glucometers

[suzinny]

Hi, I was told about 21 months ago that I have type 2 diabetes. The dr. told me a year ago, that I should test my blood sugar once a week. However, have not yet gotten a glucometer. I am very confused as to which one to use. Would like the least painful, fastest and easiest to use. The pharmacists that I have talked to are not very helpful. What one do you recommend?

Thanks!
SuzinNY

[Kubilee]

They gave me this one called Breeze2 by Ascencia, I am not sure if it is cool to post a link to it so I won't, but I know they gave me mine for free. It's pretty simple to use and has a memory on it. So when I go to the Dr, he just told me to bring it with me and he can look at it and see my last..... like 300 tests or so, I forget the exact number of tests it holds, but it is alot.

[camjen1]

Hi Suzin,

You might want to check out this thread and search through the pages for the free meter offers

http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/chit-chat/12683-diabetes-freebies-you-me.html

or this one

http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/monitoring/19398-lifescan-onetouch-ultra-mini.html

or even this one :)

http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/monitoring/17748-free-meters-onetouch-users.html

Some offers may not be available anymore

I would register for all the free meters you can get just so you can try each one and see which one best suits you.

Oh and welcome to the forum. :wavey:

[barko]

Suzziny...

There are a number of meters that will work for you, most are similarly accurate, etc. The most important thing is that you start using one soon ;-)

The 3 top brands seem to be:

Accu-chek - ACCU-CHEK® (http://www.accu-chek.com/us/)
Freestyle - Abbott Diabetes Care (http://www.abbottdiabetescare.com/)
Onetouch - LifeScan, Inc. - OneTouch Blood Glucose Meters for people with diabetes (http://www.lifescan.com/)

I have used a number of meters, but found the Onetouch meters to be best for my use. One big question is which will your insurance pay for? If you don't have insurance, you can buy any one of the meters listed above on ebay for a fraction of the retail price you find in a store. I just bought a Onetouch Ultra meter (new in the box) for $17 on ebay ;-)

The freestyle and Onetouch (and accu-check aviva I believe) all take a small amount of blood and are plasma-based.

Here is a good article for more info: David Mendosa: A Writer on the Web (http://www.mendosa.com/) (under the "meters" section)

blessings...

[sweetcheeks]

Ive got the Breeze and I hate it. I have not used the Breeze 2 however. I do however like the Contour. I like Accucheck a little but have not used any of them since I became diabetic. I guess I should really contact the company to see if I can get a free meter just to see.

One Touch is definately the preferred brand over any other except Freestyle, but most insurance company's dont offer Freestyle on their plans. The good thing about One Touch is you generally can get those meters at anytime without paying for them. Just check those links above and you should be able to get one in just a few weeks for free. Most of them come with a test set of strips to get you buy until you can buy some strips, usually like 10 strips.

[catgalla]

I use One Touch Ultra 2 which is great and most insurance companies cover them. Most endocrinologists offices usually give out meters if you go for an appointment. Or maybe even a diabetic nurse educator. I always get mine for free. The websites give them away too because they make their money on you purchasing the test strips. You should definately be testing to see where you're at. Good luck.

[Lynne59]

You did'nt tell us if you were type 1 or 2 or how many time you have to check your bs. I use the breeze II and feel that it is easy to use. I have to check my bs 8 times a day and don't
want my fingers to have holes in them. I'm sorry I did'nt say welcome. This is a great place. I'm sure you will find an answer to any question you have.

[princesslinda]

Hi Suzi, welcome! Glad you found the forum. It has been a great help to me in my journey with diabetes.

As for which meter is best, it's all a matter of preference. I have the One-Touch Ultra-2 that I got for free and I love it! You should order one from the "freebie" thread here.

It's so important to test regularly, much more than once a week. It's esp. important to check 2 hrs after the start of your meals, this way you can see how certain foods affect your blood sugars and better know what to eat and what to avoid...if you don't test, how will you know what's happening when you eat? I test 4-5 times a day, though my doctor recommended testing only once a day. When I went for my checkup, he was so happy with my results and told me to continue doing whatever I was doing, as it was working. He said he usually tells T2's to check a fasting because most aren't willing to check more than that.

Are you on medication? What was your last A1C?

There's a great book "Type 2 Diabetes, the First Year," By Gretchen Becker that I would recommend...it's very informative and easy to understand. I still refer back to it on occasion.

Glad you found us. Look around, ask lots of questions and most importantly, get a monitor and TEST,TEST, TEST!

Linda

[JaxTerri]

I just clicked on the first link and ordered the mini meter in pink :) I use a One Touch Ultra Smart meter and love it but it can't hurt to have a second one that uses the same strips. Thanks for the info as I'd seen this commercial on TV but didn't take time to write the info down.

[princesslinda]

I just ordered a green one from a TV commercial.

[w5wjp]

NEVER EVER BUY A METER!!!!! I you call the maker and ask why you should use their meter, they will send one to you free. Free is always good. They screw us on the strips anyway, so get the free meter.

As far as painless, the Freestyle uses the smallest sample size and should be the most "painless". YMMV

[nneighbour]

If you are looking for painless, I have found the multiclix lancet is by far the best, which comes with the Accu-Chek Aviva. As for metres, I've been very happy with the OneTouch Ultra line, and am currently using the Ultra 2.

Testing once a week is not enough, it's really important to test more often so that you can see trends as they develop. Infrequent testing can lead to dangerous complications if you are not able to discover dangers early enough.

Good luck!

[Lynpenny]

I use the freestyle flash and the accu-chek aviva. I like either of them. I bought the freestyle and my doc gave me the aviva. Now I've changed doctors and use which ever one is handy. the freestyle is small and I can carry it in my purse easier. Niether one of them uses alot of blood. It seems to me the meter isn't as important as the type of lancet you use.