Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Just got my copy today and been skimming through it. One of the first things I noticed was a letter from our very own LeeLee 🙂 I actually think your story was worthy of a dedicated article LeeLee, but Balance usually has it's own ideas about what makes a good story...
There's a few things dotted around relating to test strip availability with a brief plan of action of what to do if your strips are being restricted. Whilst it is unbelievable and downright dangerous and irresposible that test strips are being restricted to people who are on glucose-lowering meds, I do also feel that there is a whole other area where they are essential - providing a sufficient quantity, plus education, to those newly-diagnosed or wanting to take control of their diabetes. It seems that if you are not in danger of a hypo then the view seems to be that strips perform no valuable function, which is totally wrong. Ignorance of what levels are like until periodic HBa1c tests is (I would venture to say) one of the main reasons why people find their diabetes so difficult to control and head inexorably towards higher medication doses and greater risks of complications. Complications are what costs the NHS 80% of the diabetes budget, not test strips, and it's common sense to me that spending the money up front would save both a huge amount of money and a great deal of heartache and pain.
Why the hell is this not acknowledged by the medical community? 😡
There's a few things dotted around relating to test strip availability with a brief plan of action of what to do if your strips are being restricted. Whilst it is unbelievable and downright dangerous and irresposible that test strips are being restricted to people who are on glucose-lowering meds, I do also feel that there is a whole other area where they are essential - providing a sufficient quantity, plus education, to those newly-diagnosed or wanting to take control of their diabetes. It seems that if you are not in danger of a hypo then the view seems to be that strips perform no valuable function, which is totally wrong. Ignorance of what levels are like until periodic HBa1c tests is (I would venture to say) one of the main reasons why people find their diabetes so difficult to control and head inexorably towards higher medication doses and greater risks of complications. Complications are what costs the NHS 80% of the diabetes budget, not test strips, and it's common sense to me that spending the money up front would save both a huge amount of money and a great deal of heartache and pain.
Why the hell is this not acknowledged by the medical community? 😡
