Is this doctor trying to screw me? Or am I wrong?

[Stingray]

I wanted to get a physical done. So I looked up a doctor on my insurance plan and went to him for one. Well it turns out that I had high blood glucose. So he wrote me another test and that too came back with high levels of sugar while fasting. So he diagnosed me as being a diabetic. He told me to get a blood glucose meter and start testing myself. Well the first thing I did was to go online to find out how many times to check myself in a day. Everywhere I went I got the impression that people check themselves 5 -6 times a day in the beginning to find out how different foods are affecting the their bodies.
So I took this information to my doctor and asked him to prescribe me testing supplies for 6 times a day of testing as my insurance would cover all of it. He says NO! He wants me to check just once a day and would only write me a prescription for 100 strips and lancets at a time. He says that I could test more but and if I run out of supplies, then to come back to him and get another prescription for a 100. He calls that a “follow up”. I off course would have to pay the co pay to him. At this pace I would have to go to him every 10 days. Is this doctor trying to screw me?

[notme]

Some doctors are very stingy with the Rx for strips. I don't know why they wouldn't want a patient to check more rather than less. I find it ridiculous that this doctor would want you to come back for strips, but it could be his way of making sure you come back altogether. Once a day is not enough is my opinion. Bare minimum, you should test once in the morning, once before lunch, once before dinner and at bedtime. Two hours after a meal could be helpful information for your doctor as well.

What was your fasting blood glucose? What was your lab blood glucose?

[Stingray]

Hey Nancy....
It was 138 the first time.... and 129 the second time around....
Both were while fasting.... 20 days apart....
Like today i checked before lunch and I was @ 158....
I am seriously thinking about changing doctors...

[notme]

I have to agree with you Stingray. I don't know if the doctor you saw was your primary care , but generally they tend to be less aggressive with diabetes care. You have a right to change doctors and I certainly would look for a different doctor. If you can't get a referral to and endocrinologist, then look for a internal medicine doctor as your primary care doctor. You should be testing more in my opinion.

[partvalentine]

I too don't understand why your doctor won't prescribe you more strips. My doctor has never refused to give me more if it will help me get my numbers down. I think I would look for a new doctor also. I test a min of 4 times a day. I like to test more if I can, or if I add a new food to my list of foods, that way I can figure out what kinds of food do what to me.

[Penny]

I'm not sure it is the doctors who don't want to prescribe the strips.....mine will let me have as many as I need. I think it is the insurance companies who give the doctors a hard time. I have to keep proving to the insurance that I need to test, my doctor is pleased with the progress I am making testing more. If you are willing to pay for them, you can buy as many strips as you want. Try just caling your doctor's office and asking them to call in a prescription, every time you run out. Maybe he will get tired of it and give you more. After all, you need to see him to get medications, so he knows you are coming back.

[mho357]

I vote for a new doctor.

It sounds like you don't have a long history with this one so why stick around? This one doesn't seem to interested in you managing your BG.

Mark

[owlyn]

You are right on. Time for a new doctor.

[MJB]

Ditto. Time for a new doc.

[tanyatype1]

I test 8-10 times a day and I've never had any restrictions on the amount of supplies that I need. New doc time!

[xMenace]

Canada is of course more liberal. Knowing what I know, there should be an unlimited supply.

[Merry]

That is not reasonable to my way of thinking, based on my own experience. Maybe my doctor was more willing to prescribe because my blood sugar was a lot higher than yours when I was diagnosed, or because I have good insurance. :confused:

I have always tested as much as I feel like I need to. Normally a couple of times a day, unless I get a high reading. Then I test every hour or so, to see what is going on, until I get it down. That happens if I am sick, or miss my dosage, or indulge myself, but there's always a reason for it.

At first, after he diagnosed me, when he was trying to stabilize my glucose level and get the meds right, I was testing several times a day, and he made me come in several times a week for a few weeks. I was in there a lot at first. I would walk around the block between meds and sometimes it would dip and I had to take a glucose tablet. That was only at first until they got it level.

You may need to talk to him and ask why, or else go to a diabetes specialist, even if you have to get a referral from your primary physician. You are not going to be able to be in control unless you know what is going on in your own blood stream. You are the only person who is boss of your own body, not the docs. Find one that will listen and talk to you.

Most insurance companies pay for diabetes classes, and these are really great.

[Stingray]

See guys…. It’s all about how much hit my pocket is going to take. Let me explain.... Testing 6 times a day, 100 strips will last me 16 days...

Doctor office visit every 16 days : $20.00 Co-Pay
Walgreens 100 strips : $40.00 Co-Pay

Cost over 3 months: $360.00

My Insurance company has a mail order program that will send me a 3 months’ supply (600 strips) for $25.00! Only if my doctor would write me a prescription that I test 6 times a day!

Oh, I just checked that this doctor charges $150 for every office visit to my insurance company.

[gettingby]

Hi Stingray and Welcome.:)
Something sounds awfully fishy to me. I would think hard about finding another doctor, if you can.
Do you have a WalMart near by? If you do, they sell a monitor that runs about $9-$10 and the strips are around $42 for 100. That may help you since your doctor refuses to prescribe more.

[volleyball]

Doctors have a business just like anybody else. The oil change places say you got to change your oil every 3000 mile. You owner manual says usually 5000 to 10000 miles. Doesn't mean it won't be a good idea to do it at 3000 miles if you want your machine to last a long time.
The doc sounds like you have not been seeing them often. They want to monitor you and get their money. If you go elsewhere, you'll probably run into the same thing.
Paying the copay is less than buying the strips out of pocket so you are on the better end of the deal. I say stick it out for a few visits and if you have it under control, demand a lot of strips or say you will move on.

[shockme]

definitely time for a new doc! trish

[notme]

Wow....I should have been a doctor. This guy is making $600.00 an hour if he spends even fifteen minutes with you. This is assuming the insurance company is paying the $150.00 he bills for from your visit.

I say find a new doctor who specialized in diabetes. This guy has figured out a racket.

[slipperyelm]

Usually you do not need to go back and have an office visit with the doctor in order to get the prescription renewed if it is a prescription that has no effect on body chemistry---like blood glucose test strips.

If I need a new prescription for test strips, I just call the doctor's office and leave a message explaining what I need. When the doctor gets some time during the day to make pharmacy phone calls or faxes, he will send the new prescription directly to my pharmacy.

Even my pharmacy will make the phone call to the doctor's office if I want them to. As a matter of fact, today I need to get my test strip prescription written differently for "bookkeeping" purposes for the pharmacy, and the pharmacists offered to contact the MD for me.

I suggest you phone your doctor's office and talk to the staff to see if it is possible to get the prescription renewed without coming in. Tell them it is for test strips, as for some other things a person does need to have an office visit to get a prescription renewed.

Go ahead and use as many strips as you need, then tell the doctor you need more. What is s/he going to do---say, "No, you can't test for the next two weeks 'cause you used up your strips?" I don't think so.

[princesslinda]

I would suggest you call your insurance company and find out how many strips they will pay for monthly. My insurance pays for 100 strips every 25 days....unless i'm on insulin.

At diagnosis, the doc told me to only check once daily (fasting)....like you, I read and found I needed to check more. I called and told him I was checking 4-5 times a day and needed more strips. He then changed it to 100 every 25 days, which is the maximum my insurance allows. I have an inexpensive meter from Walmart at home that I use as a back up if I run out before I can get another prescription for the strips.

[kgm0612]

Either find a new doctor (endo) or demand to the one you're seeing that you want him to write an Rx for more strips because it's too much of an inconvenience for you to keep going back to the office!

Karen