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NHS - Test Strips & Machines

D

Damien

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Type 2
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Hi Everyone

At present I’m borrowing a machine as I have my first meeting with my DN on Thursday this week.

Will I be offered a machine and test strips on prescription or do you have to buy it yourself privately?

I understand if you’re T1 you may be offered something from Libre

I have ordered some strips for this machine and have some new needles.

Thanks.
 
Damien said:
Will I be offered a machine and test strips on prescription or do you have to buy it yourself privately?
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It depends. I think if you're on medication that can cause hypos (so including insulin, but not just insulin) it's likely you'll be offered testing stuff. (If you're on insulin you really should be, so complain if you aren't. For other medication I think it's usual but there may be exceptions which make it less essential.)

There's some information on what people find valuable enough to buy here: https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/board...for-people-new-to-diabetes.10406/#post-938458
 
I’m T2 and just on metaformin. I’m ok with what I have but I’ve worked it out and it’s about £15 a week for the strips. If I could get them via NHS I’d be happier but if not then no worries. Thanks. I’ll take a look.
 
It seems to vary very much from surgery to surgery @Damien

But unfortunately many T2s are told they ‘don’t need to test’ and are not offered the means to do so, even if it’s something they would find very helpful.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
It seems to vary very much from surgery to surgery @Damien

But unfortunately many T2s are told they ‘don’t need to test’ and are not offered the means to do so, even if it’s something they would find very helpful.
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Guess it’s all down to cost. I guess in a few months time I won’t test all day. (3 times at the moment)

I’m hoping to get as low as possible like everyone I guess. My diet was very high sugar and not veg and hardly any fruit. Mixed with a lot of fizzy drinks.

I’m finding testing quite useful at the moment as I think chips caused a big spike. Yet bread not so much. I know I need to reduce carbs etc but I need to find out what my body can handle.
 
Damien said:
I guess in a few months time I won’t test all day. (3 times at the moment)
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That seems likely. There's a few trials on offering people with T2 home testing but they don't seem that persuasive to me either way. Cochrane concluded there was weak evidence that testing for a few months at the beginning had benefits. I think we're all guessing the same might be true for a while after changing your diet for some reason (so it might well be worth testing for a few days if you went on a lengthy holiday somewhere, just to get a feel for the less familiar food). (If you're going for a week you might reasonably just enjoy the holiday and not worry.)
 
The monitor you have is probably one which takes the more expensive strips so It can be worthwhile in the long run to get a monitor which takes cheaper trips. There are a few which have strips at about £10 for 50 or cheaper if bought in bulk.
GlucoNavii, TEE2 and Contour Blue are ones people find satisfactory. If only on metformin unless you are lucky it would be unlikely that you will be prescribed them.
Lancets can be reused.
 
Damien said:
Hi Everyone

At present I’m borrowing a machine as I have my first meeting with my DN on Thursday this week.

Will I be offered a machine and test strips on prescription or do you have to buy it yourself privately?

I understand if you’re T1 you may be offered something from Libre

I have ordered some strips for this machine and have some new needles.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Ask....my practice provides a machine for everyone....type 2 patients have to buy own test strips. I think it depends on the practice.
 
I was given a sample one the surgery had but no strips. Basically their view is diabetics don't need to test and yet when my consultant asked me to get the surgery to check BP and blood sugar after a course of steroids. The nurse said she didn't have time to test me " but obviously I was testing at home"
I haven't tested for a month but am going to start again as due to start steroids prior to an eye op.
I am using the original lancet still.
 
hi Damien, i was told by my GP that there surgery doesn't issue Blood glucose monitors or test strips on prescription for type 2 diabetes on metformin .I've been self funding my own test strips for over a year now at £12.99 for 50 and told i only need too test a few times a day if at all by my diabetes nurse , i did a'lot of testing at first when i got the machine before and after meals just so i could see for myself where i am with my own sugar levels and how what i was eating impacted on my sugar levels .
Cut a long story short I'm now off the metformin i've lost 3 stone in weight and i'm more aware of what too eat so my diabetes is now controlled by diet and exercise, i might test twice a day now as i know my body can handle what i feed it . Good luck on your own journey with this condition i find keeping a diary helps when it comes to logging everything down numbers etc food choices etc and what impact it has when testing .
 
CoolShot44 said:
hi Damien, i was told by my GP that there surgery doesn't issue Blood glucose monitors or test strips on prescription for type 2 diabetes on metformin .I've been self funding my own test strips for over a year now at £12.99 for 50 and told i only need too test a few times a day if at all by my diabetes nurse , i did a'lot of testing at first when i got the machine before and after meals just so i could see for myself where i am with my own sugar levels and how what i was eating impacted on my sugar levels .
Cut a long story short I'm now off the metformin i've lost 3 stone in weight and i'm more aware of what too eat so my diabetes is now controlled by diet and exercise, i might test twice a day now as i know my body can handle what i feed it . Good luck on your own journey with this condition i find keeping a diary helps when it comes to logging everything down numbers etc food choices etc and what impact it has when testing .
Click to expand...
That is exactly it, quite a bit of testing to begin with so you get an idea of what and when you can tolerate the meals you have but once you establish 'safe' meals then no real need to test those again, obviously unless something changes. If you introduce something new that you would like to become a regular meal then worth testing but not if it going to be a one off.
 
Damien said:
Guess it’s all down to cost. I guess in a few months time I won’t test all day. (3 times at the moment)

I’m hoping to get as low as possible like everyone I guess. My diet was very high sugar and not veg and hardly any fruit. Mixed with a lot of fizzy drinks.

I’m finding testing quite useful at the moment as I think chips caused a big spike. Yet bread not so much. I know I need to reduce carbs etc but I need to find out what my body can handle.
Click to expand...
It sounds like you are keen to make effective use of the strips that you have, in order to work out how your body is reacting to the various carbs you are eating. Many on here find it helpful to test before a meal, perhaps of a food you want to see the reaction to, and then again after two hours. It is this difference that shows you how your body is managing that food. You would want to be nearly back to where your glucose levels started after two hours (and I can’t remember the leeway here - someone will jump in)

I was surprised by the spike apparently ‘healthy foods’ gave me. My insulin still brought me back down but my body reacted very quickly to oats, so I adapted my diet to reduce these spikes. You have identified some of the culprits like chips and fizzy drinks. The more sugary items often cause quick spikes because these are absorbed more quickly. This is why those of us injecting insulin use them to treat a hypo (low glucose) which needs dealing with quickly.

Let us know how you get on.
 
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