codefree monitor EBay

[sooti]

As a T2 i am not allowed a monitor from my GP. I want to start lowering my carbs so i am looking at getting one to understand my body better. I have seen others mention Ebay and have seen a codefree one that is inexpensive with the strips and lancets at a good price also. Has anyone else got one of these, are they any good or am i just going to waste my money. roblem:

 

[teagan]

Hi if you ring up the companys that make the monitors they will usually send you one for free containing 10 strips and if you buy from them it is at least half the price the chemist will charge i found Supercheck2 helpful and the price of their strips is £8.49 for 50 and the lancets are £4.50 i to have to buy my own hope this helps

 

[sooti]

Thanks Teagan, that is most helpful i will start to look about. Thank you :thumbup:

 

[googlegoss]

I use the codefree - never had a problem with it. The first time I did my blood I used my tester that my diabetic nurse had given me (not allowed any more strips though) and it was exactly the same. So I can definitely recommend it and its by far the cheapest.

 

[sooti]

Thanks Googlegoss, have just found the same on amazon for 12.99 for the starter kit , 6.99 for 50 strips and 4.99 for 100 lancets, same people as Ebay works out same price as post is free on Amazon. I suppose with them you can at least cover yourself if anything goes wrong.

 

[LaserMum]

Be careful when buying these on Amazon. Only from the point that there are usually 2 listings - one for diabetics and one for non-diabetics. The ones specifically for diabetics are the cheapest as we don't have to pay VAT for our supplies apparently. You don't have to prove you're a diabetic so I can't imagine that anyone buys the others! If you do a search for "Codefree" you find it all. You can also buy 100 strips slightly cheaper than 2x50. I got my codefree and strips and lancets from Amazon and have had no problems.

 

[sooti]

Hi Lasermum,
Just got one off Amazon, it came up with the home health one at 12.99, but i found every time i put yes i was diabetic it flipped onto another at 13.19 with another company in the end i did the home health one by getting the lot for 24. 97 . It doesn't tell you about whether the item is already VAT deducted guess i will find out when the bill arrives , still half the price of Boots et al though. Trial and error i suppose. Will look out for bigger packs next time, thanks for the heads up.

 

[the east man]

I now have a codefree, once my GP stopped giving me free prescriptions fro my accu viva. I had about 10 strips from my viva when I got my codefree, and every time I tested with my codefree, I also tested with my accu viva. In every comparison, the codefree ranged from 1 - 1.5 higher than my viva. The higher my BG reading the higher the difference. so now when I test with the codefree, I take 1.0 off the reading. It seems to work out ok

 

[LaserMum]

You can also get the kit for £15.89 but when you look at the "Size Name" it says "NO - I am not diabetic". When you scroll down to product features it says "Why do you need to know if I am a diabetic - Diabetics do not have to pay VAT but unfortunately most other companies will require you to pay the full price including VAT and will leave you to fill out a long form to claim the VAT back."
You can also buy the strips (50) for £8.56 (NO-I'm not diabetic) or £7.12 (YES-I am diabetic). Similarly with the 100 strips.
Cheapest I've seen testing strips though - that's why I went for the codefree.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

This is where I got mine from. It takes the VAT off if you say you are diabetic.

http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/diabetestest.htm

 

[Finzi]

I bought a Code Free from Amazon to supplement my prescription strips (freestyle optium). I like it, but like others have said, it always seems to run a bit higher. At the moment I am still dual-testing (using the same drop of blood for both strips) and I'm settling on between 0.7 and 1.0 mmol higher for the code free. That's ok, once I know that for sure, I can just deduct (notice how we all prefer to believe our other, lower readings lol)


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[Squire Fulwood]

The Codefree really does read high. Another contributor and I tested three meters against control solutions. You can read the whole thread if you have the patience but a link to the bit about the SD is here.

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=33985&start=60

 

[Finzi]

I bought a Code Free from Amazon to supplement my prescription strips (freestyle optium). I like it, but like others have said, it always seems to run a bit higher. At the moment I am still dual-testing (using the same drop of blood for both strips) and I'm settling on between 0.7 and 1.0 mmol higher for the code free. That's ok, once I know that for sure, I can just deduct (notice how we all prefer to believe our other, lower readings lol)


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[MCMLXXIII]

Sorry but the codefree monitor is a full two points higher with results than my accuchek mobile. The latter being concurrent with my hb1ac results.
But of course codefree are indeed cheap so depends what cc you want.

Sent from my KFTT using DCUK Forum mobile app

 

[sooti]

Thank you to everyone for your feed back, i have settled for the code free from home health and should get it some time next week. I will take into consideration the higher values .i dont have another monitor so can,t double check. Hopefully it will help me regain some control over my own condition and not be too dependent on the crumbs thrown at me from my GP practice. :thumbup:

 

[MCMLXXIII]

Great!
(Replacement lancets and strips are cheaper on ebay for future reference)

Sent from my KFTT using DCUK Forum mobile app

 

[Finzi]

Thank you to everyone for your feed back, i have settled for the code free from home health and should get it some time next week. I will take into consideration the higher values .i dont have another monitor so can,t double check. Hopefully it will help me regain some control over my own condition and not be too dependent on the crumbs thrown at me from my GP practice. :thumbup:

I think if you're only using the code free, then the discrepancy probably doesn't even matter at all - might just be a nice surprise when you have your hba1c. It's for those of us that use two meters when a discrepancy can be annoying. And in fact the more I use code free the more I like it. I've used it all day today - my other meter has the strips individually wrapped in foil and they can be really fiddly. I can have done a whole code free test start to finish in the time it takes me to unwrap a strip! I do adjust mine because of using another meter concurrently, but if I ever end up using code free full time, I'll probably just edge my recordings back up to reflect what it says.


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[Squire Fulwood]

I use two meters. The Freestyle Freedom Lite which was prescribed by my nurse and the SD Codefree which I bought. I use which ever one I have strips for since the surgery ration the Freestyle ones.

As I have said many times on here the SD reads high and if it was only me and a meter involved then that would not matter much. Where it does matter is when my nurse expects to make decisions based on readings from the Freestyle that she prescribed. It is for this reason that I knock one point off the SD readings. Many tests by me has shown that the readings then look pretty much what I would expect to get from the Freestyle. My nurse is happy and I don't get my pills increased when there is no need.

I should point out that I make my spreadsheet available to my nurse because she likes putting red rings around some readings and asking what happened there. I don't rely solely on the Hba1c.

 

[Finzi]

How deeply ironic that the nurse is making *medication decisions* based on your meter readings and they are STILL rationing the strips!


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[Squire Fulwood]

How deeply ironic that the nurse is making *medication decisions* based on your meter readings and they are STILL rationing the strips!


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Yes, there is no justice is there. She has the Hba1c reading at the same time but does show a lively interest in my spreadsheet also.