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Why do GP recommend not to test blood sugars with glucose meter?

spirits

Well-Known Member
Messages
178
Location
uk
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
has anyone here been advised by there own doctor not to test there blood sugars with a glucose meter? and especially if your a type 2 diabetic whether on diet, oral medications or both? and even if your on injections or no medicines?
if this has happened to you what did you do or not do? and are you concerned about it? would you want to test your sugars with a meter or not? and anything else i have not mentioned. p.s do you think all diabetes whether type 1 or type 2 should all be treated same to use a glucose diabetic meter? and all be treated the same in terms of serious health, even though type 1 and type 2 diabetes are not the same to each other.they both do have hypos and hyper. and you still need to know your blood sugar levels to know what foods and drinks react with your body and to know when your hypo and hyper. If you can not have the opportunity to test and you want to how can you mange your sugar just taking meds and a diet with out monitoring it safely? as I am one of those people been advised to keep the glucose meter at bay and i have bought my own though the test strips are very expensive and it has helped me, when i run out of strips i can not monitor myself then i get in to problems, and I did speak about this with GP yet is still not willing to see my point of view why it important for me
 
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Yes I believe all diabetics should be allowed to test their bg and given the means to do so.
 
Can you imagine if every diabetic out there didn't test - there would be chaos. Those of us that take a pro-active approach to diabetes are actually saving the GP and therefore the NHS money. What a pile of crock some nurses and GP's spout.
 
I was first refused a monitor and strips but as I had decided I wanted to test to get to understand what to eat to control my bg I threatened not to eat single carb ever again, not one sliver of fruit, not half a carrot, nothing, only eggs, butter and bacon. This scared my DSN enough to prescribe what I wanted. Not that I eat much carrots anyway as they spike me. And my fruit intake is limited to fruits like peppers, aubergine, tomatoes, avocado and zucchini. How they expected me to manage diabetes without a clue as to how food and exercise affect blood glucose I really don't understand.
 
thank you for your replies in the post dawnmc and noblehead, it is a big concern, people need these metres, and without them, you may as well say your no better off, the test strips are very expensive and i do find it hard buying them as my gp when he diagnosed me diabetic refused to give me a metre and strips i was shocked, so i had my old meter from when i had gestational diabetes and bought tests strips for them yet £27 from boots test strips for 50 is expensive and when you can not afford to buy them regular it is like Russian roulette your life is at stake,if you can not keep up with testing you had it, I need to test me as my sugars are all over place with out i know what foods are working and what is not, if i go hypo or hypo i do not always get a warning, my sugars drop quick for a hypo then symptoms happen and headaches if hyper tired and toilet a lot itching i know when it is happening once it happens yet if i am out like it has happened before hypo i am in a mess if i can not get to me emergency sugar in time i would pass out and i am worried because the meter without it i feel i would end up worse off in health, with it it gives me the signs what is helping me and what is not in food and drink plus exercise. And i can truly understand what your going through and other people, we all get one chance to live and if we can not help ourselves and with the equipment that is there available to save our life, what is the point in taking medicines etc if it is not going to benefit us?
 
If you want a cheaper meter buy an sd code free meter from
http://www.homehealth-uk.com
Approx £14 for starter kit and if you buy 5 pots of 50 strips in one go then £26. Got to go but will give you the code after lunch. Free pp and there in 2 days.
 
Hi Totto
I am glad you did push your doctor to get what you want and i am very shocked how many people are going through this, you can think your the only one when it first happens i did, hearing you and others hear speak of there experiences shows there are failings in the medical system it is like giving great concern for those they choose to help and treat others different with out the same concern, there must be a law or something can be done to give equal rights to the same health treatments with the meters for all diabetics as both type 1 and 2 suffer hypo and hyper and could die if a person was not aware it was happening and had no idea how to look for it correctly, i am grateful meters exist and i have one, just to expensive for strips the machines are not affordable for everyone and if it is priority over who gets them free on NHS, and others have to buy there own it is sad, i just wish type 2 was treated as serious as type 1 even though gp know it is serious.
 
i believe testing for all diabetics types 1, 2 and pre diabetics is essential, i do however believe there should be a charge to prevent wastage by people just accepting the meters as they are free and there is defiantly a feeling of oh if its free ill have it, there would be waste for sure, people getting the strips on repeat prescription and having a huge stock of strip pots happily going out of date in the medicine cupboard due some peoples lack of interest in their condition, but i think they should be heavily subsidised, available at the chemist, you go on a register or something and when you pick up your scrippy you can buy them but at a hugely reduced price
 
What really gets my goat is when I am told not to test even when I am buying the kit myself. It is my diabetes and if I want to monitor it in my own home, it is none of the NHS's bloody business. Have just been reading another thread in which a person was told to stop testing otherwise s/he would get infections and lose feeling in fingertips. If the issue is about budgets then the nurses should at least be honest about it. Telling scare stories is just evil IMO.
 


it is a tricky situation pleasing all, i know some people take advantage get things free or do not use what they been given, those who do use them and are bothered with health should be helped, it is a scary condition to have being diabetic, and what ever it takes to live a healthy life safely and be able to manage sugars it is important, it is a ongoing path that needs to be taken seriously if a gp is not serious of the type 2 diabetes and not concerned over the sugar who will be? because people without the right treatments to help spot the problems with sugar will end up with serious complications could even lead to there death. I think people with type 2 diabetes need to pull together and get something done about the meters and any other concerns going on.
 
the problem is this, would you be happy paying for the medications to treat cancer, a course of cancer treating drugs can be 50k ok great lets pay for them, how about marijuana for sufferers of things that that helps? cool ok lets buy them some puff, now lets pay for every person with backache to go and see a physio 3 times a week, its hard for them to move without pain so i know lets send the physio to them, and so on, also lets give every diabetic as many strips as they want/need to help them get better, okie dokie now, how much tax would we be happy paying? we are already taxed too much but hey people need this stuff, now i am defiantly not saying we shouldn't get strips because i know this ultimately will save tax money, I'm just being a nob to illustrate the point that there has to be a balance, a way to prevent waste
 

hi avocado sevenfold, yes your skin is important to look after only because not just the feet it is your whole body at risk of the bleeds to not healing as it should if that should happen, so caution is needed i can understand that part, though you would think well type 1 diabetes are in the same boat they have to either take the blood test regular or end up with risk to life yet it is risk either side for them because they have no choice to check blood, we to do not have a choice to check blood, if we do not check our blood we will end up with complications, and worse off those who want to help them self check there blood should have the opportunity to know they are safe, my gp said to me why he did not want me to do it, he said type 2 diabetes your sugar will be all over the place go up and down all time and if you keep checking your blood you wil panic and think whats happening to the sugar, then he also said save your fingers, now all well and good saying take medicines, exercise and eat healthy yes we can do all that, we still need something even if not a meter to check sugar in a safe way to know we are getting our sugars in control not let the diabetes control us.the more I read here people speaking out it is good to hear your all going through same situation and are concerned and speaking out, the more people speak out and address the people there must be something we can all do together to get our rights heard and something done.
 
I will chime in and say that it is imperative for monitoring that you get a meter.

However, I wish to add, that unless you know what you are measuring and which range you wish to be within, it would be kind of futile to measure.

This site helped me (saved me) to know what it is all about: http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/index.php

annelise
 

yes i seen this meter on Ebay to so i am grateful to all links posted on this meter i will buy one.
 

thanks for your kind message, i used to be a gestational diabetic and learned to use the meter then, and was on injections for insulin, so i know what i need to look out for even now with blood sugar, and i am glad you have found things helpful for you on that link and other places you got some answers for.
 


i agree with what your saying balance is needed, and there are people who waste things and abuse the health system which i know to is wrong. even people paying it needs to be affordable, if people can not pay who can not afford there health will get worse because they would be unable to afford to pay and be at health risk, life says to us live or die you got a choice afford it or be worse off, so balance is a need to suit everyone.
 
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