meter offers

[mcdonagh47]

Lloyds Pharmacy have an offer on Accuchek meters at the mo ...

20% off - making Aviva and Nano meters ?12.52

 

[Northerner]

The Aviva is a very reliable meter - I've been using te same one as my main meter since diagnosis 4 years ago 🙂 I've had problems with the Nano though

 

[DeusXM]

Just ring up AccuChek, they'll send you any meter you like for free if you ask.

 

[Doddy]

Just ring up AccuChek, they'll send you any meter you like for free if you ask.

Yep they do 🙂 mine is in the post 🙂

 

[Abi]

If you sre type two then there is a good chance that you are only getting limited quantities, if any at all, on prescription. Probably worth speaking to the manufacturers to see how much it would cost to purchase the strips yourself- some will sell at a more favourable cost to you- I have a feeling Abbot may be one of these. There is also caresens which - although a type one and no problems with prescriptions at the mo- I brought as a back up- strips are less than ?13 per 50 and there is also SD codefree metre purchasable online from amazon for which you can purchase strips for less than ?7 per 50- the meter is also cheap. I've tried this as well. Both meters give reasonable consistent readings but read some 20 to 30% higher than my bayer contour so could potentially miss hypos, If I had to use these I'd set my targets slightly higher and treat anything less than 5.5 with a small snack

 

[Abi]

Oops, sorry McDonagh 47- neglected to notice you are on insulin- even more worrying if you have number of strips on prescription limited

 

[Austin Mini]

I dont understand why you should want to buy a meter? Surely you are given one by the diabetic team either from your local hospital or the GPs diabetic team?
Say you went out and bought a meter for yourself. Would your GP write a prescription for the test strips? What about if the meter went wrong how do you get it fixed?
My diabetic nurse GAVE me my meter and I expect the health authority gets a discount if all diabetics use the same meter / test strips.
We in Southern Lincolnshire have the Optium Exceed meters and a fine piece of kit it is too. Free batteries and if it goes wrong (it never does) a new meeter next day.
When I went on holiday last year I rang up for a spare battery only to be asked, do you want a spare meter to take to Greece with you? Sure enough the next day a spare battery and a brand new meter was on the doorstep.
So why on earth buy one? Or is it trendy to have an obscure and expensive to own meter much like a cell phone?

 

[Steff]

You seem to think its an easy thing getting a meter off your GP/DSN well it aint if your a type 2, I would go off and find you all the threads from poor type 2s who have had to fight tooth and nail and after buying a meter have to trawl on ebay and amazon to buy the dam strips but not got the odd 3 hours spare to find them all,if only it was as easy as making a phone call to get one as well it aint.

So to answer your why on earth buy one, some diabetics have to cause there DSN/GP refuses to give them

 

[Austin Mini]

When did they stop giving them out then? First thing they did when I was diagnosed type 2 (yeh they got that wrong) was a meter and some pills plus four days in hospital (food was great) then eight weeks off work as my eyes lost all that sugar (vision blurred).

 

[Mark T]

Because diabetes support from your gp is a postcode lottery...

 

[Steff]

When did they stop giving them out then?

I dunno for me I was one of the lucky few who got given a meter upon diagnosis but that dont stop me feeling for the unlucky ones who get silly so called professionals telling them no need to test testing means nothing yada,yada.;

 

[jimtype1]

Free meter for type 1's

Hi

GlucoMen offer their GlucoMen LX PLUS meter free to type 1's. I recieved mine really quickly.

It is able to measure glucose and ketones so is really helpful for my diabetes. I am type 1 and use an insulin pump.

They have a website - www.glucomen.co.uk

Thanks

 

[DeusXM]

I dont understand why you should want to buy a meter? Surely you are given one by the diabetic team either from your local hospital or the GPs diabetic team?

It's an element of choice. Some people want a meter that fits their particular lifestyle. Say your local GP can give you one particular meter and there's one that's much smaller that is available. It might be that you would prefer the smaller meter. I know some people with D who carry round a whole bag with all their stuff in it. I don't want to carry a manbag, so I'd go for something that could fit in my pocket. I agree though, there's no point buying one, you can get them for free.

Say you went out and bought a meter for yourself. Would your GP write a prescription for the test strips? What about if the meter went wrong how do you get it fixed?

Yep, I just ring up my GP, tell him what meter I've got and then it's on my prescription for next time. In terms of the meter 'going wrong' - most manufacturers offer a replacement service which would be equal to that of a GPs. For instance, say my meter breaks at 4pm on a Friday afternoon - I'd have to wait until at least Monday morning to get a new one from my GP. Or, I can quickly ring the manufacturer and get one by special delivery for Saturday morning, in good circumstances.

Or I could just use one of my many 'spare' ones that I've got from manufacturers in the past when 'evaluating' meters.

Or is it trendy to have an obscure and expensive to own meter much like a cell phone?

No, it's about convenience. I used to use meters that used test strips. The result was you could always tell where I'd been because inevitably there would be an odd used strip here or there because hey, that's what happens with used strips. Then I got a meter without strips. Hey presto, a heck of a lot less vacuuming, no more accidentally spilling an entire jar of strips when drunk. For me, that's a benefit. It might not be for everyone - but there's nothing wrong with wanting something you use 10 times a day to be the most convenient it can be.

Then there's data transfer, or memory. I'm the sort of person who never really bothers to write up their results until an hour before their clinic appointment. So I like having something with a)a big memory; b)space to record extra info at the time of testing (insulin intake, pre- or post-prandial, etc.) and a way of getting that info in a spreadsheet as quickly as possible. Not all meters satisfy those requirements, so for me, it's important to find one that does. And if that meter isn't in my GP's office, I'll just call the manufacturer to get it.

I fit my diabetes management around my life, rather than vice versa. If your PCT offers just one meter that's deemed to be suitable for the 'average' person, it might be fine. But it might not be. I don't see why I should have to fit my life around the meter I get given.

 

[Austin Mini]

When I was first diagnosed I was given the BM 1-44 test strips. No meter required only a clock to gauge two minutes. The beauty of these were NHS, doctors,nurses ambulance all used these test strips. In 1985 there were no electronic gadgets to test your blood sugars. Then along came the electronic meters. Costly, confusing and with so many to chose from expensive. I was finally given an electronic tester in 2000. We moved to Lincolnshire and it was replaced with one with cheaper test strips. I hate them if only I could go back to the old days with BM test strips the world was a far better (and much cheaper) place.

 

[trophywench]

Well the meters were originally the size of a housebrick (just like calculators LOL) and there was a stage when the NHS would supply the strips but not the meter. Cost me a month's salary, Austin. But I ouldn't WAIT to retire the test tube and the pipette ...... The batteries (Lithium ones) were two weeks wages. But they only went after about 2 years or longer so not too bad.

It's only been comparatively recently that I have got one free. Last meter I purchased was a Lifescan One-Touch Ultra - when they brought out the Ultra 2, you could apply for a free upgrade so I did.

I was still using that meter when I got my pump last year and so also got given the meter that went with that, plus a couple of Nano's as spares, so I could use the same strips.