Monitoring

Robbo65 said:

All I really want to know is, should I test myself and if so which machine is best, if I'm paying for it myself I want to get the right machine . Thanks

Click to expand...

The answer is that you should definitely buy your own meter and test yourself. Opinions differ about which meter to buy and lots of people will probably recommend the one they are using.

Did you mean "best" or "cheapest to run". I use a Freestyle Freedom lite which proved to be accurate when measured against known control solutions and I also have an SD Codefree because the strips are cheap when compared to others. Other testers are available. I think this site has some information somewhere.

Yes, here it is

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/blood_glucose_monitor_guide.html

To be honest, I think it's almost irrelevant which meter you buy, provided you are using the numbers it reads as a guide, then working through the trends. So, looking for rises from your before food score against after food scores, and downward, or upward trends of your general scores over time. Whether a score is actually 5.5 or 5.7, for example, doesn't matter much, in reality.

If you want to buy I the high street, Boots have a decent range of meters. Most meters cost about the same, but the matching strips can vary, and on the high street tend to be around £20 per pot of 50 strips. 50 strips might sound like a lot, but once you start to learn from your testing, you will find you go through quite a few, for a period at least.

Many people on here had elected to go for the SD Codefree meter, which I believe is only available on the internet. You can buy either directly from the main distributer at homehealth-UK.com, or via Amazon or eBay. The meter starter kit is a bit cheaper at around £12, but the test strips are £7 for 50, with discounts for modest bulk buying. If you are self funding, it's hard to discount this option.

Good luck with it. Testing will, almost certainly, bring you fascinating and very useful information about your body and how it is handling the foods you eat. When you do get into the groove of testing, you will almost inevitably have a raft of questions. We all did, but there's usually somebody here who has been there, done that and probably eaten that particular t-shirt, so just ask away.

AndBreathe said:

To be honest, I think it's almost irrelevant which meter you buy, provided you are using the numbers it reads as a guide, then working through the trends. So, looking for rises from your before food score against after food scores, and downward, or upward trends of your general scores over time. Whether a score is actually 5.5 or 5.7, for example, doesn't matter much, in reality.

Click to expand...

There is only one instance where I would disagree with your excellent advice. My original meter was supplied by my nurse and was the Freestyle Freedoom Lite. My nurse assumes that I always use that meter which I don't. My SD codefree has always read higher than my Freestyle and so it is a good idea not to present figures from that meter to my nurse. She may panic and run for the pill cabinet and I wouldn't like that.

If I am going to give her readings I always make sure they are ones from the meter she is expecting.

As a point of interest, in the lower part of the range (up to 10) the SD reads one point higher than the Freestyle and it is necessary to know that so that you know what is going on.

Squire Fulwood said:

There is only one instance where I would disagree with your excellent advice. My original meter was supplied by my nurse and was the Freestyle Freedoom Lite. My nurse assumes that I always use that meter which I don't. My SD codefree has always read higher than my Freestyle and so it is a good idea not to present figures from that meter to my nurse. She may panic and run for the pill cabinet and I wouldn't like that.

If I am going to give her readings I always make sure they are ones from the meter she is expecting.

As a point of interest, in the lower part of the range (up to 10) the SD reads one point higher than the Freestyle and it is necessary to know that so that you know what is going on.

Click to expand...

I have no basis on which to challenge your statements, but as the OP's doc is anti testing, it seems unlikely there will be much interest in his readings. Curiously enough, I started out with an iBGStar meter, which reads consistently higher than the SD. So, I guess it's always going to be guidance to follow ones chosen meter or confusion may reign; particularly in the early days.

AndBreathe said:

I have no basis on which to challenge your statements, but as the OP's doc is anti testing, it seems unlikely there will be much interest in his readings. Curiously enough, I started out with an iBGStar meter, which reads consistently higher than the SD. So, I guess it's always going to be guidance to follow ones chosen meter or confusion may reign; particularly in the early days.

Click to expand...

There is a whole thread on this forum where another poster and I discussed meter accuracy and of course you cannot challenge me on what I have observed concerning my own meters and there is no need to. However, I think it is important in some instances to know what your meter behaves like.

There is the example I gave above and there is the hackneyed apocryphal tale about the woman who had a hypo but her high reading meter said she was ok.

Don't misunderstand me, I'm all for cheap but I am also convinced that it is better to know what that means.

Robbo65 said:

Many many thanks for all of the above, it's given me more to think about. One thing I forgot to ask was about buying the strips , I have an NHS card so my Metformin is free , does this mean I could get the strips free even if I bought my own machine ??? Thanks again for all the comments. Cheers


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

Click to expand...

Only if your doctor prescribed them.

But you should be able to obtain your strips VAT free if you sign a form stating that you are diabetic. I've done this via Boots on line but generally get my strips from eBay where people tend to sell their "surplus " packs...

When I got my self funded meter, I used the reviews on Amazon to help me decide, not having realised that there was so much information on this site too! So do have a look at the link Squire Fulwood's given you, and also check manufacturers sites, then decide what features, etc you would like then make your choices that way.

Robbity

I use the agamatrix jazz meter, supplied by my gp. I get some strips from gp free, but im on a mega testing run at moment and they cost me £14 per 50 from chemist or amazon. I have no idea about how accurate they are, but as has been said watching the trends is fascinating and insightful. I use the graphing sofrware and free cable you can get from them.