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

I live in N.Ireland and type2 and I get free test strips. I am on benefits

Jd67 a perfect example. I should be an all or nothing thing. Happy you're not being givenshort-shrift, though I understand diabetes has many permutations. One down, tens of thousands to go!

I have type 2 diabetes and this is being treated by metformin and gliclizide and I get the strips etc free on prescription. Ask your doctor for a prescription and if you are on tablets contact your local health authority to obtain an exemption certificate for all your prescriptions, not just diabetic medicines, which should let you get free prescriptions for the strips. If you are in Scotland or Wales you should be getting your prescriptions for free

If only the professionals begin to realise that good BG Control is a pillar of good diabetes care, and that keeping them under control helps other conditions from worsening.. As you DSN What the cost of dialysis or how much an amputation costs not only in cost but in lifestyle. Change you GP. What meter were you given.. Manufacturers give cut price meters so we have to use their expensive strips..

I live in Cambs and get one packet of strips per month on prescription. However whilst on the Desmond course it was "suggested" type 2 shouldn't test at all and that a balanced diet is enough. Ha!!! I found that whilst I got excellent control immediately after my diagnosis, my blood sugar then went through the roof and stayed there for quite some time and wouldn't come down even with increased metformin and the subsequent addition of pioglitizone. It was only when I started reducing carbs out of desparation that my bg levels dropped quickly down to a normal level - after 2 days without bread, potatoes, pasta and rice. I now realise what I need to do, its hard. However, without test strips I'd have never known what a difference low carbs make, because unless you're really high - it sends me to sleep - it's pretty impossible for me to guess whether i'm in the 12 - 15 range or whether i'm in the 5 - 7 range because apart from the odd blury eye I feel exactly the same.

I'm thankful I can get the teststrips, but I think i'd get them off ebay or similar if I couldn't.

I am surprized by your reaction to no lancets or strips for type 2 diabetes,my view is only type 1 because of the cost should be exempt from payment,I am type 2 diabetic and also disabled,so I feel you must be over testing yourself oh I too am on metformin and other pills to control my diabetes,I maybe check myself once a week therefore I feel you are over checking yourself.

jansoboo your reply surprised me and makes me think you are uniformed with diabetes care.
Diabetes brings with it a myriad of other health issues that can contribute directly to heart disease
good control is the only way to avoid these issues and regular testing is the only way to maintain this
each individual needs to take responsibility for their own health care to manage it
You feel minimal care is the way to go and that's your view but it's certainly not the view of many other
responsible people. Education is the key to knowledge , but many people do certainly prefer not to test
and use a head in the sand approach because then they can plead ignorance when their results return
and say they have no idea why , when simple testing would help.

I recommend you read this
http://www.diabetes-book.com/book/mylife.shtml
by Dr Richard Bernstein a truly remarkable pioneer in the development of diabetes care, the implementation
of low carb diets and the basal bolus treatment for diabetics and it goes on.

Despite excellent control and a HbA1c-40 I've had a stroke at a young age because of the risks diabetes
brings with it. You never know when it might be you !

jansooboo said:

I am surprized by your reaction to no lancets or strips for type 2 diabetes,my view is only type 1 because of the cost should be exempt from payment,I am type 2 diabetic and also disabled,so I feel you must be over testing yourself oh I too am on metformin and other pills to control my diabetes,I maybe check myself once a week therefore I feel you are over checking yourself.

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wow, how wrong is your attitude, i am type 2, 49 years old, mediated with metformin, Gliclazide, aspirin, atorvastatin, clopidogrel, ramipril, bisoprolol, and i drive professionally for a living, covering anything up to 500 miles a day, I HAVE TO TEST BEFORE STARTING A JOURNEY, AND EVERY 2 HOURS! luckily i get all the strips i need on prescription, free test meters from hospital, and ALL my meds, strips, lancets on free prescription

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TheLovelyTarotLady

I was diagnosed a year last October, about 18 months, and was given a testing kit by the diabetic nurse with a supply of strips to test twice a day. 3 months later the supply of strips stopped because my BG control using Metformin, Glycoside, diet and exercise had brought the BG down to an average 5.3.

I disagreed with the policy, bit the bullet and bought a months supply, the pharmacist was understanding. I tested twice a day, every morning, then after the midday or evening meal, and when I felt poorly. During February last year I researched the issue a discovered that to continue testing I would have to buy my own testing kit, the SD Codefree from the Far East supplied by homehealth-uk.com, it costs about £13.00 every month for strips, affordable unless in dire straits.

Diabetes is about taking control of your life, try the philosophy. You need to test every day, when is a personal choice based on your physiology, my choice is morning always because my late working (I finish between 9.00 PM and Midnight) makes me hungry at night, then during the day for me is a straight forward alternating lunch and dinner.

I have another tip, buy a good set of scales to weigh every ounce you eat, and run your life according to a timetable, you can then achieve an HbA1c below the normal of 45, mine is 39.

Who wants to be blind or loose limbs, be positive, take control, and if you can walk, then walk don't sit.

Oh, by the way, I have learned to bake my own bread, it tastes better, and when you eat so little taste is important. :thumbup:

That is disgusting to hear you cannot get test strips! I have had type 1 32 years and my GP still groans every time I request sticks. However according to the DVLA diabetics should test before driving their car (every time) and every two hours on long journeys. Please talk to my groaning GP. Totally disgusted... :evil:

I fail to understand when you new to diabetes and trying to find out what foods act as triggers to you how can know what works if you can't get test strips. Surely it is cheaper to supply strips than to pay for dialysis and other hospital treatments when diabetes runs out of control


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mickey121 said:

Surely it is cheaper to supply strips than to pay for dialysis and other hospital treatments when diabetes runs out of control

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NHS doesn't work like that, ie with everyone working towards a common interest. The rationale behind setting targets is that people work in their own best interests, motivated by gain, and therefore an efficient system develops.

Just like it worked for our financial services sector.

It fails because the model doesn't take into account that some people work on the basis, 'I'll do this for five years, make a killing and then get out whilst the going is good.'

For what it's worth - I find test strips cheaper online than at the chemists

Hi I am new to this forum so bare with me.. I got my monitor free from roche Diagnotics and my GP happikly supplies my strips and lancets, so may be wotryh a visit to you GP for some advice, or eve compromise and share the cost of the strips with them. Dr is more ameiable if you prepare to go that extramile with them
x

I got my last lot of strips from ebay - 3 pots of 50 strips for £30.00

I also think type 2 diabetics should get free testing strips. Although low blood sugars from insulin, can cause problems, for most people it's the long term high blood sugars which cause the most damage. And that's the same for everyone.

I get 3 lots of testing strips prescribed every month with no problems due to being a brittle type 1 diabetic , because of gatroparesis from autonomic nerve damage .

Everyone in our health area using test meters has recently been asked to change to a Braun Omnitest 3 meter and when I asked at the GP's how much the strips cost was told £9 for 50, compared to £15 for my previous ones. We didn't need to change , but I did to help the budget. Meter seems to work ok so far, but the lancet isn't much use, probably skin on fingers too tough from frequent testing.

Hope you get it sorted out soon OP.

Buy mine direct from Abbot for £15 for 50...freedom lite. Great service and arrive in 2 days most.

Ny nurse insists no need to test. Says causes worry and what can you do about after your levels have gone up.
Do not agree but what can you do?

now just test one day a week at most

BS have gone up and now on 2 metformin twice a day.

Reminds you that you have to take it seriously and no such thing as' a little bit diabetic!'

The refusal of test strips for Type2 is not a national decision but a local one. The Department of Health has never placed a restriction on test strips. It used to be the PCT's who decided but as they have been disbanded, it is now down to your G.P.

The Cochrane Review, which only looked at Type2s who were provided with test strips and found that they were not improving results, has been reviewed to include people who fund their own test strips and and they now find that newly diagnosed Type2s who are not on insulin are achieving significantly better results with their HBA1c if they have access to testing strips. People are still being denied test strips based on the first review.

This article from IDDT is well worth a read, "Fight for your test strips", and includes points that Type1s should use if being denied a suitable number.


http://iddt.org/news/fight-for-your-test-strips
It explains clearly how to go about getting your GP to change his/her mind.

Now I do understand about T2 and how people end up with it but I fail to understand why the country should pay out for your strips and lancets etc. if you don't look after yourself and end up T2. My 19 year old son was diagnosed last year with T1 through no fault if his own and his equipment and medication keeps him alive so T1 should always be free.
I have a visual impairment (macular dystrophy) and apart from receiving a free eye test I have to pay for my glasses, I also have hearing problems and have to pay for all of my medications relating to it.
I really wish T1 and T2 were always stipulated in stories in the media as they are NOT one if the same!