A1cNow meters

markd

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I know one or two other people buy these in the US; today, I found that Walmart are selling the A1cNow meter (two tests) discounted at $20-95 - down from the usual $29-95 that Target or Walgreens charge.

I've snagged a couple extra to take home with me tomorrow, that'll do me for the next year or so!

Mark
 

noblehead

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Mark,

Do you not get your Hba1c routinely tested by your gp practise?
 

borofergie

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I get mine tested every 3 months (so far), but I like to test myself every month to see if I'm keeping my control up. I think $10 for a monthly test pays for itself in saved test strips (because if I know my control is good, I test less often). Like Mark I stock up on them whenever I'm in the US.

I had my lab test on Monday, and did an A1CNow and a Glucomen A1C postal test to see how they compare. Haven't had the lab test back, but there was a whole 1% difference between the Glucomen and the A1CNow. It'll be interesting to see which one was closest to the lab result.
 

Sid Bonkers

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borofergie said:
I think $10 for a monthly test pays for itself in saved test strips (because if I know my control is good, I test less often).


An A1c test will not show you any highs/ spikes after food so your Ac1 could be in the 5's but you could be regularly going into double figures after food which can still lead to complications. This is why self testing is so important for T2's as well as T1's :thumbup:
 

borofergie

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Sid,

I agree completely. I think that testing is critically important for all T2s.

I do still test, but not as often as I would if I didn't have to shell out £30+ a month on strips. As you know, once you've been testing for a while, you get to know your response, so you naturally cut down the number of tests you do. I don't test after every meal, because most of the time I'm eating more or less the same stuff.

But equally, testing at the wrong times, or not testing when you've been a bit naughty will also give you the wrong picture. HbA1c is a great secondary (and for me perhaps primary) measure of control.

Stephen
 

markd

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I endorse borofergie's comments, his reasoning for buying the A1cNow tests is pretty much the same as mine.

I fill in the gaps between official A1c tests with the home meter - it is always within a small fraction of a % to the 'real thing'.

I only test BG occasionally and when my eating pattern or general health differs from normal.

Apart from being cheaper, it is a lot easier on the fingers!

Interesting that borofergie just did a Glucomen test by post - I just posted off a Relion blotting paper test by post too - I do like to cross-reference different tests occasionally. Relion results generate a nice pdf graph of the last few tests. Yes, it's probably a bit of overkill, but its only a few bucks...

Mark