Question re Glucometers

[trophywench]

Weird conversation this morning with Pete's younger bro who lives in Skegness. My sister in law who has had T2 for years has recently been diagnosed with some form of 'rheumatics' as a consequence of which she's been prescribed something with steroids and hence advised by the consultant to keep a very close eye on her BG. She replied she'd love to - but as the NHS stopped her prescription for test strips some years ago and with the strips for the meter she'd been given costing £27 a pot last time she bought any a few years ago - she couldn't keep a close eye on them. So that's supposed to be getting sorted out ..... (2 different hospitals dealing with the 2 conditions too, one in Lincoln and one in Grimsby so this costs them a fortune to get to whenever) but anyway - Bro said that because of the very short expiry date on all the strips, either those prescribed previously or those they subsequently bought themselves - they were very soon completely useless since they wouldn't register a reading!

I said 'Eh??' - so is this common where T2 is concerned? My strips usually have an expiry date 2 years hence .....

 

[silentsquirrel]

Presumably they meant old strips left over from prescription or those they bought "a few years ago"?

I have a cheapo meter prescribed (good enough for T2s apparently, even on MDI) and the strips are always at least a year in date, sometimes longer.

 

[Becka]

It must be something about the brand rather than type. Different meters are usually offered by type, but that is because of the need for specific extra features, such a ketone testing. But the devices are entirely agnostic.

My current AgaMatrix strips have a use-by date of 2022-09-30.
My final point of TrueYou strips, which I am finishing off against orders when riding, is 13-07-2023.

Where are they buying them from though, as £27 sounds a lot when most are around £18 privately? For some brands you can get packs of two online for around that price, but some of those were intended for other markets and imported. So maybe that explains the shorter life?

Having to go to Grimsby sounds strange, I guess they must drive because there is no convenient public transport from Skegness. My parents are/were farther up the cost and for them the local hospital is Boston, the main one is Lincoln, and for the biggest stuff the regional one is in Nottingham.

Mind, for reasons I do not understand, I was referred to rheumatology in a different borough so I have to deal with split hospitals too. But at least for me I have direct buses to both.

 

[Pumper_Sue]

As your sister in law has been told to test, then the surgery must provide the test strips as part of her treatment. Contact GP and request the test strips.

 

[trophywench]

As I said Sue - that's in hand, but it is very complicated where you have to go, up there, as it all depends what's wrong with you. Skeg doesn't even have a minor injuries clinic now, so tough if you hurt yourself on the beach and it needs stitching.

 

[philand]

Lincolnshire has many pecularities like this - I have had to go to different clinics in Boston, Lincoln and Grimsby and had surgeries in sheffield and cambridge as I live in the middle of a sort of bermuda triangle of health care - all part of the joy of rural life!

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Does sound unusual. Mine always seem to have over a year to use them before the expiry looms.

 

[trophywench]

I remember thinking and saying to my husband a couple of years ago after J&V told us about this run around, esp after we'd been camping on a CL near Chapel St Leonards over a bank holiday, a bloke suffered burns and they'd taken him to A&E only to be told there they didn't deal with burns so could they take him to another specified hospital else instead please, they told the hosp No not really, not like we even know him, just doing him a favour bringing him here cos it looked serious to us (it was) ..... I don't think I'd be happy needing to go to different towns hospitals depending which bit of my body had decided to fail this time.

 

[SuperBee]

My strips (Accu-Chek Performa) normally have an expiry date 6 - 12 weeks on the future. I have brought on line and you only seem to get a couple of months. The cheapest on Ebay had only two weeks but cross checked with in date strips when they gad expired seemed equally accurate.

 

[grovesy]

Mine usally had between,6-12 months date.

 

[pmailkeey]

As I said Sue - that's in hand, but it is very complicated where you have to go, up there, as it all depends what's wrong with you. Skeg doesn't even have a minor injuries clinic now, so tough if you hurt yourself on the beach and it needs stitching.

It is my understanding you can visit any GP surgery for emergency minor medical treatment and the medics are obliged to treat you.

 

[pmailkeey]

Are you letting the NHS fail you ?
See if the constitution is being broken - and take action !

 

[Robin]

It is my understanding you can visit any GP surgery for emergency minor medical treatment and the medics are obliged to treat you.

You can certainly register as a temporary patient and have a consultation, but you are in the hands of the system wherever you are. If the GP you've chosen doesn’t do minor injuries, or any other particular problem you’ve consulted them about, they will refer you to wherever in the district does, which may mean a drive to a bigger town, it certainly would where I live.