Any fellow BS testing addicts?

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Permalink Reply by Jenn B. on May 21, 2009 at 6:41pm

Unless they are Type 1 AND have an amazing A1C, I wouldn't listen to ANYTHING they have to say about this topic. Not the endo, the nurse, the CDE, NO ONE.

I test at least ten times a day. My A1C has stayed below 6 in this past year since diagnosis. Do what works for you.

Can you get your insurance to write you for more? I really hate that we don't get to decide how to manage this disease ourselves. I remember before I got my Endo to write my prescription for more ("you know you really don't have to test that many times" Thanks for the advice. Please write it for me. This is MY BODY.) I would feel that panic and anxiety as I was getting to the bottom of a tube. One time I went to pick up my prescription and they couldn't fill it all because someone stole a box off the shelf. Times are tough. Gotta do what you gotta do.

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Permalink Reply by Jason on May 21, 2009 at 7:20pm

Go to Wal-Mart and pick up their Reli-On meter. It costs 9 dollars. The test strips are really cheap too, something like 35-40 cents a strip, although they are rather inconveniently packaged. Each strip is in its own foil wrap. This is what I do to cover the extra testing my insurance doesn't cover.

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Permalink Reply by Domo! on May 22, 2009 at 5:08am

try the newer meter, i keep on seeing ads for it around here. It's on the reli on website http://www.relion.com/ it's called a micro, and the test strips aren't indiviually wrapped. OR you could go with a key note by wavesense, who i love and support but yet i don't get paid for all this publicity yet (hence the mention for the other meter). Hate the true track, the one touch is expensive, and there are even weirder off brands out there.

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Permalink Reply by Kathy Wellner on May 22, 2009 at 6:02am

Thanks for the advice going out this morning and getting one.

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Permalink Reply by Domo! on May 22, 2009 at 8:27pm

it's uber cute meter, i just like keynote better because the test strips are cheaper, cheaper then walmart!

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Permalink Reply by tmana on May 21, 2009 at 7:43pm

My doc thinks I'm obsessive. I'm T2 and test an average of 5-6x/day. More when doing something active or unusual, less when I'm home and being lazy.

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Permalink Reply by Gerri on May 21, 2009 at 8:41pm

Good for you, Tmana! I know Type 2s who rarely test & their doctors haven't encouraged them to test at all. A good friend's husband is Type 2 & I had to tell him his test strips expired because that's how infrequently he tests.

Jill, test all you want & then some. What is with some doctors who have patients who want to be healthy & work hard toward that goal!

I had my internist write me prescriptions for testing 10x & also for more syringes. Was easier to get through to him than my endo. Imagine my surprise the first time I went to refill the syringe Rx & was told I couldn't have any more. Yep, I'm injecting for fun & profit. Thankfully, they're cheap so I just paid for them out of pocket.

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Permalink Reply by nel peach on May 21, 2009 at 8:15pm

I told my past GP , that I test 10-12 x daily and he asked me if that is not excessive ...I am now seeing another Doc !!
In the 26 years of type 1 diabetes never had to go to hospital because of diabetes ...did finger poking pay off ?? I would say so . I have only tested up to 14 times , when there were concerns . Since wearing CGMS an ave. of 8-9 . I seem to be more relaxed about living with diabetes.
Is the NF Government covering your strips , Jill ?

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Permalink Reply by Karen Doering on May 21, 2009 at 8:33pm

Type 1 for 42 years and going from working in the dark and no meters and one shot a day, to MDI and now pumping for 7 years I could not exist without testing at least that much. If you are bolusing for food and it is such a every day is different disease, I don't think there is any other option. I also suffer from hypoglycemic unawareness so I am sometimes driving with a bgs of 60 and don't know it, so I need to test everytime I get behind the wheel.

There is no other way.

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Permalink Reply by Carole on May 21, 2009 at 9:29pm

I test a lot - my prescription was for 10x day but I just had them change it to 12 (I figured if my insurance won't pay for my CGMS then they better pay for more strips) - I started testing long before it was common - I read about the strips when they were still new & had to have my pharmacist special order them - no insurance payment at all at that time - but they were color coded & you could cut them in half to double the number - and I was very accurate - probably more so than the meters we use today.

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Permalink Reply by Jill Hartley on May 22, 2009 at 5:14am

I think my insurance covers for a very small portion, if even that, otherwise its like.. 100$ a week its horrible haha

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Permalink Reply by Arielle on May 22, 2009 at 2:31am

My prescription is for 10x/day which is not quite enough, especially this past month since I just went on the pump. Actually I picked up my script today and for the second month in a row the pharmacist at the Rite Aid gave me a hard time about the number of strips I use. Last time he kind of looked at them and said, "Too many! Too many!" in a joking way. Today he said, "These are all for you?!?" and when I said yes he said, in a totally astonished way, "How many times do you test?" I said, "You know, that's not really up to you to decide, my doctor prescribed these for me" and he cut me off by saying something about how his wife was diabetic and she was always complaining about her sugar but would never test. So I calmed down a little and told him I test 12-15 times a day (which is kind of an exaggeration, but hey, some days I do) and he said "WOW," and sighed. Shouldn't a pharmacist know that a Type 1 on the pump has to test more than (I assume) a Type 2?

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