Hi. GP now refusing test strips

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

Mazza63

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
I've come here for some advice. I was diagnosed Type2 in 2015. I was issued a blood test meter and test strips, and received 2 packs of strips per month on prescription since then. Today, apparently because I'm not on insulin, I didn't get my strips. When I rang my GP, the receptionist told me I was getting too many strips, and instead of testing 3-4 times a day, it should be once a WEEK! I can't speak to a doctor about this till 27th April which I'm really angry about and don't know what to do.
 
Mazza63 said:
I've come here for some advice. I was diagnosed Type2 in 2015. I was issued a blood test meter and test strips, and received 2 packs of strips per month on prescription since then. Today, apparently because I'm not on insulin, I didn't get my strips. When I rang my GP, the receptionist told me I was getting too many strips, and instead of testing 3-4 times a day, it should be once a WEEK! I can't speak to a doctor about this till 27th April which I'm really angry about and don't know what to do.
Click to expand...
Welcome to the forum. You have been very lucky then as many indeed most Type 2s don't get a monitor and strips on prescription and self fund.
Having determined what foods are suitable by testing before they eat and after 2 hours for a while following diagnosis then the reduce testing to only new meals.
Other than that people may test to monitor progress day to day, week to week or if they feel unwell.
GPs are only obliged to prescribe a monitor if people are taking medication which could cause low blood glucose, for example insulin or gliclazide.
 
What, if any, medication are you on for your diabetes?
Have you been able to significantly reduce your HbA1c by using the test strips?
How well managed is your diabetes?
When do you generally test and what do you do with the information?

Many people who are dietary controlled find that a few months of intensive testing will allow them to find which foods their body can tolerate and in what portion size and which need to be avoided. After that, testing is usually much less frequent and will just involve an occasional test to keep an eye on things and maybe testing new foods/recipes.

I think, if you are not on Gliclazide or Insulin then you can probably consider yourself extremely lucky to have been prescribed the test strips up until now, but you would have to have a pretty good reason, with evidence, to convince the doctor to continue prescribing them ad infinitum. Most Type 2s have to self fund. If you have a good reason to continue testing at a significant level then explain that to your doctor and how that helps you improve you management, but you might consider if you have perhaps got into a routine of testing for the sake of testing, but that maybe you are no longer getting useful information form that testing and much less frequent testing would be adequate.
 
Ah I was originally prescribed gliclazide. But came off it when I kept having really low blood sugar. Went onto Sitagliptine instead. So GP didn't realise this for 7.5 years!
 
Mazza63 said:
Ah I was originally prescribed gliclazide. But came off it when I kept having really low blood sugar. Went onto Sitagliptine instead. So GP didn't realise this for 7.5 years!
Click to expand...
What are you doing with the results of the tests? How are you using the information to improve your blood sugars? If the answer is you’re not doing anything with it then you’ve been wasting time and blood by testing for the last 8 years yes.
 
Lucyr said:
What are you doing with the results of the tests? How are you using the information to improve your blood sugars? If the answer is you’re not doing anything with it then you’ve been wasting time and blood by testing for the last 8 years yes.
Click to expand...
I was testing myself as advised by the hospital when I collapsed at home. No one since told me any different, until today. I was using results to make sure I kept on track. No two days are the same. I don't have a perfect life.
 
Mazza63 said:
I was using results to make sure I kept on track.
Click to expand...
This part suggests you were taking some sort of action based on the results?
 
Yes. It dictates what I have for breakfast for starters, what exercise I do before going to bed, etc, etc. I've lived this life for 8 years. I won't know for sure what I have to do each day.
 
I think many people with Type 2 modify their lifestyle for life rather than on a day to day basis depending upon their results.... so... they find foods/meals which don't spike their levels to high and they stick mostly to those meals/portions and incorporate regular exercise into their lives, rather than just do some when they need to because their levels are high. I can see how it is sort of motivating, but you should be able to manage without. I imagine you will know if you have had a bit of a treat food and perhaps need to put some effort into burning it off etc. The idea is to identify a way of eating and exercising which helps you maintain stable, mostly in range BG levels and then when you indulge a little, occasionally, then cut back afterwards for a day or two and exercise a bit more. I don't think it is reasonable to expect the NHS to continue to fund testing in these circumstances. Test strips are not cheap as I am sure you will realise if you decide to start self funding. As a Type 1 I have self funded additional test strips beyond my NHS allowance to manage my diabetes better and initially self funded sensors until I got them on prescription and they are more expensive still, so rather than be angry, I think you have to consider yourself extremely lucky up till now.
 
I was diagnosed T2 in January of this year and given a monitor by my GP. The testing strips are currently on prescription but I have been advised they won’t stay on repeat forever. This is fine.

My BG levels are now consistently under 7 every day so I only test when I introduce a new food. Today I had kippers and decided to test even though I knew they wouldn’t have any impact. At least I proved myself right!!

They are a very handy tool and I will buy some once they’re off prescription and I will carry on what I’m doing now and test if and when I introduce new food.
 
I had my strips taken a way a few years ago after I came off Gliclazide.
 
Mazza63 said:
Yes. It dictates what I have for breakfast for starters, what exercise I do before going to bed, etc, etc. I've lived this life for 8 years. I won't know for sure what I have to do each day.
Click to expand...
You must have an idea of which breakfasts don’t spike your levels by now, so most people would stick to those breakfasts most of the time and only have the ones that spike them occasionally. For exercise, you can’t really do too much so whatever fits into your life.
 
The sort of breakfasts Type 2 people have tend to be low carb options of things like Greek yoghurt and berries or a combination of eggs, bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms or similar, some people can tolerate a piece of toast.
 
Leadinglights said:
The sort of breakfasts Type 2 people have tend to be low carb options of things like Greek yoghurt and berries or a combination of eggs, bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms or similar, some people can tolerate a piece of toast.
Click to expand...

Or porridge.
Not all of us go go high cholesterol foods.
 
Hi Mazza63, most prescriptions for strips are short term so it's a bonus to have had them this long.

It sounds as though you've got into a helpful routine using them. The cost of strips varies so it may be a case that you'd need to look for a new monitor which has cheaper strips. Here are a few that are recommend on the forum SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Tee2 - test strips for both are about £8 for 50.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top