[riosmom]

My DH has been using a TruTrack meter from CVS for the past month. I chose this meter because it and it's strips were the cheapest I could find. NOW I find out that my insurance (DUH!) will cover a meter and strips, and I can get strips for $16.00 via mailorder for a 90 day supply. So now I want to choose a new meter, and wonder which one would be the best in terms of accuracy and user friendliness.

BTW: Does anyone else use mail order? I have never done that before since neither one of us has ever been on any kind of a long term medication. What has your experience been? The one our ins. uses is Medco.

[morrisma]

I use mail order and have done so happily for years.

I like my freestyle meter while many others swear by their favorite. I would see if your insurance covers one type of strip preferentially over another and get that one. Also, I'd get on the list to try every free meter out there. Many companies periodically offer free meters so they can get you to use their strips.

I just got a pink one touch 'color' meter free for my T2 step-daughter after I showed her the lime green one I got earlier just to try out. (I still like my freestyle better.) They were still available free at onetouchcolors.com a few days after new years.
Good luck!
Mike

[jillrapp]

I use Caremark for my mail order RXs - but haven't really had a good experience with them. My favorite meter is the Accu-Chek Aviva - with the lancet drum to match. I just find it extremely easy to use, it takes very little blood, and I've never found it to be more than a 5% variance in BS readings. You can also go to their site for a free meter and 60 free strips using the following link. https://www.accu-chek.com/promo/us/usdrtvpromo.htm

Hope this helps! (by the way, the multi-clix lancet comes with this promo offer. )

[genie86333]

Also, don't forget to find out what meters your insurance will cover. Not all insurance plans cover all meters & strips.

[8kids4me]

I like my One Touch Ultra Smart, that I have used for the last 3 years. I also have a One Touch Mini, that stays in my purse.

I have been getting my strips at Target(4 cans for $20 w/insurance), but have no idea if that is the best price.

[EdnBama]

I like my Accu-Check Advantage. But, to be honest, it's the meter the hospital gave me when I was first diagnosed. Not having any real reason to, I haven't changed. (My insurance company provides a free meter every year.)

I did try a One Touch one time (or should that be One Touch One Time?) and wasn't very impressed.

As others have noted, there are meters that do not require very much blood (not that any of them require a river). I don't give the amount of blood that much thought, but squeamish types might want to.

There are also meters that do not require "coding". I don't find coding to be an issue for me, but if you don't like having to deal with "the details", then you might want a meter that doesn't require coding.

[art]

I use Medco and they send my Bayer Contour meters.

Art

[davef]

I use a Bayer Contour and like it. I have a One Touch, can't explain why, but I prefer the contour. The Bayer is "no-coding" not that I have had an issue with the coding.

[Subby]

My old Accucheck Active was such a dependable warhorse, I still use it many years later. I tried replacing it with a number of brands but all had their niggles for me (ease of usability is important for me). I've recently gotten an Accu chek Performa, which to all intents and purposes is the same tester but with the amount of blood required reduced to current levels.

I remember reading that there were problems with this tester and accuracy. In my few tests I hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary, it matches with my actuve pretty well. Some of the others I have seem a lot more out.

What I really like about the Performa is that there are no niggling interface issues (such as having to manually turn the meter on yourself, fiddly, tiny strips, difficulties calibrating)

The strips are large and friendly, in a drum. You insert, tester turns on. Apply v. small blood, about 4 sec later you have a result. Turn on, push back or forward for results, averages. It sounds ordinary but I've found many testers to be a fiddle one way or another! Example is the Pappilon mini (I think it's the one-touch mini rebadged) you had to turn it on manually, wait 5 seconds, the recalibration was clumsy, the ends of the strips were not well differentiated (to immediately tell which end goes in which way), I just found it all a pain.

One particular quirk is that I do not like the individually wrapped strips that come with some meters. The amount of times I test it is extremely tiresome to unwrap and deal with all the foil. Now, It's claimed that these systems are more accurate because of the wrapping. For me, I decided to sacrifice some accuracy for not being driven mad by the packaging.

[BigcityRich]

I save a few bucks from when I have my meds mailed with my insurance. I have always gotten them in just a couple days after I order.

I did not have a choice with the meter. I was given One Touch Ultra from the Insurance Co. I now have a few freebee One Touch minis. I love that they all take the same strips. Coding the meters is really no big deal and I never understood why that is a selling point for the "no coding" style meters. Seems silly to me.

[Scrabblechick]

Coding has never been a big deal to me, either. Take out one chip, insert another. Takes three seconds. But everyone is different.

My insurance will cover either Accu-Chek or One Touch meters and strips. I have an Accu-Chek Aviva, and once I got used to it, I liked it. Nice, big strips, not much blood required, and that multi-clix lancet pen is the stuff. It's kind of big, but 90 percent of the time, I don't even feel the lancet go in with it. You can also do more with the depth settings, such as setting it in between two numbers for that perfect depth.

Individually wrapped strips would drive me insane. Glad the Aviva strips come in a container and I just pull one out.

[PattiM]

I use One Touch Ultra 2 and really like it. Coding doesn't bother me either. I also have two One Touch Mini's that I got free.

[mccord89]

I prefer the One touch ultra mini, but it really depends on what you want your meter to do for you.

If you want a logbook on there then One touch ultra smart works wonders.

That meter is amazing. Google it and you'll see all it does.