Unbeliever said:Good try Xyzzy . I have often thought of claiming to be mad already but doubt they would listen./care
xyzzy said:unbeliever, I often wonder if I went back to them and said "You were right all along. It's sending me mad" what the reaction would be and how much they would happily spend trying to cure it!
borofergie said:xyzzy said:unbeliever, I often wonder if I went back to them and said "You were right all along. It's sending me mad" what the reaction would be and how much they would happily spend trying to cure it!
If you need a character witness to say that you are on the edge of sanity, I'll happily write one for you BlindDog.
A lot would depend on their relationship or friendship with the member of staff who volunteered to do the part-time counselling course which 2 qualified them to practise CBT,xyzzy said:Unbeliever said:Good try Xyzzy . I have often thought of claiming to be mad already but doubt they would listen./care
unbeliever, I often wonder if I went back to them and said "You were right all along. It's sending me mad" what the reaction would be and how much they would happily spend trying to cure it!
Landshark said:I have to say that diabetes.co.uk's response to this is typical. It annoys me intensely when organisations hide behind "policy" rather than standing up for something that they know is right. This is nothing to do with politics, it is people's health and I cannot fathom a single reason for denying a blanket support from this organisation unless it gets financial support from the pharmaceutical industries who would lose through reduced revenues.
If it is right, stand up for it. If not, then what do you stand for?
No one ever seems to wober why there is such a ready market on ebay for strips if they are no use. those buying them must find them of use.hanadr said:
The view of Diabetes UK is that the prescribing of test strips should be an individual clinical decision between someone with diabetes and their doctor .
that's the bit tthat's not happening. The patient isn't getting a say in the decision.
I have come to believe that those people who want to USE their strips properly, should have them.
I also know that there are plenty who won't or can't.
By properly, I mean to use the results to improve control. As in Eat to your meter.
In qaddition, we bneed some way to make sure the people who get the strips are using them and not just selling on eBay.It's not outside the bounds of probability in this computerised world to track what happens.
Hana
Over the years we have come to offer most people with type 2 diabetes self monitoring, thinking it was cost effective and beneficial.
This unfortunately is not the case. There is good evidence now that testing in established1 or newly diagnosed2 type 2 patients does not improve glycaemic control and may actually be harmful by increasing depression scores2. This of course also makes self monitoring not cost effective for patients with non-insulin treated type 2 diabetes3. Indeed patients themselves are uncertain of the value of testing, with the main reasons for continuing being habit and reassurance rather than altering behaviour4.
Remember also that many patients test 3 or 4 times per day, without making any adjustment to their therapy (particularly if they are on oral agents only). Some because they think we (as health carers) want them to4. For these patients it may not be necessary to test at all.
Our new guideline recommends less testing, which in my opinion is entirely clinically appropriate. We do spend a lot on sticks, which we do need to curtail. The good news is that all the savings we make will be re-invested into medicines for people with diabetes. There is no intention to cut the budget for people with diabetes
What does Diabetes UK think about the restriction of blood test strips?Diabetes UK believes people with diabetes have the right to be prescribed the number of strips they need to be able to manage their diabetes. Your requirement will be decided in agreement with your diabetes healthcare team and should take into account your own personal circumstances, lifestyle, type of diabetes medication and self-management techniques. Your access to test strips should not be affected by your ability to pay or where you live and receive your care.
The decision to restrict blood glucose testing strips can fail to consider that people with diabetes selfmanage their condition 95 per cent of the time. Self-monitoring, supported by education and training about what to do with test results, provides the information needed to make daily adjustments in order to maintain good diabetes control. Such adjustments may include altering the dose of your medication, delaying a meal, or taking exercise to counteract a high blood glucose reading, deciding when to eat to decrease the risk of hypoglycaemia (hypos) and deciding when to seek medical help. Testing enables people with diabetes to
self-manage their condition and to track, and take action on, blood glucose patterns over a period of time.
This supports self-management, thereby reducing the risk of complications over time (Diabetes Control and Complications Trial, 1993; UK Prospective Diabetes Study, 1998).
Research looked at by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) (2008) added further evidence ‘to the view that self-monitoring of blood glucose levels was an integral part of effective patient education packages and enabled effective use of many other therapies and lifestyle interventions’. Further ‘The evidence that plasma glucose monitoring could be replaced by urine glucose monitoring was found to be poor’.
JohnJ said:From what I have read on these forums it appears to be perhaps a post code lottery, again, whether you have strips free or not?
I am lucky to receive mine free, when I was diagnosed last year they gave me a kit with strips which I found difficult to use (have stupid needle phobia!). So I purchased the Accu-Chek Softclix Plus which I prefer but my surgery said the strips were far more expensive (£27 for 51). I offered to pay but they said it was fine and I continue to receive them on prescription.
I do not test heavily/every day so perhaps the cost does not cause an issue or as I say I'm lucky to be with a superb surgery?!
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