Active Low-Carber Forums
Atkins diet and low carb discussion provided free for information only, not as medical advice.
Home Plans Tips Recipes Tools Stories Studies Products
Active Low-Carber Forums
A sugar-free zone


Welcome to the Active Low-Carber Forums.
Support for Atkins diet, Protein Power, Neanderthin (Paleo Diet), CAD/CALP, Dr. Bernstein Diabetes Solution and any other healthy low-carb diet or plan, all are welcome in our lowcarb community. Forget starvation and fad diets -- join the healthy eating crowd! You may register by clicking here, it's free!

Go Back   Active Low-Carber Forums > Main Low-Carb Diets Forums & Support > Daily Low-Carb Support > General Low-Carb
User Name
Password
FAQ Members Calendar Mark Forums Read Search Gallery My P.L.A.N. Survey


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #76   ^
Old Thu, Feb-12-15, 12:50
GRB5111's Avatar
GRB5111 GRB5111 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 4,036
 
Plan: Very LC, Higher Protein
Stats: 227/186/185 Male 6' 0"
BF:
Progress: 98%
Location: Herndon, VA
Default

I haven't seen it mentioned in this thread in regards to test meters, but the ReliOn Ultima from Walmart is the exact same meter as the Abbott Precision Xtra at a slightly lower price. I have the Precision Xtra and buy the ReliOn Ultima strips in bulk from Walmart, and they are reasonably priced, cheaper than the Abbott strips. The meter is very accurate and consistent with my past glucose readings from my Dr.'s lab. The ReliOn Ultima & Precision Xtra read both glucose and ketone strips.

Somewhat off topic: Since my primary measurements with the Precision Xtra are for Ketones, I always found Ketone strips to be ridiculously priced until I discovered a company called Leedstone. They sell Ketone test strips for the Precision Xtra . . . for testing on cattle. They are cheaper and my order was delivered very quickly, and yes, they're the same ones intended for humans. I guess at this point, I'm a farm customer of Leedstone, but hey, they work, and my cattle are very healthy!!!

Last edited by GRB5111 : Thu, Feb-12-15 at 13:00.
Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
  #77   ^
Old Thu, Feb-12-15, 13:09
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,830
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
Default

Oooh! nice tip about the ketone strips. Do you have a link?
Reply With Quote
  #78   ^
Old Thu, Feb-12-15, 13:20
Bonnie OFS Bonnie OFS is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,573
 
Plan: Dr. Bernstein
Stats: 188/150/135 Female 5 ft 4 inches
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: NE WA
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Liz53
We're really talking 2 things here: consistency and accuracy. Relion may or may not be consistent, but is it accurate?


I haven't found the ReliOn to be either consistent or accurate. If it were consistently high, then I could deal with it - I'd just subtract the necessary amount. But it's all over the place compared to the more accurate (& consistent!) Aviva.

Anytime the ReliOn has an extremely high reading I immediately check with the Aviva. For instance - yesterday morning, 1 hour after a breakfast of bacon & eggs, the ReliOn said my BG was 162! Aviva said 124 - much more believable.
Reply With Quote
  #79   ^
Old Thu, Feb-12-15, 13:20
GRB5111's Avatar
GRB5111 GRB5111 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 4,036
 
Plan: Very LC, Higher Protein
Stats: 227/186/185 Male 6' 0"
BF:
Progress: 98%
Location: Herndon, VA
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nancy LC
Oooh! nice tip about the ketone strips. Do you have a link?

Here's the link (hopefully, I can post this here without going against policy):

http://www.leedstone.com/precision-...one-strips.html

Unfortunately, their nice price has changed. I purchased 30 strips from them in early December for a total of $50.85. It's now showing $36.99 per box of 10.
Reply With Quote
  #80   ^
Old Thu, Feb-12-15, 13:22
GRB5111's Avatar
GRB5111 GRB5111 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 4,036
 
Plan: Very LC, Higher Protein
Stats: 227/186/185 Male 6' 0"
BF:
Progress: 98%
Location: Herndon, VA
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bonnie OFS
I haven't found the ReliOn to be either consistent or accurate. If it were consistently high, then I could deal with it - I'd just subtract the necessary amount. But it's all over the place compared to the more accurate (& consistent!) Aviva.

Anytime the ReliOn has an extremely high reading I immediately check with the Aviva. For instance - yesterday morning, 1 hour after a breakfast of bacon & eggs, the ReliOn said my BG was 162! Aviva said 124 - much more believable.

There are multiple versions of ReliOn meters at different price ranges. The Ultima is the same as the Precision Xtra by Abbott if that means anything.
Reply With Quote
  #81   ^
Old Thu, Feb-12-15, 13:38
Bonnie OFS Bonnie OFS is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,573
 
Plan: Dr. Bernstein
Stats: 188/150/135 Female 5 ft 4 inches
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: NE WA
Default

I just went rooting around in the drawer where I keep my testing supplies & found out I have 3 more testers! I'm going to have to check strip prices at the store for these. But before I do, I'm wondering if anyone has some first-hand knowledge of how accurate/consistent these are:
ReliOn micro (which may not be any better than my ReliOn Prime)
One Touch Ultra 2
Accu-Chek Advantage (which I would think would be as accurate as my Accu-Chek Aviva).
Reply With Quote
  #82   ^
Old Thu, Feb-12-15, 15:21
coachjeff's Avatar
coachjeff coachjeff is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 635
 
Plan: Very Low Carb
Stats: 211/212/210 Male 72
BF:
Progress: -100%
Location: Shreveport, LA
Default

I tested my after lunch BG's, and got a reading of 98, 50-minutes after lunch. That was with my cheap True Result Meter.

I then used my wife's expensive One Touch Ultra meter and strips right after that, and got a reading of 82, which seems more likely given the fact that my lunch was very low carb.

Nonetheless, I will continue testing.
Reply With Quote
  #83   ^
Old Thu, Feb-12-15, 16:24
Turtle2003's Avatar
Turtle2003 Turtle2003 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,449
 
Plan: Atkins, Newcastle
Stats: 260/221.8/165 Female 5'3"
BF:Highest weight 260
Progress: 40%
Location: Northern California
Default

Jimmy Moore wrote about the Walmart meter back in November.

Link

Quote:
To confirm my suspicions that this ReliOn Ultima was the same meter as the Precision Xtra, I bought one for $15 at Walmart along with some of their blood glucose testing strips and compared them when I got home. IT’S EXACTLY THE SAME! I took it one step further to confirm that it was the identical meter by putting one of my Precision Xtra blood ketone strips into it and it registered my results exactly the same as the Precision Xtra meter. THIS…IS…AWESOME!


So it sounds as though this meter will test for ketones. Jimmy hopes that Walmart will start selling the Abbott ketone strips for their version of the meter, for the price would surely be cheaper than buying from Abbott for their brand name meter.

Jimmy also gives the link for the Leedstone strips, but when you follow the link it seems they now want $36.99 for the box of 10, not the old price of $16.95 that Jimmy quoted.

Also, I haven't found the Relion Ultra to be very accurate. I think the consistency of these meters is more due to the quality of the strips being used than the meters themselves. I have a NovaMax that worked very well for a while, then got wonky with a new supply of strips, and now is working very well again with my newest test strips.
Reply With Quote
  #84   ^
Old Thu, Feb-12-15, 16:51
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,830
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
Default

Ah, yes... you can get them for $2 each (or could) at some canadian online pharmacy. I forgot the URL!
Reply With Quote
  #85   ^
Old Thu, Feb-12-15, 16:52
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,830
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by coachjeff
I tested my after lunch BG's, and got a reading of 98, 50-minutes after lunch. That was with my cheap True Result Meter.

I then used my wife's expensive One Touch Ultra meter and strips right after that, and got a reading of 82, which seems more likely given the fact that my lunch was very low carb.

Nonetheless, I will continue testing.

I typically see a 10-20 pt rise with a LC meal.
Reply With Quote
  #86   ^
Old Thu, Feb-12-15, 18:46
Liz53's Avatar
Liz53 Liz53 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 6,140
 
Plan: Mostly Fung/IDM
Stats: 165/138.4/135 Female 63
BF:???/better/???
Progress: 89%
Location: Washington state
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Turtle2003

I haven't found the Relion Ultra to be very accurate. I think the consistency of these meters is more due to the quality of the strips being used than the meters themselves. I have a NovaMax that worked very well for a while, then got wonky with a new supply of strips, and now is working very well again with my newest test strips.


I agree with you that the consistency problems are a function of strips and not meters. I had one batch of the Nova Max strips that gave me very erratic readings. They had just had a recall of strips and though my lot number was not included in the recall, I wonder if problems lingered for a while (or if mine just barely made it into the permissible category). The latest batch has been better, but not at all consistent with with readings at the doctor's office.

At any rate, my True Balance has arrived after its detour to Alaska on its way from FL to WA. May the comparisons begin.
Reply With Quote
  #87   ^
Old Thu, Feb-12-15, 21:40
coachjeff's Avatar
coachjeff coachjeff is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 635
 
Plan: Very Low Carb
Stats: 211/212/210 Male 72
BF:
Progress: -100%
Location: Shreveport, LA
Default

Just tested for second time today using BOTH my cheap True Result meter against my wife's expensive One Touch Ultra.

The cheap meter gave me a reading of 87 at bedtime, about an hour after dinner. (I eat dinner late, and go to bed early)

The expensive meter gave me a reading of 86.

Will do several mote tests to see if there is much difference between the two over multiple tests.
Reply With Quote
  #88   ^
Old Fri, Feb-13-15, 04:50
JEY100's Avatar
JEY100 JEY100 is offline
Posts: 13,340
 
Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169 Female 5' 9"
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
Default

Liz, your True Balance took a trip to Alaska...in February?
Let us know it's accuracy...it does at least seem to be consistant for me.
If others are considering try it, as I mentioned on another thread, ADW has a free shipping offer for Prez Day weekend until Monday.
Reply With Quote
  #89   ^
Old Fri, Feb-13-15, 07:47
coachjeff's Avatar
coachjeff coachjeff is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 635
 
Plan: Very Low Carb
Stats: 211/212/210 Male 72
BF:
Progress: -100%
Location: Shreveport, LA
Default

Ok, so now I'm really confused about what my BG's actually are. Especially my morning fasted BGs. I just took my fasted BG with both my cheap True Result and my wife's One Touch Ultra Mini.

True Result Meter - 121
One Touch Ultra - 84

Obviously a huge difference.

One reading says I'm a virtual diabetic (in mornings at least), the other says I'm fine.

My wife bought the One Touch under the advice of her doctor that specializes in diabetes. Presumably because of it's well known accuracy.

I hope it is the one that's right of course, since I like the LOWER readings it seems to give me, vs. the higher readings I seem to be getting from the True Result meter.

Will do several more tests today to see how they contrast against each other.

Though I'll probably get in trouble with my wife for using her $1 per unit strips.

My strips are only 18-cents per.

But of course useless if they are giving me false readings.
Reply With Quote
  #90   ^
Old Fri, Feb-13-15, 08:02
coachjeff's Avatar
coachjeff coachjeff is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 635
 
Plan: Very Low Carb
Stats: 211/212/210 Male 72
BF:
Progress: -100%
Location: Shreveport, LA
Default

David Mendosa's site has an article on the reliability of various BG meters, as tested by Consumer Reports & Men's Health magazine in 2012.

http://www.mendosa.com/blog/?p=1387

They tested for both accuracy and consistency (or repeatability).

Here are the 9 of 21 meters that Consumer Reports rates excellent for accuracy:

Accu-Chek Aviva
FreeStyle Freedom Lite
Accu-Chek Compact Plus
FreeStyle Lite
Bayer Breeze 2
Up & Up
ReliOn Micro
TrueResult Blood Glucose Monitoring Sytem
OneTouch Ultra2

Here’s are the six of the 10 meters that MensHealth rated excellent for accuracy:

OneTouch UltraMini
Ascencia Contour
OneTouch Ultra2
OneTouch UltraSmart
Nova Max
FreeStyle Lite

Most of us seem to care more about accuracy than consistency (or repeatability). But the latter is arguably even more important. It also seems to be rarer: Consumer Reports rated only five of the 21 meters that it tested as excellent in this respect:

FreeStyle Freedom Lite
Accu-Chek Compact Plus
FreeStyle Lite
OneTouch UltraSmart
OneTouch UltraMini

MensHealth thinks that only one of the 10 meters it tested rates excellent for consistency:

OneTouch UltraMini
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 01:35.


Copyright © 2000-2024 Active Low-Carber Forums @ forum.lowcarber.org
Powered by: vBulletin, Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.