Thanks for replies. Yes they are very expensive but my doctor doesn't prescribe strips if you are diet alone. I don't know why because I think it is even more important to test if you are not on medication. I could be merrily going along eating all sorts of things that send my blood sugar up and not know until I have my next check up (which is not for 6 months). My nurse says there is no need to test because it would just cause worry, I would worry more if I couldn't test. I usually use ebay but this time I have run out because I mistakenly ordered the wrong strips and with the postal strike I don't know how long it will take for my new strips to arrive.