No test strips or lancets on the NHS?!!!

TheLovelyTarotLady said:

the strips (so says the chemist) will cost me around £60 every five or six weeks or so. Is this right?

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It depends on how much you test. My DN gave me a prescription for 50 tests and said it would last me 2 months. Those test strips cost £12.50 for a pack of 50 so, by her calculation, £6.25 per month.

However, 50 strips for 2 months is derisory.

I was told in N.Lincs they don't prescribe for testing for type 2 if not on insulin,but they expect you to keep a check on BG . How do you find which foods raise your BG as it differs from person to person . Having a blood test every 3 months may show how overall diet works but doesn't help sort out triggers.


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Strange my nurse give me a meter and said just order your strips when you need them. Then you read on here people can't get them.

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Unfortunately welcome to the type 2 post code lottery on getting strips / meters. If the nurse can't or won't give you a prescription for the tests strips you could try your own doctor. My practice does not give meters out, but will give test strips, though recently I had to justify why I wanted them, and I used the new DVLA guidelines that diabetics on certain meds must test before and after driving for 2 hours must retest.

I like many others believe type 2 should be given strips on prescription, so we can see what food does to us and allow us to know what's going on. After numerous years I gave in to the doctors and only tested when I felt there was some thing wrong . this lead to a slow increase in my BS until it hit the 20's when I noticed things were going wrong. After re-starting testing again I found white bread for me is a major problem as it rapidly increases my BS levels sky high.

Using the above argument some doctors (if they are the reluctant type) may give you a limited supply of test strips on prescription, yet others will have no problem in issuing you a prescription.

Did the DN say how often they would test your HbA1c levels, again this seams to vary between 3 and 12 monthly checks mine do 12 monthly checks which is no good if you are not testing yourself?

Another option if you are forced to buy your own strips is to get a lower cost meter / strip option like the SD code free or supercheck2 systems where the strips are a lot cheaper than the big brand test strips.

The numbers you are referring to sound like the new numbers system and I assume they are your HbA1c results. There is a HbA1c converter on this link http://www.diabetes.co.uk/hba1c-units-converter.html and is 16.5 in old money mmol/L. UK meters work in mmol/l when doing your finger prick tests and ideally they should fall in line with the guide on this link http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care ... anges.html .

Did the DN mention about getting your annual eye screening and feet inspections done? If you are taking any meds for diabetes like metformin you are entitled to a prescription exemption certificate which you should get an application form from a chemist (sometimes) or your doctor who will indorse the application that you qualify. You will also be entitled to annual free eye tests.

First, your HBa1C reading, if 108, is very high (12% in old money) and does need to be reduced quite urgently. At that level you should be retested around every 3 months. If you are not already controlling your diet and the level and type of carbs you must do that. Although Metformin is a good and safe drug it doesn't reduce BS that much so diet is the number one means of getting your BS down. If you are not overweight, quite young and the BS doesn't come down then do go back to the nurse. Yes, strips are a Post Code lottery and money is the main reason. The strips for my One Touch are about £25 retail for 50, but you can get them on the web for around £20 and VAT free from some suppliers. If you really want to save money, bidding on eBay means you can save 50% or more but just check that there is an end-date for the strips given.

[Mod edit]
Good luck.

Mart.

TheLovelyTarotLady said:

martwolves said:

[Mod edit]
Good luck

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Rude, insensative, dismissive & upsetting response to someone who is looking for support & guidance. Thank you however... for moving me - upsetting me enough - to respond.Normally - & offline - I wouldn't spend much energy on such negativity; but today, I need you to know that posts like yours can only damage a forum such as this... by driving people like me away. People like me who struggle enough to survive each day to swerve innumerable health related demons... & deal with a disease that has rocked me to my core. I am a newbie... but a genuine person... who does not need - or deserve - such... erm... brutal feedack.

I need this to be a safe space to share my thoughts... :?

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Well said Lucja, there was no need for a response like that in my opinion :clap:
Could you not persuade your Nurse and / or Doctor that your other health and depression problems may be sorted or at least allayed somewhat if you had the facility to test your levels and thus see progress is controlling the condition. A feeling of being out of control and not knowing what is going on will only make any other problems seem ten times worse.
Just a thought. I hope you get sorted and remain strong enough to conquer.
Regards
Angie

That poster was totally out of order....
Whatever you believe is yours and nobody elses.
We may or may not agree, but personal beliefs are just that.

Hope that you can conquer your demons....

Superchip

Very surprised by that comment as usually seems quite supportive. It was rude, insensitive and completely uncalled for. If it was intended as some kind of joke it fell flat. Please don't be put off this forum by insensitive remarks. The vast majority support you and want to help. I am Type 1 but am always flabbergasted that Type 2s are not prescribed strips and meters as standard procedure. Keep fighting the good fight, perseverance may wear them down.

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It was just a tongue in cheek Lee Mack impersonation but it goes to show that it takes a true comedian to carry a joke off and not make it sound like a rude comment. The subject of the post was about test strips. Besides, like dieticians, no two tarot card readers ever agree.

It does indeed appear to be a lottery. I get all my lancets and test strips free on prescription, yet my friend 50 miles north of me has to pay for hers. It's very unfair.

generally its only Diabetics on insulin that get free test strips from what i gather but i would have thought they would take your disability into account...... Jesus what is the country coming too.

It's the NHS inconsistency that was the joke. If you felt I was being nasty it was the 'system' I was digging at. I can only offer my apologies as these things bug me too beyond belief. It should be uniform across the UK and in your case it's mighty unfair that others can get scrips and many others cannot. Your personal life is none of my business and I apologise if you thought it was a persona affront - as thundercat said it was an ill-posted comment and had enough scope to be misconstrued as I'm **** at delivering jokes. I wish you all the very best in your quest for the treatment you should be entitled to, as a diabetic. I'm sorry for any offence and that you felt that way.

Mart.

Yorksman too - it was wrong of me to try to lighten the mood. The NHS, while they have a tough time, was wrong of me to make a comment so ambiguous. I'll be more clear who I believe to be the antagonist and protagonist in future. I don't know TarotLady, I do know NHS ambiguity. I try to be supportive as I'm still learning myself, with everyday. I'm not upset, just disappointed with how I came across.

I've also suffered with this before. What is sometimes written as a completely harmless remark, read a day or so later, can be taken the wrong way.
What I would like to add though is that I have read many of MartWolves posts/comments etc and he has always been super helpful and friendly in the past !

I've had to beg for strips and lancets, and the reason i got them in the end was not because of the diabetes, but because of my other health problems. So it is worth keep pushing and telling them how it impacts in your other health problems. Good luck x

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martwolves said:

Yorksman too - it was wrong of me to try to lighten the mood.

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All comedians stress the importance of, timing. You've got to get the timing right or else it falls flat. Wrong place, wrong time. One tarot reader to another, "You're fine, how am I?"