[oktokie]

Hi, I am currently in the search of finding a good value/performance dibetes blood glucose level tester. My father owns SURESTEP by LIFESCAN brand which is owned by Johnson & Johnson, however his test strip costs him 25 strips/$22+. I tried to buy test strips in bulk but it does not help much with cost. However, I find that different brands are offering test strip for the device at much lower costs...something like 1/2 the cost. I have two questions for you.

1) Can my father's SURESTEP @ LIFESCAN use 3rd party's / differnt vendor's test strip?
Or, is there a less expensive alternatives to the SURESTEP @ LIFESCAN test strip?(Is there a generic brand which can be used with SURESTEP @ LIFESCAN lood glucose level tester?)

2) I am thniking about replacing his old tester with shiny new one. Should I get other brand to save cost on test strip or should I keep buying a SURESTEP @ LIFESCAN product? I think the product was recommanded for a purchase by his physician when he was first diagnosed with diabetes.

I am really curious to find out if SURESTEP @ LIFESCAN test meter is the best equipment medical community has to offer.

Thank you in advance.

Oktokie

[HeatherP]

Hello and Welcome to the Forums!

I have T1 and test my sugars upwards of 6 times daily. Currently I'm using the Freestyle meter from Therasense, which my CDE recommended as the most accurate meter available.

There are hundreds of monitors, usually you use the test strips made specifically for each meter, although I have seen some generic strips. I do not have any experience using these, but the best way to tell if they're accurate would be to do two tests, comparing the name brand strip w/ the generic ones. Test strips are expensive, though, as a rule.

You didn't mention if you have insurance. In many states your ins. co is required to cover your monitor, test strips and other injecting/testing supplies. If you don't have insurance, then you're free to shop around, Drugstore.com is a reputable merchant and their prices seem pretty good.

If you already have a meter, then a lot of times you can get a trade-in rebate, which may help bring the price of the meter down. In the past I have used Lifescan One Touch II, and a Surestep (which I didn't like that much) and Glucometer/Ascencia Elite XL (which I like a lot) and now the Freestyle.

I hope some of this info will help you!
HeatherP

P.S. The (I think) Feb issue of Diabetes Forecast and the Jan issue of Diabetes Interview both feature comparisons of many meters and testing supplies - you can request a copy online - that may help you decide.

[lgvincent]

I tried to post a lengthy response and it wouldn't take it so I'll try again and see if I have any better luck.
Although I don't know everything, I haven't seen any SureStep strips manufactured by anyone other than LifeScan, although it's possible that there is one. I know I used to use strips manufactured by another company for my Roche meter but the company was sued by Roche and went out of business and I haven't seen that many off-name manufactures since then.
One inexensive strip I'm aware of is the Prestige strip. I've seen it for around $40.00 for a box of 100. You can buy a cheap meter for the strips which only displays the glucose reading or you can pay around $18.00 for one that also displays the day and time of the meter reading and I think offers 14 and 30 day averaging. I'm not sure how accurate this meter is.
Another inexpensive strip I've seen recently is the QuickTek meter by Hypoguard. I've seen the meters sell for around $18.00 at CVS but I don't know if it displays the time and date or if it offer any averaging features. I also don't know the price of the strips for this meter but I think they are pretty low.
I've been using Roche products for over 20 years and have always been happy with them. I like the Accu-Chek Complete meter because it has a 1,000 input memory and can be used to record things such as insulin dose, amount of carbohydrates eaten, and when an insulin reaction takes place. I've seen the strips for this meter selling for about $70.00 to $80.00 for a box of 100 and I think the meter sells for about $100.00. I can seen you an Accu-Chek Advantage free if you want one but you can buy one for around $65.00 or get one free with the purchase of 100 glucose strips every now and then. I used the Advantage meter up until the time I got the Complete meter and was very happy with it.
A meter I'm very interested in now is also made by LifeScan and is called the One Touch UltraSmart. I've seen it for around $100.00 at WalMart and the strips listed at about $85.00 for a box of 100. I think Tony, the administrator may have one of these meters and you may be able to contact him for questions about this meter.
Some members of the forum like the Therasense Freestyle meter and say it is the most accurate one on the market but I know little about it.
I've been using e-bay in recent months to buy strips and have saved quite a bit of money there but the more popular strips such as those for the meters I've just listed tend to run about $40.00 to $60.00 for a box of 100. You may be able to get them for less at times but I've seen a buy it now price of $35.00 for a box of 100 strips for the Freestyle meter. For the most part, my purchases there have gone well but I did buy an UltraSmart meter there recently which I haven't received yet so there is the potential of being taken advantage of.