How is this going to happen??

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ok T1 Suggested testing 8 x day x 365 days a year = 2920 /12 months= 243 tests a month ......

basic stable (??) T2 testing 3xday x 365 a year= 1095/12= 91,25 tests a month

do these accountants who are looking for cuts in NHS budjects really know how to add up ?
 
I normally test twice a day (on waking and before bed) unless I think I'm too high or too low. If I got strips on prescription I might test more often, but probably not... At least until I have to start on insulin. When I was first diagnosed however it was different, I tested up to eight times a day as I learned which foods did what to my blood sugar levels and what effect exercise had. It was a vital part of my daily routine and taught me a great deal I would not otherwise have learned. Every diabetic should have the opportunity to test, no matter what type they are, we could save the NHS a fortune if we were only given the right tools and taught to use them.
 
exactly as i was when i was first dx ....tested loads learnt loads ...dont test so much now ...but still thats approx 60-90 tests a month
 
Andy said:
I have to say I test 6 - 8 times per day and think that this is excessive. Whether type 1 or 2 if you test before meals and then 2 hours after meals why do you need any other tests as the results will not be 100% correct as if you test within minutes of eating then of course the result isn't going to be what you want to see.

This is just my opinion by the way and I know we dont do it for fun!!!!!!
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Andy, the following isn't aimed specifically at you, but for anyone who thinks that any amount of testing is excessive. i have had type one diabetes for 19 years, and i know that the best way to keep my levels in control is to test as often as i feel and i know is necessary. i appreciate this is your opinion, but i'd like to give you some facts.

no-one is suggesting testing the minute after you eat - that's why we do the 2 hour after test.

what about when you are low? you need to test then, and keep testing every 10 mins or so until you come up. i had a hypo yesterday that last nearly 3 hours, so it's safe to say i used up a fair few test strips. after 2 tests, i discovered that despite the fact i had had fast acting carbs, i was STILL dropping. this sends of huge warning signs - if i hadn't have tested, i wouldn't have known i was continuing to drop.

or when you're high? i test every half an hour or so after a correction to make sure i'm coming down then.

whilst 50 over 3 days is a LOT, it is not EXCESSIVE - Laura was doing what she needed to, to ensure she is not running too high or too low.

there are lots of reasons to test outside the before/2 hours after. what about before/during/after exercise, or driving? what about when i'm drinking alcohol? i need to keep an eye on things then, as i can drop suddenly and massively. i've already mentioned hypos and hypers, which can use a lot of strips to ensure that levels are where they need to be. what about 3am tests? i do those to ensure my levels are stable through the night. i also test before i go to sleep, to make sure i'm not too high or too low.

what about when my meter throws up an error reading? should i sit there and contemplate the amount of strips i'm using? what about when i'm ill, and i run high a lot? i need to keep an eye on them then to make sure i don't run so high i could develop ketones.

i control my type one diabetes by testing as often as i feel necessary. this way, i am ensuring that i do not develop complications. i would rather test 10 times a day and put off being blind, on diaylsis and with an amputation. please see the DCCT (http://0-diabetes.niddk.nih.gov.library.law.suffolk.edu/dm/pubs/control/index.htm) trial, which shows that keeping blood glucose levels as 'normal' as possible delays the onset of complications.

in summary, that's:
- when feeling high or low, otherwise i could end up treating symptoms that are incorrect
- before bed
- at 3am
- before exercise
- after exercise
- during exercise
- if alcohol is involved
- if eating something i haven't eaten before - i need to see the way my body reacts to things
- before driving, and during, depending on the length of the drive (and then testing to treat a hypo if one occurs)
- when i'm ill (medical professionals advise testing more often when ill due to the increased risk of ketones)
- if my meter kicks up an error reading and i can't reuse the strip
- if i'm high or low - checking to make sure i am heading in the right direction

...so you can see, there are a LOT of reasons why i test outside of the before/2 hour after thing. it infuriates me to think that people think it is EXCESSIVE for me to test often to make sure i'm doing the best i can to prevent future complications. i've done 19 years of type one without any, and i intend to do a whole lot more. so i'll keep testing as i feel i need to, thankyou.
 
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what shiv says is totally right - it is for US to work out what is excessive and what is not.

As someone who has not long been out of rebellion and has complications, I feel it paramount to keep a check on my sugar levels regularly outside the pre/post meal check. If my levels are high I check them on an hourly basis to make sure they are doing what they should be, same with a serious hypo.

I also have bugger all hypo awareness so it is even MORE important that I check regularly.

Whether you believe 50 per week is excessive or not, this is down to choice. I get through 50 strips a week. It is not excessive to my needs and I really think that coming in here and saying it is excessive is kind of wrong tbh. I'm upset and I can tell Shiv is upset by it too.
 
SilentAssassin1642 said:
Whether you believe 50 per week is excessive or not, this is down to choice. I get through 50 strips a week. It is not excessive to my needs and I really think that coming in here and saying it is excessive is kind of wrong tbh. I'm upset and I can tell Shiv is upset by it too.
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i got 100 test strips on tuesday, and i've been through 50 of them - so that's 50 in 5 days. i've had some big hypos to deal with that have just eaten up my test strips.
 
[

Whether you believe 50 per week is excessive or not, this is down to choice. I get through 50 strips a week. It is not excessive to my needs and I really think that coming in here and saying it is excessive is kind of wrong tbh. I'm upset and I can tell Shiv is upset by it too.[/QUOTE]

I agree it is down to choice. As I stated it was my opinion only which I am entitled to. I dont post that often. Dont worry I will not be posting on here again.
 
You don't need to throw your toys out of the pram because of what Sam and Shiv have been saying Andy.

It's all down to preference and how people like to control their diabetes. I'd rather test my blood sugar alot than lose limbs/my sight or damage my organs as Shiv so rightly mentioned.

I already have never damdage in my feet and I think I have lost the feeling at the end of my index fingertip on my right hand and that's more than enough for me!
 
Andy said:
I agree it is down to choice. As I stated it was my opinion only which I am entitled to. I dont post that often. Dont worry I will not be posting on here again.
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Andy, as I stated, I didn't aim that post at you specifically - but I hope that I have been able to show anyone that thinks there is such a thing as 'excessive' testing - there isn't.

We value all members here and I don't want you to leave just because we have shown you something you previously thought was true, but isn't. The forum is here to discuss opinions and hopefully change any mis-conceptions.
 
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I still think it's alot, I do understand that there are times when you have to test more. However under any normal circumstances 50 in 3 days or even 5 is alot.
The only time I have used more than 4 test strips in a day was during an illness 2 months ago that lasted a couple of days, even then I doubt wether I used any more than eight.
Shiv the original post didn't mention any specific circumstances such as hypo's or illness, so I concluded it was under normal circumstances that 50 would be used in three days.

I too do not want people to be upset over what is MY OPINION nor do I want people to leave the forum, but I can only form an opinion based on what I have experienced and have been told. Other may have totally different experiences and a better level of education in this area. So feel free to tell me my opinion is wrong but please do not be upset by it.:D
 
ypauly said:
I still think it's alot, I do understand that there are times when you have to test more. However under any normal circumstances 50 in 3 days or even 5 is alot.
The only time I have used more than 4 test strips in a day was during an illness 2 months ago that lasted a couple of days, even then I doubt wether I used any more than eight.
Shiv the original post didn't mention any specific circumstances such as hypo's or illness, so I concluded it was under normal circumstances that 50 would be used in three days.

I too do not want people to be upset over what is MY OPINION nor do I want people to leave the forum, but I can only form an opinion based on what I have experienced and have been told. Other may have totally different experiences and a better level of education in this area. So feel free to tell me my opinion is wrong but please do not be upset by it.:D
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if that works for you then thats fine - I do however think that without understanding Laura's individual circumstances that saying her using 50 strips in three days is excessive, is just a tad out of order. Laura has since mentioned why she uses that much - and her circumstances are much the same as my own - after coming out of stages of seriously high blood sugars it kind of makes you want to keep on top of things. There have been times when I have got through 50 is LESS than three days out of a sheer need to test that much.

if 4 times a day works for you, then thats great. But for a lot of us, we test in excess of 8 times a day as shiv has mentioned. As for using 40 in a week being excessive? Hardly - my average testing number is 10 per day and thats without dodgy strips! I have at least three hypo's a day too - so using that amount of strips per week is individual to my own needs whether yout hink its excessive or not

leaving the forum over this is kind of odd - as we have stated its down to personal preferance with the testing thing.

Now, I'm going back on my forum break
 
I think that Andy may have felt a little bullied and that his opinions didn't count. ( I don't know this I am just guessing based on things I have seen here and on other forums)

It has happened to people on various threads and it is partly down to the way a forum works with no real life contact between people.

Person A says something
Person B disagrees

Then people C to Z come along all on one side giving that person support but leaving the person where no one agrees feeling as though they are unwelcome. It is sometimes better to PM your support. The irony is that 99 times out of 100 no malice is intended but if you are the lonely person then you can feel bullied.
 
as i stated, my post was not aimed at Andy, it was for anyone who thinks that there is such a thing as testing too much.

there is no such thing as an 'average' day for someone with type one - factor in illness, stress, exercise, alcohol, slow releasing carbs, etc, and you're never going to find 2 days the same.

ypauly, if 4 a day works for you, then that's fine. what we're trying to point out is that it's unfair to say that we're testing too often, when it's what we need.

having been type one for 19 years, i wouldn't feel safe if i didn't do all the tests i mentioned.

on a daily basis, i check:

waking
before breakfast (sometimes this is the waking one, sometimes i eat late)
post breakfast
pre lunch
post lunch
pre tea
post tea
before bed
3am

...and then for all the other reasons.
 
SilentAssassin1642 said:
if that works for you then thats fine - I do however think that without understanding Laura's individual circumstances that saying her using 50 strips in three days is excessive, is just a tad out of order. Laura has since mentioned why she uses that much - and her circumstances are much the same as my own - after coming out of stages of seriously high blood sugars it kind of makes you want to keep on top of things. There have been times when I have got through 50 is LESS than three days out of a sheer need to test that much.

if 4 times a day works for you, then thats great. But for a lot of us, we test in excess of 8 times a day as shiv has mentioned. As for using 40 in a week being excessive? Hardly - my average testing number is 10 per day and thats without dodgy strips! I have at least three hypo's a day too - so using that amount of strips per week is individual to my own needs whether yout hink its excessive or not

leaving the forum over this is kind of odd - as we have stated its down to personal preferance with the testing thing.

Now, I'm going back on my forum break
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Please excuse my ingnorance, but how can formulating then stating an opinion based on information given + personal experience + current level of knowledge be out of order?
I just don't get it. If my opinion is wrong you are free to add yours, you may even want to correct that opinion with fact but to say it is out of order is in itself out of order, due to the fact that the only opinion that matters is your own.
The way I test works for me based on MY diet MY work pattern my excersise and I am fully aware that others will be very different. But it would be far more constructive to find out how I manage with fewer tests, or why others have to test excessively so we can share the knowledge and information that arrises from disccussion.
In what way is that out of order?
 
at the moment because my bg is running high im testing 8-10 times a day normally i test around 4 times a day Surley its up to each indevidual person depending on there circumstances how much they test. Each to his own. Lets not fall out over this guys its not worth it
take care all
 
ypauly said:
Please excuse my ingnorance, but how can formulating then stating an opinion based on information given + personal experience + current level of knowledge be out of order?
I just don't get it. If my opinion is wrong you are free to add yours, you may even want to correct that opinion with fact but to say it is out of order is in itself out of order, due to the fact that the only opinion that matters is your own.
The way I test works for me based on MY diet MY work pattern my excersise and I am fully aware that others will be very different. But it would be far more constructive to find out how I manage with fewer tests, or why others have to test excessively so we can share the knowledge and information that arrises from disccussion.
In what way is that out of order?
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Hiya

I'm gonna jump right in here and hope to diffuse this situation. I've read all the messages. At no point did anyone say your opinion was wrong in as much as what you do works for you. The issue now is more the way you said that 'it is still too excessive'. That is a statement rather than an opinion unfortunately. You are stating that Laura and whomever are still too excessively testing. Why is it excessive? You haven't said so at all. You have said about the information you have been given and what works for you which is great, if only that were the case in everyone's circumstances. For others what you deem is excessive, is normal. You could have been told that the amount of times you test and Andy (for that matter although different kettle of fish completely as type 2) is inadequate. My daughter and I are under the top team in the UK for paediatric diabetes, my knowledge is vast and I help others around the UK to get better results and care and I also have been into a few schools to help other parents train teachers. I am not a professional however.

I do believe your 4 times a day testing is inadequate and nowhere near enough to get good control. However that is my opinion and it is not a statement as I have said 'I do believe...........', the difference is that you have just put 'it is still too excessive' and nothing personal to say that this statement is your opinion. You are telling them that it is too excessive. I hope that is clear, could well be a bit jumbled up but I know what I mean.

However accordingly to guidance there is no limit on test strips for type 1 diabetics. Laura and anyone else should not have been limited and they should take issue with that. Whomever told them is wrong, that is government guidance by the way not my opinion.

With type 2 diabetics, it is different there is government guidance that says they do not have to test but can do. This is where different surgeries have their vastly different ideas.

I would love to know your HbA1c Pauly (and Andy as well although may not be relevant as different diabetes in the long run). If you are like Northerner (and I know he won't mind me saying this 🙂) and your HbA1c is nice and low or at least under the healthy figure of 7.5 % then your 4 times a day testing is marvellous and I only wish this would be so for my daughter and others. If however it is over that healthy number then I can only say I would suggest you test a lot more so that you can see where the problems lie and once they have been found you can go back to 4 a day.

I practice tight control as I am giving my daughter the best chance of no or little complications in the future. With a pump plus many many tests we have tight control. We have an HbA1c of 7.5 but are aiming lower but only down to the high 6.0's. Getting really really tight control is hard work and I understand that people don't need to be living and breathing diabetes 24 hours a day, it is enough that they actually have it so it is nice to be able to have brain time off. On the other hand for a mother it is different. I do breathe, sleep, live diabetes purely to set my daughter on the right path for her health. She may well rebel in later years but by doing what I am it is setting her up for some good health.

Silentassasin had bad control, she said so, and had complications and is now trying her hardest to undo that and the only way to achieve it is by lots of tests. This is not excessive to her life. It may be excessive to your life but not to her.

So you see, there is no 'its still too excessive', there is only 'it is too excessive for me' but 'it is normal for others'.

I think the one fundamental problem with these forums is that messages can be misconstrued and you have to be so careful with how and what you write. I talk out loud sometimes as I type these messages but I put emphasis where I want it to be but someone reading it is not doing the same thing so gets read differently. I'm sure that if this whole thread was face to face then a good conversation would have taken place with some great understanding from all parties.

PS By the way great post Shiv, very clear and informative and I agree 🙂
 
Adrienne said:
Hiya

I'm gonna jump right in here and hope to diffuse this situation. I've read all the messages. At no point did anyone say your opinion was wrong in as much as what you do works for you. The issue now is more the way you said that 'it is still too excessive'. That is a statement rather than an opinion unfortunately. You are stating that Laura and whomever are still too excessively testing. Why is it excessive? You haven't said so at all. You have said about the information you have been given and what works for you which is great, if only that were the case in everyone's circumstances. For others what you deem is excessive, is normal. You could have been told that the amount of times you test and Andy (for that matter although different kettle of fish completely as type 2) is inadequate. My daughter and I are under the top team in the UK for paediatric diabetes, my knowledge is vast and I help others around the UK to get better results and care and I also have been into a few schools to help other parents train teachers. I am not a professional however.

I do believe your 4 times a day testing is inadequate and nowhere near enough to get good control. However that is my opinion and it is not a statement as I have said 'I do believe...........', the difference is that you have just put 'it is still too excessive' and nothing personal to say that this statement is your opinion. You are telling them that it is too excessive. I hope that is clear, could well be a bit jumbled up but I know what I mean.

However accordingly to guidance there is no limit on test strips for type 1 diabetics. Laura and anyone else should not have been limited and they should take issue with that. Whomever told them is wrong, that is government guidance by the way not my opinion.

With type 2 diabetics, it is different there is government guidance that says they do not have to test but can do. This is where different surgeries have their vastly different ideas.

I would love to know your HbA1c Pauly (and Andy as well although may not be relevant as different diabetes in the long run). If you are like Northerner (and I know he won't mind me saying this 🙂) and your HbA1c is nice and low or at least under the healthy figure of 7.5 % then your 4 times a day testing is marvellous and I only wish this would be so for my daughter and others. If however it is over that healthy number then I can only say I would suggest you test a lot more so that you can see where the problems lie and once they have been found you can go back to 4 a day.

I practice tight control as I am giving my daughter the best chance of no or little complications in the future. With a pump plus many many tests we have tight control. We have an HbA1c of 7.5 but are aiming lower but only down to the high 6.0's. Getting really really tight control is hard work and I understand that people don't need to be living and breathing diabetes 24 hours a day, it is enough that they actually have it so it is nice to be able to have brain time off. On the other hand for a mother it is different. I do breathe, sleep, live diabetes purely to set my daughter on the right path for her health. She may well rebel in later years but by doing what I am it is setting her up for some good health.

Silentassasin had bad control, she said so, and had complications and is now trying her hardest to undo that and the only way to achieve it is by lots of tests. This is not excessive to her life. It may be excessive to your life but not to her.

So you see, there is no 'its still too excessive', there is only 'it is too excessive for me' but 'it is normal for others'.

I think the one fundamental problem with these forums is that messages can be misconstrued and you have to be so careful with how and what you write. I talk out loud sometimes as I type these messages but I put emphasis where I want it to be but someone reading it is not doing the same thing so gets read differently. I'm sure that if this whole thread was face to face then a good conversation would have taken place with some great understanding from all parties.

PS By the way great post Shiv, very clear and informative and I agree 🙂
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well said Adrienne. I'm now stepping out of this thread as the whole thing is making me incredibly angry. The way I do things is my way of doing things, and if 4 tests a day for ypauly works then great - as I have said.

Its so amazing how things can be misconstrued on a forum. But as I said, before I really put my foot in it, I'm stepping out of this. Because yes I am angry that someone has turned around and said the way I, and Laura, do things is "excessive". Its not excessive to me, and if it is to ypauly then great, darn tootin, whatever. 🙂

I try really hard to put things across in a way that won't be misconstrued - and it upsets me when they are misconstrued. Big time. And the fact that someone has told me i test excessively has upset me and made me think I need to test less and thus not feel safe in my own control.

:(
 
I wish I could do just 4 tests a day! Unfortunately Im doing around 10 per day due to still not knowing what doses to take after having the little one (11 weeks ago 🙄)
The life of a diabetic though, someone has to live it hehe 😉
 
ypauly said:
Please excuse my ingnorance, but how can formulating then stating an opinion based on information given + personal experience + current level of knowledge be out of order?
I just don't get it. If my opinion is wrong you are free to add yours, you may even want to correct that opinion with fact but to say it is out of order is in itself out of order, due to the fact that the only opinion that matters is your own.
The way I test works for me based on MY diet MY work pattern my excersise and I am fully aware that others will be very different. But it would be far more constructive to find out how I manage with fewer tests, or why others have to test excessively so we can share the knowledge and information that arrises from disccussion.
In what way is that out of order?
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which is what I said ypauly, its YOUR WAY of doing things. Plus, as adrienne said what you said came across as statement rather than opinion, so please stop trying to twist my words.

as i said, if it works for you then great - but my way works for me. And obviously for laura too.
 
Trying to move things on a bit -

What me maybe should be thinking about is what we do with our test results rather than the number of them. You could test every 5 minutes but if you are just going to look at the values it gives you no benefit.

I think that one of the more worrying aspects of diabetes care is the lack of education given to people in interpreting their results and using those results to amend their treatment/diet. I know some people are able to attend courses but they are not very common.
 
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