Re: Digest Number 967

[Guest guest]

I am just flabbergasted by this! How can they say that you are diabetic,

but you don't need to monitor your condition? Don't they understand that by

denying you this (inexpensive) tool, they are setting themselves up for much

larger bills down the road in the way of eye problems, amputations, etc.?!

Some people (insurance companies in particular) always seem to look at the

short run.

Robin G.

(unpopping my eyes and lifting my jaw up off the floor)

>

>e) The health insurances here in Germany have decided to stop paying

>for test strips for all non-insulin-dependent diabetics. Diabetes is

>starting to bankrupt them (or so they say) and they claim that

>diabetics who are not using insulin do not NEED to measure BG. If

>testing is the only way they can stick to their medication, exercise

>and dieting then that is a luxury and they can pay for it themselves!

>That's about US$100 total extra expense a month for the two of us.

>

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[Guest guest]

Tootie

> I was just checking my messages and wanted

> to see if there was anything from .

> If I'm not mistaken....he did mention something

> about taking a vacation. I hope that's why

> we haven't heard from him. I don't believe he

> would just leave us without a word.

No, I am still around Tootie. I just had to set my membership to web-

only for a while and then I didn't get around to checking my e-mail.

Since I have been spending so much time exercising, reading up on

diabetes and contributing to this list, I had to neglect a lot of

other things - I haven't yet found out how to get 28 hours out of

each day. Then a number of things happened:

a) My internist decided to start charging me for the sessions he

spent discussing diabetes with me (the equivalent of US$50 for every

20 minutes), back-dated to the middle of April 2000. He then decided

to lend me some of his books so that I could see which ones I wanted

to order (they all cost the equivalent of US$150-$200 each).

The first (big!) books I ordered arrived and I started reading

them. That is a matter of hours every day - I can't just knock off a

few chapters before sleeping, like I did with the $24 books. This is

serious stuff - quiet room, table light, note pad, sharpened pencils,

clear head ...

c) The first think I learnt from them was the seriousness of the

diabetic foot problem (geez, those pictures!) and it became obvious

that fitted shoes are the only way to go. Everybody needs fitted

shoes in fact, not just diabetics, but for us it is a matter of

keeping our legs. I eventually found a place with a computerized shoe

insert designer and my wife and I have ordered one pair of fitted

shoes each for the equivalent of around US$500 total (health

insurance won't pay) but it meant a lot of running around and I know

we are going to want another pair before the end of the year (one

black pair, one brown pair - we are old-fashioned!).

d) My weight loss program had gone completely aground - no real shift

downwards for over a month in spite of reducing my calories another

notch. So I decided to increase my session on the exercise bicycle

from 45 minutes to 60 minutes a day - that puts up my total exercise

time from 80 mins a day to 95. That extra 15 minutes had to come from

somewhere and it had to come out of my sitting-down-in-front-of-the-

computer time! It worked, though - my weight has started to fall

again at the same rate as before but I had to cut down on my list

time to do it.

e) The health insurances here in Germany have decided to stop paying

for test strips for all non-insulin-dependent diabetics. Diabetes is

starting to bankrupt them (or so they say) and they claim that

diabetics who are not using insulin do not NEED to measure BG. If

testing is the only way they can stick to their medication, exercise

and dieting then that is a luxury and they can pay for it themselves!

That's about US$100 total extra expense a month for the two of us.

f) My bank balance has taken a real hit over the last few months and

when I was asked to do a few extra translating jobs, I just couldn't

refuse. However, that meant cutting out the rest of my list time.

So that is why you didn't hear from me for a while, Tootie. Things

are now looking better and my bank balance is out of the red for now.

I am planning to upgrade one of my computers by fitting it with voice

control, putting it on a tall frame so that I can operate it standing

up and putting a stepper in front of it to let me do my e-mail while

exercising. When that is ready I will come back on again. In the

meantime, all the best to you and the others. I plan to go to the e-

groups site when I have time and read up the back mails.

Keep smiling, Tootie.