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Monitors and test strips
- Thread starter owensmum
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catherinecherub
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It depends on whether the Dr. in charge of your care thinks it is beneficial or relies on your HBA1c test..
Some get them, some don't. It may mean that you have to buy your own.There are some available that are cheaper than others but it is not so much the meter, you can get free ones of those, it is the cost of test strips.
Some get them, some don't. It may mean that you have to buy your own.There are some available that are cheaper than others but it is not so much the meter, you can get free ones of those, it is the cost of test strips.
Paul1976
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Hi!
If you search 'SD Codefree meter' on eBay you'll find a seller who will supply the meter,finger prick device,lancets and 110 test strips for £20 and you can buy any future strips for £4.99 for a box of 50 which is the cheapest I can find at the moment so I've just ordered one of these for myself as even though my surgery supplied me with a meter and 50 strips I can only have a total of 100 a year which is nowhere near enough when your still learning about what spikes your levels up and home testing is the only REAL way you'll know if your diet is working for you.
If you search 'SD Codefree meter' on eBay you'll find a seller who will supply the meter,finger prick device,lancets and 110 test strips for £20 and you can buy any future strips for £4.99 for a box of 50 which is the cheapest I can find at the moment so I've just ordered one of these for myself as even though my surgery supplied me with a meter and 50 strips I can only have a total of 100 a year which is nowhere near enough when your still learning about what spikes your levels up and home testing is the only REAL way you'll know if your diet is working for you.
xyzzy
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owensmum said:
Welcome to the forum owensmum :wave:
No apparently it makes us all depressed and anxious and in any event we're all too stoooopid to know what the numbers mean and to react to what they say. :lol:
Some gp's are more enlightenned than others. The test strip issue one of the biggest areas of friction for Type 2's.
The N.I.C.E guidelines state that not all Type 2's should receive test strips BUT if they show they both understand and are using the info they get to make them healthier they SHOULD. The guidelines are unfortunately just that "guidelines" and any gp can simply say "but I don't think it will do you any benefit therefore I'm ignoring the guidelines"
In reality many of us think the issue is more to do with money than health :x
You could try pointing out that as you're a newly registered diabetic your gp now receives £2000 per year to spend on YOUR care so maybe he'd like to start spending it ON YOU.
Helenababe
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Good post 'xyzzy'.
I was getting strips no problem for 5 years, but now getting same spiel from my DN and GP! I just fight my case, don't care, not there to be liked by them.
owensmum, if your DN won't listen, see your GP, and put your case to him. Tell him the things you've said on here. It's the only way now.
Helena
I was getting strips no problem for 5 years, but now getting same spiel from my DN and GP! I just fight my case, don't care, not there to be liked by them.
owensmum, if your DN won't listen, see your GP, and put your case to him. Tell him the things you've said on here. It's the only way now.
Helena
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catherinecherub
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(You could try pointing out that as you're a newly registered diabetic your gp now receives £2000 per year to spend on YOUR care so maybe he'd like to start spending it ON YOU.)............ stated another poster.
It is a bit different than that.
Your G.P. gets £2.000 ploughed into his overall budget if your results on cholesterol, BP, weight and HBA1c are all on target as per the NICE guidelines.. This is because complications cost the NHS a fortune in Hospital Care and this is thought to be the best option for all his patients.. I am sure there are other patients in his surgery who need money spent on expensive drugs as used in cancer MS etc........ Whether my care cost £1.000, £2.000, £10.000 for me to reach targets is not an issue with me as the NHS is a melting pot for everyone to get the best treatment possible. If you use the NHS then you cannot demand every penny that you have paid in has to be spent on you personally. I had a heart attack prior to diagnosis and I shudder to think what a 2 month stay in Hospital cost the NHS. We all know someone in a state of poor health who needs all the help they can get from their Dr.
I would have liked this to have been accepted and then we would all know, what we actually had
cost the NHS. especially if presented like a Solicitor's bill, down to the last postage stamp and including telephone calls directly to us or on our behalf. This would have included cost of home visits, antibiotics, administration and things like that.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/ ... 698369.stm
It is a bit different than that.
Your G.P. gets £2.000 ploughed into his overall budget if your results on cholesterol, BP, weight and HBA1c are all on target as per the NICE guidelines.. This is because complications cost the NHS a fortune in Hospital Care and this is thought to be the best option for all his patients.. I am sure there are other patients in his surgery who need money spent on expensive drugs as used in cancer MS etc........ Whether my care cost £1.000, £2.000, £10.000 for me to reach targets is not an issue with me as the NHS is a melting pot for everyone to get the best treatment possible. If you use the NHS then you cannot demand every penny that you have paid in has to be spent on you personally. I had a heart attack prior to diagnosis and I shudder to think what a 2 month stay in Hospital cost the NHS. We all know someone in a state of poor health who needs all the help they can get from their Dr.
I would have liked this to have been accepted and then we would all know, what we actually had
cost the NHS. especially if presented like a Solicitor's bill, down to the last postage stamp and including telephone calls directly to us or on our behalf. This would have included cost of home visits, antibiotics, administration and things like that.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/ ... 698369.stm
xyzzy
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catherinecherub said:
Yes agree that does make a difference - I got the info from another poster last week and was positively itching to use it on my gp - shame would have been good to try!
Saying that then now makes me even angrier as cos I pay for my own test strips he's going to get £2000! for doing sweet fa :x :x
catherinecherub said:
No agreed but since my diagnosis I don't believe that any money has been spent on my treatment usefully except for testing my feet and prescribing me Metformin which is a very cheap generic drug. I would guess the costs I've paid out in test strips have been more than the equivalent treatment cost from the gp surgery.
I don't see I'm getting value for money and in terms of my diabetic care am doing their job for them so the least they could do is actually provide or even just partially subsidise my test strip costs.
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catherinecherub
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Quite a dilemma zxxy.
Don't test and pay him back or carry on testing at your own expense and look forward to a better future health wise There are a lot of people on fixed incomes and living in poverty that could not afford the price of test strips and have to rely on the HBA1c test.
When you think about it, we are a minority of Type 2 on this forum. There are many many more who either do not accept that it is a serious complaint or have no intention of improving their lifestyle.
Don't test and pay him back or carry on testing at your own expense and look forward to a better future health wise
There are a lot of people on fixed incomes and living in poverty that could not afford the price of test strips and have to rely on the HBA1c test.When you think about it, we are a minority of Type 2 on this forum. There are many many more who either do not accept that it is a serious complaint or have no intention of improving their lifestyle.
xyzzy
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catherinecherub said:Quite a dilemma zxxy.
Don't test and pay him back or carry on testing at your own expense and look forward to a better future health wise
When you think about it, we are a minority of Type 2 on this forum. There are many many more who either do not accept that it is a serious complaint or have no intention of improving their lifestyle.
There is no choice if you can afford it. Keep testing, learn quickly, then minimize testing but I agree it's an absolute disgrace that lots of people can't afford to test to begin with. To be quite honest if testing was "means tested" I'd probably agree with it and continue buying my own if I failed the means test.
Those who do not accept that it is a serious complaint or have no intention of improving their lifestyle should not be offered testing fullstop and here I agree with the NHS line of pointlessly pricking fingers.
I suppose it is the blatant disregard of the N.I.C.E guidelines that really bugs me i.e someone like you or me or whoever and regardless of income can make the right decisions regarding testing and show it's helpful and still you get nowt. At that point it becomes very easy to start suspecting the gp practice of plain greed, ignorance or both.
The other issue is have is that I won't be able to afford the strips or monitor. My husband and I both work but any extra outlay is going to put a massive strain on our finances! I'm hoping any tablets I need will be on a free prescription or I'm not going to be able to have them.
xyzzy
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If you can't afford to test then it isn't the end of the world and you should be able to keep yourself safe. I would ask your gp first as he may at least provide you with a few (usually around 50) to use over a year or he may be very enlightenned and provide all you need.
If you end up with not being able to test the what I would do in your place is to try and learn how to count carbs off the backs of packets and just pick a relatively low level of carbs say somewhere between 80 and 150 grams per day and stick to it. Then make sure you get an HbA1c test arranged by your gp every 3 months if you can. You can then judge if to change the amount of carbs you eat based on what your initial 3 month HbA1c test says.
I would guess that most people on the forum's safe level is somewhere within that 80 to 150 range and I'm sure if any disagree they'll tell me and suggest alternatives. What you won't be able to do is precisely work out your carb tolerence so I suppose if you wanted to play really safe then aim for the low end of the range or lower but that's for you to judge once you changed to a low carbish diet.
Some other useful info is that studies show people who keep relatively stable BG's do better than those who spike around all over the place. So without being able to see your BG's I'd also try and find a level of carbs that you are comfortable with and can achieve nearly day in day out (with the occasional treats of course) as that will help you keep your BG's stable. So try and pick as lower carb intake as you can keep happy with as you don't want to constantly be getting tempted and breaking your new regime as it will make your BG's far more spikey.
If you need to understand how to count carbs then just ask. Eveyone had to learn the first time. There was quite a recent thread on how to do this if I remember.
Just keep asking questions as you think of them!
If you end up with not being able to test the what I would do in your place is to try and learn how to count carbs off the backs of packets and just pick a relatively low level of carbs say somewhere between 80 and 150 grams per day and stick to it. Then make sure you get an HbA1c test arranged by your gp every 3 months if you can. You can then judge if to change the amount of carbs you eat based on what your initial 3 month HbA1c test says.
I would guess that most people on the forum's safe level is somewhere within that 80 to 150 range and I'm sure if any disagree they'll tell me and suggest alternatives. What you won't be able to do is precisely work out your carb tolerence so I suppose if you wanted to play really safe then aim for the low end of the range or lower but that's for you to judge once you changed to a low carbish diet.
Some other useful info is that studies show people who keep relatively stable BG's do better than those who spike around all over the place. So without being able to see your BG's I'd also try and find a level of carbs that you are comfortable with and can achieve nearly day in day out (with the occasional treats of course) as that will help you keep your BG's stable. So try and pick as lower carb intake as you can keep happy with as you don't want to constantly be getting tempted and breaking your new regime as it will make your BG's far more spikey.
If you need to understand how to count carbs then just ask. Eveyone had to learn the first time. There was quite a recent thread on how to do this if I remember.
Just keep asking questions as you think of them!
Update on this one...
I had a phone consultation with my GP just to get some more info and I asked about Test Monitors and strips. He said I won't need them. Then he went on to say that it was actually because they cost to much and they're not prepared to pay! The truth will always come out!!
I had a phone consultation with my GP just to get some more info and I asked about Test Monitors and strips. He said I won't need them. Then he went on to say that it was actually because they cost to much and they're not prepared to pay! The truth will always come out!!
Further update!
Had my first clinic appointment today. The nurse said a monitor is "an essential management tool" and she "knows that the GP would prefer me not to have one but you're my patient now not his!"
Love that woman! She's put everything on repeat prescription too.
:thumbup:
Had my first clinic appointment today. The nurse said a monitor is "an essential management tool" and she "knows that the GP would prefer me not to have one but you're my patient now not his!"
Love that woman! She's put everything on repeat prescription too.
:thumbup:
