Glucorx Nexus Meter

[Vicsetter]

I have just received a shiny new GlucoRX Nexus Meter and 50 test strips from PharmacyLink.co.uk. This is quite a basic meter which is actually a TaiDoc model 4277 made by TaiDoc a Taiwanese company. The meter is ?4.95 and the test strips are ?11.94 for 50, so half the price of anyone else's strips.

It's quite large which is good if you need reading glasses. The test port has a nice blue light when you insert a test strip. It only has one button which performs all the functions (apart from the Set button next to the batteries, where you can set 4 alarms). It runs on 2 AAA batteries so you should never have a problem getting batteries wherever you are.
I have seen reports that some think it reads high so I will try it out and let you all know. Initial reading was 6.6 with my One-Touch giving 6.2,on different hand/finger so no conclusion there.

The meter comes with lancing device, test solution, carry case, 10 strips and lancets. Good instructions in good english!, and a card to hand to your GP with the PIP code for the strips.

With a bit of a struggle I managed to get the software downloaded from the GlucoRx website (www.glucorx.co.uk) and had to download a driver from the TaiDoc site in order to connect the meter to my PC. But all is now working on Windows 7.

 

[Steff]

Just had a look at google and it looks preety nifty,looks good and i like how the numbers show on the front.Nicely priced as well

 

[AlisonM]

Hmm, it does look promising. I'll keep an eye out for further reports and, if they're positive, I may consider adding one to my, ever growing, collection.

 

[Vicsetter]

If you have to buy your own strips, it's not too bad a price. Interestingly the card for your GP says the PIP code and the price is ?9.95 for 50, so the NHS will do well out of that - maybe one could persuade the GP to cough up for ?10 a month.😛

 

[Vicsetter]

Initial results aren't very promising:
Glucorx 6.6, 6.1,8.5,8.8,9.1,8.8,7.3,8.0
Ultra Easy 6.2, 5.7,7.6,8.7,8.8,7.3,6.8,6.0

Consitently higher than the OneTouch Ultra Easy, which is Usually higher than my MyLife Pura. The 8.5 compared to 7.6 was from the same finger prick.

 

[Northerner]

Initial results aren't very promising:
Glucorx 6.6, 6.1,8.5,8.8,9.1,8.8,7.3,8.0
Ultra Easy 6.2, 5.7,7.6,8.7,8.8,7.3,6.8,6.0

Consitently higher than the OneTouch Ultra Easy, which is Usually higher than my MyLife Pura. The 8.5 compared to 7.6 was from the same finger prick.

I wonder if the difference is anything to do with measuring whole blood as opposed to blood plasma?

Remember if you buy something like this you can claim back the VAT on it.

 

[Vicsetter]

Not worth the effort on the VAT front. I'm only testing the thing.
Carrying on with the readings:
Glucorx 8.2,8.3,6.7,5.5,5.9,9.3,7.1,7.9,7.9,7.8,7.5
Ultra Easy 8.9,8.7,5.7.5.7,7.7,8.7,6.4,6.3,8.3,6.9,5.7

The capillary window is very narrow and dark and I find it impossible to see the blood filling the strip (unlike the Ultra and MyLife meters), but it hasn't been a problem. Can't see the point of the blue light where the strip is inserted, would have been nice if it illuminated the strip.

The readings seem somewhat inconsistent with my other meters. They are mostly about 10% above the UltraEasy (some of the readings are from the same blob of blood, but still different). Previously I have said that the MyLife Pura meter gives a lower reading than the UltraEasy

The leaflet with the meter gives the following accuracy table:
<4.2mmol/L 71% within 0.28mmol/L, 90% within 0.83 and 100% within 0.56
>=4.2mmol/L 51% within 5%, 82% within 10%, 95% within 15% and 100% within 20%.

So taking readings above 4.2mmol (i.e. all of them) then they are all supposed to be within 20% of the lab test value. I haven't seen printed accuracy tables for the other meters but assuming a tolerance of 15-20% the results are probably OK.

Can you use them? Almost certainly for trend analysis. If you assume they overread by 10% and adjust accordingly you should be able to compare your averages with your hba1c to see how you are doing.
What happens when you drive? A reading above 5 should mean it's ok to drive but you could be borderline (thats why I use the MyLife Pura for driving). Readings closer to 4 and below 4 are probably fairly accurate.

If your GP wont prescribe strips and you can afford 50 strips for ?10 (claiming the VAT back) then go for it.

 

[Northerner]

Thanks Vic, I'm sure this will be very useful for people having to fund their own strips 🙂

 

[Vicsetter]

Just about full of holes from all the testing and I am defo of the opinion that the Glucorx is good if your reading is below about 6, but wildly inaccurate above this. Strangely my on-touch decided it was going to be top dog on wednesday and gave higher readings than the Glucorx.

Drove to Stirling today and it's definitely the driving - got to Morrisons for lunch and found I was 4.6 (7.1 first thing this morning). Had beef stew , dumpling and chips and did the shopping. Long drive home via Crieff and Kenmore. Now I'm 4.6 again. These readings are from my MyLife Pura meter which I use for driving because I believe it gives lower readings than the OneTouch - OneTouch says 5.6 and Glucorx says 5.8. My body says 4.6 - go get something to eat.

Yet another example of why you should test if you are on insulin or other hypo-producing meds.

 

[Northerner]

...Yet another example of why you should test if you are on insulin or other hypo-producing meds.

And also why you should have a meter you trust! 🙂