DIABETES-can anyone help me??

uli84

hi!

I'm a diabetic from Poland, now living in Dublin. So far I've used insulin and stuff brought from Poland but as I'm running out of medicines and can't go home now I must get it from here. As far as I know, I need long term illness book or sth like that. May anyone recommend me any reliable GP to whom may I go to get this long term illness application form completed and so on??
I've called some but they don't have authorization to give me this or they don't even know what it is (scary but true)

Just one more thing-I don't have much time so any advice will be welcomed

tbh

I would suggest that you ask your GP for a referral to a consultant over here, and they'll be able to help you. My green book doesn't have contact number, just says it's issued by the HSE - Maybe your local citizens advice can help you?

What's the story with getting insulin in Poland? Do you have to pay? When I was abroad, I got a family member to fill my px. here and ship it over, maybe that would work?

let us know how you get on.

edit:

see here:
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/health/health-related-benefits-and-entitlements/long_term_illness_scheme/?searchterm=Long%20Term%20Illness

standard application form for the Long Term Illness Scheme is not available online. You may obtain an application form from your family doctor (GP) and your Local Health Office.

Send your completed application form directly to your Local Health Office of the Service Executive (HSE) for admission to the Long Term Illness Scheme.

uli84

Yes, what they say is that I can have this application filled by my GP. The problem is I haven't registered with any so far, want to do this next week and I'm looking for someone reliable ( I mean reliable GP:)) as I called already 2 or 3 surgeries and two of them told me they didn't have authorisation to fill this application for me and another one didn't know what I am talkin about ( the lady told me they do only medical cards)

In Poland, we get most of the insulins free but it's a bit of inconvenience to have it posted every month that's why I decided to try to get access to this long term illness scheme as I'm gonna stay for at least 1 year.

Thanks for the answer, if anyone will have any other sort of advice either on reliable GPs or long term illness scheme then share it with me;)

robinph

I'm pretty sure that it was from my GP that I got the long term illness book form, but you should see about registering with a consultant at a hospital anyway as they will be better able to help you in your diabetes treatment than the GP in my experience.

If you have a regular prescription from a GP in the meantime though then you could get lucky with the chemist and they may not charge you for the diabetes items, nobody is going in to collect insulin from them unless they are entitled to the longterm ilness book afterall.

uli84

robinph can you tell me the name of your GP or rather where the surgery is?Since someone already has one patient with diabetes they'll know what I'm talking about and it won't be like in those surgeries I've called so far )

Thanks!:cool:

robinph

The GP I'm seeing now is out in Lucan so may not be of any use to you, and it was from another GP years ago when I got the actuall long term illness book and I cannot even remeber which one now.

I think that if you go into any surgery and actually see the GP then they will know what you are asking for, the reception staff you've spoken to so far probably don't have a clue though as they are just concerned with if you are on a medical card or paying them in cash for your visit to see the GP so won't know that the long term illness thing even exists as they have no reason to have ever seen one.

uli84

hahahah, thanks, you may be right. In Poland it all works a little bit different, seems that I still haven't got used to Irish system:))

tbh

out of interest, how does it work in Poland?

uli84

All the treatment is pretty much the same but there is more specialists (diabetes consultants) available so you go straight to the one who deals only with diabetes and don't have to go through this GP procedures if you need something related to your illness. Here I think (but maybe I'm wrong-I hope so:)waiting list to see one is quite long, isn't it?

And yes, the bad thing is that all the insulin pump equipment is not free, you have to pay for it.

robinph

You should be able to just turn up and see the diabetes specialist nurse at your local hospital whenever you need to and I'm not aware of there being waiting lists to get on the consultants lists. They will probably have expected you to already be registered with a GP though before turning up to see the specialst nurse at the hospital though and to have got a referal from the GP probably. Don't expect the GP to know anything much about diabetes though.

Someone else posted about the pump recently and said that you do have to pay for it up front I think, but the full cost can then be reclaimed from the health board aparently.

uli84

Good to know all this )

And small misunderstanding - this sentence about insulin pumps was how it is in Poland- there you have to pay for everything yourself:/, only some of the insulins and glucose strips are refunded.

In Ireland they pay for all those infusion sets and stuff like that- it's great!!:))

How much does the appointment with the consultant cost? Is it standard 50 euro?

2rs

Diabetic Day Centre, Mater Hospital, Dublin – 8032243

They should be able to advise you.

robinph

Seeing the specialst nurse at the hospital, who will then arrange for you to also see the consultant, should not cost anything for either of them.

tbh

uli84 wrote:

Good to know all this )

And small misunderstanding - this sentence about insulin pumps was how it is in Poland- there you have to pay for everything yourself:/, only some of the insulins and glucose strips are refunded.

In Ireland they pay for all those infusion sets and stuff like that- it's great!!:))

How much does the appointment with the consultant cost? Is it standard 50 euro?

I was at mine today - a private consultation costs 100 quid.

robinph

tbh wrote:

I was at mine today - a private consultation costs 100 quid.

I've never been charged for any time I've seen a consultant at the hospital for diabetes, are you going private for these visits or something?

uli84

ugghh, 100 quids, that's a lot for me. anyway, health is the most important thing so I will manage ) and it's just 3 or 4 times a year so should be ok.
And yes, maybe as robinph is saying in the hospital I won't get charged:))

Thank you all!!

tbh

yep - mine was a private consultation. I don't think it cost me anything (but time) when I was public, a week in (public) St. Michaels only cost something like 400 euro which was covered by VHI.

mike65

Only a 100 notes? I'm paying 120 but my man is the renowned Graham Roberts

Mike.

tbh

I go to Dr. McKenna in Vincent's - quite possibly the nicest man in the world. When I was in St. Michaels earlier this year, I went to the public clinic, and I have to say, there is absolutely no difference whatsoever in the level of care and commitment shown - it's just that it takes forever. The way I look at it is, I can afford to pay, so I'll leave my spot in the public clinic for someone who needs it.

uli84

Good boy ::)

Yes, this waiting is what scares me a bit. Anyway, I dont have my long term illness book so I'll worry about it first

tbh

you don't really have to wait to get seen Uli, it just takes all day once you are in there. If I recall correctly, I used to be an average of six hours in the mater - queue to get your bloods, then queue to get your feet checked, then for the specialist...etc etc.

robinph

I generally loose the best part of a morning when going for my yearly service, not helped by the fact that they put in the eye drops which mean that I cannot see to drive for the rest of the day so end up on the bus instead.

uli84

ooh, i see. That's better for me then ( i mean the fact that i have to wait just on the actual day:)

Probably, all of you want to kill me as I keep asking questions all the time but Im courageous enough to ask once more.:))

Do I need any particular sort of insurance to go to the public clinic/hospital/whatever??

robinph

They will probably ask for you PRSI/ PPS number but I don't think they will need anything else off you.

mike65

tbh wrote:

you don't really have to wait to get seen Uli, it just takes all day once you are in there. If I recall correctly, I used to be an average of six hours in the mater - queue to get your bloods, then queue to get your feet checked, then for the specialist...etc etc.

Yikes! Maybe the WRH is better than most but the diabetic appointment is just that, you turn up and you're in all aspects are dealt with in the one room by a specialist diabetic nurse, WRH has two or three. The bloods are a 10 min wait while the retinopathy examination takes 2 hours at most, more like 1 hr last time I went public.

Mike.

The_Conductor

Uli84 - there are a number of GPs in the Dublin area who speak Polish, and may be useful to you. I will PM you one. Regards, Shane

Johnny Meagher

There are two mutually exclusive ways of getting your insulin etc. One is via a Medical Card and the other is via the Long Term Illness (LTI) Card. If you have a medical card then it is on that basis that the insulin is prescribed. They won't give you a Long Term Illness card if you have a medical card. (it's got to do with agreements between the government and the pharmacists re charges for filling prescriptions) Find out if you are entitled to a medical card (sorry I don't know your circumstances) and if so it would be good to get one anyway. With a medical card you have to go to your GP (which will be free) and s/he will give you a 3 month prescription, which s/he will have to renew each 3 months. With LTI card my experience is the prescription in it will do you for years. People here are giving you good advice, go to the GP, Health Service Executive (HSE), the Diabetic Clinic etc. I work in the health sector, I can find out what you need to do maybe, I'm back in work on Monday, let me know but it might involve private contact as your details could be relevant, so we can do that bit using PM. I can't even remember how I got my own LTI card!

uli84

Thanks Johnny! As far as I know, I'm rather not entitled to a medical card. I'll do my best to make an appointment with a GP this weekend but I will contact you anyway!!

tbh

<standard moderators warning - I'm not doubting you for a second Johnny>

Please be careful when exchanging personal information over t'internet.

Johnny Meagher

Thanks tbh, no offence taken.

Well I've had a look, this info seems solid enough:
Here are some guidelines from the net on Medical Card eligibility: http://www.dohc.ie/press/releases/2005/sample_cases_20051013.html
For more info in general on health entitlements see http://www.citizensinformation.ie They seem good. So you can more or less decide for yourself if you are entitled to a Medical Card. But you do have to be quite poor!!!
Re the LTI card, see below, in fairness this is the story. http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/health/health-related-benefits-and-entitlements/long_term_illness_scheme
It says here that appliances as such don't go on the LTI card but are distributed by the HSE itself directly from the Local Health Office (new name for the old Community Care Area Office). Also the various diabetic day care centres will probably give this stuff out. My pharmacist just gives me meters, the money is in the strips after all and a diabetic is a nice little earner for a pharmacist (no offence to pharmacists but talk about a regular customer!!!).

tbh

I bought a meter at a pharmacy I wasn't a regular in, and my nurse gave out yards to me!

Does anyone know where you can get replacement pens? I know the clinic have them in spades, but no chemists seem to have them....

robinph

I have got replacement pens free from the chemist before, I think I had to wait a day for him to order in the electronic one that I have for the Lantus though.

I sometimes manage to get my asthma drugs for free on the long term illness book as well, depending on if the pharmacist is paying attention at the time or not. I've even had one of them give me the Lucozade tabs for free as well on occasion as he reckoned that I should get them for free too, but I guess over time they have managed to claim enough back from the government because of me that the occasional free gift shouldn't upset their profits too badly.

tbh

electronic one?? whats that? My lantus pen is like a pump and it stings like hell. I've also got the glucogel for free, handy as!

robinph

It's about the same size as a normal pen and you load the cartridges the same way, but on turning the dial at the end it show up the dosage on an LCD display and pressing the button activates the plunger automatically.

I think mine must be the old design of it though as this is all I can find on their website and mine is white and more angular.



Edit: Mine must be the OptiPen Pro 2 on this page.

uli84

heyy...

Does lantus require a special pen or I may use the one I'm using now for Insulatard?? I want to change to lantus in the near future...

robinph

They will give you a different pen for each insulin depending on it's manufacturer. The cartridges are all pretty much the same though but I have sometimes had needles falling off one of my pens when I stick the wrong type on it by accident even though they all look identical. Its all "free" to us though so don't worry about it, other than having to carry more items about with you possibly.

Johnny Meagher

I use Novo Nordisk stuff, the pens I use NovoRapid FlexPen for example are disposable in their entirety, they are pre-filled and when you are finished you through them away. I think they were called NovoLet before. anyway, just to let you know there are disposable pens out there which is one solution to where do I get my spare pens!!

uli84

Thanks for all the help and patience!!
I found a Polish GP, visited her last Friday and now have application for LTI book filled:) In Health office they told me they'll let me know in one month.
I also got my letter to the hospital (Mater). Is it better to send it or go there in person and leave it to someone?
hope, everything will be going easier now.

Just wondering - once I have lti book and for instance I want to change my insulin or electrodes or add something, how should I do this?

and, yes, where should I go if I want to change my glucometer? (the one I'm using is causing me trouble sometimes)

omg, it seems that once more I've got million questions
sorryy, hugs for all

robinph

My long term illness book was initially filled out by the GP, and they added in my other long term repeat medications on as well even though they are not actually covered but just so that I'd not need to keep going back for repeat prescriptions. Any changes to my insulins were made by the diabetes expert at the hospital though rather than the GP so I have just got them to add their changes to the LTI book as well.

If you need a new meter then you should be able to get one for free from the specialist nurse at the hospital and they will then give you some of the appropriate test strips for that as well. I've never had a problem with my prescription in the LTI book not actually matching the brand name of the current test strips that I use though as the pharmacist is not that picky about it.

Johnny Meagher

WAHHHHH! Boards 1 Bureaucracy 0 (mind you the 1 month wait stings a bit!)

I concur with robinph, the pharmacist is not always too fussy about the test strips. Your GP or the Consultant you will see at the hospital will make changes to your LTI book for you. Don't forget that if you are a regular customer you are a good money-spinner for the chemist. I got my last meter there free. Any of the Diabetes Day Care Centres (Mater Hospital has one on Eccles Street) should give you the hard ware also. Like I said earlier, the money is in the strips, the companies gladly give the metres away to get a customer for the strips. For god's sake don't buy one!! Take a note (maybe on your phone?) of you LTI number when you get it, any chemist in the country will give you insulin etc in an emergency if you've got the number is my experience, even without it they'll look you up with name/address etc. I'm sure you can send you letter to the hospital by post. Or maybe you could hand deliver it and pick up a meter Looks like you've got it sorted uli84, well done and good luck with it!

CathyMoran

I bought my meter, but then again it was an advanced one, it cost me €80. The clinic should be able to provide you with everything you need. The pharmacists are very good about adapting prescriptions if you change meter.

P_1

Hi sorry to hijack this thread but could anybody be able to tell me where I could get myself a new longterm illness book.

I've had my current one since 1994 and needless to say its showing just a little wear and tear at this stage.

Thanks a lot.

The_Conductor

pithater1 wrote:

Hi sorry to hijack this thread but could anybody be able to tell me where I could get myself a new longterm illness book.

I've had my current one since 1994 and needless to say its showing just a little wear and tear at this stage.

Thanks a lot.

It depends on where you are. Dublin area is administered from Cherry Orchard Hospital. S.

Teamhar

I recently had to get one of these replaced for my brother who is also diabetic. As he was out of the country, I contacted the chemist where he get his prescription. They gave me the number of the correct health board office and there I spoke to someone pretty much immediately. Once I gave her his patient number and details, it was no problem- I received it in the post within a week.

P_1

smccarrick wrote:

It depends on where you are. Dublin area is administered from Cherry Orchard Hospital. S.

Well I'm based in Dublin so I guess its off to Cherry Orchard with me so.

Thanks

uli84

Got my long term illness book yesterday ) Today Im goin to the pharmacy, hoping there wont be any problems with getting pens though they're not in the book , as I need new ones

ONCE MORE THANKS FOR ALL THE SUPPORT THROUGHOUT THE WAY:))
Cheers!!

tbh

Uli, you can get disposable pens at the chemist if you can't get the refillable ones.

uli84

Just one more question. If I go to Diabetic Day Centre in any hospital, for instance Mater would it be possible to get new pens from there?or maybe a meter? In the chemist's they usually have just disposable ones(pens)

How much will it be, around 50 euro like normal visit or more?
Thanks!!:))

The_Conductor

uli84 wrote:

Just one more question. If I go to Diabetic Day Centre in any hospital, for instance Mater would it be possible to get new pens from there?or maybe a meter? In the chemist's they usually have just disposable ones(pens)

How much will it be, around 50 euro like normal visit or more?
Thanks!!:))

Its 50 Euro- but if you get a referral note from a GP its free.

uli84

Hmmm, got the letter but I sent it and it was all about having check up (eyes, feet hbA1C etc.)appointment. I havent received any response yet though.
Do I need the same or different sort of letter if I ''only'' want to get pens or meter from there?

tbh

I would imagine that once you've made initial contact, you will be able to phone the diabetic nurse who'll be able to help you out