themorningtest said:And how are you doing now with Lantus?
alaska said:I'm type 1 and wonder how I'll feel if I get switched onto a particular meter.
As it happens, I've used the GlucoRx and the problem I'd have over my OneTouch Verio IQ is that often I need to test out and about. The Verio IQ has a case that makes this pretty easy to do without any kind of table or shelf. If I had a GlucoRx (which doesn't have a nifty case), I'd be struggling a bit to find places to do a blood test and would likely have to squat on the floor of shopping centres and supermarkets if I felt my levels were going a bit low. If that puts me off testing sometimes it could therefore increase the chance of possibly severe hypos occurring.
In terms of readings of 15, 17.4 and 20.3, this alone is not unusual. Meters are meant to be within 20% accuracy 90-odd per cent of the time. So if your actual result would clinically be tested at 17.5 say, then all readings would actually be within the specified accuracy range.
I know it can be annoying as 1 unit too many as a possible result can easily be the difference between a normal sugar level and a hypo.
In terms of hypo symptoms, I've found my symptoms have evolved over time. I used to get a tingling tongue often as a child. Then I had bad hypo awareness around early adulthood. Now in my thirties I tend to get an urge to bite the inside of my mouth, develop teary eyes and start yawning.
I think I'd be inclined to test a bit more often each day (unless you're testing 8+ times a day already) and start writing down any symptoms you do get.
There may be some symptoms (difficulty concentrating, feeling slightly more anxious, getting frustrated etc) that you may at the moment be taking for granted because they're not the ones you've been used to depending on.
All the best
Ed
Liz King said:Hiya Henry,
Approx 9mnths ago my GP changed me to a wavesense jazz tester as the strips were cheaper. However, the tester could not cope at all with temperature changes - the amount of times during the winter having to sit in the car warming the meter up, or when going for a run again having to warm it up first (armpits and groin proved most effective - in case you where wondering!) not good! Also during the summer left tester in hotel room out of sunlight, with curtains drawn - this time too warm!!
I raised the subject @ 6mnth review with consultant, apparently she had had many complaints from various people and therefore was happy to redirect GP to prescribe alternative strips for a new meter - all has been fine since. However, the GP said he was not aware of any problems so I think you should give your consultant or diabetic nurse a ring/email for support.
Hello everyone :wink:
Just a bit of background info, I'm a type1 Diabetic taking Humalog & Lantus insulin. I live in Staffordshire in England 8)
Yesterday I received a letter from my Doctor stating that "in accordance with local NHS guidelines" that I must now use the GlucoRx Nexus meter. Also my repeat prescription had ALREADY been changed to GlucoRx lancets n strips.
Well I understand that the NHS wishes to cut costs & that the GlucoRx strips are cheaper & I have no problem with that at all.
After checking the review of said meter (http://www.diabetes.co.uk/blood-glucose ... meter.html) I became very worried to read some of the comments posted
Now bottom line I have only recently been changed to the Lantus insulin & am having some issues getting my blood lvls correct so for the moment it's a challenging time for me. The last thing I need right now is a inferior blood meter to test my blood :twisted:
Do I have ANY say is this matter? Is there anything I can do so I can continue to use my old blood meter ?
The other strange thing is from this link below, I was looking for staffordshire NHS guidelines & found this :-
http://www.stokeccg.nhs.uk/news/diabete ... trent-758/
Right at the bottom of the page it states the meter that has been picked is the WaveSense Jazz ????
Many thanks to anybody taking the time to reply...... :thumbup:
I got the AcuChek Mobile because I thought it would be easier on the bike and out running - turned out that it was very tempermental. I used it in parallel with the Glucomen for a while and found that pre-exercise it always read much lower than the Glucomen, post exercise they were similar, but the main issue was that the AccuCheck failed to give a reading at least one in three times, claiming that the sample size was too small when I'd just tested on the glucomen with no trouble
I get your point but this would have to be agreed as part of the cost. I still believe it can be done so much more cose effectively. Trust me, I'm not saying I want this to happen, it's nice to have a say in meter choice etc. I'm just saying there is certainly a business case to be made to standardise equipment. If I broke my leg, I wouldn't expect to be able to choose my crutches, I'd use what was provided.My real concern around this is that we will see the end of any developments, improvements or innovation in diabetes care. At the moment, the big companies recoup all the R&D and support costs in the price of the consumables. I know the strips etc are way overpriced and that needs to be tackled, but R&D isn't cheap and these companies are in it for profit - remove the profit and the R&D will cease - and I can't see the NHS direclty funding that. I hope I'm wrong!
Smidge
you haven's anwered the point about meters integrated with pumps etc, there's a whole load of different pumps out there with different characteristics that suit different users. Should we standardise those as well? What about standardising insulin while we're at it?I agree currently different meters work in different ways but this doesn't mean they cannot be standardised. We used to have VHS, Betamax and Video2000 but VHS became the norm. The NHS has such power with it's spending that in theory it should be able to tell the manufacturers what specs they require and get it made. I know there will always be those who want to choose a certain style of meter but it just doesn't make business sense. Would I be happy if I was forced to change my meter ? Probably not ! Would I accept it ? Yes. If I was in charge of NHS spending would I standardise testing meters ? Absolutely.
Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
Tricky issue. On one hand you have to argue that providing the best individual treatment will lead to fewer diabetes related complications and thus save the NHS money in the long run. However, on the other hand, we're £1.3TN in debt now and 10% of NHS spending is going on diabetes. Are there too many products out there? Is it necessary? If you look at the NHS as a business it has tremendous spending power and could that be better utilised?you haven's anwered the point about meters integrated with pumps etc, there's a whole load of different pumps out there with different characteristics that suit different users. Should we standardise those as well? What about standardising insulin while we're at it?
We're talking about standardising BG testing strips, that's all. Not insulin. It would be a huge saving, year after year. It could be done. That's all I'm saying. I'm not saying I want it done. Do you think it is impossible to do then ?10% of NHS spending on diabetes.
What fraction of the £1.3TN debt is that?
What fraction of teh NHS busget is being spent on maintaining a choice of meters, strips, insulin types and pumps for T1? Considering T1 is about 1% of all diabetics, I'd say not much.
I'm quite happy on Levemir and Novarapid - switch me to Lantus I'd probably be less happy as it's characteristics do not match my needs.
Standardisation is OK to a point where it can be justified, but I don't think this is one of those cases.
Interesting facts n figures - many thanks.Around 2.9M people in the UK have diabetes, approximately 4.6% of the entire population. 400K have type 1 which is 0.06% of the population and 13.8% of all diabetics.
It doesn’t matter how much of this accounts for the £1.3TN debt we have. Doesn’t matter at all. What matters to Westminster is reducing the deficit, that’s reducing and not eliminating. They are happy that this year the deficit is only looking like being around £90BN.
The justification behind standardisation or cheaper test meters will never, at this moment in time be about the needs of the diabetic patient. It should be. It will, however, be a cost issue.
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