Hi, Thom...

 TL> Are you on medicare?  If so, there are several companies that will
 TL> supply your strips on a no charge basis.....once you've met the yearly
 TL> deductable, the strips don't cost you anything.

  Yes, I am...my Medicaid was removed just before my wife died of a massive
heart attack, 3 weeks shy of our 4th wedding anniversary in 2007...they
took away my SSI (saying I made too much with that and the disability), so
I lost the Medicaid part of it. 

 TL> If I were evauluating meters/strips I would ask the doctor how many
 TL> times a day I should monitor.....and then, I'd forget the size of the
 TL> meter, the convenience of no codings and make my choice based on the
 TL> cost of using the meter.

  I'm going back into my PCP in August, mainly to check the triglycerides
and cholesterol. The thing is...a diet to keep the cholesterol and the
triglycerides in check makes kidney stones...and vice versa. I'd rather
deal with a bit higher cholesterol and triglycerides than have the extreme
pain of kidney stones!! The "free items" will help...I've yet to
see the bills from 4 Emergency Room visits, the surgery, the
anesthesiologist, the ambulance, etc. -- they can keep them for all I care.
But, not even getting $1000 a month in disability, I'll have to set up a
payment plan. And, just going into the doctor still requires a Medicare
co-pay.

  My late wife was a type 1 diabetic, and I got word yesterday that her Mom
 was diagnosed of being a type 2 diabetic...and that'd be the type I'd be 
most likely to develop. I do prefer the strips that require no coding, 
though...and quip that I can write a batchfile, but my programming ends at
the digital clock on the microwave oven!! 

 TL> Right now, I measure my blood 4 to 8 times a day...and the strips,
 TL> since I am on medicare, cost me zip.

  If I was to develop diabetes (not that I'm wanting to), I'd hope it'd be
type 2...I just turned 50 this past spring. I did lose 15 pounds with the
kidney stone surgery (lack of eating)...but the worst part there is trying
to keep the pants from falling down!! 

 TL> The more often you measure, the more you learn about how your body
 TL> reacts to stuff...and lets you manage the diabetes better.

  I'll just continue testing once or maybe twice a week...the thing is, I
have to fast all night before testing first thing in the morning. But, I
usually wake up in the night from "nature and a nightmare", then
I'm hungry, thirsty, or both...as I am now. But, I'm just answering the BBS
mail right now, then going back to bed. We've got a high likelihood of
thunderstorms into the weekend, then just a chance of storms into much of
next week...so that means little, if any, BBS or computer work.

Daryl, AE5WX

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