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Buying a meter and strips

VinnyJames

VinnyJames

Well-Known Member
Messages
624
Location
Liverpool
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi, Am looking to buy a meter and some strips. I've see a cheap option on ebay that's been around a while with feedback in the thousands. The cost at pharmacies seems high.
But of course we are talking personal health here so is it worth making an investment for the best?

From what I can see so far, the cost of the meter is largely irrelevant its the strips that cost?

Any advice or guidance greatly appreciated....
 
There are many people on here who say that meter suppliers will often supply the meter for free because they know you will be back for the test strips. Although I believe that to be true I would say that even if you pay for your meter then you will forget that cost in the face of the price of test strips.

Two other considerations are whether you need your meter to be super accurate and whether you want the one with the cheapest test strips.

Unfortunately although the SD Codefree possibly has the cheapest test strips I have found that it reads a little high when tested against a known test solution. This could mean that you might be hypoglycaemic at 3.5 and the meter reads 4.5 and misleads you. If you know about this and can "aim off" then you can enjoy a less expensive life.

Sadly not all the more expensive ones are accurate either. I personally have only tested the Abbott Freestyle Freedom Lite and found it quite accurate but the test strips can be dear. When I tested it another poster was using the same tests on his expensive meter and his proved to be inaccurate.

Worse news is they don't have to be very accurate to be considered legal.

It looks like you will have to buy one because you like the look of it and let us all know how you get on with it.
 
I have a bog standard abbot freedom meter. 11:38 off that well known shopping place. It is,the strips,that cost the money. If,you are T2 then do not,have to test there GP are much less willing to prescribe test strips. If T1 then GP should prescribe test strips. There is a +/- 10% error!margin most meters I gather.
Hope,this,helps.
 
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