Today’s question comes from a concerned child of a diabetic… Read on:

Question: My dad has cut his testing down to twice a week to save on his test strips since they are expensive for him. He was testing daily. Perhaps testing twice a week is sufficient. His doctor said it would be fine. His blood sugar stays pretty stable, but in the past, has had problems with it being too high. He has Medicare, AARP supplement insurance, and goes to the VA clinic for appts. Is there a way to get test strips at a reduced rate? I thought his insurance would pay for them or partially at least, but he is buying them himself. I am considering sending him some money to help pay on them, if the doctor says he ever needs to be checking it more often. So how safe is it that he is only checking twice a week? I’m not impressed with his doctor, so I hope he is being honest with my dad on testing twice a week asw being fine. Anyone with diabetes that could advise?

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This is What You Need to Do: Click Here

Answer: Wow, I really feel for your (and his) situation.

Listen, this is what you need to do:

The doctor has to write a prescription. if the doctor writes a prescription specifically stating to check blood sugar twice a day, the insurance will give your father 60 strips a month. alot of time it is a pain in the butt for people to run around and get scripts. have the doc write a script for ‘diabetic supplies’ including how many lancets, strips, and needles (if used) are used a month. the only thing insurance wont pay for is alcohol wipes (they are cheap anyway) and medicare pts can get a new meter every 5 years, but usually its better to just get your own meter (they aren’t much, the companies make 90 percent of their money off the strips) have the doc write on the script the type of meter it is, get a new script to match a new meter. Insurance pays for strips!!! Now of course if your dad doesn’t have a script, he will have to buy them, you should even have the doc write to check sugar three times a day and he will have extras. If your dad uses insulin he needs to check at LEAST twice a day. If he is on orals, once a day in the am before meals, if he is good for a long time then once or twice a week is ok with some docs but I would watch it closer. The best option for you is to check out ClickOnHealth.

From what I’ve researched, it’s exactly what you’re looking for.  You can get a free meter, and they’ll work with your dad (and his insurance) when it comes to getting diabetes test strips. All you have to do is fill out the form & send it in and get a FREE Glucose Monitor.

Technorati Tags: diabetes, Diabetes Test Strips, diabetes testing supplies

Another Good Question From Yahoo Answers:

Where is a good place to find inexpensive testing supplies if you are either too young for medicare and/or don’t have health insurance?

Any other advise would be greatly apprieciated. I was resently dianosed boarder line. I’ve started using Splenda and have changed my diet, but what else can I do?
I’ve gotten past most of the panic. I’ve been seeing a wonderful doctor who answers my question and have friends with worse cases. None of them know were I can get my testing supplies at a better price. I don’t make enough of health insurance but too much of government help. I’m only 30 so I don’t qualify for medicare. This is getting expensive, but I can’t not have it.

Good Answer: A lot of hospitals and county health departments have programs for no or low cost supplies, as well as outreach programs for diabetes education. Additionally, some drug companies have patient prescription assistance programs. Contact the company that manufactures your strips and lancets, medications, etc., and ask. It doesn’t hurt to ask.

Best Answer: I live in San Francisco, and we have a great program called Wellness SF, where they take your earnings into account. Specifically, those of us who are right in the doomed ’sweet spot’ of healthcare. We can’t afford regular health care, and we make too much to get Medicaid.

Like the answer above, check your local hospital or free clinic & see what their recommendation is. Either way, you definitely want to check out:

ClickOnHealth
 

They’re a cool site where they can set you up with a free monitor - All you have to do is fill out the form & to get free testing supplies. Sign up Now!

Technorati Tags: diabetes, Diabetes Test Strips, diabetes testing supplies

I found this great post on Yahoo Answers & thought I would pass on the info:

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I need to get the Most accurate glucose meter, I check my levels about 25 times a day and I use the insulin pump, my A1c is about 5.3, so I need to find a glucose meter that is very accurate so that I can get my a1c level down to about 5.

Thanks so much!!!

I still use my old “Advantage Meter”.
I live in New Zealand and a couple of weeks ago on the News it said that the new meters were being recalled because they were giving a high reading … sorry but forgot what brand it was.

If I got down to 5 …. I would be hypo on the floor. I cannot go below 9.

Why check 25 times a day? Good grief that’s about every 55 minutes. Don’t you sleep 8 hours.

I’ve been a diabetic for 35 years and never had any problem and check my blood sugar about once a fortnight.

Why don’t you go and do what I did. I went out and found a Doctor that is a Diabetic. Makes life a lot more easier.

I have never in the past 35 years been to a Diabetic Clinic and found a Diabetic Doctor or Nurse. And yet …. they are telling us what we feel like, what to do, how much insulin to take daily….. how the heck do they know how we feel.

You go for your check-up, you get a different Doctor, he changes your insulin, he also changes your dosage, he also tells you that you should be taking insulin four or five times a day …. no wonder some Diabetics go high … they are stressed out with the changes.

I take 24 units in the morning and 12 at night .. .and not changing. They kept altering my insulin and dosage 20 years ago and I went from 9 stone to 6 … and my mum thought I was dying.

So I haven’t been back since … I have a Doctor who asks me how I’m doing … I say fine .. .and that’s the way I want it.

I don’t want the stress of what they try to say to you. It’s your life. I’m 56 now, and I got Diabeties at the age of 21 … and I’m fine. I stand on stage singing and playing my guitar in a band twice a week for four hours each time … hey I’m not going to stop the band and go have an injection or something to eat …. this is my living.

And I’m doing just great.

FDA is aware of cases where patients have used LifeScan OneTouch Ultra test strips with their Abbott Precision Xtra blood glucose meters. As a result, the meters recorded lower-than-expected blood glucose levels, which can have serious clinical consequences. This problem is not limited to just these two products. Using the wrong strip in any brand of blood glucose meter could result in erroneous readings, or no readings at all. Instruct diabetic patients who use blood glucose meters to use only the strips recommended for that particular meter. The owner’s manual for each meter specifies which strips are suitable. As an additional check, the instructions with the test strips identify the meters that are compatible with those strips. FDA Patient Safety News: May 2008 For more information, please see our website: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/psn/transcript.cfm?show=75#9

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Technorati Tags: blood, diabetes, error, FDA, glucose, meter, strip, sugar

Consumer Reports has just released their newest findings on the best Diabetes Testing Meters. They tested 19 different meters, but only 4 were named as Top-Performers. I guess they didn’t want to embarrass the ‘losers.’ Personally, I would like to know if my meter wasn’t up to snuff, but I guess I’m in the minority.

Without further ado, here are the top Performers:

1. OneTouch UltraMini: (The ONLY Blood Glucose Meter which received an EXCELLENT Rating) This small and discreet Meter is perfect for everyday use and it’s easy to find strips both online & at your local pharmacy.
2. Ascensia Contour: A lot of effort has been put into the design and it requires a very small blood sample. For those who have eyesight difficulties, the display is very large compared to most meters. The diabetes test strips are a fairly good value.
3. ReliOn Ultima: A Wal-Mart Brand. A good value, their test-strips are really quite a bargain. Be careful though, multiple reviews have reported that the readings could be off substancially.
4. Accu-Chek Compact Plus: A very good, easy to operate meter; it comes with a small amount of test strips, lancet mechanism w/ extra lancets, and easy to understand instructions. The only reported gripe is that it takes a little longer than normal to get a reading, and the blood sample has to be placed exactly right.

If you have any comments/experiences about any of the above meters, let me know!

Source Article:
http://www.emediaworld.com/press_release/release_detail.php?id=120736

Technorati Tags: Diabetes Test Strips, diabetes testing supplies