I was diagnosed with type 2 about 2.5 years ago and was told by the doctor that I wouldn’t need to test my own blood sugars and that I would have them tested at certain points during the year as well as having diabetic check ups and diabetic eye screening. Well I’ve had just 2 blood tests, one diabetic check up and one eye test. I’m seeing on certain social media groups that some type 2 diabetics are given blood testing kits on prescription while others are being refused but everyone seems to be having some sort of regular contact with a diabetic team, which I’m not. And I see that diabetes uk are trying to get test strips made available on prescription for all diabetics. I’m very confused. Should I be self-testing? Do I have to contact the doctor myself for diabetic check ups as they have not contacted me apart from the first year? And should I be able to get a testing kit on prescription? Sorry for the long post, feeling like I’ve been abandoned xxx
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Hi everyone
- Thread starter Jiggingjo
- Start date
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rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Hi and welcome
Being prescribed a meter and test strips comes down to a number of issues. There are certain drugs which can cause your Blood Glucose (BG) levels to drop too low and Type 2 diabetics using them must be prescribed. After that there is a certain amount of discretion and if you had an extremely high HbA1c reading then a forward thinking practice or doctor might provide a meter but the vast majority of Type 2s would not be prescribed them. There are a number of reasons for this. Cost is certainly an issue and there is a concern that some people will become obsessed or over react and there is no evidence (studies) to show that it can be beneficial in reducing BG levels.
However here on the forum using a structured approach and testing before each meal and 2 hours afterwards and using the results to modify your diet in order to manage your diabetes is something that many members have had huge success with. We certainly recommend self testing in order to find which foods you can continue to eat, which need the portion size reduced and which foods are probably best left in the supermarket rather than put into your shopping trolley. It takes quite a bit of "mentoring" if you like to get to grips with understanding and using this system of testing which the forum can provide but Health Care Professionals generally do not have the time or knowledge.... so all these reasons are why they are not routinely prescribed to Type 2 diabetics.
As regards the health checks there is a list of the annual checks we are supposed to get but C-19 has put many of them on hold, so that may be why you have only had one so far and there will be a lot of catching up to do when things do get back to normal, but again, some people will be prioritised due to certain factors which may mean they need more support.
Can you tell us a bit more about how you came to be diagnosed, what if any medication you are on and your most recent HbA1c reading if you know it..... this is the blood test which diagnoses you as diabetic and is usually expressed as a number of 48 or above. Below 42 is a normal, non diabetic reading, 42-47 means you are at risk of developing diabetes and 48+ means you are diabetic but it can go up into 3 figures which means you are in the danger zone or some people are just in the high forties or 50s and need to take action but it is not urgent or potentially life threatening like really high readings can be.
Anyway, I hope that explains things a bit better for you. If you are interested in self funding a meter they are relatively inexpensive to buy a basic meter @ approx. £15 but the on going cost of obtaining test strips for them is where the finances can tot up and for that reason we recommend meters which have the cheapest test strips and these are the SD Gluco Navii BG meter and the Spirit Healthcare Tee2. Test strips for them are £8 for a pot of 50 as oppose to 2 or even 3x more expensive for some other meters. You get through a lot of test strips in the first few months, testing different foods and how you respond to them and building up a data base, but after that it is just a question of keeping an eye on your levels by occasional testing and the odd new food you try.
Being prescribed a meter and test strips comes down to a number of issues. There are certain drugs which can cause your Blood Glucose (BG) levels to drop too low and Type 2 diabetics using them must be prescribed. After that there is a certain amount of discretion and if you had an extremely high HbA1c reading then a forward thinking practice or doctor might provide a meter but the vast majority of Type 2s would not be prescribed them. There are a number of reasons for this. Cost is certainly an issue and there is a concern that some people will become obsessed or over react and there is no evidence (studies) to show that it can be beneficial in reducing BG levels.
However here on the forum using a structured approach and testing before each meal and 2 hours afterwards and using the results to modify your diet in order to manage your diabetes is something that many members have had huge success with. We certainly recommend self testing in order to find which foods you can continue to eat, which need the portion size reduced and which foods are probably best left in the supermarket rather than put into your shopping trolley. It takes quite a bit of "mentoring" if you like to get to grips with understanding and using this system of testing which the forum can provide but Health Care Professionals generally do not have the time or knowledge.... so all these reasons are why they are not routinely prescribed to Type 2 diabetics.
As regards the health checks there is a list of the annual checks we are supposed to get but C-19 has put many of them on hold, so that may be why you have only had one so far and there will be a lot of catching up to do when things do get back to normal, but again, some people will be prioritised due to certain factors which may mean they need more support.
Can you tell us a bit more about how you came to be diagnosed, what if any medication you are on and your most recent HbA1c reading if you know it..... this is the blood test which diagnoses you as diabetic and is usually expressed as a number of 48 or above. Below 42 is a normal, non diabetic reading, 42-47 means you are at risk of developing diabetes and 48+ means you are diabetic but it can go up into 3 figures which means you are in the danger zone or some people are just in the high forties or 50s and need to take action but it is not urgent or potentially life threatening like really high readings can be.
Anyway, I hope that explains things a bit better for you. If you are interested in self funding a meter they are relatively inexpensive to buy a basic meter @ approx. £15 but the on going cost of obtaining test strips for them is where the finances can tot up and for that reason we recommend meters which have the cheapest test strips and these are the SD Gluco Navii BG meter and the Spirit Healthcare Tee2. Test strips for them are £8 for a pot of 50 as oppose to 2 or even 3x more expensive for some other meters. You get through a lot of test strips in the first few months, testing different foods and how you respond to them and building up a data base, but after that it is just a question of keeping an eye on your levels by occasional testing and the odd new food you try.
Ljc
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1.5 LADA
Hello @Jiggingjo , welcome to the forum . Barbara above has already covered all I was going to say so I won’t repeat it .
Here is a list of the health checks we should have if applicable, some are only done once a rear (unless there are problems)m others more frequently such as the Hb1ac, blood pressure check
www.diabetes.org.uk
.
The campaign for self glucose monitoring for those of us with T2 has been going in for some years, so I wouldn’t be holding my breath if I were you , some of us are prescribed them , it really depends on your Gp practice as some are more forward thinking than others, also some of us are on medications that can cause hypo’s (low blood glucose) which can be dangerous, btw Metformin doesn’t normally cause hypo’s.
Have a word with your nurse to see if they will prescribe a meter and test strips , but please don’t be surprised if you are told things like , it’s not necessary you only need the Hb1ac or it may upset you, it hurts (mostly it doesn’t) etc etc.
Some people are successful by explaining the following
On here we recommend testing so we can learn which carbohydrates we can and can’t tolerate as we are all different in this respect. Porridge is a good example, it’s healthy, right well for so e of us it spikes our BGs (blood glucose) far to high.
This is how we do it apart from one thing we recommend testing directly before eating too as you need to know where you started from , ie if you only tested two hours after eating and found you were say, 14.3, you woul assume that that bowl if porridge was a definite no no, but your starting BG May have been high to begin with and your BG only rose by 3mmol which means that the porridge was fine for you
Test review adjust by Alan S
If they won’t provide you with a meter and test strips and you wish to self fund your own , it’s the ongoing cost of the testing strips you need to watch out for, glucose meters can be relatively cheap to buy but the cost of the test strips they use is high ,anything up to £30 for a pot of 50 and initially when doing in depth testing you do get through them quick.
One of the cheapest meters we know of to self fund the strips is the Glucose navii it uses strips that cost £8 for 50.
You will need to buy more pots of strips , I suggest two pots to start off with and one box of lancets .
You should also find this rather long letter helpful
Maggie Davies letter
Though it was written in the time when all fat was believed to be the enemy, many of us on here follow a LCHF regime (low carbohydrate high fat ) diet, many if us have found that we lose weight on it and it’s lowered our cholesterol levels , it also keeps us feeling fuller for longer.
Personally I choose the full fat options as often the low fat/diet options of a product have had extra carbs added to improve the taste and texture. .
Oh dear I seem to have written another book , sorry
Here is a list of the health checks we should have if applicable, some are only done once a rear (unless there are problems)m others more frequently such as the Hb1ac, blood pressure check
Diabetes health checks (annual review)
Diabetes can cause other health problems that can become serious if not picked up and monitored or treated in the early stages. So regular diabetes health checks – sometimes called your yearly or annual review – are part of your routine NHS treatment. What diabetes health checks should I be...
The campaign for self glucose monitoring for those of us with T2 has been going in for some years, so I wouldn’t be holding my breath if I were you , some of us are prescribed them , it really depends on your Gp practice as some are more forward thinking than others, also some of us are on medications that can cause hypo’s (low blood glucose) which can be dangerous, btw Metformin doesn’t normally cause hypo’s.
Have a word with your nurse to see if they will prescribe a meter and test strips , but please don’t be surprised if you are told things like , it’s not necessary you only need the Hb1ac or it may upset you, it hurts (mostly it doesn’t) etc etc.
Some people are successful by explaining the following
On here we recommend testing so we can learn which carbohydrates we can and can’t tolerate as we are all different in this respect. Porridge is a good example, it’s healthy, right well for so e of us it spikes our BGs (blood glucose) far to high.
This is how we do it apart from one thing we recommend testing directly before eating too as you need to know where you started from , ie if you only tested two hours after eating and found you were say, 14.3, you woul assume that that bowl if porridge was a definite no no, but your starting BG May have been high to begin with and your BG only rose by 3mmol which means that the porridge was fine for you
Test review adjust by Alan S
If they won’t provide you with a meter and test strips and you wish to self fund your own , it’s the ongoing cost of the testing strips you need to watch out for, glucose meters can be relatively cheap to buy but the cost of the test strips they use is high ,anything up to £30 for a pot of 50 and initially when doing in depth testing you do get through them quick.
One of the cheapest meters we know of to self fund the strips is the Glucose navii it uses strips that cost £8 for 50.
You will need to buy more pots of strips , I suggest two pots to start off with and one box of lancets .
You should also find this rather long letter helpful
Maggie Davies letter
Though it was written in the time when all fat was believed to be the enemy, many of us on here follow a LCHF regime (low carbohydrate high fat ) diet, many if us have found that we lose weight on it and it’s lowered our cholesterol levels , it also keeps us feeling fuller for longer.
Personally I choose the full fat options as often the low fat/diet options of a product have had extra carbs added to improve the taste and texture. .
Oh dear I seem to have written another book , sorry
Toucan
Forum Host
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hello @Jiggingjo and welcome to our forum.
There are many of us here that have had similar experiences to those that you describe, and I hope that we can help you.
As you can see from the replies you already have, there is a great deal of information available.
Another useful source is available on the 'learning zone' tab at the top of this page.
I hope you will keep posting and let us know how things are going for you, and we will always try and answer any questions.
SB2015
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Welcome to the forum @Jiggingjo
You have already had loads of advice passed on. I will just encourage you to ask any questions that you have. Nothing is considered silly here.
You have already had loads of advice passed on. I will just encourage you to ask any questions that you have. Nothing is considered silly here.
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Welcome to the forum @Jiggingjo
You've had lots of great advice and information, so I just wanted to say hello and welcome to the forum.
Sorry to hear that you are feeli g so abandoned, and 2.5 years with very little follow-up and without the regular checks you should be getting really isn‘t ideal - so you are quite right to feel a bit miffed.
Hopefully it indicates that your surgery haven't identified anything urgent or significant in any results you‘ve had so far.
You've had lots of great advice and information, so I just wanted to say hello and welcome to the forum.
Sorry to hear that you are feeli g so abandoned, and 2.5 years with very little follow-up and without the regular checks you should be getting really isn‘t ideal - so you are quite right to feel a bit miffed.
Hopefully it indicates that your surgery haven't identified anything urgent or significant in any results you‘ve had so far.
- Status