Yes Terry you make a lot of sense and it has given me hope that I will find the right doctor.
Hi mark357, If it is working for you more power to you and stay healthy!
HI Mike, I have educated myself about cholesterol and it is a controversial subject.
I've read this before, but it does need to be repeated from time to time. I'd prefer Guatemala's system over ours. I'd call the doc if I had symptoms or questioned a lab number. I love the "paternalistic and infantalizing" descriptors!
I haven't read through all of the posts, but Medicare requires patients with diabetes to see their MD's every three months. There it is
I swap every 3 months between seeing my CDE and seeing my Endo. I am currently participating in a clinical trial so all lab work is done by them. I just send the results to my endo and primary care doc. Can you see the doctor and not get lab work done ? What is he going to do if you only go every 6 months ? It's not as though he is going to send the police to come an get you. So if you feel more comfortable seeing him every 6 months then do that. You are the "consumer" and the doctor works for you, treat him like that.
Great post, Terry. Amen!
I should have said "or so I think" And my healthplan requires 4 visits a year if I want to "keep my pump" - as if it's their place to decide great care or not so great care. I've been doing this for decades and I wish that my experience was valued and respected. I really get snarky when they get patronizing. (I don't get so snarky that I am then acting childish - rather I use bigger and bigger words).
My endo visits are every 3 months but I'm not sure if it is absolutely necessary to do blood work each time, however it is probably safer. I have only been diagnosed and on insulin for 2.5 years and I can tell you I am already sick to death of going 4 times per year for visits and blood work as well as all my other drs. visits for my back and neck recently. It really does get hard to just live your life when you are dealing with all these drs visits and fasting for blood work etc. I have been having severe back spasms and I'm in pt now too. It just never ends. I think I do like knowing my a1c 4x per year but not going to a lab and doctor to do it. My endo also doesn't have email or online records which I find to be outdated in this day and age.
Hi Meee, I appreciate your concerns. I was thinking that if I wanted to I could purchase an A1C machine to use at home. I don't think they are that expensive, however I can usually tell my estimated A1C by the BG reading on my meter. I am also planning to find a new primary care doc with electronic records. I hope your back spasms get better and what is pt that you are in now?
Maybe that's the difference, artwoman. Katy is not on a pump.
It's just a disposable kit, Katy. They cost about $39 for two tests and are quite reliable.
If you are talking about the Bayer A1cNow it is not particularly reliable. It has repeatedly failed the calibration reference tests from the NSGP and I would consider it only accurate to about +/- 10%. I place a lot more faith in the tests from an accredited lab. If you must test at home the Relion test is more accurate.
That could be (and I'm not on Medicare). I don't mind the blood draws every three months - but I do not like the appts every three months. As people here are (probably) well aware, I am having issues with the Endo - He thinks my good control is either 1) too tight or 2) impossible (obviously he doesn't have a very high opinion of non-MD humans). The blood draws are fine, and I get the results as well as the docs.
Wow⌠I go to the doctor maybe 2x a yearâ and one of those is for my employment physical so it doesnât even really count. They usually donât do bloodwork, aside from an a1c, at all. I had no idea so many of you were going so often⌠Do you really feel youâre benefitting from so many appointments? In my case I wouldnâtâŚ
Hi Katy,
I am one of the few who prefers to go to the doc when I "need" a doctor. The insurance rule that requires a visit for prescriptions is understandable. The government (aka) Medicare did have a "rule" that 3 months of blood glucose measures had to be presented with the strip prescription to be covered. The rule was clearly written and available on the Medicare CMS website but it has been removed. There is info on the A1c test which says:
Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) covers screenings to check for diabetes. Based on the results of these tests, you may be eligible for 2 diabetes screenings each year.
Who's eligible? Medicare covers these tests if you have any of these risk factors:
High blood pressure (hypertension)
History of abnormal cholesterol and triglyceride levels (dyslipidemia)
Obesity
History of high blood sugar (glucose)
Medicare also covers these tests if 2 or more of these apply to you:
Age 65 or older
Overweight
Family history of diabetes (parents, brothers, sisters)
History of gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy), or delivery of a baby weighing more than 9 pounds
Your costs in Original Medicare
You pay nothing for these tests
So the 3 month gig (if there ever really was a rule)is not a rule anymore. Hopefully the docs and other insurance providers will jump on this bandwagon so we can get on with our lives and not be dancing around doctor appointments. I go once a year for a full physical and diabetes check up. And then I call if I get sick. It is nice to read from another who can't see the sense in the every three month requirement. Doctor visits are not free in my world, and lab tests are not either. My insurance covers a preventative care visit and my doctor is happy to provide that service and trusts me to manage my condition the rest of the year. And like you, I use my bg meter to define my control. A1c numbers are meaningless to me, but that's another topic.
My doctor actually does call me to remind me it's time for my check up. I'd go two years or even never if it was possible!
Do I feel like I really benefit? No at all. This of course is colored by the lack of respect I sense form my current (hopefully soon to be ex) Endo. My meter. pump and CGM downlo9ads show me what I need to know. It is especially frustrating when dealing with an MD who either doesn't have type 1 himself, or a family member with type 1. They simply don't get it. Yes, I have rogue numbers - hey occasionally the phone rings just as I am about to test before a meal, I et distracted, and realize partially through the meal that I didn't bolus (a benefit of the pump - it shows me the time of the last bolus). Hey I'm human - not sub-human like some MD's seem to think of us. (and I often think that attitude isn't just towards OWD,s but patients in general) Obviously I'm in a mood today!
I only go every three months because I now have Medicare which requires it. No, I rarely get much out of it. But I do better with my attitude towards white coat ignorance as I have very low expectations: Fill the prescriptions I request, write lab slips and otherwise leave me alone. Occasionally I am pleasantly surprised.
"So the 3 month gig is not a rule anymore"
" Medicare did have a "rule" that 3 months of blood glucose measures had to be presented with the strip prescription to be covered"
Are the "diabetes screenings" for people who have not yet been diagnosed?That's what it sounds like as they are talking about "risk factors" - most of which, btw, refer to type 2 not type 1. Not sure what you mean by "the government aka medicare" - are people in this thread perhaps combining Medicare and Medicaid facts? It seems apparent from this thread that some of us have been given different Medicare requirements. Don't know if that is due to pumps, how long diagnosed,age, type (of course),type of Medicare and/or other insurance or State. I, for example, have CalPers Medicare (Medicare + Anthem for California retirees) which gives me full coverage for all visits and tests, as well as insulin and strips. I am being required to do visits every three months and A1C every 6. I have to fill out a BG log (to justify my test strip amount) every 6 months. (Could this be for people who have more than the paltry recommended Medicare amount?)
How do I feel about these requirements? I hate Medicare having control over my health care (even though I have 100% coverage, my understanding is they are a "gatekeeper" so if they turn something down Anthem can't cover it either - hasn't been tested yet). I don't need or want to see a doctor every 3 months; as I mentioned above, I could do without the doctors entirely unless I got sick. I manage my own D. But since I have 100% coverage now I figure the extra visits and paperwork are a small price to pay. YMMV.
Hi Zoe, You have great insurance. I would gladly do what you are doing whether I needed the visits every three months or not.
I have a Medicare Advantage PPO and if I needed the 2 extra visits per month I would gladly pay and spend the extra time. This is a new doctor and I have doing well since diagnosis with 2 visits per month,