OT: No more pricks.

[ems]

Do political threads have their own politics, or just their own politicians?

Is disagreeing with the value of political threads a political stance in and of itself?

Does anyone disagree with the notion that we should only discuss what we agree on?

If most people would vote to get rid of all politicians, what would they then call the people who acted on their vote?

Is politics really just another form of religion, and if so, how should people keep it separate from itself?

I hadn't noticed that there were ever any political threads in this forum, myself.

And what's the good of being a kid if you can't gross out schoolmates?

I only have questions. No answers.

One of the better posts on this forum. Enjoyed it immensely!

[2 B Sleeping Soundly]

This thread seems to be going the way of the toilet paper thread.

I could only hope . To me that was a very enjoyable thread with a good mix of wit and humor! You could say, it really wiped out the competing threads on the forum

John

[johnthomasmacdonald]

my wife's best friend lives in Germany and has type 1 diabetes. I can contact her and ask her how's it going and would it be difficult to order one to be sent to the USA. I know she HATES the endless finger pricks so she'll be getting one

[chunkyfrog]

I am delighted with all your responses.
This was more fun than I expected.

[idamtnboy]

Do political threads have their own politics, or just their own politicians?

Is disagreeing with the value of political threads a political stance in and of itself?

Does anyone disagree with the notion that we should only discuss what we agree on?

If most people would vote to get rid of all politicians, what would they then call the people who acted on their vote?

Is politics really just another form of religion, and if so, how should people keep it separate from itself?

I hadn't noticed that there were ever any political threads in this forum, myself.

And what's the good of being a kid if you can't gross out schoolmates?

I only have questions. No answers.

One of the better posts on this forum. Enjoyed it immensely!

I was tempted to come up with some pricky ass answers just to prick some attitudes but the idea of being a prick just pricked my conscience too pricking much so I'll just wait till morning and prick my finger as usual!

[49er]

Do political threads have their own politics, or just their own politicians?

Is disagreeing with the value of political threads a political stance in and of itself?

Does anyone disagree with the notion that we should only discuss what we agree on?

If most people would vote to get rid of all politicians, what would they then call the people who acted on their vote?

Is politics really just another form of religion, and if so, how should people keep it separate from itself?

I hadn't noticed that there were ever any political threads in this forum, myself.

And what's the good of being a kid if you can't gross out schoolmates?

I only have questions. No answers.

One of the better posts on this forum. Enjoyed it immensely!

I was tempted to come up with some pricky ass answers just to prick some attitudes but the idea of being a prick just pricked my conscience too pricking much so I'll just wait till morning and prick my finger as usual!

49er

[zoocrewphoto]

Hopefully, the accuracy will be useful for T1's who need to test multiple times.
Also pediatric, and brittle cases.

What are T1s and who typically needs to test more often?

I ask because my mom was diagnosed a couple years ago, and she was originally told to test 3 times a day. Then, last summer, the mail order place only sent her a one month supply. After over a month of phone calls, the doctor faxing the prescription multiple times, etc, the place told her that she is only authorized to test once a day and what they sent her was supposed to last 3 months. AT that point, she had gone a month without testing and had to wait another month before she could get more strips.

She now doesn't test if she thinks she feels okay as she is trying to save the strips for when she feels bad. This seems totally wrong, but we can't seem to convince anybody that she needs enough strips to test more than once as well as cover the occasional mistake where there isn't enough blood and the strip is wasted. She also has a 2 week trip coming up, and when traveling, meals are different, so she needs to test more often.

She has changed doctors since this fiasco. Not because of it. The first doctor retired at the end of the year. So, she has been to the new doctor once. I haven't asked her, but I assume she would have complained about this to the new doctor.

She will be changing primary doctors soon too. Our old doctor closed her private practice and joined a large group. It is much less personal and further away, so we are looking for a new doctor.

I'm wondering if there is something we can do to get a higher number of strips prescribed. She is not using insulin, but she does have a prescription medication, and she used to test every night to determine whether she should eat a snack before bed or skip it. Now, she usually guesses.

[chunkyfrog]

"T1" = Type one diabetes; 100% insulin dependent; once called juvenile diabetes.
Most cases are diagnosed early, or after something has killed the pancreas (at any age).
My MIL was in her 40's.
If your mother needs to test more than once a day, her doctor needs to submit a letter of medical necessity.
to assure she can get an adequate supply.
If he knows she had to go without testing for 2 months, it might be enough to shock him enough to work fast.

[Suzannaor]

Hopefully, the accuracy will be useful for T1's who need to test multiple times.
Also pediatric, and brittle cases.

What are T1s and who typically needs to test more often?

I ask because my mom was diagnosed a couple years ago, and she was originally told to test 3 times a day. Then, last summer, the mail order place only sent her a one month supply. After over a month of phone calls, the doctor faxing the prescription multiple times, etc, the place told her that she is only authorized to test once a day and what they sent her was supposed to last 3 months. AT that point, she had gone a month without testing and had to wait another month before she could get more strips.

She now doesn't test if she thinks she feels okay as she is trying to save the strips for when she feels bad. This seems totally wrong, but we can't seem to convince anybody that she needs enough strips to test more than once as well as cover the occasional mistake where there isn't enough blood and the strip is wasted. She also has a 2 week trip coming up, and when traveling, meals are different, so she needs to test more often.

She has changed doctors since this fiasco. Not because of it. The first doctor retired at the end of the year. So, she has been to the new doctor once. I haven't asked her, but I assume she would have complained about this to the new doctor.

She will be changing primary doctors soon too. Our old doctor closed her private practice and joined a large group. It is much less personal and further away, so we are looking for a new doctor.

I'm wondering if there is something we can do to get a higher number of strips prescribed. She is not using insulin, but she does have a prescription medication, and she used to test every night to determine whether she should eat a snack before bed or skip it. Now, she usually guesses.

In my HMO Type 2's are allowed 100 strips a month, and Type 1's are allowed 150, according to Medicare standards. However, you need to test more often as a Type 1 and in order to get more strips my doctor wrote a special order to the Kaiser Permanente pharmacy and I now get 250 a month. Your mother definitely needs to inform her new doctor about the restriction of 100 strips for 3 months. That is ridiculous. You can't keep good control of your diabetes only testing once a day. In the long run complications that set in will be far more costly to the insurance company than a few strips each month! Please ask your mother to talk with your doctor who can work with the insurance company to see she gets what she needs.

[idamtnboy]

She is not using insulin, but she does have a prescription medication, and she used to test every night to determine whether she should eat a snack before bed or skip it. Now, she usually guesses.

That's the rub. If she is not hypoglycemic, i.e., suffering from low blood sugar, then testing once a day in the morning is the usual routine. That's because the pancreas and liver functions are best judged after several hours of fasting, like after sleeping. Also, for ordinary diabetics testing multiple times during the day does not give reliable measures of control because BG naturally goes up and down significantly during the day, and that variation depends on the food one has eaten, the quantity of it, and rate of the pancreatic response. For ordinary diabetics the most accurate measure of BG control is the quarterly lab test for A1c. That number is an average of the BG levels experienced during the day.

Oral medications do not affect BG and insulin levels on a quick response scenario like insulin injections do. Is your mother prone to low BG levels, i.e., below 70? If so, then I can see why she might need to test multiple times. But if she is not, then her BG levels are going to mostly fluctuate upwards, which has minimal impact on an instantaneous basis unless it goes extremely high, like probably 500+. But if that was her case she probably would not just be on oral meds.

If you haven't already, do a Google search for diabetes, blood glucose level, and insulin. You'll get quite an education that can be totally bewildering, contradictory, and informative.

I really don't know why her doctor would have told her to test 3 times a day. It doesn't make sense unless there is something really extraordinary with her situation. I believe she would be far better off to test 1x per day, in the morning right after getting up, for the entire 90 days, not 3x for 30 days.