blanket policies. It seems perfectly reasonable to me that new non insulin-dependent Type 2s need a decent supply of test strips while they learn how to manage their condition, but once they have done that, their supply can be safely greatly reduced. Insulin-dependents should never have their supply limited -it's just too dangerous. We should be able to trust doctors to make sound judgements on their patients' needs and honest about those judgements. Sadly, that doesn't seem to be the case and doctors and DSNs are choosing to mislead people instead

Smidge

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[RANT]
AS a diet and medicine controlled type 2 I tend to disagree with you - apart from a pack of 50 strips well after I was diagnosed and started to fund my own testing, I've had virtually no support or encouragement to manage or check my glucose levels - and If I'm lucky I'll get my next hb1ac check some time next summer.... I've seen my glucose levels go up (recently into the occasional double figures) from reasonably good levels since I started testing, mainly I believe through minor illnesses and stress. I'd have no way of knowing that this was happening if I hadn't carried on testing, and although I'm not on the breadline, as an OAP I do have to do without other things to pay for strips. I've actually reached the conclusion that if I didn't bother I'd probably get more support and advice than I do now for all my own efforts to control my glucose levels. I feel quite bitter about this, as I've had excellent very long term support and treatment for migraines ( I believe some of my medication around 40 years ago cost around £60 a tablet ), and more recently for eye problems - neither of which could kill me - but my diabetes could.

[/RANT OVER]

Robbity

Avocado Sevenfold said:

Exactly, if they just admitted it was about budgets rather than all the **** and bull stories that people report on here..."you are too thick to understand the test results", "once a year is enough", "you will lose the feeling in your fingers if you prick them too often." Etc Could they not just be honest and supportive if people want to self fund?

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@ cold ethyl
These are my feelings exactly. I Actually got the doc to admit this. The DNS is still sticking to the script though!

Robbity said:

[RANT]
AS a diet and medicine controlled type 2 I tend to disagree with you - apart from a pack of 50 strips well after I was diagnosed and started to fund my own testing, I've had virtually no support or encouragement to manage or check my glucose levels - and If I'm lucky I'll get my next hb1ac check some time next summer.... I've seen my glucose levels go up (recently into the occasional double figures) from reasonably good levels since I started testing, mainly I believe through minor illnesses and stress. I'd have no way of knowing that this was happening if I hadn't carried on testing, and although I'm not on the breadline, as an OAP I do have to do without other things to pay for strips. I've actually reached the conclusion that if I didn't bother I'd probably get more support and advice than I do now for all my own efforts to control my glucose levels. I feel quite bitter about this, as I've had excellent very long term support and treatment for migraines ( I believe some of my medication around 40 years ago cost around £60 a tablet ), and more recently for eye problems - neither of which could kill me - but my diabetes could.

[/RANT OVER]

Robbity

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Hi Robbity. You are welcome to disagree with me, but ranting at me won't help and is unfair. I've never said type 2s shouldn't be given test strips - I actually think they should.

What I said is that non insulin-dependent diabetics don't need to continue to always test at the same level as they do initially while they're learning whereas insulin-dependents pretty much do have to continue at that level. I can drop from 7 tests a day to 4 or 5 sometimes when I know what I've eaten and jabbed is the same as many times before and my BG have been stable during the day, but basically I inject at least 5 times a day with a substance that while saving my life has the capability of killing me pretty rapidly. Sleeping at night is really hard when you think you might die in your sleep. The grass really isn't greener over here! I'd willingly give up my test strip prescriptions for someone else to inject insulin instead of me - I might even get to sleep at night! Any takers? I doubt it!

I also am not on the breadline, but the £100 per month I am currently self-funding to use a device that constantly monitors my BG still has an impact on my standard of living, but if I can spot overnight patterns to maybe make changes to my insulin doses and avoid the scary overnight hypos I've previously experienced, I'll go without other things to fund it.

The reality is, there are many well-controlled non insulin-dependent diabetics who, once they have tested a lot for the first year or so, are able to reduce their testing to a few times a week and still maintain good control. Almost all the well-controlled diet/met/exercise diabetics I 'know' reduced their amount of testing considerably once they got their condition under excellent control - they then test occasionally to make sure things are OK. This is not true of insulin-dependents. The circumstances are different with different risks and needs and cannot be dealt with in a one-size-fits-all approach.

I am sorry that you have had poor advice concerning testing from your GP. That is what this thread is about. It is not about who pays for test strips and who gets them provided by the NHS.

Smidge

This came up in another thread & just shows stripes are the key to controlling our levels, so stripes should be free to all those that care about their health.. http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/index.php?posts/669015 Just the small cost of stripes, than the greater cost of diabetic conditions. ENOUGH SAID.

& this thread is covering the same as this one, would be great if they could be merged. http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/13464/

Avocado Sevenfold said:

None for medicated patients either, in my experience

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A couple of guys at my work told me they got strips once they started medication. It may have been insulin I suppose though..

zand said:

@Scandichic I think that's our point too. All diabetics need real education about diabetes. A meter isn't much use without it.

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My meter saved me from medication without any education. Everyone should be given that opportunity. If I had been given any education it seems it would have been wrong anyway.

Definitely there's a need for (accurate!) diabetic education - there are those who are more than capable of researching and making informed decisions from the information they discover on their own, and those who for whatever reason, need to be led by the hand (or the nose) to get there. Sometimes even the most intelligent and/or highly educated can be left floundering outside their own areas of expertise. (And I believe this applies equally to some members of the medical profession...)

Robbity

I got 25 with my meter and put in a prescription for more they gave me 100 don't know if I will get anymore my levels were 106 and 14.9 at the time have come down now to 98 and about 10.9 on average,but my own doctor says not to test it was the diabetic doctor who said yes.

I have also been told I don't need to test my nurse said my results are very good I replied only because I test and I don't cost the national health service anything as I have to buy my own strips,which I get straight from Abbots.

What are your results Kentish maid?