New Type 2 - advice on which blood monitor

[mau]

Hi All,

I have just been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes about a week ago, but im am pretty sure i have had it for a while now as the symptoms have been with me for some time (tiredness, needing the toilet often, dizzyness), i thought it was just due to getting older!

My blood test returned a 16mmol reading and my GP has given me Metformin, 1000mg/day. He said there is no need for me to test my levels daily but i would really like to see the progress i make on my attempts to reduce the glucose levels. I have appointments with the diabetic nurse and the dietician booked but they are weeks away and i dont want to wait that long.

I have no idea on which of the monitors are the best ones to go for, but i have narrowed it down to 2, with the following reasons:

Bayer Contour XT - its new so you would expect the latest tech and better accuracy?
SD Codefree Blood Glucose Meter - cheap strips!

Initially i would like to test my levels before and after every meal until i can identify the best foods for me and reach a consistent glucose level. Not sure how long that will take

Any one have experience of these meters or recommend any other ones to go for?

Thanks

David

 

[izzzi]

Hi David,

Welcome to the forum. (a wise move)

I would go for SD Codefree Blood Glucose Meter at first. It does work and the strips are reasonably priced, This means you can carry out many test. (Amazon is quite good for price)
Then at a later stage you can get to know what meter is best for you.
I went down the wrong road and bought expensive meter first, before asking this forum.

You shall get lots of good advice from this forom.

Roy.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

I own a Freestyle Freedom lite and an SD codefree and I ran a lot of comparisons between the two. My first meter was the Freestyle and later I bought the SD which seemed to read high. Lots of other people have posted saying that they also think the SD reads high and it is true that it certainly reads higher than my Freestyle.

Since my nurse expects me to present figures taken with the Freestyle, when I use the SD I knock 1 off the result and then the numbers are just about identical to those I get with the Freestyle. Cheating but a lot cheaper. People are often concerned about the accuracy of the meter they wish to buy but some research done by Zurich University shows that no two home type meters read alike so where does that leave accuracy? Mostly you only can tell if the numbers went up or down and by how much.

I only did the meter comparisons on readings below 10 mmol/L since my numbers are rarely higher. In this range the method of taking 1 off the reading to get test strips for £4.99 seems acceptable. I once did a comparison between the two using the same drop of artificial blood in the high range. The Freestyle gave a reading of 13 and the SD 20. Obviously more work needs to be done in this area since that could have been a completely spoof reading but as I said my own numbers don't usually go that high so someone else could do that comparison.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

I just re-did the high artificial blood test. Freestyle = 17 and SD = 19.3. Given the degree of accuracy of home meters and the price of strips I find that acceptable to me. Even more acceptable if I continue to take 1 off the SD reading.

I repeat that I have only done the two tests on readings over 10 and it looks as if one of them was doubtful.

 

[mau]

Thanks everyone for the advice.

Squire - Interesting that you find it is giving a higher reading, i have read similar findings elsewhere. Good to know i should take this into account

I'll do a bit more reading but it looks like i should try the SD Codefree first.

Cheers

David

 

[Squire Fulwood]

To be fair there is nothing to prove that it is not my Freestyle which is reading low. I find I worry less if I give up the myth of accuracy. None of them is accurate. One thing is certain though, the SD is considerably cheaper to run.

As I said above the only reason I did some 50 comparisons is so that I can use the SD readings (modified) to discuss the results with my nurse.

Incidentally, taking 1 off the readings is far from an arbitrary method to compare the readings with the Freestyle. I did 54 readings with the SD over two and a half weeks. I introduced a fiddle factor and compared the result to 25 actual Freestyle readings with the same drop of blood I used for the SD. I did this to correct the fiddle factor until I got it usable. It got complicated until I noticed that the percentage difference was non linear. At 10 mmol/L I needed to take 10% off and at 5 mmol/L I needed to take 20% off ...BUT
10% of 10 = 1
20% of 5 = 1

Lucky or what?

I am happy. Nurse is happy. The strips are a third of the price.

 

[mau]

ok just an update on my testing.

i bought the SD Codefree and have been using it for a few days. My sister also gave me a Bayer Contour and i carried out a few tests at various times on both meters. I made sure i used the same drop of blood each time, immediately testing one meter after the other

Here are some results

SD 8.1---6.7---7.8---8.2
Bayer 6.7---5.2---5.4---6.0

Not a huge sample of data, but as you can see the SD consistently read higher than the Bayer Contour by between 1.4 and 2.4

I will continue to use the SD for now as it is cheaper to run, and hopefully i will get a pleasant surprise when i next get tested at the GP

David

 

[Squire Fulwood]

Interesting results. Thank you David