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Which? meter

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will2016

will2016

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
as it says, what meter does everyone use, I use a Freedom Lite, are they good, bad or indifferent? what do you use, experiences accuracy etc? sorry if this has been done before but please humour me
 
For the first 5 years I used an AccuChek Aviva, which I was fairly happy with, but a bit awkward when it came to uploading the results into the clunky software. About 3 months ago I changed to a Contour Next USB, which I like a lot and is much more 21st century! 🙂 I've also got an Optium Xceed as a spare meter and for testing ketones.
 
I currently use the Bayer contour next usb, great meter good free software, I also use the Accu Chek mobile when out and about as there's no need to carry a test strip, lancet disposal container (old test strip pot) as its an all in one meter. Though the on board software is the weakness in the mobile, still a great meter.

Used a freestyle lite in the past, found the accuracy to be on par with the next usb and the mobile as they all gave similar results to each other.

Found I got on better with the next usb and the mobile due to there displays. The next usb has a good colour screen which is very clear and easy to read.

The mobile has a decent size screen with yellow text on a black background, which is clear and easy to read.
 
My son has always had a Freestyle Mini/Lite, and we love it for the backlight which shines like a torch beam along the testing strip - perfect for night testing without having to switch on lights and wake him up. But the latest version has no backlight and will therefore be useless to us, so we'll need another model when his current meter gives up the ghost.

Does the contour next USB have a backlight?
 
Redkite said:
Does the contour next USB have a backlight?
Click to expand...

The test strip port has a light that you can switch on when you want it. The actual display does not have a back light as its not needed due to the way the screen works.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Came across this post last week that compares meter accuracies - might be of interest?

http://diabetescgmblog.com/2013/08/26/blood-glucose-test-strips-accuracy-comparison/
Click to expand...

Interesting. I'm using a Contour Next USB, so maybe improved on the former model, but it seems to reflect how I feel when I take a reading. I did do a comparison test yesterday because the contour showed a 4.4 and I actually felt lower, but my Optium Xceed showed 5.3! (same blood drop!)
 
I use a Nano as my main meter, I also have an Optimum Exceed which also does ketones but seems to take forever to process a sample (I'm too impatient to wait 20-30 secs!) I also have a FreeStyle lite which I leave at work. It seems to need the least blood of all of them and I love the butterfly on the test strip (Such a girl!). The freestyle has the smallest test strips too
 
Aoife said:
I use a Nano as my main meter, I also have an Optimum Exceed which also does ketones but seems to take forever to process a sample (I'm too impatient to wait 20-30 secs!) I also have a FreeStyle lite which I leave at work. It seems to need the least blood of all of them and I love the butterfly on the test strip (Such a girl!). The freestyle has the smallest test strips too
Click to expand...

Does it? The Contour USB has pretty small ones - far smaller than the Accu Chek planks! Although that can be a problem when trying to fish them out of the oversized tubs. 🙄
 
I have no idea on the size compared to others, just the meters I own! They are about a little over half the width and 3/4 of the length of the accucheck planks!
 
Aoife said:
I have no idea on the size compared to others, just the meters I own! They are about a little over half the width and 3/4 of the length of the accucheck planks!
Click to expand...

Yes, they sound similar to the contour ones, which I found very fiddly at first after 5 years of using Accu Chek, got used to them now though 🙂 Very speedy and a lot less temperamental than Accu Chek, which gave me an awful lot of 'not enough blood' errors, which renfdered them useless! 😡 Optium Xceed take an age to draw up the blood, but does allow you a second go.
 
i used to use the aviva nano up until about one month ago when I switched to the USB contour next. It has great software so you can download reports and segment the data in lots of different ways which is very useful.

the design of the bag / pouch is a bit rubbish but its primary function is great.
 
I think I am going to swap my meters around, I'm not good with change! I think from my next prescription I'm going to go with my cute, little, girly freestyle and relegate the nano for a bit.
 
I have a Freestyle Insulinx from Abbott's which is a great meter, very flexible and easy to use, with good software and great tech support. There was a reported problem with errors at the high end of the scale but that has been sorted by a software upgrade and it works fine now. I've also been offered the chance of a Contour Next USB which has a good rep too and a number of folk on here would recommend it.
 
Cleo said:
i used to use the aviva nano up until about one month ago when I switched to the USB contour next. It has great software so you can download reports and segment the data in lots of different ways which is very useful.

the design of the bag / pouch is a bit rubbish but its primary function is great.
Click to expand...

It's a terrible design - it hardly closes with the tub in place! Why on earth they can't use a smaller tub, or a flatter, rectangular container instead of a cylinder I don't know 🙄
 
Aoife said:
I think I am going to swap my meters around, I'm not good with change! I think from my next prescription I'm going to go with my cute, little, girly freestyle and relegate the nano for a bit.
Click to expand...

I stopped using the nano because there is a design flaw in it - it will often give an error because the battery contacts are not, erm, contacting, which makes it too unreliable for me. I did try customer service and they had me messing about with the contacts to no avail and then sent me a replacement which had the same problem. Maybe they've solved it now, this is probably 2 years ago now.
 
My "main" meter is the freestyle insulinx. It takes only a small drop of blood, and has the bolus calculator which is nice. It's pretty big though and I find the touch screen doesn't always respond the first time. It also feels a bit plasticy and not that solid.

For carrying around I have a couple of one touch ultra meters, they're much smaller than the insulinx and feel better quality. The case is much nicer with a mouled plastic slot of the meter compared to the strip of elastic for the insulinx. However the take a lot more blood.

I haven't noticed any particular differences in readings between the two.

Have been thinking about getting a small freestyle meter so I only have to stock one type of strips, however due to a couple of prescription errors I have a lot of one touch strips to use up.
 
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