2/26 Indigo AMPS 283, +2 149, +3/3.5 ?, +4 56, +5 59, +9 196, PMPS 295
- Thread starter Carole & Indigo
- Start date
Bandit's Mom
Member Since 2019
Is he getting higher carbs in the second half of the cycle? Say after +5 or +6? Anything over 4-5% carbs?
Carole & Indigo
Member Since 2021
Nope just his raw. Hubby did give carbs on the 24th pm cycle at +4 12% and +5 6.4%, he was worried about the drop but that was the last time he had any additional carbs
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Carole & Indigo
Member Since 2021
+2 149 fed 12%
Just a quick question about meters...
I've been using the Contour Next One and getting the strips in bulk from eBay (I'm in Canada and they are mad expensive here) but even at that they are still pricey and I've been finding that at lower numbers , anything under 70 I frequently get errors and end up going through 5-6 strips to get a number.
I don't have easy access to Relion meters here but I do have a relative in the States that can send it on to me if I ship it to her, it could cut the cost of strips in half for us. I really like having an app to sync to so I have been looking at getting the Relion Blu and was wondering if anyone has any experience or recommendations?
Just a quick question about meters...
I've been using the Contour Next One and getting the strips in bulk from eBay (I'm in Canada and they are mad expensive here) but even at that they are still pricey and I've been finding that at lower numbers , anything under 70 I frequently get errors and end up going through 5-6 strips to get a number.
I don't have easy access to Relion meters here but I do have a relative in the States that can send it on to me if I ship it to her, it could cut the cost of strips in half for us. I really like having an app to sync to so I have been looking at getting the Relion Blu and was wondering if anyone has any experience or recommendations?
Carole & Indigo
Member Since 2021
+3-3.5 ? Hubby went through 10 strips and was not able to get a number (I jinxed it) fed 18% to be safe, gonna check again at +4
Now I'm really thinking about a new meter
Now I'm really thinking about a new meter
Carole & Indigo
Member Since 2021
Guess we are not increasing, still bouncing
Bandit's Mom
Member Since 2019
Going to tag a few members from Canada
@Chris and Checkers
@Amy & Herman
@Jodey&Eddie&Blue
@Melinda and Kitkat
@Jinx & Miz Kirby and @Steven Oreos Dad use the Contour Next meter, I think.
Have you looked at the Bravo meter? Only available online but the meter is free and strips are $40 for 100.
Chris and Checkers
Member Since 2021
I use the Contour Next and have the same problem with the lower numbers, I get the E20 code. I called customer service but they refused to help because I let slip that I use it on a cat. Jody&Eddy&Blue mentioned that if you wear gloves when handling the stip it may prevent getting failures.
I get the strips at Walmart for $72, not cheap.
If I could, I would get a Relion, but I don't really have a chance to go to the US.
I think the last I looked, the Bravo was sold out, but haven't checked lately.
Carole & Indigo
Member Since 2021
I think if I’m going to have to order online anyway the Relion strips work out to be cheaper by $15
I use the Contour Next and have the same problem with the lower numbers, I get the E20 code. I called customer service but they refused to help because I let slip that I use it on a cat. Jody&Eddy&Blue mentioned that if you wear gloves when handling the stip it may prevent getting failures.
I get the strips at Walmart for $72, not cheap.
If I could, I would get a Relion, but I don't really have a chance to go to the US.
I haven’t tried gloves but always wash my hands and try not to touch any of the fancy parts of the strips. My hubby went through 10 today and never got a number! Clearly there is an issue at low numbers
I don’t know if it helps but I have been ordering the Contour strips from eBay in bulk and they are much cheaper but not as cheap as the Relion. The last time I ordered it was appt $50 cad for 100 strips instead of $90 here in Ontario, the Relion strips work out to $25 cad.
Thanks for the responses!!
Jodey&Eddie&Blue
Member Since 2021
Hi Chris, I'm one of the outliers who uses AlphaTrak. Really expensive $$$$ test strips. I ought to own share in the company with two cats in the mix.I use the Contour Next and have the same problem with the lower numbers, I get the E20 code. I called customer service but they refused to help because I let slip that I use it on a cat. Jody&Eddy&Blue mentioned that if you wear gloves when handling the stip it may prevent getting failures.
I get the strips at Walmart for $72, not cheap.
If I could, I would get a Relion, but I don't really have a chance to go to the US.
I think the last I looked, the Bravo was sold out, but haven't checked lately.
Anyway, I don't know who said anything about gloves. It wasn't me. Never used them. I also rarely get a failure on a strip. I can count on one hand in the last six months and the failure is usually because I've neglected to push the strip into the meter when I'm touching the strip to the blood drop and push it in afterwards (just in case). The thing about AT is that the blood drop can be pretty small. I find the lower the number the harder it is to get a blood drop to appear. It's odd.
Chris and Checkers
Member Since 2021
Jodey&Eddie&Blue
Member Since 2021
No worries…Sorry, must have been another someone else then..
Steven Oreos Dad
Member Since 2021
Good morning
I’m using the OneTouch version reflect to cut cost of buying the contour. I don’t recall issues with the contour. Works fine for me with the occasional errors due to not enough blood. Fortunately my heath insurance covers the OneTouch strips and I get them for Oreo and buy the free style libra for myself.
Jinx & Miz Kirby
Member Since 2022
I've been using the Countour Next EZ, and I was using strips I got off ebay for about $.20 ea (vs the usual 30-50 cents each). I chose it because I did a bunch of research and its accuracy ratings were the highest. But, I knew the strips were expensive. I also bought a Metene off Amazon, which seemed like it might be more analogous to the Relion, since I could get the strips for $.15 each. These past few weeks of 6-10 tests per day killed my 5-canister supply of countour next strips. One thing I love about the CN EZ is that extra 20 seconds it gives you if your blood drop isn't quite big enough.
When I first joined here and looked at threads about meters, I saw a thread where someone said the Metene didn't look good, so I decided to get one and see if it was any worse than the stats I've seen on Relion. I tracked 23 draws to compare the CNEZ and Metene readings. If the CNEZ is as accurate as the research says, then the Metene is not as accurate as CNEZ, but it's well within the FDA definition of accurate (+/- 15%), is most often +/- 8%, and +/-5% about half the time. I would classify this as being about the same as a Relion. (I'm a social science researcher, so this is my bag.) You can see the tracking on the second tab of my spreadsheet, labeled "Contour vs Metene meter"
So I'm using the Metene, as of today, and I'll probably just be a little extra likely to give a little food if she comes too close to 50. I will keep checking eBay for countour next strips, though, because that 20-second grace period means not wasting an extra strip (like I did today with the metene) if the blood isn't flowing.
Melinda and Kitkat
Member Since 2022
Not sure if I can help, at least for cost savings. I use the Accuchek Guide and cheapest strips are Walmart ~$72 / 100 pak. (I have no idea about online deals, there likely are. Im a weirdo, Ive never done online shopping 
) All 3 brands of meters Walmart carries have similar costing strips (within a few dollars). The meter is free (of course it is) if you purchase a box of strips and a box of lancets at the same time. It has wireless pairing and can be synced to up to 5 devices. It does use 0.6 drop and I tore through ALOT of strips in the beginning but now only occasionally, but always for 'too small of a drop'. I searched their site about the actual meter range and can't find it. Customer support also knows I am using it on my cat (and won't tell me thing,hahahaa, same same). Kitkat only dropped under 70 about 10 times, and never under 58, but I never had troubles with a 'low error' or needing multiple strips for those low readings.
Hope you sort out a better meter, at these prices needing a pile of strips for a single test is ridiculously expensive. (I think I'd get pretty mad at my meter to say the least
) Good luck Angela
) All 3 brands of meters Walmart carries have similar costing strips (within a few dollars). The meter is free (of course it is) if you purchase a box of strips and a box of lancets at the same time. It has wireless pairing and can be synced to up to 5 devices. It does use 0.6 drop and I tore through ALOT of strips in the beginning but now only occasionally, but always for 'too small of a drop'. I searched their site about the actual meter range and can't find it. Customer support also knows I am using it on my cat (and won't tell me thing,hahahaa, same same). Kitkat only dropped under 70 about 10 times, and never under 58, but I never had troubles with a 'low error' or needing multiple strips for those low readings. Hope you sort out a better meter, at these prices needing a pile of strips for a single test is ridiculously expensive. (I think I'd get pretty mad at my meter to say the least
) Good luck Angela
Jinx & Miz Kirby
Member Since 2022
After responding earlier about switching to metene bc CN strips being too expensive, the place I got my CN strips from on ebay posted more. They have 3 sets of 5x50 still left (I bought 6 of their 9 available). Comes out to .20 US per strip. https://www.ebay.com/itm/314428510555
Amy & Herman
Member Since 2022
Sorry, just seeing this now.
I, too, use the Contour Next and saw that I got many wonky readings in the lower numbers and had to retest. It’s possible numbers in the higher range were also inaccurate but I never retested those so I wouldn’t know for sure.
I found the best deal on strips would be at Shoppers Drug Mart during a points promo but that ofcourse didn’t always work out.