Recommended glucose metres and fingerpricking devices please?

[RJN123]

I am still a relative newbie, so would love some recommendations. What glucose metre and fingerpricking device do you prefer?
I was given the AgaMatrix Jazz in the hospital, and because I find it fiddly and errorprone, I am not very good at measuring. I particularly don’t like the fingerprick thingie.

I have looked around the internet, but thought you folks are more likely to have some good recommendations. Thank you in advance!

(I buy a libre on occasion when I know I am in high risk environments like long business trips, but can’t afford it on a permanent basis).

 

[Alijp]

I am still a relative newbie, so would love some recommendations. What glucose metre and fingerpricking device do you prefer?
I was given the AgaMatrix Jazz in the hospital, and because I find it fiddly and errorprone, I am not very good at measuring. I particularly don’t like the fingerprick thingie.

I have looked around the internet, but thought you folks are more likely to have some good recommendations. Thank you in advance!

(I buy a libre on occasion when I know I am in high risk environments like long business trips, but can’t afford it on a permanent basis).

I was given the 4sure smart duo in hospital, I have found it ok and easy to use but I don't have any experience of any other system to compare really.

 

[Martin.A]

My surgery gave me a Gluco Rx Q when I was diagnosed and I've never felt the need to change it.

 

[Grannylorraine]

My DN gave me a Palmdoc, no idea if the particular model.

 

[grovesy]

The best finger pricker is the Accu-Chek Fastclix, and I have used a few in my time.

 

[RJN123]

The best finger pricker is the Accu-Chek Fastclix, and I have used a few in my time.

Great. That is the one I had considered. Seems a bit more like the one they use in hospitals - which I don’t find too bad.

 

[harbottle]

I mainly use a Contour Blue, as it's got bluetooth connectivity and the app on my iPhone integrated with Apple health and the data gets shared automatically to other health apps.

Strips are quite affordable, as well, I just paid 34 pounds for 4 boxes.

I've also used another one - TruMetrix - which was OK, but strips were too expensive.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Great. That is the one I had considered. Seems a bit more like the one they use in hospitals - which I don’t find too bad.

It's what most of us recommend, yes. (It has had different names in the past but the current one is Fastclix. Takes little cartridges of lancets.)

 

[grovesy]

Sometimes Boots have offers on the lancet cartridges.

 

[ColinUK]

The benefit of the Fastclix is that it really doesn't hurt. The cheap ones can be quite painful in comparison.

As for meters themselves beware. All the meters are cheap but the cost of test strips can vary wildly. Many people who self fund go for the GlucoNavii (or whatever the latest iteration of this one is) because the strips are very reasonably priced.

GlucoNavii Blood Glucose Meter & Test Strips

Choose the blood glucose meter and test strips from GlucoNavii for unparalleled accuracy and efficiency. Shop for more glucose monitors at Home Health UK.

homehealth-uk.com

 

[RBZ5416]

Accu-Chek & Contour meters usually fare well in accuracy tests. But a big consideration is the ongoing cost of test strips if self-funding. Ascensia were giving away their Contour Blue so it would be worth enquiring with them. Strips aren't too bad if you shop around & buy a few boxes at a time. But then an Accu-Chek meter would include the Fastclix.

 

[ColinUK]

Sometimes Boots have offers on the lancet cartridges.

That's assuming that people ever need a replacement. You know folks only change needles on St Swithin's Day! One cartridge lasts at least 28 year I reckon!

 

[ColinUK]

Accu-Chek & Contour meters usually fare well in accuracy tests. But a big consideration is the ongoing cost of test strips if self-funding. Ascensia were giving away their Contour Blue so it would be worth enquiring with them. Strips aren't too bad if you shop around & buy a few boxes at a time. But then an Accu-Chek meter would include the Fastclix.

Almost word for word. I thought I'd posted my thoughts rather than the words I'd typed for a second there.

 

[RBZ5416]

Almost word for word. I thought I'd posted my thoughts rather than the words I'd typed for a second there.

You were a minute ahead of me!

 

[RJN123]

Super helpful. Looked around and indeed accu-check strips are insanely priced, and contour is less than half the price. So I guess I will go for a Fastclix and a Contour Blue plus. Many thanks.

 

[JJay]

Super helpful. Looked around and indeed accu-check strips are insanely priced, and contour is less than half the price. So I guess I will go for a Fastclix and a Contour Blue plus. Many thanks.

Personally I don’t have any problem with the supplied Contour finger-pricker, so you might like to try that out before shelling out for a Fastclix (which, perversely, I didn’t get on with at all!)

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

There’s a 2017 comparison of 17 meters here (from a research institute in Massachusets) which might be interesting, though I’m not sure all of them are commonly available in the UK.

Comparative Accuracy of 17 Point-of-Care Glucose Meters

The accuracy of point-of-care blood glucose (BG) meters is important for the detection of dysglycemia, calculation of insulin doses, and the calibration of continuous glucose monitors. The objective of this study was to compare the accuracy of commercially ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Additionally, Diatribe (a US site) compared 18 meters in 2022 here (a follow-up on earlier comparisons)

Are Blood Glucose Meters Accurate? New Data on 18 Meters

Results from the Diabetes Technology Society’s Blood Glucose Meter Surveillance Program identifies only six out of 18 meters that passed. Did yours make the cut?

diatribe.org

 

[RJN123]

Personally I don’t have any problem with the supplied Contour finger-pricker, so you might like to try that out before shelling out for a Fastclix (which, perversely, I didn’t get on with at all!)

Thank you. I have shelled out for the Fastclix. I reckon as this is likely to be a lifetime thing, I may as well try out various options and worth the £30. But always good to have a backup (just realised I left my AgaMatrix in Malaysia )

 

[RJN123]

There’s a 2017 comparison of 17 meters here (from a research institute in Massachusets) which might be interesting, though I’m not sure all of them are commonly available in the UK.

Comparative Accuracy of 17 Point-of-Care Glucose Meters

The accuracy of point-of-care blood glucose (BG) meters is important for the detection of dysglycemia, calculation of insulin doses, and the calibration of continuous glucose monitors. The objective of this study was to compare the accuracy of commercially ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Additionally, Diatribe (a US site) compared 18 meters in 2022 here (a follow-up on earlier comparisons)

Are Blood Glucose Meters Accurate? New Data on 18 Meters

Results from the Diabetes Technology Society’s Blood Glucose Meter Surveillance Program identifies only six out of 18 meters that passed. Did yours make the cut?

diatribe.org

Interesting to see that the AgaMatrix Jazz is not only fiddly, but also inaccurate. Thankfully, my blood sugar is reasonably stable and I haven’t had hypos yet, but I can imagine that for some, an inaccurate metre can be a major issue.

 

[RJN123]

That's assuming that people ever need a replacement. You know folks only change needles on St Swithin's Day! One cartridge lasts at least 28 year I reckon!

Do people use their lancets many times? I have only done this a few times as I was running low. My DNS also asked me about it and seemed surprised (and please) that I said I only used it once. Am I a fool?