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paying through the nose

H

ham79

Well-Known Member
Messages
252
Location
aberdeen
Dislikes
diabetes and cbeebies
I have noticed a lot of people saying that they are either paying for prescriptions or monitors and strips I was under the impression that as this is a life long condition it's free. I live in Aberdeen and get anything related to diabetes free except hypo treatments????? Willie
 
I saw a doctor the day before yesterday & was given two lots of conflicting advice in the space of a few minutes. They don't advise self testing, certainly not on a daily basis. Then a couple of minutes later he said if ever my fasting level was more than around 11 or 12 I must phone the surgery right away. I had to argue like anything to get a prescription for just 50 strips.

esme
 
hya ham,
you must have a nice dr as a lot of our type 2s do have trouble getting diabetic goods on prescription :?
 
When I was diagnosed type 2 6 years ago everything was free monitors strips meds time to start a revolution for all who are forced to pay for something that could save there life.
P.s asda does really cheap monitors as they claim the vat for you.
pps I was given a form to fill out for free scripts as diabetics are excempt due to it being a lifelong condition.
 
I was told that people who control their diabetes by diet only don't get free prescriptions but if people use insulin or take tablets to reduce blood glucose then they qualify. I take Metformin and don't have to pay for other prescriptions either like blood pressure tablets etc but I am not given prescriptions for test strips/lancets and buy these myself.
 

Ham, can you clarify whether you are type 1 or type 2 ? Your profile says type 1 .
 
yes jenrose,
if u are on diabetic meds you get free prescriptions,
another one is if you are on thyroxine then the same applies
 
My PCT won't fund strips for T2s. I had to beg for a pack receently when I had a UTI. and was taking antibiotics.
I've tried to convince them that if T2s knew what to do with test results and tested a couple of times a day, It would save money on complicaions, but they aren't having it
Hana
 
ham79 said:
diabetics are excempt due to it being a lifelong condition.
Click to expand...

Its not simply because diabetes is a "lifelong condition". For a condition to be exempt from prescription charges (in England), it has to be on a list drawn up in 1968 - which included T1 and apparently T2 on meds. I know diabetes is expensive, but cystic fibrosis patients have it far worse. Despite having inherited a permanent condition and taking huge amounts of medication (remember Alex Stobbs on TV recently, taking handfulls of tablets?), they pay for their prescriptions unless they also get CF-diabetes. In 1968 it was rare for CF patients to reach adulthood. If they survived past 16, they'd likely be unfit to work and on benefits, so free prescriptions that way. Nowadays average life expectancy with CF is around 30, but the 1968 list still applies so they have to pay.
 
I went to the docs today and I asked her if she would give me a prescription for testing Strips, she hummed and arred about it and said that they are advised not to give Type 2's scripts for testing strips because they are expensive. I explained to her that I was on a low carb/fat diet and how was I supposed to know what foods made my BG go up? So she said ok but she didn't want me to test all the time and that she would give me 100 and that has to last me all year :lol: So I guess once they are gone I will have to buy from Ebay.

Deborah
 

The 1968 list survives supreme though there has been one change. Since April 2009 cancer patients are now also on then list. My doctor was going on about the inequality of the current rules. He told me that someone with a hypoactive thyroid gets free scrips, but a person with a hyperactive thyroid (actually the more serious condition) does not. A diabetic on diet control only does not get free scrips, but if the doctor were to prescribe so much as half an aspirin for the diabetes, the patient automatically qualifies for free scrips for the next 5 years.

I have another condition that requires medication for the rest of my life. It doesn't qualify for free scrips either.

Apparently, the list is currently under review.

IanS
 
I have had a few run ins with my surgery over medication and have another coming up.

They tried stopping my test strip and I got them back, get 50 on each repeat script and doubt I would have a problem getting more.

Had a bust up over my Metformin being put up too the maximum dose, the NHS don't like that, it was done by my private consultant. They said I couldn't have the full amount on prescription. So I caused a disturbance it the waiting room, it was just days before Christmas, so at the top of my voice I said "So you won't give me the medication I need, I could die over Christmas you know" and kept repeating it, I got my prescription and haven't had a problem since.

My next challenge is to get a NHS prescription for my Victoza, My consultant has been setting a trap for my GP, I just need to send a couple of letters after Christmas and then if he doesn't come up with the prescription, then a formal complaint will be going in. I suspect I will get the prescription after the first letter. They won't want the hassle.
 

You need to tread just a little carefully. Doctors generally don't like patients twisting their arms in this fashion. The usual retribution is that they write to the local PCT telling them that they no longer want you as their patient because you are abusive* (however untrue that may be). They are entitled to do this for the reason claimed (though in theory at least, not if the allegation is false).

IanS

* and disrupting a waiting room may fall in this category.
 
I agree 100% and then some that we should get strips on prescription without fuss if we request them. Either free with our medical exemption card or at least at a normal prescription charge. As yet I haven’t had much of a problem getting mine although I have had “do you know how much these cost the NHS a year?” talk.

What I do have a problem with is once you get that card ALL prescription medication is free. I will hold my hand up and say I am as guilty as anyone for using it for all my other medications I use – some I have needed and used for 30 yrs (psoriasis) and some for 20 yrs (asthma) – why all of a sudden should these be free to me along with my diabetic medication?

Maybe that is a loophole that needs to be addressed by the powers that be then maybe GP’s would be more willing to prescribe the things we need for testing.


One last point a friend of mine lost her father to cancer a little while back – he spent his last months campaigning to get a drug that would have prolonged or even saved his life – but it was deemed too expensive to prescribe at many £1000’s of pounds a course. At least we can take a little comfort that if our GP will not prescribe, having to buy strips may cause hardship but it is doable – my friend’s dad had no such chance.
 
[quote="IanS]
Apparently, the list is currently under review.
IanS[/quote]

Don't hold your breath waiting, it's been under review for at least 2 yrs so far.
 

Well it has worked for me so far and I don't intend changing my strategy one bit.

I am never abusive and that is why I make my point in the waiting room, then I have possible witnesses.

My GP could get rid of me anytime he want, I don't live in the surgery catchment, but Gp's make too much money for prescribing drugs to diabetics, as long as I keep getting my statins and asprin, he keeps earning.
 

You are not guilty of anything. You are allowed to have all your medication free.

Why should you be paying for prescriptions in the first place? We are told that the prescription charge is our "contribution" toward the cost of the medicine. However, over 90% of the medicines prescribed in England actually cost less that the prescription charge (and the pharmacist gets the difference - not the NHS), something I regularly discover when I get private prescriptions dispensed*. Many cost less than £1. If the pharmacist was required to offset the extra against the more expensive medicines such as the more expensive diabetic meds, there might be a lot less resistance from the PCTs.

* There seems to be some politics at work here because the pharmacist always calls from the back of the shop (so everyone can hear), "You know you will have to pay the full price on a private prescription". Then having dispensed it, walks over and says quietly (so that no one else hears), "That will be £1.34 please".

IanS
 
Why should anyone feel guilty about getting free prescriptions ! We have all paid our NI contributions for years, that's what they are there for.
 
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