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Meter Not reviewed?

lucylocket61

lucylocket61

Expert
Messages
6,394
Location
Wrexham
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I have got this Blood Monitor: SD CODEFREE from healthcare.co.uk

but it hasnt got a review on here. Have I bought the wrong one?
 
Hi Lucy -

Looks like it may be a generic meter. So you probably won't find a review anywhere if it's a generic meter... What branding does it have?
 
It's a very new meter which is why it probably hasn't been reviewed. Several forum members have been buying them over the last couple of weeks or so and no one yet to my knowledge has given it a bad post. It's the meter that has very cheap test strips at 4.99 per 50 which is loads cheaper than any other meter.
 
I bought it from Amazon and the strips are £6.99 for 50. Is that good? I cant find a price comparison for different testing systems.
 
lucylocket61 said:
I bought it from Amazon and the strips are £6.99 for 50. Is that good? I cant find a price comparison for different testing systems.
Click to expand...

Mine are £26.99 for 50 strips, so that sounds like a bargain.. but then I still get mine free, thankfully.
 
Is that £26.99 including the meter? That sounds much, much higher price than any I have seen. What meter are you using?
 
No, that's just the strips - I just checked again and they are £23.47 on Amazon, but I admit there are cheaper places. Luckily (or not) I am on insulin so get the strips free. The meter is an Accu-Chek Aviva.

How long does your new meter take to produce a reading? I used to have one that took 30 seconds and my current one does it in less than 5, which is better. I'm interested because I want to ditch the insulin which will probably cost me my meter.
 
lucylocket61. You should look on ebay. They're cheaper on there
 
swimmer2 said:
No, that's just the strips - I just checked again and they are £23.47 on Amazon, but I admit there are cheaper places. Luckily (or not) I am on insulin so get the strips free. The meter is an Accu-Chek Aviva.
Click to expand...
Swimmer2, according to the electronic drug tariff( http://www.ppa.org.uk/edt/March_2012/mindex.htm ), your strips cost the NHS £15.15 for 50
 
I am on benenfit. How on earth am I going to be able to afford to test my blood if I cant get test strips on prescription?

I dont do Ebay cos of horrendous problems with them last year.
 
using my code free a few days now. Excellent. buy from shop which advertises on ebay. 50 strips £4.99
 
lucylocket61 said:
I am on benenfit. How on earth am I going to be able to afford to test my blood if I cant get test strips on prescription?

I dont do Ebay cos of horrendous problems with them last year.
Click to expand...

A common problem for many. It seems the only cheap-ish way is Ebay or to not test at all which falls in line with what so many HCP's want.

Impossible situation. :x
 
lucylocket61 said:
I dont do Ebay cos of horrendous problems with them last year.
Click to expand...

You might have just been unlucky. Find a supplier with a good rep, and stick with them. I've had hundreds of transactions without a problem and buy all my strips in bulk from ebay.

The irony is that they're probably NHS strips anyway, and that I can get them a lower price than the NHS pays for them. Maybe they should just buy them back from ebay too.
 
It's a bit silly.

The NHS have, in some ways, created a kind of black/grey market here.

They refuse to give test strips to people who are determined to make use of them -thus creating demand for grey market test strips. On the other hand, there are people willing to sell test strips which quite likely are NHS prescribed ones.

I think the problem could be largely prevented if the NHS were prepared to prescribe test strips to those who ask for them. The controllable side of this is the demand side. If people who need strips got them from the NHS rather than needing to buy them from eBay, the grey market would significantly shrink.

It would be a win-win situation as it'll save type 2s having to fork out to private eBay sellers, plus it would improve sugar levels for people with diabetes and drive down the looming burden of costs which will otherwise come through treating complications of the people with insufficient access to blood glucose testing.

If you hate the current system, there's always the petition
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/20537
 
I have signed the petition, but that wont help me and others like me right now. If ever. Governments have a habit of ignoring petitions.

Is there a way of comparing prices of strips without having to physically check and write down each one and make my own chart please?

I am not going to wait for the NHS to wake up, by which time I could have complications due to no testing :(
 
I don't think you need to make a chart Lucy, the SD Codefree meter/strips are far cheaper than anything else.
 
I am brand new to this nad also tryign ot get a meter from my surgery. the NICE guidelines for diabetes states " Self monitoring of plasma glucose levels should be available to those that are on oral glucose lowering medications to provide info on possible hypoglycemieas and to those to assess changes in glucose control resulting from medications and lifestyle changes" I am taking this with me when I go and see the diabetic nurse tomorrow. This is Government guidelines
 
Hi Dalaney and welcome

Unfortunately the NICE guidlines are just that, guidelines, GP's do not HAVE to prescribe meters and test strips.

Thye come up with all sorts of reasons why they won't prescribe but what it boils down to is cost, the strips are usually very expensive. Lots of us here are left with no choice but to puchase our own meters and strips, the meter mentioned in this thread seems to have the cheapest strips so will be worth buying if your diabetic nurse says no.

Good luck :)
 
I've just bought one of the SD Meters, and although it's my first meter I'm quite impressed. Small light, easy to use. the finger pricking device seems a bit "weak" though, even on it's highest setting it's barely breaking my skin, and I have to squeeze my finger a bit to get a drop of blood out! (admittedly after 25+ years as a keen angler and out in all weathers my hands might be a bit tougher than average!)

FWIW I order the meter, 100 strips and 100 lancets from ebay, paid £27.95 including postage.

Mat
 
Dalaney said:
I am brand new to this nad also tryign ot get a meter from my surgery. the NICE guidelines for diabetes states " Self monitoring of plasma glucose levels should be available to those that are on oral glucose lowering medications to provide info on possible hypoglycemieas and to those to assess changes in glucose control resulting from medications and lifestyle changes" I am taking this with me when I go and see the diabetic nurse tomorrow. This is Government guidelines
Click to expand...

Hi Dalaney

As Type 2 you will probably be put on Metformin which is a very effective and by far the safest diabetic drug. At that point the hypo theory goes out the window as you can't hypo on Metformin. Yes it does reduce you blood sugars but hypos's don't work like that. A true dangerous hypo can only come about by a very rapid fall in blood sugars brought on by an insulin injection and in extreme cases by powerful insulin stimulating drugs. Metformin does not stimulate insulin production and as such you will have the same biological responses to low sugars as a non diabetic person. If your blood sugars go low then your liver will automatically compensate by dumping glucose into your bloodstream to bring them back up. You can prove this for yourself if you have a blood glucose meter and monitor your sugars while doing a load of strenuous exercise. The fact that you can'y hypo on Metformin is why you don't need to report that you are diabetic to the DVLA.

If you want to try the NICE guidelines approach the better way is to start to prove you are taking your Type 2 seriously by keeping a food diary, losing weight and yes by monitoring your blood sugar levels showing that you both understand what the numbers mean and are reacting via your diet to what the numbers tell you. In that way you do as far as I can tell meet the guidelines. Of course its a Catch 22 situation as unless they give you a blood monitor and strips how can you show them you're meeting the guidelines!

Probably 95% of Type 2's fail to get test strips prescribed. The other 5% get them because they have progressive gp's and nurses. Even though I've done exactly what I've written in the above paragraph AND read the NICE guidelines to my nurse I still got nowhere because she just turned round and freely admitted it was all to do with cost. A gp or nurse can get away with it by simply stating that WHATEVER you're doing they don't believe testing would be good in your case as the guidelines are just that guidelines and any gp can ignore them. They do become liable if ignoring the guidelines can be proved to have harmed you though.

Good luck but don't get you hope up.
 
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