Thanx Laura, I will have to go get some.
Urinating on strips? wow, we really have come far in our technology…
They put me on Levemir in 2 shots of 7 units each. I’m currently taking just one though.
IN a sandwich?
I just made a call to my GP, and I’m awaiting a return call. Thanks for the suggestion.
I’m also now considering the Novolog. Just checked BG before a late lunch to see a 285?. Clean finger and test again…291. Think my meter is screwy.
Infuriating indeed!
I will have to see if there is a nurse line. Absolutely nothing could hurt!
Thanks Gerri.
actually This can be true. Especially if you have something on your fingers. DD does this all the time. It is best to use Alcohol to get them all the way clean. It does change the results. Plus I have seen on here that people get different readings from different fingers.
Yeah - I agree with the above. You shouldn’t be using insulin without enough strips to test multiple times a day. But you need insulin so it’s a crap catch-22. Beg the GP for a test strip script that says “test 8 times a day” or “test upon waking, before each meal, 2 hours after each meal and at bedtime”. I will also note that GP offices are notorious for not calling you back until you’ve called them 5 or 6 times in a day.
Just FYI so you can see what other people’s experiences are, one unit of rapid-acting (I take Apidra which might be a touch faster than Novolog, but they’re both rapid-acting) will drop me 75 points. I also use one unit of Apidra for every 20 grams of carbohydrates I eat. Oh, but I pump so these are different than they were when I was on injections (I think it was 50 and 15 respectively). I was also on a morning dose of 5 units of levemir (same as Lantus) and an evening dose of 7 units.
Also - I hope you now realize gummy bears are a thing of the past. I was a candy freak and have basically had to give it up. Unless I have a low blood sugar - then I get to shove candy in my face for medical reasons.
Ask for a script to test 10x day. Better to have more! If your GP won’t do this, though she should & I’d change docs if she doesn’t, call the hospital to get another Rx.
One thing when testing in case you weren’t told (I wasn’t), wipe away the first drop of blood because it contains skin tissue & use the second drop to test.
Did you take any basal today?
Other things besides food effect BG–stress, hormones, infection, exercise. How long between meals can also effect it. You could eat nothing at all & see high numbers,
Sorry, but don’t use alcohol. Soap & water is all that’s needed & make sure your fingers are very dry. All alcohol does is dry your skin out. It doesn’t even disinfect.
Yea, one unit of Novalog will only drop me 20 points
LOL medical reasons… it’s all medicine, baby!
All good things to know, albeit a lot of things too.
Still waiting for a call, but if they don’t call by 4, I’m calling back.
I did take my basal, but it was last night. I still think my meter is screwy, especially since I went for a long walk during my lunch break . I’m pretty sure exercise is supposed to lower your blood sugar. My meter is totally lying to me.
Last night doesn’t count. It’s all gone now. Take your basal in two doses, like they told you–first thing in the morning & right before bed, Sorry, but that’s why your numbers are high. Two endos & a CDE have told me that the basal taken at night gets used up faster & tends to last about 8 hours. I’ve found this to be true.
BG responds to exercise in different ways. I took a strenuous walk–huge hills where I live. When I got home, my BG was 75 pts higher!
Stress is a major culprit & no doubt you’re very stressed by this & who wouldn’t be!
Go to the Accu Chek web site & order a free meter. Comes with 60 free strips. Always good to have a back-up meter. Different meters give different readings (often 20 pts different), but it’s good to check with different ones when you think the meter’s wacked.
When you go to your endo, ask for free samples. They always have strips & vials of insulin, but you have to ask.
If you don’t get results from your GP & the hospital gives you any grief, ask to speak to the hospital administrator. Learned the hard way this is the only way to get action.
The urine strips only work for me if the sugar is sky high. Good idea to start with 7 units and increase by a unit per day and see what happens.
GP called back with a new script for 8x a day but the insurance won’t fill it til next month. Jeez. Honestly, I think I will be fine with what I have left. I’m pretty sure I’m making a mountain out of a mole hill. I can be a little dramatic sometimes.
I also checked out the Accu Check offer and hopefully I’ll get that in 4 to 6 weeks. Thanks for the heads up. I didn’t think anyone gave away anything anymore. Although I did get my Freestyle Lite free with 10 strips, but I’m pretty sure they billed my insurance company twice what they are worth.
I had the same problem, but it was for syringes. Nowhere as expensive as strips. Insurance co didn’t want to accept the new Rx, but I made a fuss & my pharmacist said it was ok & that a new Rx over-rode the old one. Try raising some hell. You need to test often & can’t be hampered by having to dole them out.
I got my Accu Chek is about 2 weeks, so hoping yours arrives as quickly.
There are often free offers for meters. They’re making a fortune off the damn strips, so nothing for them to give away a meter hoping we’ll be their new customers. I asked my internist for free strips. He didn’t have any, but he had boxes of free meters. Sure, give me one!
If you like the freestyle meter, definitely sign up for their freestyle promise program. Knocks up to $50 off your co-pay amount EVERY month for your strips Rx. I use it and get my 400 strips every month for under $25. Can’t recommend it enough!
Also, One Touch will generally send you their new meter for nothing with 10 strips. Every little bit helps.
You know, if you had a dosage change (ie use more strips now) they pretty much have to cover it, there are state and federal regulations that cover that… you may need to give them a call to “explain” that too them, but a keeping a calm, but firm demeanor will usually get it done…
Make sure you get the coupons Melissa mentioned…
and your meter is probably not screwy… remember the denial, keep up the good work
You’re getting it done!
Veronica, See your doctor and DEMAND that they write you a script for 10 times a day, at least for the first month so you can identify how your body is responding to insulin and can refine the dosage ratios given, and most insurance companies will gladly cover this quantity for a newly-diagnosed patient. 3x/day is inadequate, at the very least you should test before each meal (that alone is 3x/day), and about 3 hours post-meal, plus ANY time you get behind the wheel of an auto (that is usually 2x/day). Using this computation, this amounts to 8x/day for a normal patient who uses insulin. Some days you will test more, others less, but on average, a script for 3x/day is really not sufficient to possibly manage diabetes effectively. Just IMHO.
Dear Veronica.
Exercise less than 1 hour will most likely raise your blood sugar. I remember being shocked at this fact in the beggining. This is because exercise raises adrenaline and cortisol which raise BG. Your meter is good.
Exercise still good for you in spite of this annoying detail.
Hey Sweetie: I’ve been reading through all the comments before and after my first comment. You’ve been given a LOT of good info and advice.
One important thing for you to remember … BE A PAIN IN THE ARSE if you have to. DEMAND that your GP give you interim instructions til you can see the endo. After all, you aren’t the endo’s patient YET. You are HER responsibility til then. And remind her of that. She should give you a simple sliding scale to tide you over if YOU give her the gist of what you have been going through without proper guidance. Most hospital ERs WON’T act like your doctor. They will not get specific to, like, supplying a sliding scale. They most likely only treat a “current situation.” I know this because my pharmacy screwed up with my insulin strength and sent me Humulin RU-100, not 500! When I went to change the reservoir on my pump, I couldn’t do it because I was set up for a different strength. So I went without. The next day I fell and the fire dept. had to come out to pick me up! In the process, they insisted that I test my sugars (because they know me) and they were over 500!!! Right then, even though I hadn’t hurt myself seriously from the fall, they INSISTED I go to the ER. The doc there had to give me other insulin to bring me down because they didn’t have the Humulin U500. They wouldn’t even send me home with anything because they wouldn’t treat for the “future,” just the now. I don’t understand since they will send people home with pain pills, etc. Maybe it has to do with insulin??? I was without insulin for two whole days!
I’m glad to see that you got a new script for strips and, yes, have your pharmacist call the insurance company (or drug handler) with an explanation of the situation. I get the feeling that he/she didn’t know of your travails.???
STOP DENYING to your last breath. You’re one of the club now so get used to us poking you (wherever) to get you doing and accepting! I think I can say for most of us … we won’t let you go without a big fat fight!!! WE LOVE YOU and want you with us in a healthy manner.
FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT! And, for a real laugh, visit the site on Home Page about the Beatles. You’ll get hysterically funny laughs! Scott has submitted a few for that site and you know what I nut he is!!! – No offense, Scott. You know I love you!!!
Lois La Rose, Milwaukee, WI
ok first off, your simply in your “honeymoon” stage now.
the honeymoon stage normally comes right after diagnosis and right after you start your treatments. your sugars will seem to always be “perfect” or even like you said low. but please DO NOT STOP TAKING UR DAMN INSULIN.
i just spent a week in the ICU after thanksgiving because i really messed up and just checked my sugar saw it was low and then pigged out and didnt even take a half dose to keep it good.
it is so easy for you to think “hey my sugars low i can eat a bit more and then not worry about my insulin” well that is the completely wrong thought.
what you can do is instead of taking the full dose your set on…(i don’t know what type of insulin your on so i can’t really tell you how to do it) take only half or 2/3rds of what ur suppose to. because until you see ur endo and start keeping a decent enough log of ur sugars and carbs they wont be able to set ur doses to what ur body needs.
i’ve been on 4 different insulins since i was Dx’d in may 03’ and thats simply because diferent insulins work different ways.
if your one who likes to eat a LOT of food on some days and maybe a little food on others then possibly ask your doctor about switching to Novolog. It uses a scale and compares your BG to the amount of crbs you eat and then sets ur dose. so its alot more flexible. that way the 12 packs of smarties doesn’t land you in the ER because you go into Diabetic keyto-acidosis. which is what they were meaning by keytones.
Keytones basically is a way of your body producing more sugar than it really needs and if it produces enough then you will either end up dead or in coma. When i was Dx’d my blood sugar was 690. My ER doctor told me that if i was to have waited another day the keytones would have put me into coma. (now mind you telling a 13 yr old girl that is like telling her that her fav boy band is breaking up) and well since then i have done tons of research on it and i even went and bought a few books on diabetes.
so please don’t stop taking ur insulin. diabetes isn’t a disease as the doctors like to say, its just another step you have to take in your life. and its extremely easy to control when you have the mind set to…