Need meter advice - Reliable but uses less expensive strips

Status
Not open for further replies.
Doug N Libby

Doug N Libby

Very Active Member
We are currently using the ipet glucometer, but going through so many strips that I'd love to find one that is reliable, but uses less expensive strips. We have used 25 strips since 1/30! (That's $7.50/day) The cheapest price I've found for the ipet strips is $61.99/100. I've been doing searches, hoping to maybe find generic strips, but no luck so far.

Any thoughts on which ones to consider or NOT consider?

THANKS!!!!

Libby
 
Re: Need meter advice - Reliable but uses less expensive str

Libby,
I would also post this on Health if you haven't yet. I used a Relion, but other than 2 times testing against the vet's AT, I never compared it to another meter. I always felt it was reliable, but can't prove it was, I guess? I never saw any really wonky numbers that made me doubt the meter. A few times I saw a number that made me retest, but always got a number close to the first one I'd gotten. The strips were 39.00 for 100 at walmart, and you can get them online (generic) for less than that. I would say that out of 100 strips, I probably had 3 or 4 that gave me a "bad strip" error on the meter.

Carl
 
Re: Need meter advice - Reliable but uses less expensive str

Why not just get a Relion meter for around $10 as the strips for the Relion are much cheaper and easily found.
 
Re: Need meter advice - Reliable but uses less expensive str

I always buy online at Amazon...
The Amercian Diabetes club (I think that is what they are called)
has some cheap strips...
sorry but cant give you meter advice
 
Re: Need meter advice - Reliable but uses less expensive str

Stay away from....
Apparently Free Style Lite? But as I understand what has gone on lately, the problem is due more to the strips than the meter itself. I've also read to stay away from anything that says "True" in the name, but recently a new True something or other is supposed to be okay to use (whichever one is newly available in the newbie kits is supposed to the "true" that is okay to use).

Generally the meters are not expensive. Some companies give them away. It's the strips that make the big money difference.

Carl
 
Re: Need meter advice - Reliable but uses less expensive str

Wish i could give good meter advice. Having issues with mine. I had the freestyle when 1st dx and compared to AT and it was 100pts lower everytime. So gave it up and got the relion. Have felt pretty confident about using the relion until just recently . I compare with AT every now and then and it was off. I've given up comparing and just sticking with the relion. The strips are very inexpensive. The way i go through strips, i need it cheap.

Good luck. Whatever meter you get, just compare with vets when you visit them.

Lori
 
Re: Need meter advice - Reliable but uses less expensive str

Hi Libby, You can get the generic version of the Relion meter and/or strips here. I've used the strips for my Relion meter and honestly, I like these generic strips better. They seem to 'sip' up a blood sample better IMO. *Shrug.*
 
Re: Need meter advice - Reliable but uses less expensive str

I started with a Relion Micro because it was relatively cheap. I like the way it pulls the blood in from the end of the strip. The Alpha pulls it in on the side. The shape of the Relion is also nice.

Once my vet agreed that home testing was best for Ruby (she racked up crazy high numbers any time she was at the vet), I got an AlphaTrak because that's what the vet uses. Its expensive and I have to order the strips online so that's a bit of a pain. I'm keeping the Relion handy in case I get in a pinch.

I tested the two side by side for a couple of days. Here is a pretty standard (from what I can tell) representation of how they compare.


comparison by amaryllisroze, on Flickr

-Amy-
 
Re: Need meter advice - Reliable but uses less expensive str

Libby-
I use the Relion Micro and love it!

Started with the TrueRead and had problems from the start- first box had a bunch of bad strips, second box was much better. People at ADW were great but I just went with a different meter. When I tested the two side by side I did get lower #'s with the micro but when testing with a Liberty brand I also got lower numbers... so DON"T get a TrueRead! It's gotten me thinking that some of the high numbers on Sneakers chart might be off by 50 or 70 pts because I used the TR with those.

Amy-
How do you make graphs? I am trying to get my SS chart into a graph so I can see a visual but it doesn't come out right. What do I need to do?

Thanks
 
Re: Need meter advice - Reliable but uses less expensive str

I downloaded the US Glucose Curve Template from here http://gorbzilla.com/cheryl_and_rocky.htm


I used Excel regularly for my job so it was easy for me tweak it a bit to make it work better for me personally. I keep one file for each month and one tab for each day in the month so its really to find things.
 
Re: Need meter advice - Reliable but uses less expensive str

Thanks, y'all, I have to make a Walmart run in the next few days, so I think I'll look at picking up a Relion. I wish I could see how it compares to the ipet as far as readings. Been searching online and can't find what I'm looking for. So, I switch meters, but how do I compare with the numbers already on the SS?

Thanks, Lisa, for the link to the generic strips. And, Amy - thanks for sharing you graph. How smart you are! And, thanks for sharing how you did it. I'm hoping my computer savvy son has time to walk me through it while he's home tomorrow.

Thanks, again!

Libby
 
Re: Need meter advice - Reliable but uses less expensive str

Libby, I didn't create the original file so I won't take credit for it. I just tweaked it so it worked better for me. I was thrilled when I found it because its exactly what I needed. I use both it and the spreasheet on Google and they really help me wrap my brain around the numbers and how they relate.

(In real life I'm an Executive Assistant and I spend most of my days mucking around with Excel, Powerpoint and Word.)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top