A Question for T2's from a T1 please

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LorraineP

LorraineP

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hello everyone, I haven't posted here for a few years but I think this forum is the best place to ask my question.

My partner was diagnosed T2 six months ago and at the beginning I gave him my spare blood testing kit to keep an eye on his BG levels. I expected his GP to prescribe a test kit but he didn't.

The strips are now finished so he asked his GP for a prescription. His GP refused telling him he doesn't need to check his BG! He will have his bloods checked every 3 months and that's enough. He doesn't need to stress over his BG levels.

As a Type 1 I'm amazed at the GP's response. Is this normal? How can T2's manage their diabetes without knowing how different foods affect them?

Maybe there is a change of policy for T2's but I thought you got one box of test strips per month?
 
That is a very common response from GPs, but many with T2 on here find it useful to know what is happening to their Bg. We all react differently to certain foods so checking before and after meals can be very informative for all of us. I remember saying that waiting three months for the next bit of info is like trying to drive somewhere blindfolded- not likely to work out well. any self fund their strips and test when they want to find something out. Not sure whether Libre are still offering free trials but that could be another way of gathering a lot of info.
 
That's a good suggestion about the Libre. I have a spare one I keep for emergencies as, like you, I'm self funding the Guardian 4 sensors with the 780g system. I offered my partner the Libre but he won't use it as his doctor hasn't prescribed it!
 
Unfortunately your partner's GP's response is pretty typical. @SB2015 likens not testing to driving blindfolded, I liken it to Secret Santa - you do all the right things for 3 months, have an HbA1c and then wait with bated breath and fingers crossed to see what you've got. I was lucky with my DN who, after my diagnosis, told me to pick up a test kit from Reception on my way out. It proved invaluable in tracking my BG and in sorting out my diet. Despite being in remission I still do a fasting test every day on waking, and also post-prandial unless it's something that I know from experience doesn't spike me.
 
When I was on Gliclazide,I only got 50 a month not enough, when I came off them even the 50 a month were removed. I have always either part or fully self funded.
 
It is many people's experience that testing at home enables them to take control over managing their diabetes, it is their responsibility not their doctor or nurse.
The strips for the monitor you have may be the more expensive ones so it can be more economical in the long run to buy a new monitor which takes the cheaper strips. The Gluconavii or TEE2 are ones where they are usually cheaper but worth shopping around.
Has he also made some changes to his diet as that is going to be important. This link may help him (and you ) with meal choices. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
 
Thanks everyone for your replies. I must say I'm surprised that GP's don't prescribe BG testing to T2's but I suppose NHS money is tight atm. We'll just self fund.
 
I think I was very lucky and was given the testing kit by my diabetes nurse, who also added the strips onto prescription. She did say however they would come off prescription when my HbA1c had returned to normal levels.

I don't test a huge amount now as I know what foods I can tolerate but in the early days of diagnosis, testing was definitely an invaluable asset and I think it's something all T2's should be encouraged to do to take control of their own condition.

I'm going to chance my arm and request another pot of strips on prescription at some point but I will self-fund if they are refused.
 
If you go back to the NICE guidelines on treatment of T2 you will find that there is no real guidance on the subject of monitoring. You can read them to say that BG monitoring is advisable or is not advisable. As a consequence different GP's can follow the "guidelines" and take diametrically opposite views on prescribing BG monitors. Hence the variability.

My GP practice is amongst the enlightened and prescribes me two pots a month. I think it helps that I can demonstrate that I am putting them to good use by turning up to reviews with graphs and analysis that they can use to monitor my progress.
 
LorraineP said:
Thanks everyone for your replies. I must say I'm surprised that GP's don't prescribe BG testing to T2's but I suppose NHS money is tight atm. We'll just self fund.
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It's been an issue as long as I've been dxed (1992) and repeatedly discussed on all the Groups. Several petitions about it have been and gone ( ask Patti Evans) . It's Just a short sighted false economy - short term savings preferred over over long term gain. Fortunately most T2s are prescribed smbg because of various clauses ( such as the 40% of T2s on insulin and the others on meds that might cause hypos). It's the newbies who are routinely told they don't need to test, 'trust me, I'm a doctor' . Overall the restriction of testing to T2s is part of the institutionalised belittling and denigration of Type 2 Diabetes with that awful 2 meaning second class citizen all too often. The tyranny of numbers.
Dxed in July 1992 I unthinkingly bought a Bayer meter that was advertised in Balance magazine. The Consultant at the Diabetic Centre immediately gave me a prescription for 100 strips a month which is still running (!) although the meters have changed several times, my surgery issued Tee2 meters a couple of years ago.
In short anyone dxed T2 today has walked into a National Scandal - being dxed with a chronic lifetime condition that has to be self-managed but denied the tools to do the job ( test strips, pumps, libres etc). How often have I heard T2s say, 'I'm all right, the Doctor says I don't need to test'.
 
LorraineP said:
Thanks everyone for your replies. I must say I'm surprised that GP's don't prescribe BG testing to T2's but I suppose NHS money is tight atm. We'll just self fund.
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When I was diagnosed T2 in 2009 I got a test device, lancets and strips on prescription, which continued for a few years. Then, as the numbers diagnosed as T2 expanded the NHS changed its policy...well that's my opinion...the surgery said it was for medical reasons - I had no need to test. Consequently, of course I lapsed in my control.
Now I self test, self funded. I use Glucomen Aero (there are cheaper options) - Glucomen provided this as a free upgrade, and I buy strips and lancets from Diabetes UK VAT free, having previously used various eBay sellers.
T2 definitely should test in between HbA1c tests ...although I'm sure many don't bother...which may be another reason the NHS decided not to prescribe.
 
Yep - because GPs STILL tell newly diagnosed T2s that managing their diabetes 'is our job - not yours!' So huge numbers of em believe that tarradidle.

OTOH we also used to hear tales from here there an everywhere that when someone's elderly relative popped their clogs and the next generation had to empty their home, one cupboard was full of unused prescription pots of test strips, dated over several years and mostly completely out of date.
 
trophywench said:
Yep - because GPs STILL tell newly diagnosed T2s that managing their diabetes 'is our job - not yours!' So huge numbers of em believe that tarradidle.
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That's interesting, as it was made clear to me by the GP that it's my responsibility to manage the condition. Having spent a year with a hba1c in the 30s with no advice from any professionals, my response, "What do you think I've been doing for the last 18 months?"
 
Dishevelled said:
My GP told me I didn't need to test and when I said I'd self-fund they said that I shouldn't as I'd run the risk of desensitising my fingers meaning that I wouldn't be able to read braille if I wind up going blind.
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That's hillarious!
 
Another aspect of this common attitude about T2s not needing to self test may be that surgeries fear that self-testers will take up surgery time asking if it is significant that their readings have been 5.6 for weeks but have now risen to 5.8. I test my fasting bg just once a fortnight now but my surgery is not aware that I self test and I think would be rather bemused by it. Yup, we’re on our own in this business, while our feet aren’t turning black …
 
LorraineP said:
Thanks everyone for your replies. I must say I'm surprised that GP's don't prescribe BG testing to T2's but I suppose NHS money is tight atm. We'll just self fund.
Click to expand...
Like others, I was told you are T2, go look on the internet for information and we'll test again in 6 months. No help at all offered.

I wasn't happy with that and invested in BG meter and strips (GlucoRX Q meter - cheap and basic but does the job) and worked out what I could eat and what made me spike. I also read a lot and found this forum- which was invaluable.

I got one free Libra sensor and I used it once I thought I knew what was going on and had a good regime going.

With hindsight, I think my GP just leaving me to it worked well for me, even though I felt let down at the time. I had to research, decide what would work for me and try it .... and own my own diabetes rather than waiting for others to tell me what to do.
 
Dishevelled said:
My GP told me I didn't need to test and when I said I'd self-fund they said that I shouldn't as I'd run the risk of desensitising my fingers meaning that I wouldn't be able to read braille if I wind up going blind.
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This is certainly one of the old wives tales that is spouted by some older medical professionals and may even be passed down to younger ones by them. The fact of the matter is that you prick the side of your finger pad to get blood, not the pad itself and if you use the info you get to manage your diabetes well, you are much, much less likely to go blind. Added to that, modern technology is shortly going to make Braille largely obsolete, if not already.
 
Dishevelled said:
My GP told me I didn't need to test and when I said I'd self-fund they said that I shouldn't as I'd run the risk of desensitising my fingers meaning that I wouldn't be able to read braille if I wind up going blind.
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I probably would find a new GP.
 
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