Are you confused by all the hype about
blood glucose meters? You should be and there is a lot of hype.
Every writer approaches this from a different perspective and
promotes what they feel is best. There are some general guidelines
that it is often wise to follow. I want it understood that I am not
promoting any meter over another, but I do urge you to consider the
points I lay out and do not be afraid to talk to pharmacists and
others that may assist you and provide guidance.
#1. What will your medical insurance
cover. This is often what will determine the type of meter that you
will chose because the cost of test strips can be prohibitive and you
may need to consider this first.
#2. If you do not have insurance, then
economic considerations may be the most important. There are
economical meters and test strips available that are reliable and
that do not have all the bells and whistles that many people think
they need and never use.
#3. If you are one of the fortunate
people with few economic barriers and chose to go outside your
insurance, then you have a wide range of considerations in making a
choice.
Once you have determined which of the
above applies to you, now the choices become even more difficult.
They may be very limited in selection or you may have a wide range to
choose from. This will depend on your insurance company and there
are some real issues under Medicare which have yet to be resolved.
Unless the courts act soon, many on Medicare may be caught with no
supplies.
TV ads are very deceptive and often
misleading, yet many people become suckered in and spend the money.
Then when they receive the meter and test strips, they realize that
they have been had, but there is seldom a way to return them. These
companies will be very evasive in an attempt to make you keep what
you ordered.
Many of the TV ads advocate for
alternate site testing and this is okay if you seldom have a
hypoglycemic episode and are fairly consistent in your readings from
your fingertips. You need to know that the reading you receive from
an alternate testing site is an indication from 15 to 25 minutes ago
depending on the area used for alternate testing. Also, there are
very few alternate test sites that are totally pain free. I urge
anyone on insulin not to consider alternate site testing because if
you are having a low, you need the now readings of your fingertips.
Many people were enticed into the
talking meters and then wondered what to do when they were out in
public. I have heard them in restaurants and other places and people
just could not muffle the sound. So if you are a person desiring
secrecy, forget these, as secrecy is next to impossible.
If you have a computer, you may wish to
consider a meter that will upload to your computer. Normally the
cost is for software and a cable from a USB port to the meter.
These two blogs seem to think you have
all the choice and can purchase any meter which may not be the case.
There is a growing concern about the
test strip accuracy and I strongly urge people to read two blogs of
many (this one by Ann Bartlett and this one on Diabetesmine) about the declining accuracy and that
apparently no one is doing anything about it. I can only feel
fortunate that I have one of the top two meters listed in several
reports – meaning that the tests strips are considered the most
accurate.
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