Glucosimeter recommendations

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Aesop
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Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 9:17 am

Re: Glucosimeter recommendations

Post by Aesop »

This one, from these guys. $75 machine for $5.

Accu-chek is the industry standard, like Band-Aid, or Xerox.

Avoid the "I Never Heard Of It" brands, as the whole efficacy of letting lawsuits whittle out survival of the fittest goes away if you buy electronics from Fly By Night Industries LLC or Seen On TV Inc.

My only advice is to pick out two or three namebrand gizmos, and then look up how much lancets and test strips will cost for each one.
While the link provided gets you a Ferrari for $5, if it turns out it eats tires and gets 2MPG, you might want to go with a second or third choice, since most of the machines out there perform essentially the same function to the same reliability, and you'll spend more on test strips in a year than if you bought several glucometers at MSRP.

The ones using the least amount of blood are the current state-of-the-art.

Another reason to stick with long-term brands is because you want to be able to get strips five years from now rather than buy a new machine every time the old model is discontinued.

(Since they're catering to a canned audience, usually without your take-it-or-leave-it choice in the matter, one way to insure more government-subsidized payouts is by automatically obsolescing the equipment every couple of years under the dubious explanation of "New and Improved". About once a decade, it is, but they drop and add machines every 2-3 years, like automakers making critical parts out of plastic.)

BTW, for anyone unfamiliar with the concept, your blood glucose is supposed to peak after meals - that's why we eat. It's also why we don't do accuchecks on people right after Thanksgiving dinner or the equivalent (except for the humor factor!). It's any wild peaks and troughs at other random times that should be the main concern, as I'm sure Chris has figured out.

As for ketones, blood testing adds pain from additional finger pokes, and it's as much as $7/test, separate from glucose testing.
Urine test strips are hospital-standard of accuracy, and in quantity from Wal-Mart online, are about 12 cents@.
(Which is probably another reason we don't blow $7/shot to do ketone checks.)
A tube of 100 10SG multistix does 10 separate separate urinalysis tests per whiz (NOT including pregnancy or drug tests, so don't bother if you were thinking that), at 31.5 cents@, which your doctor or his lab will bill you for at $50-100/test.
(What one is paying for is the knowledge and interpretation, but $50-100/pop would lead any responsible amateur to bone up. If you know normal vs. abnormal values, you're way ahead of most labs, and at least would have a reason for seeing a doctor, not just a vague guess.)
"There are four types of homicide: felonious, accidental, justifiable, and praiseworthy." -Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary"
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First Shirt
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Re: Glucosimeter recommendations

Post by First Shirt »

I use one like in the above link in my jump bag at work. (I'm the shift EMT, in addition to my regular job.) Since I don't use it very often, I wanted one that used the same test strips as the one in the nurse's office. (Test strips do have expiration dates, and are pretty good about letting you know that the date has passed.)

The Boss uses a One-Touch Ultra. OTC, the test strips are kinda spendy, but it seems to be accurate and reliable. I can't give you more info until she gets back, with the meter, from Omaha next week.
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Aglifter
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Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 12:15 am

Re: Glucosimeter recommendations

Post by Aglifter »

OK, so I realize you don't have the same issues as I do, but you might want to see if a Selective Carbohydrate Diet would help.

(I don't know where they came up w. the Autism jazz - but it has been very helpful in dealing w. my digestive issues.)
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