Glucometers in Australia

[dionh]

Ok I have had enough of **** glucometers that are sold off cheap to help companies get their real money through testing strips and ensuring that **** meters will mean people test more and use more strips which means big $ for them.

I the last 12 months I had a Performa and a Freestyle papillion mini both of which are **** giving a wide range of results (as in two tests immediately after one another) and both of which end up with errors galore. This Freestyle (in 20% of tests) will not even recognise my blood, has given results that vary by 10mmol/L at times, came with **** batteries and i was sold strips going out of date this month. The pharmacy will not exchange today so if i end up in hospital i will report them to the pharmacy board!

I am not rough with machines and given i have used them for nearly 20 years i do know a thing or two about how to work them. Years ago i had the Esprite meter with the discs that resulted in 40-50% of strips failing to work upon loading which was great news for Bayer!

The local pharmacies also only give 1-2 boxes of strips which further complicates the management of Diabetes. Using upto 10 strips a day means that you do run out of strips quite often and they are not open 24 hours a day.GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

So... my question is... which glucometer should i get that 1. will not have failing strips, 2. is accurate (and not just advertise that they have some special accuracy system), 3. still reasonably fast and requiring small amounts of blood.

Maybe I will give up work for one day a week and go on the dole so that i can make it to the pharmacies during opening hours every week, that way i will be able to help piss down the drain more of the Australian tax payers' money as obviously this is how it should be done.

And contratulations to the staff at Greg Keily Pharmacy at Southport that clearly know nothing about the seriousness of diabetes. Good on you guys, I bet you get goosebumps feeling great about yourself after selling a meter that has clearly been on the shelf for some time with flat batteries and strips nearly out of date. Obviously a high turnover item. Why don't you change your radio jingle to include something like "oh yeah.... we know Jack about diabetes".

[UpNorth]

I'm using the Accu-Chek Aviva, and as far as i know it's available in Aussieland too. I find the Aviva to be very accurate, and i haven't had much problems with it at all. Only the occasional not-enough-blood but that doesn't happen often :D It's fast too...

[Gary_W]

In answer to your questions:-

1. All meters occasionally fail test strips; if it feels something went wrong with test, it fails it rather than giving an erroneous result.

2. There have been quite a few threads on here detailing that meters are only accurate +/- 15%. Not ideal, but it's the best we have at present.

3. I've been a big fan of the Lifescan meters in the last few years. A fairly small blood drop and 5 second result, though they are as prone to problems 1 and 2 as the next meter out there so not sure if they're going to please you. I've personally not seen a reason to go elsewhere from these and as my strips are on prescription it is a bit of a hassle to change.

As far as batteries go, a lot of devices out there are unfortunately sold with poor quality batteries to 'get you going'; everything from medical devices through childrens toys suffers from this problem. I like the Ultrasmart as it uses AAA batteries and I have a very good charging station for NIMH batteries at home. I never buy conventional batteries and try to avoid devices that have the flat 'watch style' things in them.

Gary

[blue eyes]

I've been using the optium exceed for nearly a year now, same meter. My DE did recently give me a another exceed, I've tested on both of them and there is never more than 1mmol/l difference between the two.
I like the exceed, however I did originally get it for the blood ketone testing.

Btw, I get 4 boxes of test strips at a time. At the end of last year I was only allowed 1 box but that was sorted out after I filled out a form just stating I need to test more often and why. Oh, and have just started ordering online now too- saves dealing directly with the pharmacies.

[Fiona]

I use the accu-check performa, I go to the Diabetes Australia retail store where I get a maximum of 9 boxes at a time - 50 strips per box. I am in Queensland but I presume it should be the same everywhere else?
Fiona

[Chappo]

Currently i'm using an Optimum eXceed. It's a good looker, solid results (not much variable).

I know that Abbott are currently undergoing clinical trials in Melbourne for the new Navigator (CGMS) which has 1-minute updates. The sensors are cheaper per unit (AND they last longer) than the Deltec ones. It may be worth getting in contact with your hospital and/or endocrinologist to see if they know more about the trials.

But, i find the eXceed has suited me perfectly. The strips come in very hand packets which means if you open them correctly, you should never have to touch the strip. This leads obviously to much more accurate results. Plus, i can fit upwards of 60 strips in the little carry case that comes with it. It's one of the more expensive units out there (around $69.00 aussie bucks) but i think it is more than well worth it.