blood glucose test strips that dont need a meter?

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brian

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Type 1
Hi there,
I'm new to this forum and had a quick question.

I am type I and I currently use Lifescan One touch ultra 2 test strips and meter for blood glucose testing. However I do a lot of outdoor camping, climbing , walking and find that the meter is very prone to failing if the temperature drops below about +5C.

I wonder if anyone knows of a test strip system that doesn't rely on a meter. I recall about 10 years ago I had strips that simply changed colour after 2 minutes and you refered to a colour scale to check your glucose levels and thus didn't need a meter. this was a little innacurate but good enough for most purposes and felt totally reliable.

Are there any test strips still available that don't need a meter now?

thanks for your attention!

brian
 
The only suggestion I can come up with is to contact your diabetes care team or the manufacturers and see what they have to offer. My other alternative would be to get something like a bum bag that you can strap round your middle, then it would help keep the meter a bit warmer.
 
Brian, there used to be test strips that did not need a meter but they were discontinued years ago.
I am suprised you have a problem with anything below +5
How do you think people in other parts of the world get on?
I have used my meter just fine when it was -4 in the house this winter.
I think you need to have a talk with lifescan and also double check your test strips to make sure you have kept the container firmly closed.
Best wishes
Sue
 
Low temperatures will affect the chemical reactions used to obtain the measurement, which is why most modern meters will refuse to give a reading in these conditions (it will give inaccurate result).

The only thing I can suggest it getting a smaller meter that you can keep in an inside pocket to keep it (and the strips) warmer.
 
-4 wow thats cold for your house.
yes I think that the problem is with the battery or the meter electronics rather than the strips.

I will try Lifescan and see what they say about it

thanks
brian
 
I had this problem with my optimum xceed, when I play football i leave in on the bench/dugout area incase I need it during the match and for half time when i always test. but the last couple of games I played I couldn't get it to do a reading which was very frustrating. It started workign again afte rit warmed up after the match in the clubhouse.
when I spoke to medisense they suggested wrapping it in a jumper and in a bag to keep it warm, haven't played since to see if this works.
 
Brian

There's a wealth of experience regarding meters etc that can cope with extremes of temperatures, altitudes, how to keep them functioning etc on MAD (Mountains for Active Diabetics website http://diabetic.friendsinhighplaces.org/ The website itself isn't particularly active, but the email discussion group is very helful.

Personally, I find that if the temperature drops, I may need to put my meter in a pocket closer to my body - or inside sleeping bag if camping. Mine continued to work in South Georgia, above 4000m in Andes etc with these minor adaptions.
 
Just another thought, what about keeping it in something like a frio bag? At least it will be insulated against the cold.
 
Also, if you read Spanish, then worth looking at www.diabetesaventura.com
(adventure racing team sponsored by One Touch Ultra) It does get cold in mountains in Spain - a Briton broke a tooth on a frozen Mars bar at Bimbache expedition race a couple of years ago.
 
thanks for the info. I am certainly going to join the MAD forum it looks spot on.
One reason for me looking into this is that I am going on a 6 month walk across the US this year with my wife and intend to camp most of that time. I could do with a reliable blood glucose measuring system for this at least.

will look into the Australian strips too but am a little wary of buying strips off ebay!

thanks again
brian
 
Hi Brian
The latest person to post a blog on MAD is an Australian who is going to do Marathon des Sables in the Sahara in 2010, so there will be discussion of extreme walking in tough locations. For 6 months, I'd take at least 2 meters, possibly 2 each of 2 types, plus spare batteries etc, but just carry 2 at any one time, leaving spares with someone in the in USA who can post to you if required - post restantes at post offices, hotels, bars, whoever can help. Plus, think about how you will protect meters etc from wet, sand etc - I used roll-top flexible bags as sold to watersports enthusiastics and clip-lock plastic food boxes for my kit during a 4 month expedition to Chilean Patagonia, Falkland Islands and South Georgia, and never had a problem with meters failing. In 6 months across USA, you will encounter a wide range of conditions, as I'm sure you know!
 
phone lifescan and ask them for the smallest meter they do and just keep that part in your inside pocket, body heat means you'll have no issues.. its what i did last year in france snowboarding and had no issues at all... also if the temperature is dropping much lower than that then you are going to run into problems with insulin freezing, it maybe an idea to keep them in an inside pocket too or insulate them in some way
 
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