Although the vast majority of the time I blog about topics related to diabetes in general – for people with all types of diabetes – today I’m focusing on type 1 diabetes (autoimmune diabetes). I am trying to catch up on my diabetes articles, and I just came across one from December 24th (ok, so I’m still a little behind) that discussed the new American Diabetes Association Standards of Medical Care for Diabetes.
One of things the new standards focus on is blood glucose monitoring (BGM) in patients with type 1 diabetes. It’s about time! The recommendation for type 1 and BGM has been “3 to 4 times a day” for as long as I can remember, yet reality is we often check far more than that. I certainly do. I check before meals, after meals (not all the time, but when I want to see what’s going on), before exercise, sometimes before driving, during/after exercise, when I feel low or high, when I’m sick, and so on.
I recently came very close to running out of strips, and realized that my prescription was not enough for the amount I check. At my endocrinologist (diabetes physician) visit last week I had them increase the number of strips in my 3-month prescription, and hopefully that will cover it. But it felt good to see that the American Diabetes Association supports (and put in writing) what we are actually doing, and what will help us make more informed choices and stay healthier in the long-run. Now if they would just stop using the word “test.”
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Master of Science in Diabetes Education and Management
Yes, overall I was pleased to see the ADA addressing these Type 1 issues more specifically than they usually have in the past. Particularly the BG-checking amount, which has always been so off from reality. When Wil Dubois wrote that post for us over at DiabetesMine recently, that was a nugget I was the most excited about. Finally, was what I kept saying! Now, hopefully insurance companies start taking notice of those ADA standards and revising how they try to limit test strips… (not holding my breath, but who knows…) Thanks for this post, Jane.
Timely comment, Mike. I just got off the phone with my prescription company, after having received fewer strips than were ordered – because they have limits. I think I may need extra insulin after that conversation. UGH. I, too, hope insurance reads and makes changes based on these new standards. I hope you are doing well and getting enough strips.
I, too, am glad to see some changes being made. Like you and Mike have said, it may take some time to trickle down. But hopefully we won’t be so crippled by the number of strips we’re allowed to use.