SD Code Free/Care Sens Dual Comparison?

[Rachox]

Following discussion on another thread about meter accuracy, I’ve realised I’ve been having more odd readings lately with my SD Code Free which have required retests, so I’m getting through strips quicker than normal. I have another meter which I just got when they were free as a spare. The strips are more expensive but if it’s more reliable it may work out more cost effective in the long run. It’s a Care Sens Dual from Spirit Health. Has anyone used both of these meters? If so how do they compare?

 

[shelley262]

Hi Rachox
I’ve used both and now prefer the care sens duo I used to use them both at times with code free being main one for bgs and the Care Sens for ketones because of price but then had a fair few errors on code free and started doing more tests on care sens and now only use the care sens it also seems to read more closely for me to my hbaca1 results. May be worth you buying a months worth of strips and trying it out. That’s what I did several months ago and have ended up just carrying on as fewer blips for me. They do free shipping for 100 strips.
I rarely retest on care sens as so often in expected range. I may however just have been lucky and not had rouge strips yet!!

 

[Rachox]

Hi Rachox
I’ve used both and now prefer the care sens duo I used to use them both at times with code free being main one for bgs and the Care Sens for ketones because of price but then had a fair few errors on code free and started doing more tests on care sens and now only use the care sens it also seems to read more closely for me to my hbaca1 results. May be worth you buying a months worth of strips and trying it out. That’s what I did several months ago and have ended up just carrying on as fewer blips for me. They do free shipping for 100 strips.
I rarely retest on care sens as so often in expected range. I may however just have been lucky and not had rouge strips yet!!

Thanks for your reply @shelley262. Typically I have just taken delivery of ten packs of Code Free strips but might order some Care Sens ones and do some side by side comparisons. Good to know about the free postage. The Code Free ones seem to be getting less reliable especially the further I get through a tub. I always close the tub quickly after removing a strip too.

 

[DCUKMod]

Following discussion on another thread about meter accuracy, I’ve realised I’ve been having more odd readings lately with my SD Code Free which have required retests, so I’m getting through strips quicker than normal. I have another meter which I just got when they were free as a spare. The strips are more expensive but if it’s more reliable it may work out more cost effective in the long run. It’s a Care Sens Dual from Spirit Health. Has anyone used both of these meters? If so how do they compare?

What is the batch number for the strips you're using, Rachox?

 

[Oldvatr]

Following discussion on another thread about meter accuracy, I’ve realised I’ve been having more odd readings lately with my SD Code Free which have required retests, so I’m getting through strips quicker than normal. I have another meter which I just got when they were free as a spare. The strips are more expensive but if it’s more reliable it may work out more cost effective in the long run. It’s a Care Sens Dual from Spirit Health. Has anyone used both of these meters? If so how do they compare?

I use both of them in parallel testing amd have done for well over a year now, I too get misreads from my SD Codefree and need to retest. I have noted that the Codefree ALWAYS reads higher thn the Dual (or the Abbotts I used to use) and the average difference between them comes out at 1.3 mmol/l over several months. But I can get differences of up to 2,6 higher before I declare a misread. I also now retest if the difference is less than 0,5 Sometimes I do a second retest just to go with the majority opinion. I think the Codefree is sensitive to something else in the blood (oxygen level, or lipids, or haematocrit value which fluctuates too. The Dual is IMO more reliable.

Yes the Codefree strips are cheaper, but not by much when VAT is taken off. There is no bulk buy option on the Dual, and no discount codes that I know of. However, the Dual does have the ketone capability that the Codefree lacks,

My SD Codefree is getting forgetful, and cannot keep time at all. Set the time and within a short while it is rubbish, Days seem viable,just not sure if it is day or night when writing up the logs. Others report this happening to them.

The dual has upload capability that I do not use myself, and their support software is not quite what I need, Think it uses a special cable that I was given, but that was when it was launched, so probably needs to be purchased.

I prefer the Dual myself, and my GP likes it too since I get strips. I self fund the SD since this is my backstop check for misreads.

My SD has always read higher than my Accuchek, my 2 XCEEDs, and my 2 NEO meters, and now the Caresense too. It is either wrongly calibrated to plasma, or is is being affected by an impurity in the blood.

 

[Rachox]

What is the batch number for the strips you're using, Rachox?

My present batch is SO318028, and my new batch I just received is SO318075. Both batches have been mentioned as dodgy by others in this thread here: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/sd-code-free.158242/#post-1918225 I did message Home Health earlier on during this current batch but they just said the readings I reported were within accepted tolerances.

 

[Rachox]

I use both of them in parallel testing amd have done for well over a year now, I too get misreads from my SD Codefree and need to retest. I have noted that the Codefree ALWAYS reads higher thn the Dual (or the Abbotts I used to use) and the average difference between them comes out at 1.3 mmol/l over several months. But I can get differences of up to 2,6 higher before I declare a misread. I also now retest if the difference is less than 0,5 Sometimes I do a second retest just to go with the majority opinion. I think the Codefree is sensitive to something else in the blood (oxygen level, or lipids, or haematocrit value which fluctuates too. The Dual is IMO more reliable.

Yes the Codefree strips are cheaper, but not by much when VAT is taken off. There is no bulk buy option on the Dual, and no discount codes that I know of. However, the Dual does have the ketone capability that the Codefree lacks,

My SD Codefree is getting forgetful, and cannot keep time at all. Set the time and within a short while it is rubbish, Days seem viable,just not sure if it is day or night when writing up the logs. Others report this happening to them.

The dual has upload capability that I do not use myself, and their support software is not quite what I need, Think it uses a special cable that I was given, but that was when it was launched, so probably needs to be purchased.

I prefer the Dual myself, and my GP likes it too since I get strips. I self fund the SD since this is my backstop check for misreads.

My SD has always read higher than my Accuchek, my 2 XCEEDs, and my 2 NEO meters, and now the Caresense too. It is either wrongly calibrated to plasma, or is is being affected by an impurity in the blood.

Thank you so much for your comprehensive reply. I have just ordered a couple of tubs of strips for the Care Sens Dual to do some comparisons.

Edit to add my Code Free doesn’t keep time anymore either

 

[Bluetit1802]

@Rachox If your meter is forgetting what time it is, there is some sort of error in it. If you tell Home Health, they will replace it with a brand new one. It could just be the meter that is playing up.

 

[Rachox]

@Rachox If your meter is forgetting what time it is, there is some sort of error in it. If you tell Home Health, they will replace it with a brand new one. It could just be the meter that is playing up.

I did email them about the time going wrong a while back when it first happened they just said it wouldn’t affect the readings.

 

[Bluetit1802]

I did email them about the time going wrong a while back when it first happened they just said it wouldn’t affect the readings.

Did you ask for a replacement? It happened to me about 3 or 4 years ago, along with higher than expected and inconsistent readings. I told them it was 9 months old. They just sent me a new one.

 

[Rachox]

Did you ask for a replacement? It happened to me about 3 or 4 years ago, along with higher than expected and inconsistent readings. I told them it was 9 months old. They just sent me a new one.

I don’t think I did, can’t find the email now My meter is eighteen months old now, how old was yours when they replaced it?

 

[bulkbiker]

Thank you so much for your comprehensive reply. I have just ordered a couple of tubs of strips for the Care Sens Dual to do some comparisons.

Edit to add my Code Free doesn’t keep time anymore either

I did do a test when I first ordered the caresens dual and they send 10 glucose strips with it but good luck finding that thread.. I seem to recall they were fairly close.. I have a dig around in my spreadsheet and see if I recorded them separately.

 

[bulkbiker]

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/th...day-arrived-this-morning.116654/#post-1391470

but looks like I only did one comparison with the Caresens slightly higher..sorry.

 

[Rachox]

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/th...day-arrived-this-morning.116654/#post-1391470

but looks like I only did one comparison with the Caresens slightly higher..sorry.

Oh you beat me, I just found it too! I just looked back through my spread sheets as you reminded me I did the same with the 10 strips that came with the meter, I managed to record eight comparisons (not sure what happened to the last two strips!) Care Sens was consistently lower, between 0.4 and 0.8 mmols

 

[ringi]

I don't know if it makes a difference, but I put about 10 strips in a tub, and then only open the main tub when I need the next 10.

 

[Rachox]

I don't know if it makes a difference, but I put about 10 strips in a tub, and then only open the main tub when I need the next 10.

Brilliant idea! It’s easier to get them out when there’s less in a tub too, I’m definitely going to do that, just about to start a new tub too.

 

[Goonergal]

@Rachox I’ve been toying with doing the same but haven’t been able to find strips for the Caresens Dual - they’re not listed on the Spirit Healthcare website (at least I couldn’t find them last night - the ketone strips for the same meter are also showing out of stock). Where did you get yours from?

Like you I have several pots of the Codefree strips left! Home health replaced 2 meters for me when I got time keeping/re setting issues.

 

[Brunneria]

I switched to the Tee2 meter some time ago, mainly because I got tired of the big variation in readings from the same drop of blood if I retested with the Codefree It was making a nonsense of the whole process.

Nowadays I keep the Tee2 for sporadic spot checks and then have a Libre sensor every couple of months for 24/7 observation. The rest of the time I stick to very low carb eating and don’t test.

Not a system for everyone, but it works for me. I just grew to resent the wasting money on strips when the same foods gave the same readings all the time. Seemed so pointless - especially when the wildcard turned out to be the bloomin meter, not me. It seems to work because my HbA1c has improved a bit and now aligns much better with the tests I still do.

 

[Rachox]

@Rachox I’ve been toying with doing the same but haven’t been able to find strips for the Caresens Dual - they’re not listed on the Spirit Healthcare website (at least I couldn’t find them last night - the ketone strips for the same meter are also showing out of stock). Where did you get yours from?

Like you I have several pots of the Codefree strips left! Home health replaced 2 meters for me when I got time keeping/re setting issues.

Took me a while to find them, the website is a bit rubbish, I typed “glucose test strips” into their search bar and then clicked the first result which took me here: http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/caresens-pro-blood-glucose-test-strips/
Hope that helps

 

[xfieldok]

I'm not sure what is going on with me/my meter. The past 3 months mySugr has been increasing the estimated HbA1c number. At one point it was increasing 0.1 per day. It now estimates 37.9 down from 38 yesterday.

Batch number is one of those quoted. I get HbA1c results on Tuesday. Depending on the result I may change.