Which Monitor ?

[ERICSMUM]

Some recommendations please.

My sister was diagnosed Type 2 last week, to be managed by diet to start with. GP explained that policy is not to test BS for diet-controlled.

Anyway, my sister wants to test in the first weeks/months to identify a pattern or reaction to certain foods & exercise. (Hope this makes sense so far !)

She's happy to self-fund but we have no idea which monitor to get. Are they all basically the same or are some more sophisticated ? She uses a FitBit to monitor exercise via an app and would like similar for a BS monitor if such a thing exists.

Thanks

 

[Northerner]

Hi EricsMum, if self-funding, then the cost of the strips is the biggest consideration. Some High St brands can charge up to £30 for 50 strips, but the cheapest option we have come across is the SD Codefree Meter which has test strips at around £8 for 50 🙂 Many of our members use this meter and strips and are perfectly happy with it - all meters have to conform to minimum specifications for accuracy, so in that respect there is little to choose between them - paying more does not give you greater accuracy.

There is something called the Freestyle Libre which can be used for constant monitoring of blood glucose levels, but you would still need to use fingerprick tests to ensure reliability of the sensors. It's also quite expensive, at around £140 for the starter pack (contains a reader and two 14-day sensors, extra sensors are around £50 each). Some of our members use these in conjunction with test strips, but probably best to try the strips alone first.

 

[grovesy]

I agree with Northerner.
I have had basic monitors and had ones with lots of features, i have found that that the basic ones are just as good.

 

[trophywench]

What they said - but read this before she starts testing, please!

http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.co.uk/2006/10/test-review-adjust.html