Ummm...$100 price difference at ADW. For that, I am still happy with the TrueBalance. Though missed the opportunity to check its accuracy with the lab, it seems OK, nothing wildly different with a repeat. The only problem is with me getting enough blood to fill it, so now I overshoot a bit to not waste strips.

I've used up about 500 strips since I started testing 3 months ago. That is a lot of finger poking . I find that if I poke the side of my finger, there is less pain, but it is hard to get a good sample of blood. If I poke closer to the center of my fingertip, I get a good sample with a little more lingering achiness throughout the day. I just suck it up and do the sensitive part. A better sample yields more consistent results.

Since doing my 36 hour fast a week ago, I've started getting FBS readings in the upper 70's and low 80's on a regular basis. So it did shift my averages down a notch or two. But that long fast was harder to do. I think I'll stick to the easier 18 & 24 hour fasts for the most part and only do the hard one if the short IF fail to keep my BG in the neighborhood of where it is currently. If my numbers are accurate, then I am exactly where I want to be.

I'm down to my last 100 strips. Time to order more. I may switch things up and try Janet's meter & strips. The price is right and I'd like to have a reality check for the readings I'm accepting as gospel from my current meter.

Thanks for the advice Ken! Going more toward the middle of the finger pad is the secret to getting enough blood. I was following some diagram that showed pricking more to the side of the finger, where there is not enough blood... for me at least.

PSA: This is not an ad, but ADW is offering free shipping on anything for Presidents Day. So the TrueBalance kit would be $19.49 all in, and as mentioned, I received 120 strips in total, the lancet and everything was included. There is no coupon code, an email reads: "That's right, pay no shipping fees for the next six days [now four], as all orders will have complimentary standard shipping within the contiguous United States.*Take advantage and get your glucose monitors, glucose test strips, pump supplies, and anything else you may need - all shipped via standard shipping - free! Act now as this offer expires at 11:59PM on Monday, February 16th"

I got that meter (TrueResult) and it is reading 10-20 points lower than my Relion. I don't trust it. Gonna have the company send me a test kit.

The relion prime I have is often 10 to 20 points higher than the top rated Freestyle I have. Then other times (like tonight) its the same. I believe the Relion prime strips are the problem -- they are cheaply made (hence the affordable price) and not always on target. Sometines they read accurately other times they are off target. I'm going to use them for morning fasting BG (and realize they might be 10 points or so high) and use the Freestyle for some post meal 2 hour readings especially on fasting days or when I need a more accurate reading, like when I eat a new dish. If I eat some dish that I'm pretty sure won't raise blood sugars then I'll use the cheaper model. Or I might use another cheap brand.

For example


2/9 morning reading: 78 Freestyle -- 95 Relion -- not close
2/10 evening (fasting day) 62 Freestyle -- 65 Prime -- close
2/12 evening (2 hours after eating) 85 Freestyle 85 Prime -- same

this goes on a lot about 70% of the time they are close then (I believe) I get a weird strip from Prime and so 30% of the time they are 20 points off,

All meters, no matter how inexpensive or expensive, have a +/- error factor and they only have to fall within that range. I have some very expensive meters and a $10 meter...and the expensive meters with there high priced strips are no more accurate than the $10 meter with the relatively inexpensive testing strips. Just my .02 and experience.

Okay, I could nearly cry...

I was given an AccuChek Aviva and had been using that meter since my diabetes dx. I knew I was going to run out of strips and asked my Dr. to prescribe a system, hoping that my insurance would cover part of the cost. He prescribed me a Glucocard system.

Last night, I ran out of my AccuChek strips so switched over to the other one.

With my AccuChek meter, my sugars have been pretty good (I've been working hard to get them down and they've been slowly dropping). Yesterday morning, I was at 121 (AccuChek). This morning, I was at 163 (Glucocard)!!! I did not eat anything bad...

I about had a heart attack and I'm really, really upset about this! Has AccuChek been lying to me all this time..?

I plan to buy the FreeStyle Freedom Lite system, as soon as possible. It's more expensive, but the accuracy seems to be very good. That is the most important thing to me, right now, while I'm trying to get myself stabilized.

I'm sorely tempted to not even bother testing again, until I get the new system. In fact, I'm sorely tempted to burn this stoopid Glucocard meter...

I have the Freedom lite and really like it. it takes very little blood to get a reading. It seems pretty consistant. However they are expensive. About $85 for 100 strips if you get a good seller. They're usually $1 a strip. I have no insurance and have to pay for them myself.

I use Freestyle Lite, have had great success with its accuracy, and pay $65 for 100 strips from Amazon. Way too expensive to buy locally and my insurance does not cover them.

Yeah, I've been looking at them and I think the Freestyle Lite strips are least expensive on Amazon and eBay.

Right now, I'm testing several times a day, just trying to learn how different foods impact my blood sugar. So, I can buy the strips that are closer to expiration, since I will probably go through them all.

And, THANKFULLY!!! I'm starting work on Monday. Woo hoo!!! So, I'll have an income again and will be able to afford the strips.

Wow, the same on ADW is $120. It pays to shop around. But then I am still happy with the TrueBalance at $19.49 for 120 strips and a meter.

If you read my post above, you will know that I went a little BG test crazy before I had my latest A1C done (March 20th). I used cheap strips as well - two different brands. I've found that maybe 1 time in 10 I can get a really off reading for what I was expecting. I often tried again with another strip and most of the time my hunch was correct. It was either a bad strip or I did not prep my finger properly before the reading. I had to waste a few strips to figure that one out -- but the strips were cheap. Over time - my results were pretty consistent and were relativley close to what I got with my BG lab results from the doctor. I did get one batch of strips that had issues -- at least 50% of them gave invalid readings - but overall, the cheap ones are good enough and I have no interest in paying $1 per test.

I did. And my technique is good.

• My hands are always washed and then swabbed (allowed to dry after swabbing - I'm prone to infection, so swabbing is a must!)
• The blood is always drawn from the same side of the same two fingers. I have the lancets go deep, so there's never a worry about not drawing blood.
• I don't remove the first drop and re-squeeze, but I never have, so this is not a different way of doing things. If there was going to be an inconsistency problem, because of this, it would've happened sometime in the last month that I've been doing this.
• I don't smear the blood on the stick. However, this Glucocard machine doesn't beep when the stick is full. So, I do have to hold my finger against the end longer than I did with the AccuChek - otherwise it throws an error. It is possible that this might be causing a problem, but I have no idea.

Nevertheless... I didn't seem to have any problems with the AccuChek system. I went through 2 pkg of sticks in a month and a half and I didn't have one single unexpected reading.

Once I learn how my body reacts to different foods, and once my sugars have come down to normal for a time, I won't worry so much about the accuracy of my meter. But, right now, when I'm trying to fine-tune, I can't have wrenches being thrown in. I need to know, for sure, that what I'm doing is either working or it isn't. Either I can't eat broccoli at dinner, or there's a problem with my meter. I need to know which it is and I'm not willing to test myself 15 times in one sitting to try and figure out whether it's what I ate or an issue with the meter. :/

Since I am on OHP (Oregon's Medicaid system) my guess is that the only system they would pay for is the cheapest of the cheap. And ironically, it was going to cost me more if I went through the insurance, so I paid out of pocket for this piece of hammered dog doo-doo.

About 5 years ago I read Dr Bernstein's book and called his office (per instructions in the book) to see what meter he recommended as most accurate. It was the Accu-chek Aviva. Not sure that is what he currently recommends, but I expect it is still a good and accurate (though $$$$) meter.

The only way to really know is to to take a reading pretty much simultaneous with a venous draw.

I found this site: http://www.diabeteseducator.org/exp...y_BGM_FINAL.pdf and they say the Freestyle Freedom Lite is the most accurate - as of September 2013.