• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Questions about Insulin.


Thanks Ebony
Am off to get my 6, yes 6 prescriptions in awhile :lol: The poor DN was having a problem with the computer and it would only put one thing on a scrip and then print it. I had to laugh when she swore at it :lol:
Another question how many times a day do you test? She said i only need to test twice :? Once before each insulin dose.
 
If you drive you need a teststrip before the start of every journey.

If you exercise or (intend to exercise) you really ought to initally test before the exercise and after the exercise, and possibly during the exercise...

Initally, in an ideal world you would have strips to do testing pre meal and 2 hours after meal...

Also pre bed and at 2am in morning when BG levels can sink to the floor.

When DSN said 2 strips-did she mention timings of when she expected you to use these 2 strips.

The DVLA guidelines could help you to get more strips.....as without testing you could end up in deep trouble with injuring self/others and making insurance invalid if you didn't test before driving...and would they want the blame for all that???

Blood strips are a huge issue with us diabetics...It ws my DSN at hospital that told my GP that I needed 300 per month (on a pump), and previously when first moving here I had to be asked to be referred to hospital when he refused to give me more than 2...they automatically upped it to give me more and instructed him to do so, and then when I went on pump they increased it and told him 300.

I personally hate the thought of people being given 2-I know the battle I had with the new GP before getting him to refer me to hospital. Not nice...especially when I had never had problems in 20 years of getting them.....and how a GP can try to restrict you, but will alter their decision on a note from a consultant...and never argue again!!!
 
I agree with DD, i would recommend anyone to test at least 5 times a day.

Before bed
Before every meal
When you wake up

That doesn't take into account testing 2-4 hours after a meal to see how your insulin dose is working, or testing if you think your low.

Or importantly as DD says before everytime you drive and if the journey is for a while then at regular intervals. This is required by law.

I personally test quite a bit, due to having an insulin pump and i generally like to know where my BG's are throughout the day. I don't test as much as i did when i first started the pump, maybe around 8 times a day average. I also expecially test often i'm in poorly.

If your nurse is reluctant to give you a big enough prescription for test strips you may have to build a case to prove to her why you need to test often.

She sounds like an understanding woman though, i'm sure with reasoning she will certainly agree with testing more than twice a day.
 
She suggested i test just before taking my insulin half an hour before breakfast and same again with insulin half an hour before evening meal. She did say about testing before driving and that is something i will never not do. I test a lot more than twice a day normally now :lol: I normally do fasting, before each meal and 2 hrs after each meal and before bed. She has put them on repeat but it doesn't say next issue due as i've not had them on repeat before! She also said i may have to change to using a caresens meter as that is what they give out and they can get the strips cheaper than my bayer contour ones.
 

That's good then, sounds like your already well in the swing of testing regularly. I'm not sure what a caresens meter is but if it does the job and enables you to get the strips you need i can't see that being a bad thing?.

i would add testing on waking to your list of testing times, then i think you've pretty much got it covered.

Just adding extra ones for driving, sickness and if you get symptoms of a hypo, i would also suggest testing more frequently if you drink alcohol as that can affect BG levels while using insulin too.
 
Hi Claire, Sounds like all went well...and also good that you are starting on Monday...as ifthere were problems, the weekend is not the best time to try and get help (as you know!).

I used to carry my insulin around, on a daily basis, in make up bag/pencil case etc. Alas, as I have bnever been lucky enough to go on holiday for more than a month, I have never needed a special bag to keep it cool. I have one of those rubber bracelet, that says "diabetic"...think it was abou £2.50 from e b ay. It is not pretty, but it doesn't jangle like the metal ones do.

No idea about the meter your DSN suggested, but like others have said, if it means less of a battle to get strips, I would go for it.

Re hypos. You may actually already know what they feel like, as some people, get hypo sysmptoms when their BG falls quickly. Like other have said, as long as you have something with you/near you, you should be fine. To be honest, if at all in doubt, or I am unable to test easily, like say if I am driving, I just eat some jelly babies and then stop when it is safe to do so. It doesn't happen very often at all, but I would rather, on these occasions go too high, than risk a hypo at the wheel. I guess one of the nice things about insulin is that you can adjust it to help, even the "mix" insulins allow you to do this a bit.

All the best, J
 
Thanks Ebony and Sugar2
I will see what happens and if i have to use the meter the DSN suggests to get strips i will. Good idea about a pencil case or similar. I've just looked at my meter case and i think if i jiggle things around a bit i'd probably be able to get a pen and enough needles for a few days in there as well as my meter, pricker, lancets and strips. Thinking about it i don't really think i'll need to get anything to keep insulin cool. If we go away for longer than a pen full will last, we normally are going to somewhere where i can use a fridge. We don't go away that often anyway :lol:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…