General Chat

Here's some comments from Saga Zone about GPs refusing issue of test strips etc:

1. My other half is also type II and has been refused further test strips and lancets because he is being so diligent with his diet. My argument is that now he is off all his medication he is costing the NHS nothing except for the routine tests every six months. Therefore it is in their interest to supply him with the test strips/lancets so he can spot quickly if anything is going wrong with his sugars.

This is common practice all over the country now and my MP is well aware of it and is appalled as we are. He has recently become a member of the Parliamentary Health Select Committee responsible for scrutinizing government policies and their outcomes...I am going to write to him again about just this subject. Will keep you posted as to what he says or can do, if anything!

Today I have received a reply from my MP as follows:

"I raised this issue when I joined the Parliamentary Select Committee and I will be bringing it up again in an Enquiry in 2008. You are indeed correct in your views and I will continue to tell the Government that what they are doing is unfair"

I hope that all Zoners reading this and in the same position re their test strips/lancets will write to their MPs too. If you do write, it may well be worth mentioning to your MP that Lee Scott, MP for Ilford North, is a member of the Parliamentary Health Select
Committee responsible for scrutinizing Government Policies and their outcomes and that he has already raised the issue.

2. I am type 2 diabetic since five years. I control my blood sugar with . diet. Up to one month ago I received the test strips and lancets, no problem. I saw a relive doctor, not my usual GP who was on holiday at the time about some thing else, he canceled my test strips and lancets with the comment "a six monthly blood test is enough, you don't need to test the blood." I am not happy about it, as I will not know if the blood sugar changes.

3. A colleague in Gloucestershire has been told he can no longer be prescribed blood glucose strips, but in South Worcestershire I can still obtain them on prescription

Peter - Type 2 Diet and Exercise diagnosed 2002 and I can assure you I have to resort to a bit of choccy or summat sweet on the odd occasion . I keep to a reasonable diet (approved by dietician) mainly eat at set times, with light snack mid morning and mid afternoon.

Example: out shopping with wife in a town some distance away. Had standard breakfast and then a mid morning snack in town. Lunchtime in town had a bacon butty and cuppa (as intended to eat main meal when got home). About an hour after bacon butty was in a big store and knackered - VERY tired. Went to store's cafe and had a cuppa and piece of lemon merangue pie was then OK within a few minutes.

Talking to others on other diabetic threads Type 2s can suffer bad lows.

I am just a bit concerned about the info that is being posted here.

Anyone who has to inject insulin is Type one, not Type two.

Type two sufferers are not likely to suffer from an diabetic coma, but more likely from a heart attack, if they don't have their symptoms brought under control, usually by diet and lifestyle changes.

Quote: "Both my husband and I are type 2 diabetics. Johan has now got to the stage when he has to inject insuline, but I am controlled by tablets. I never think about what we eat and we eat just everything, cake, biscuits, in moderation of course.
We always keep 'emergency rations' in the car as Johan can get dizzy if he has to wait for a meal. Me, haven't got to that stage yet. Mind you, after an operation in hospital one invariably needs to increase their tablets - but the hospital work that out for you!
Sylvia xxx

If Sylvia told a diabetic nurse about eating "everything" she would probably be told how silly she and her husband are. Their body's systems cannot cope with lots of sugar hence the medication needed. Just because a diabetic takes medication it doesn't mean they can nigh on ignore their problem. Medication has a hard enough task trying to keep things on an even keel and the two of them are heading for problems in the future

well i got my appointment through for kidney specialist, its this friday.
i,ll tell him whats happened and see what his plans for me are.my blood sugar is high,so i think that makes me a 2.[am i right]lol.xx

Ronald,

Hope you don't mind me asking. Are you type one or type two. The message you give is that you are type one.

The treatment for type two is very different, and certainly does not involve taking sugar hits or chocolate.

FOOTCARE CHECKLIST

Never neglect injuries to your feet, no matter how slight.

Check your feet daily and consult a podiatrist or chiropodist about any problems. If it is difficult for you to check your own feet, get someone to help.

Wash your feet every day with soap and warm water. Do not use hot water.

Dry your feet thoroughly particularly between the toes.

If your skin is dry or rough apply a moisturizing cream such as E45.

Change your socks/tights/stockings daily.

Do not wear ill-fitting shoes.

Check that there is nothing in your shoes that will rub.

Wear new shoes for a short time at first and check your feet afterwards for any signs of rubbing.

Cut your toenails following the shape of the end of your toes. Do NOT cup deep into the corners.

Avoid extremes of temperature (for example do not put your feet on a hot water bottle to warm your feet)

Do not walk around bare foot always wear slippers or shoes in the house.

Watch for Infections

You need to take special care to avoid foot infections, particularly if you have recued sensation which may prevent you noticing that infection has set in. Ultimately, a severe untreated infection could lead to gangrene. Damage to the blood supply in the feet, especially in older people with hardening or clogging of the arteries, also increases the risk of gangrene. ALWAYS go and see your GP or Diabetic Nurse if an infection does not clear up on it’s own in a few days.

I was also told by a friend who is a nurse that even a coarse dog's hair can penetrate bare feet and cause severe problems

If your OH starts feeling light headed get him to eat a square of chocolate. If he then feels better he will know his blood sugars were too low.

Your OH should endeavour to take his meals at about the same time each day - I was 2 hours late with lunch one day due being at a funeral which started at 1230 and lasted quite a while. Result (even after sandwiches and bit of cake at the Wake at 3pm plus cups of tea, a meal incl apple pie and custard about 530pm on way home) at around 630pm I started with my first hypo - my reading was 3.8 and I was in a bad way. A small bar of chocolate resolved the problem

"Mac, funny you should ask that. He doesn't have one, but I think he should. Some days he's really light-headed and we don't know whether he's had too much sugar or not enough. Our surgery is brilliant but they don't seem to be covering the Diabetic Nurse's absence very well."

Your OH might not be able to obtain testings strips via prescription. Below is copy of a note I received when I last applied just prior Christmas:-

"Diabetic Patients – On Oral medication (Not Insulin)

It is no longer recommended for diabetic patients who are not on insulin to routinely test their blood or urine for sugar. Your blood glucose levels will continue to be monitored at the surgery routinely using the HBA1c test.

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact the practice pharmacist"

After receiving the above note I found out the following info:

NICE it Ain’t!

Seems the problem with some diabetics being unable to obtain blood sugar test strips etc on prescription in England is due to NICE.

NICE has recommended that non insulin dependant diabetics whose long term blood sugar readings remain nigh on constant have no need to test on a daily basis and GPs should not prescribe the necessary strips/lancets etc.

Taking my own case as an example – I am tested twice a year for long term sugars and they have stayed in the range 6.3 to 6.4 with 7 being the allowable maximum long term reading for my Diet & Exercise regime. Thus I am deemed as ‘safe’ and denied the right to test and thus monitor my condition and spot any deterioration early on.

Soooooooooo it seems anyone who is non insulin dependant but whose long term readings are somewhat erratic will continue to be prescribed the necessary items.

Think it can be said that those of us who are diligent with our diet and maintain adequate control are being penalised for striving to keep ourselves fit. Smacks of discrimination as well as, in so far as I can gather, the ruling only applies to England.

I now purchase my own test strips £26 and Lancets £12 but only test pre breakfast.

There has been a lot of discussion about this problem on Saga Zone

Mac, funny you should ask that. He doesn't have one, but I think he should. Some days he's really light-headed and we don't know whether he's had too much sugar or not enough. Our surgery is brilliant but they don't seem to be covering the Diabetic Nurse's absence very well.

He has an appointment tomorrow for something else, so I think I'll suggest that he asks the doctor for one.

Mandy :)

Hello Mac, nice to meet you and thanks for the additional tips.

It's now been over 6 months since hubby was first diagnosed, and he's lost a good amount of weight and got his sugar levels down to about 6.9. Unfortunately, the Diabetic Nurse at our practice has been off for a while sick, so we're still groping around in the dark a bit (metaphorically speaking of course!).

Mandy :)

nudging - excellent thread. My oh is looking like a diagnosis of type 2 :(

Lyn x

i,ll copy this mandy as theres so much to take in.then ive got it at the ready.thanks sooooooo much.
xxx

Nudging for Joyous

Wanted a pud yesterday so made Apple Charlotte. Used wholemeal bread and left crusts on, sunflower spread on bread and eating apples in lieu of cooking apples, no sugar added to fruit. Was very filling. Eldest g'son (14) liked it as well and as usual he scoffed some of my sugar free jelly for tea with some icecream. So far the sugar free jelly is only grub with sweeteners where I can't 'taste' the sweetener. Beware Weight Watchers grub some of it is high in sugar. Dining out - 3 course meal? Beware soup. Some 'commercial' soups and chef made soups are high in sugar. Ron

I have read all but no one has said anything about the most inportant meal of the day for a diabetic and that is SUPPER, you must always remember to have Supper as it gets you from one day to another, the longest part of the day you got without a snack in between one mel and the next. depdening how long you sleep. So always remember to have Supper. Roger

Hi Mandy, hope you soon get used to the things you can and can't use, so Marston starts to feel better and it is not too much hassle for you to deal with, my mum had it but coped well for years. It is the Sorbitol in diabetic foods that gives you the runs so not worth buying, just very small amounts of things will be ok. You might want to get Marston a Medic alert bracelet or similar so if he is ever away and does have a problem and is unable to say what is wrong the medallion has all the info in it. There are probably more to choose from nowadays but Mum had one so if she did get poorly when out alone, someone could see what the problem was and know how to deal with it. She always carried a Mars bar around and had one by the bed too, just in case. Hope life gets on a more even keel for you all soon. Love Lizx

Mandy hi I have the same as hubby and control mine with a diet only our diabetic nurses are wonderful and I get more help from them than the Gp if marston takes notice of them he can eat normally and still enjoy his food Love to you both Howiexxxx

i ment to add you can eat wheatabix, wholegrains, bran, check labels on tins some read carbs are 10 and sugers are 4 - dont buy, my friend buys some tins of friut in juice just have teaspoon but check what youve eaten during the day so you dont overload your body, creamfraise she has again just small portions, your diatecian will go through everything with you, remember get your feet checked at the clinic aswell, nite kaz x