[kemist]

Well I purchased one of these little meters off the Therasense website and it has changed testing for me in a positive way.
Here are the details:

- very small, attractive little unit (smallest available).
- screen illuminates, led illuminates test strip (yes you can actually test in total darkness and see what you are doing).
- has pleasant audible tones
- uses Freestyle test strips (from the regular freestyle meter).
- is a cinch to program
- has 5 alarms you can set for reminder to test
- stores 250 results which can be uploaded via the cable (included when you mail your forms back to therasense).
- comes with a nice case for storing everything, including a small lancing device which accepts the new BD 33-gauge lancets
- looks cool and very discreet, so even young diabetics are not intimidated by taking it with them.
- allows alternative testing.
- time and date stamps your results.

- Oh, and the Freestyle strips (for those of you that don't know) use a spec of blood. I don't know the exact spec, but I am still amazed at how it can produce a result with such a small amount of blood.... excellent performance, and hardly any errors.

I liked this meter so much compared to my Glucometer Elite (which requires SOOOOOOOOOO much more blood than the Therasense strips) that I bought a 2nd one for home only.

If anyone is interested in purchasing one, go to therasense.com and check it out. I wish I would have known about this meter a long time ago, so I am passing the info onto anyone else in the market for a new meter.

kemist

[statdeac]

Love it, love it, love it!!!

I am an admitted Freestyle meter junkie. I have two regular meters, a Freestyle Flash and one that plugs into a PDA.

[Andrea]

Sounds like a great product. But i have two questions. You say it has "plesant audible tones", but is it possible to turn them off? I don't like my meter to make noise!! And what is the case like? I have wanted to get a Freestyle meter for a long time, but never liked the case (i know, i know, i am really really picky!). Is the case for the Flash meter better designed than the original Freestyle case?

I use a One Touch Ultra because it is fast (5 seconds), small and i the case is very easy to attach to my water bottle belt when i am running and it is easy to handle the meter and stips when i take a walking break during a run to test. But i would love to switch to a Flash, especially with the led light function. The only other meter i know of that has the led light is the Precision Extra which is just way to big of a meter to lug around everywhere and use as a primary meter.

I am hanging on to the fact that i have a Cozmo pump and sometime this year i will be able to update the software when the CozMonitor comes out. It is a mini freestyle meter that hooks onto the back of the pump and communicates blood glucose results by infra-red to the pump.

Anyway, it will probably take a bit for the Flash meter to reach Europe. I guess i will continue to wait patiently for my Cozmonitor!!

Andrea

[kemist]

Andrea,

Yes, you can completely disable the audible tones, so that the meter is completely silent. There are also two levels of sound level, in case the lower level is not loud enough for you.

I am quite picky about cases also, but I found this case to be nicely designed, small enough to be discreet, but big enough to fit the meter, lancing device, lancets, novolin needles, bottle of 100 strips, swabs, and a mini Purell container (for sterilizing hands).

You never know, Therasense might be able to ship one out to you.... check the website... no idea personally.

kemist

Originally posted by Andrea
Sounds like a great product. But i have two questions. You say it has "plesant audible tones", but is it possible to turn them off? I don't like my meter to make noise!! And what is the case like? I have wanted to get a Freestyle meter for a long time, but never liked the case (i know, i know, i am really really picky!). Is the case for the Flash meter better designed than the original Freestyle case?

I use a One Touch Ultra because it is fast (5 seconds), small and i the case is very easy to attach to my water bottle belt when i am running and it is easy to handle the meter and stips when i take a walking break during a run to test. But i would love to switch to a Flash, especially with the led light function. The only other meter i know of that has the led light is the Precision Extra which is just way to big of a meter to lug around everywhere and use as a primary meter.

I am hanging on to the fact that i have a Cozmo pump and sometime this year i will be able to update the software when the CozMonitor comes out. It is a mini freestyle meter that hooks onto the back of the pump and communicates blood glucose results by infra-red to the pump.

Anyway, it will probably take a bit for the Flash meter to reach Europe. I guess i will continue to wait patiently for my Cozmonitor!!

Andrea

[notme]

Ok.....now that is one COOL little meter. I will definitely look for one. Thanks for the heads up Kemist!

Nancy

[lgvincent]

It looks like an interesting little meter. I considered buying one but I recently bought a One Touch UltraSmart on e-bay. Now, if I only get the darn thing.

[Tony]

Originally posted by Andrea
I am hanging on to the fact that i have a Cozmo pump and sometime this year i will be able to update the software when the CozMonitor comes out. It is a mini freestyle meter that hooks onto the back of the pump and communicates blood glucose results by infra-red to the pump.

I think I heard they are going to use the flash meter for that and not the freestyle. Now that they have the flash out. And Andrea Therasense is waiting approval for the cgms. I wonder if they will have that working with the cozmo pump? What do you think?

[Andrea]

Originally posted by Tony
I think I heard they are going to use the flash meter for that and not the freestyle. Now that they have the flash out. And Andrea Therasense is waiting approval for the cgms. I wonder if they will have that working with the cozmo pump? What do you think?

I know that Therasense at the start was only working on a continuous, relatively non invasive monitor. It was kind of an afterthought that they would make a regular blood glucose meter in the meantime as they were still in the development and the approval process for the continuous meter. It would make sense to me that they would continue to work with Smiths and Cozmo, but they certainly aren't talking about it yet!

Last summer I got to see the little meter that is going to be clipped onto the Cozmo pumps, because the international diabetes federation's conference was in Paris at the same time as the Cozmo pumps were launched in France. Since i was the first in france to have this pump, i got to be invited to the launch party, and i met all the big wigs from Deltec and Smiths. They showed me a prototype. It was only too frustrating knowing that i would have to wait at least a year to get one! As i said, it is a very small device, as long as the meter but about 1 cm (half an inch) wide and only a couple of mm thick (less than a quarter of an inch. I don't know how much the technology differs between the original freestyle and the flash, so i don't know if they are using one or the other or if it is considered a different meter altogether.

Andrea

[whlarsen]

I called Therasense about a freebee as we also use and like this meter. We got a meter with a cartridge from my daughters doctor and did not like it at all. Any way, Therasense said that there is a drug store this month where you buy a hundred strips and you get the meter free. But next month, there is another drug store where you only buy 50 strips and get the meter free. I think it is Walgreens for Feb. Will let you know.

[zookeeper671]

If you go to this link, you can purchase 50 strips and get the FreeStyle for free.

Diabetic Express

Angie

[Clint]

Very cool... I just ordered one from the link posted..

Thanks for the info..