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Blood Monitor Advice

  • Thread starter Thread starter NicolaB70
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NicolaB70

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Hi. I am T2 and currently have a Bayer Breeze 2 blood monitering kit with only a few testing strips and lancets left. I've just been looking to buy some more and have seen how expensive they are (£22 cheapest for strips) and wondered if there are any other monitors that use cheaper strips and lancets. My DN has said that I am unable to have one on prescription. I have looked online for the free monitors but to be honest, i havent got a clue which is the best one to go for with cheaper strips and lancets. Please could anyone advise me. Thank you
 
I bought an Sd Code free from amazon, the kit including a lancer, some test strips and lancets and carry pouch was about £12. Test strips are about £7 for 50 and lancets are about the same for 100. delivery is normally within 5 days
 
Lancets can be reused more than once, I use them for 2 weeks at the time.
(Make sure no one else is using your lancets!)

I use the SD Codefree from Amazon, because it is one of the cheapest available for test strips, if you can't get them from the NHS.
 
NicolaB70 said:
I did look at that on amazon. The reviews were 50/50 on that, so wasn't quite sure...


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Click to expand...

I think you will soon get good reviews from this forum well above 70%
They are cheap ,yet quite compatible with the most expensive ones.
Best of luck with your choice.
Roy,
 
Hi - I bought the SD Codefree because it is a fairly inexpensive system compared with others - and have not had any problems with it. I bought mine directly from home health (www.homehealth-uk.com) and the total cost from them for the meter, (which comes with 10 strips and 10 lancets anyway, plus carry case etc), and 100 strips and 100 lancets is £30.07 - with free delivery. Not sure how this checks out pricewise with ebay or amazon - but you can now do a comparison. Julie
 
I've got the Codefree but I am not sure how reliable the results are. I know there is a margin of error in all of them but

this one seems to wander around quite a bit.

I read somewhere on this forum that they are believed to read slightly high.

I don't know if that is true but I hope it is!

I use lancets more than once, generally until they start to hurt. :roll:

Glucomen are giving away meters but I don't know how much the strips are.

I don't think anyone comes in cheaper than Code free
 
viewtopic.php?p=422551#p422551
 
Thanks for the link PR126 - did you do any more comparisons?

Cara
 
The fact is, that if you measure the same blood sample with 6 different devices from 6 different manufacturers, you will get 6 different results.
Supposedly they are within 20 % accuracy.

Just measured post meal SD Codefree 9.6, and Glucomen LX Plus 9.1. (Tinned baked beans on toast. Better not have it again.)
 
I also have a Code Free meter, bought it when my old Doctor retired and I had to change to a new one that implemented the NICE guidelines for type 2 diabetics. I now get one test strip a week!

So as the test strips for the Code Free meter is low compared to the other meters on the market I bought it.

The ISO standard for the accuracy of Blood Glucose Meters is:-
Within ± 0.83 mmol/L of laboratory results at concentrations of under 4.2 mmol/L
Within ± 20% of laboratory results at concentrations of 4.2 mmol/L or more.

I have found the Code Free very consistent in results compared to the one touch ultra 2 that I have been using (still do one day a week!)

The only issue with the code free is the finger pricker whose spring catch stopped working consistently after 2 months.
The meter itself is very good and works on a smaller blood sample compared to my other meter. So very pleased with the code free



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If you want to see a comparison of what it costs the NHS take a look at:

http://www.ppa.org.uk/edt/September_2013/mindex.htm

You need to look at PART IXR or search for 'DETECTION STRIPS, BLOOD FOR GLUCOSE'

As you can see the SD Code free is one of the cheapest. As this is what the NHS pays you will likely pay more online, but should give a good idea of the price range.
 
I emailed Glucomen and they sent me a free meter. The finger pricker that came with it is very good and adjustable for five different depths and three strength settings. You don't have to buy the Glucomen lancets as they're made by a company called Owen Mumford who sell their own on Amazon --> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Unilet-ComforTo ... ds=lancets At £6.60 for 200 there's little need to reuse them for any more than a day.

I then bought the SD Codefree meter from Amazon as the test strips are so much cheaper, but kept using the Glucomen finger pricker as it's a much better device. The reviews for the Codefree are very diverse, but I've found mine to be pretty consistent. My latest HbA1c results were very close to my 30 day average according to the meter. As with other meters, I do get the odd rogue reading. Yesterday night I had a 2.6 which as a T2 on diet control only would be very odd. Retesting with a sample from another finger yielded a 4.8 which is closer to what I'd expect.
 
Just made a post prandial BG test, the SD Codefree 8.6 and the Glucomen LX Plus 7.1 :***:

Rather a big difference. Which one to believe?
 
I just stick to the one meter, after all, what difference does the disparity make if you're T2? You aren't going to do anything to make a difference.
I just compare the before and after readings and try to keep the difference under 2.0


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
I have had wildly different readings with the Code Free so I'm suspicious of it.

Is it too cheap to be any good? Or with other monitors/strips are we just paying for the name?

I had heard that the Code Free tended to read rather highly....

I'm undecided.

Cara
 
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