Next time, ask your GP is he wants to be in the lane next to you because he did not want to prescribe you enough strips to test before you got in the car & your BS crashed while you were driving.
That’s why many doctors and CDEs want us to run high. When I was starting on my pump, the nurse/CDE said flat out that she wouldn’t want to be behind someone with diabetes whose BG was 80.
Maurie
Hi Julie -
Welcome to the dark side.
Maurie
But did she deny you test strips?
I already gave up driving because of the neuropathy but if I had still been driving when I started passing out, I would have given it up then - in my mind, that is the same as driving drunk.
I fully agree - I also wouldnt want to be at the gym with a type 1 who hadnt tested and went flat out…there are so many reasons why I argue my point about testing…
I almost feel it is pointless to secure funding to get me my pump but then refuse me the tools to do the job (which I was doing pretty well until this happened)…
Im raising it at the diabetes clinic at hospital next month and hope that they can help me somehow…
You should ask your GP to come visit and explain how he knows so much about this? I am very curious where medical providers and insurers get off limiting people in this manner. MrsAcidRock is like ‘why are you so nuts about this, just go buy some’ but the principle of it drives me nuts. It also drove me nuts b/c the last time I got some out of pocket the pharmacy ratted me out to the $%#@)&! at the insurance company and held up my next refill. It seems very insidious the way they operate.
My doctor rx’ed 17/ day, and wrote the [totally stupid…] “letter of medical necessity” BCBS wants but I think she may have been counting pinging the pump, when I put in a “reading” to check the IOB or whatever?
No - but she also didn’t know me well enough to know I test before driving. I was going off on a tangent - I seem to do that a lot these days - tax season.
Maurie
Thanks Maurie - I hate to jump ship, but, well, there seem to be life-signs here!
I remember those tax season days - what fun!
OMG. I agree with all of the above (or below). I am also a synthroid taker, so I get up and take that 1 hr before eating. My endo wants me to test when rising, then, of course before AND after each meal. I recently asked my NP how often to test when out driving and running errands b/c I have had some hypo episodes…some unaware. She replied “every 15 minutes”. Then there are messed up strips and there is bedtime. Lately, I have been having to get up to correct a couple of times at night to correct if I have a snack before bed.
The bare minimum is 10. Many times 15 or more.
I am lucky. So far so good. No questions, but I am prepared to ask when there is a question or a problem “How often do you eat in a day?”
I was having trouble with the insurance–they were trying to limit me to 200/month (something about new medicare guidelines, I think), but after several months of issues and talking on the phone and trying to figure out who to yell at, I wrote a letter of medical necessity, my doctor signed it, and we faxed it to them.
The insurance sent me a note that basically said that they authorize 300/month, and I’m planning on bringing it to the pharmacy as ammunition if anyone tries to tell me that they’re shorting me again.
Definitely the way to go! GPs think they know a lot about D because so many of their patients have it, but they really have no clue. They just base their guidance on what others are doing rather than the results, and that simply is NOT the way to practice medicine!
LOL, next time wear a trench coat and some sun glasses and lurk around for a bit before you approach the counter…
I will put on my “Drugstore Cowboy” hat!!
well, I dont test that much but, w/ the 722, to check the IOB, you have to enter a bg reading so I just use what the CGM says and run through a fake bolus to check IOB. I am not 100% sure how much I’m testing, probably still 12 or so times/ day. I don’t eat anything w/o testing and I always test before I exercise too. Plus the MM wants a number 2 hours after you bolus too.
Id say just to keep the CGMS in check I test 8 or more times a day (see above).
My pump tells me I tend to test somewhere between 5 and 6 times a day, so when I asked for a prescription refill, I specified 6 tests a day, but the doc’s office only prescribed 5. I have no idea why, but will bring it up with them next time I go.
It’s true that I don’t test as often now that I have the CGM, but there certainly ARE times when 5 strips a day just doesn’t cut it. When I flatline, I don’t test much, but then I don’t flatline all that much! I don’t want to be wasteful of strips, but I do want to have the ability to test whenever I need to without worrying about running out.
AcidRock, I can buy them for you on the side next time. I can get mine where ever I want. I have to buy them myself and submit for reimbursement through my MEDICAL insurance as DME, not our prescription drug plan. So, we have to wait weeks for reimbursement. I found Target is the cheapest. I make at least a weekly trip for my strips and lancets, toss them on the check out counter and watch the cashiers eyes pop out when the total rings up.
The insurance company has in writing “Ask your pharmacist or DME supplier if he/she can sumit your claim to UHC. If your pharmacy or DME can do this, your claims should be processed without complication.”
I tried pharmacies, discount stores like Target & Walmart, Hospital pharmacies, independent pharmacies, mail order pharmacies and NO ONE will do this if you are not on medicare. Not even Animas will when they will bill the insurance company for all my other supplies. So at any given time I have hundreds of dollars in limbo waiting for reimbursement.
The good thing is, so far, no question about how many I am buying.
Anyone else out there have a similar situation and have found a better way of purchasing them and getting reimbursed?
Hi All,
It’s all about having peace of mind, especially when sleeping. I test 20+ times per day, with or without the cgm. I’ve been totally, absolutely, hypo-unaware for about 8 years. It doesn’t make any difference how high I go and stay there for awhile, no signals have returned, period. I stopped driving for 3 or 4 years, once I figured out what was wrong. When I did start driving again, (after getting the navi), I still would test every 15 or 20 minutes, due to lag time on cgm.
In addition to certain antibiotics, BP meds, that can, will, or mask hypos, I was born with a diabetic autoimmune kidney disease. Damaged kidneys cannot filter out all of the insulin, and has caused many a hypo for me. I’ve posted the article numerous times on the ADA forum, and verified it with my nephrologist, as well. One night a couple of years ago, I went into a diabetic hypoglycemic coma. When one is lying down, and has all this extra insulin floating through the system, a hypo from this can and does happen at any time. If my kidneys are not acting up, the hypos are fewer. One BP med was causing hypos as well, and since stopping that particular one, my hypos have also slowed down. Getting the right basal doses is also a big help.
But…even with the cgm, and testing as much as I do, there is never enough peace of mind for me. My doctor is great, and he totally gets why I need 600 strips monthly, and he really gets the peace of mind part. With his letter of medical necessity and my letter showing when and why on the strips, the insurance doesn’t say a word.
I can be spacier than heck at 26, almost on the floor with a “LO”, or almost fully functionable with a “LO”. Having said all of this, I also do not know when I’m high or “HI”.
Trisha
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DX July 1984 IDDM (=250.01=Type 1) ~ member since 2/15/2011 on TuDiabetes
NEVER DOUBT the power of Diabetes OR the power of diabetics >>>my ADA blog
~ Born with IgA Nephropathy (= a diabetic autoimmune kidney disease)
~ Retired Trauma Radiographer (Level II trauma centers)
~ First light brings a new day, new hope, new wisdom, and a chance to start fresh again - PAL (me)
~ He is most powerful who has power over himself -Seneca
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