Without insurance, blood glucose test strips cost $40 for 25. I test myself 8 times a day. That's nearly $5k/yr right there. It is really expensive... Thank God for health insurance
If before using a strip you make a prediction how accurate is it? I only ask because I know diabetics who say my blood sugar is low/high but I am guessing that's not enough information in your case?
Edit: I also know a diabetic that went blind, it's a serious disease and I am all for staying on top of it. I am simply curious in this case.
Not a diabetic, but I interact with folks who are on a regular basis.
You know if you are getting into extreme territory (up to a point... eventually the confusion that comes from hypo/hyperglycemia means you won't be aware of it).
The danger of diabetes is that you can end up perpetually a little high, which is what causes all the nasty osmotic side effects (blindness, slow healing (leading to infection and amputation), etc...). You won't be able to know that without testing.
For many diabetics, the amount of insulin they inject depends on their blood sugar. There's no way you could 'sense' it to the level necessary to control dosing.
You generally always have a running estimate in your head, "I ate two tacos, took three units of Humolog, needed to correct down an extra 50 points with the extra unit (because I undershot last meal), etc."
But there are factors that you have a more difficult time predicting your levels with, like exercise, illness, the type of carb your eating (some carbs take longer than others to hit your system, but if you treat all the same, you insulin will hit you faster than your carbs and you're now hypoglycemic).
Truly staying on top of your numbers and this disease means constantly checking. You can always make a guess, but when the risk of serious short-term and long-term complications hang in the balance, you tend to want to know for sure.
