Testing kits

[dawn5]

Although I have been diabetic for 7 years and have been trying to control it with diet, which has been a struggle, my HbA1c has risen and I am thinking hard about a testing kit. I don't have much money but would like to get "the best" I can afford that won't break the bank, can anybody recommend a particular brand and tell me why they think it is good. Many thanks

 

[Ljc]

Hi. All meters sold in the U.K. have to comply to certain standard, that includes the ones with the cheapest testing strips.
What if any diabetes meds are you on, as with some you should be provided with a glucose meter.

It’s the cost of the testing strips you have to watch out for, many meters sold in chemists use strips that cost £15 or more for a pot of 50, and when you are initially doing in depth testing, cost is important

Their are two glucose meters that use testing strips that cost around £8 for 50.
One is The Gluco Navii
Others will know the other one.

We use the mmol/l measurement in the U.K
You are entitled to claim VATrelief
You will also need to buy more pots of test strips as 50 won’t last long.
and a box of lancets , some of us economise on them .

Normally we test directly before eating then two after starting to eat, some also test on waking and just before bed.
It’s the difference between the pre and post meal that is impotent, so long as the post meal was no more than 3 mmol above the pre meal reading then that meal was ok. Gradually your pre meal levels will start to come down .
As your on a budget you should find Testing on a budge helpful too , it takes longer but still works.
I hope you find this helpful.

Keep on asking questions on here as we give advise on what has worked for us

To be honest I found trying to control diabetes without a glucose meter , like driving in the dark without headlights, one day, hopefully soon the nhs will realise there mistake in not proving the very tools that are needed.

 

[rebrascora]

There are a couple of basic test kits which members here find reliable and economical to self fund... the Sd Gluco Navii and the Spirit healthcare Tee2. Both are about the same price for the meter kit @ approx £15 and additional pots of test strips are £8 for a pot of 50 although I think you can sometimes get them cheaper is you bulk purchase (2 or more pots... which is a good idea anyway as you get through quite a lot of test strips in the first few weeks of intensive testing. They are both available to buy online.
There are some cheaper ones which are Chinese but one or two people have reported problems with using them so the above 2 are what we recommend.... If you want all sorts of bells and whistles and blue tooth etc then there are other more expensive meters which have considerably more expensive strips... which is where the costs add up but for basic self testing, either of the above are ideal. You can also tick the box to say you are diabetic on the order form and then have the VAT deducted from the price.

Hope that gives you the info you need.

 

[dawn5]

Hi. All meters sold in the U.K. have to comply to certain standard, that includes the ones with the cheapest testing strips.
What if any diabetes meds are you on, as with some you should be provided with a glucose meter.

It’s the cost of the testing strips you have to watch out for, many meters sold in chemists use strips that cost £15 or more for a pot of 50, and when you are initially doing in depth testing, cost is important

Their are two glucose meters that use testing strips that cost around £8 for 50.
One is The Gluco Navii
Others will know the other one.

We use the mmol/l measurement in the U.K
You are entitled to claim VATrelief
You will also need to buy more pots of test strips as 50 won’t last long.
and a box of lancets , some of us economise on them .

Normally we test directly before eating then two after starting to eat, some also test on waking and just before bed.
It’s the difference between the pre and post meal that is impotent, so long as the post meal was no more than 3 mmol above the pre meal reading then that meal was ok. Gradually your pre meal levels will start to come down .
As your on a budget you should find Testing on a budge helpful too , it takes longer but still works.
I hope you find this helpful.

Keep on asking questions on here as we give advise on what has worked for us

To be honest I found trying to control diabetes without a glucose meter , like driving in the dark without headlights, one day, hopefully soon the nhs will realise there mistake in not proving the very tools that are needed.

Thanks Lin, all good info and appreciate being told about the pre- and post- having no more than a 3 mmol differential. Just waiting for the poor over-burdened postie to deliver my kit now...

 

[Ljc]

Thanks Lin, all good info and appreciate being told about the pre- and post- having no more than a 3 mmol differential. Just waiting for the poor over-burdened postie to deliver my kit now...

It takes time to work things out and gradually bring your levels down, so please don’t get disheartened if for a few weeks your post meal levels are higher.
Diabetes is a marathon not a sprint.
Keeping a food diary with a log of your BG results is a good idea.