Glucose meter.

@appleman . All meters have to meet set criteria for testing blood glucose, obviously like everything certain meters seem to perform better than others and people have there own favourites.
Generally for someone in your position as being pre diabetic the problem of obtaining test strips is the main concern.
I suspect you will have to self fund and this can be costly with certain meters.
Most who self fund find the TEE 2 or SD codefree meters the cheapest option to use.
I'm sure someone will be along soon to give you more details on obtaining meters and test strips at cheapest cost.

 

They are all quite reliable, I've mainly used Accu-Chek bg meters over the years and not had too many issues, but as @therower says if cost is a consideration then go for a meter like the SD Codefree (I believe the test strips are around £7 for a box of 50).

 

They have to be within 15% 95% (or maybe 98%) of the time, so most of the time they will be better. As you should be looking at trends and not just a single reading, you are do simple thinks like look at the median reading over the last few days.

 

Hi appleman. I too would recommend Accu Chek meters as being more accurate. I found with the code free and Tee2 readings would be inconsistent and at times giving really random readings which made me feel as if I couldn't rely on the reading as being correct. Hope this helps.

 

I use the contour next meters from Bayer and are more accurate then the rest as I have checked them all but the only problem is that the test strips cost £26 for 50 and I am getting the test strips on prescription but if I had to pay for them I would have a good look around on the Internet before you do and see what you want and then get it as we can only give you advice and information to help you so you know what is out there and you can choose

 

I'm also a fan of contour, won a next xt 3 years ago and bought a next one in January so easy to see all my results on my smartphone although not the best app out there.

 

I am a big fan of the Accu Chek Mobile if cost isn't important. It is very convenient because the test strips are contained inside the meter in a cassette. This means you don't have to handle the strips at all, so no contamination, and when the cassette is empty it just goes in household waste. It also comes with an Accu Chek Fastclix lancet pen. These are the best on the market and have a drum inside the pen with 6 lancets inside. This means you don't need to fiddle with the fiddly lancets that come with other devices. Once empty, the drums can also be disposed of in household waste. The downside is the cassettes are expensive.

 

Yes, they are in mmol/l.
I swear by mine for convenience. If you are an eBay person you can get cassettes on there a lot cheaper than at pharmacies, but you have to watch for expiry dates etc. Some folk don't agree with using this method because it encourages some unscrupulous diabetics to sell the ones they get free on prescription. The choice is yours.

 

@appleman

To add to above, have a look at this new thread.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/accu-chek-sale-boots.122897/

25% off Accu Chek stuff at Boots at the moment.