Abbot's Freestyle Freedom Lite meter discontinued.

[JMK1954]

When I phoned Abbot last week over a meter that has ceased to function, I was told that the ones I have been using for some years have been discontinued. The Freestyle Optium Neo they have sent me apparently allows the user only 5 seconds to get the blood onto the stick. I have severe arthritis in my hands and consequently drop items like meters and sticks, so this is going to cause me a problem.

I assume that the testing sticks for the Freestyle Lite will be produced for at least a couple of years yet, judging by previous experience, so will continue to use my remaining meter for as long as the sticks are available.

Please does anyone know of a glucose meter that allows longer than five seconds to get a drop of blood onto the stick ?

 

[karen8967]

I use the optium neo it allows longer than 5 seconds to get blood on stick but it only takes 5 seconds to read blood hope this helps x

 

[karen8967]

I think maybe you have misunderstood

 

[Rachox]

Looks to me like you have three minutes til the meter switches off. Even then you don’t waste the strip, you can just take it out and start again. Hope that helps

 

[JMK1954]

You have misunderstood me. I am talking about the occasions when you can't get enough blood on the stick to set the machine going. On my old meter I had 30 seconds to add more blood if I didn't get enough onto the stick first time. The instructions with the new meter refer me to the instructions that come with the test strips. The part I am referring to is in very tiny type, in a rectangular black box in the section "How do I monitor my blood glucose ?"

I quote:- "What if the countdown does not start ? If the countdown does not start, you may not have applied enough blood to the test strip. Apply a second drop of blood to the test strip within 5 seconds of the first drop. If the countdown still does not start or if more than 5 seconds have passed, discard the test strip, turn off your meter and repeat steps 1 - 4."

This means start again with a NEW strip. I am going to bankrupt the NHS if I use this meter. I have wasted two strips this morning for this reason. They were quite capable of allowing 30 seconds to add more blood on the Freestyle Lite, so this is a deliberate change, which will increase the number of sticks I waste. I want a meter which allows me longer to add more blood if I have to.

Added later: I do not really care if it takes 5 seconds or two minutes to display its result. That makes little difference to me.

 

[Rachox]

You have misunderstood me. I am talking about the occasions when you can't get enough blood on the stick to set the machine going. On my old meter I had 30 seconds to add more blood if I didn't get enough onto the stick first time. The instructions with the new meter refer me to the instructions that come with the test strips. The part I am referring to is in very tiny type, in a rectangular black box in the section "How do I monitor my blood glucose ?"

I quote:- "What if the countdown does not start ? If the countdown does not start, you may not have applied enough blood to the test strip. Apply a second drop of blood to the test strip within 5 seconds of the first drop. If the countdown still does not start or if more than 5 seconds have passed, discard the test strip, turn off your meter and repeat steps 1 - 4."

This means start again with a NEW strip. I am going to bankrupt the NHS if I use this meter. I have wasted two strips this morning for this reason. They were quite capable of allowing 30 seconds to add more blood on the Freestyle Lite, so this is a deliberate change, which will increase the number of sticks I waste. I want a meter which allows me longer to add more blood if I have to.

Added later: I do not really care if it takes 5 seconds or two minutes to display its result. That makes little difference to me.

Oh I see, yes I did misunderstand, sorry x

 

[JMK1954]

Apology much appreciated, Rachox. My hands and feet get extremely cold from around October into March the following year. It isn't anything to do with blood pressure. Raynaud's syndrome runs in the family, but I haven't officially got it yet. My cousin was diagnosed aged around 40 something. My sister's hands are even colder than mine (She's not a diabetic) so I'm driven to the conclusion it's something that runs in the family. It's a real problem with trying to get a bllod sample though.

 

[Deleted member 308541]

The Abbott Freedom Lite is still being sold / given away in Australia.

 

[Deleted Account]

I have Reynauds and I have use the Freestyle Optimum Neo meter.
I have never timed how long you have to get blood on the strip but the time from when you start getting some on to the time it decides it has had enough seems to be shorter than other meters I have used.
However, it is happy to sit waiting for the first drop of blood for as long as I remember other meters so I have learnt to make sure my blood globule is large enough before I introduce it to the strip and waste very very few.

Due to my Reynauds I often warm my hands with a cuppa or a hand warmer (I use these in the winter) to ensure there is enough blood in my finger tips.

I was happy to get used to the meter because I like the size - once I took it out of the case, it fits easily in a pocket.

 

[JMK1954]

The Freestyle Lite fits easily into a pocket too, by the way, Remember I have two separate problems - severe arthritis and cold hands. I switched to the Freestyle Lite originally because the advertising emphasised how little blood is needed for the test. I have just looked it up - 0.3 microlitres is what their website says. The Optium needs 0.6 microlitres. It will take me a while to adjust to just how large a drop that is.