How Frequently Should You Test?

I AM A TYPE 2 AND HAVE CONTROLLED MY BS FOR 10 YRS... NOW... I CAN ONLY TEST ONCE A DAY! MY SUGAR IS WAY OUT OF CONTROL AND I AM BEING FORCED TO TAKE MEDS I DONT WANT... GOVERNMENT IN OUR HEALTH CARE HAS CAUSED ME MANY PROBLEMS. THEY CARE ABOUT THE $$$ NOT ABOUT MY LIFE. THIS IS SO STRESSFUL... I HAVE TO NOW RECORD AND SEND MEDICARE ALL MY BS READINGS TO ADD MORE STRESS. ANYONE ELSE COMPLAINING TO THERE CONGRESSMEN? SENATORS?

 

 

David’s response:

 

If you know how to deal with Medicare, LadyDi, you can avoid all those hastles. Medicare does generally limit you to paying for just one test strip per day, unless you use insulin. But if you know how to deal with them, you can get around that limitation. Please see my Medicare article. But I am most conerned about your statements that Medicare is forcing you to take unwanted medication and also report your blood glucose levels to them. My wife and I are also on Medicare and certainly have not had the experience and have never heard that anyone else has. I suspect that you have a miscommunication with your doctor or that your doctor has a miscommunication with Medicare that you need to straighten out.

I haven't heard of having to report blood sugars to Medicare? Is this going through your doctor?

I am prediabetic, and I test. I do a fasting test every morning, and I test my reaction to various meals and foods. I have found it to be extremely helpful in figuring out what works to keep my blood glucose down. I do have to get the test strips from a diabetic friend who has good insurance and gets more than she needs. My insurance will not cover test strips for me, but I am hoping that testing helps me avoid diabetes. David's Response: You are doing better at testing than many people who have diabetes, Laura! Keep it up, and you probably will never get it.

To me, the reason we have so many diabetics on meds is because thats what insurance will pay for. If they paid for strips so D+E's could test as needed and self manage, the drug companies would have a problem.