Chem strips to check your sugar levels, went to the pharmacist, they don't have
By writersedge
@writersedge (22563)
United States
May 12, 2010 7:15am CST
the old kind any more. You would put a drop of blood on, wait for some time, wipe it off, and then compare it to the colors on the container. My Doctor, because I'm fat, wants me to constantly have my sugar tested. Ok, so both my parents had it, too. Blood tests are an $80 co-pay on my insurance. I can't afford that every money or every other month or even every quarter. So I was going to buy the old fashioned ones. You have to buy the new ones and a machine.
That would have been a lot cheaper. I know it's not as exact because it provided a range, but it would make things more affordable for me.
Have you noticed any changes that cost you more? Have you noticed any changes that cost you less? It can be anything that has to do with healthcare.
3 responses
@bdugas (3577)
• United States
13 May 10
hey send me a private message and I will send you one of the new meters that I had and upgraded to a different one. It is one of the latest ones so the test strips I think are around $30. my insurance pays for mine, but hey if I can find it you can have it, if it would help. at least you won't have to buy the meter I think I still have it not positive but I will look.
2 people like this
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
14 May 10
Thanks, but I don't want meters.
I just want the old strips with the charts on the containers. But it doesn't matter, he'll (the doctor will) still want me to do a fasting blood sugar at a lab. My brothers are getting so the fasting blood sugars are almost killing them. Their sugars drop too low for that. They have to eat or cut back on their insulin. I can't see why our taking our own sugar isn't good enough.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163772)
• Garden Grove, California
15 May 10
hi writersedge I did not know you are a diabetic too. I am also and i am here in the US and I am on medicare and Secure Horizons i am 83 and my testing materials and my glucometer are all paid for by my insurance and medicare too. do you have any help like that where you are? I get enough strips to test four times a day, and if I run out before they are due to be shipped to me each month I have to pay for my own strips which are very expensive, more than a dollar per strip. i started out years ago with the old chem strips but they were far from accurate.now we use strips in a glucose meter, the meters you can get a good deal on but the strip;s are v ery expensive if you do not have some type of insurance.Can you get in touch with the AmericanDiabetesAssociation.com as they sometimes have ways to help people get testing materials. let me do some searching and will come back.
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
15 May 10
It turns out that I'm being watched because hctz and labetalol plus my being fat can cause glucose problems. I have another discussion because of that. I'm not diabetic;therefore, I qualify for nothing. I keep coming up with perfict 90 to 100 fasting blood sugar scores.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163772)
• Garden Grove, California
15 May 10
before you rake your doctor over the coals too much know this that being overweight will eventually led to diabetes as the fat cells interfere with the insulin carrying sugar to the cells in your muscles and will lead to your blood being filled with sugar which will affect your whole body and in bad ways. so get the weight off or you will be a diabetic trust me as I did not know this until I was diagnosed with full blown diabetes. once you get the weight off you will probably never need any medication at all.
@Hatley (163772)
• Garden Grove, California
15 May 10
Hi I do understand. oh my I do wish I had that perfect 90 to 100.when I was first diagnosed with diabetes they set the point for being diabetic at 125 now I guess its been lowered to 100 a s there are so many overweight people who have diabetes and do not even knowit. but I do know extra weight is really causing people to contract diabetes .so it behooves people to do something about being overweight.its so hard to lose weight too the older one gets. I do not know what labetalol is so will research that, good luck glad you have good numbers there.
@celticeagle (190127)
• Boise, Idaho
12 May 10
Yes, my new cell phone. My granddaughter keeps wanting to play on it and I am charged for everything. I hope to find a better plan soon but until then this is rediculous. (So is she for that matter. Young ones now days don't realize what things cost or care.)
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
13 May 10
Oh I know. They can make $100 worth of calls in no time.
2 people like this
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
13 May 10
Eeeek!
I have a pre-pay. If I had a kid, s/he would get a pre-pay phone (only ones that work up here anyway) and have to get a paper route or something to pre-pay it him or herself.
1 person likes this
