Which test strips and lancets?

[pjlnp]

I need to understand home testing, the monitors, the test strips and lancets.

1. Will all test strips work with any monitor or are they specific to a maker or even a model?
2. If I hope to test once a day, how many strips should I buy at a time so that they don't go out of date
3. How many lancets will I need for a given number of test strips?
4. Do lancets last indefinitely if unopened

I am one of the large group of badly behaved old folk who spend 6 months Summer in the UK but then run away like wimps to the Algarve for 6 months of the Winter.
So, I need to make sure I can get the consumables in the UK and Portugal. It is almost impossible to get anything posted in the UK to the Algarve, especially anything medical. It is somewhat hit and miss going the other way.
I am thinking to buy from Amazon.de when in Portugal and maybe Amazon.co.uk in the UK but I have yet to find a supplier who supplies through both so compatibility becomes an issue!
I am using finger pricks as a way of checking that my diet is right because I have previously failed badly at counting calories, identifying carbs and proteins etc. Better to get a daily report on how I am doing between the HbA1c tests!
Thanks for any advice you can offer.

 

[Rachox]

Hi @pjlnp and welcome to the forum.
1) Test strips are only useable in the meter they are designed for.
2) I haven’t used test strips for a while as I now use the Freestyle Libre, however when I used meters I think the expiry dates are fairly long away, but you also need to consider the time the strips last after opening the pot. Some are three months, others are six.
3) Lancets are supposed to be used once, however many here use one for a whole day, a week, a month or even a year!
4) Lancets do have expiry dates but they are usually several years away.
Amazon UK and Amazon .de both have the SD Code free available, this is a good basic meter, no frills which would be ideal for once a day testing.

 

[MrsA2]

You'll use more strips in the early days, perhaps 10 a day while you learn how which foods affect your bg.
Once the learning phase is over (say 2_4 months) then you don't need to test so much. I, for example now just do once a day, with the occasional extra test if I eat soemthing new, or cooked for me ie a restaurant