Re: Most diabetics?
"Here in Australia, [...]"
In England the "National Institute for Health and Care Excellence" (NICE) advises the NHS on the cost effectiveness of particular prescribed treatments. It has apparently recommended that free glucose test strips are not essential for most Diabetes Type 2 patients.
I do occasional spot tests before all three meals on a selected day - and possibly also two hours after. I have found there is a definite correlation between the trend in those readings and my six-monthly Hba1c.
The spot results for any one meal are very unpredictable - even for apparently identical ingredients. I once forgot my lunchtime Metformin - but still did the spot check after 2 hours to see the difference it made. The result was a surprisingly low "5.0" - no worse than other tests after the same regular lunch with Metformin.
If I relied on just the twice a year Hba1c result I would have little idea which particular adjustment to my lifestyle was making a difference either way.
The Freestyle Libre seems like a convenient way to do a 14 day check once in a while. That would allow the GI effects of various meals to be assessed and adjusted. Trying to approximate that coverage by a series of test strip spot checks every 15 minutes after a meal would be more expensive - and probably pincushion painful.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
