Yeah I called Dr. Bernstein a coupl;e of months ago and he really likes the Freedom. I sure he's basing this on the ADA report of 2013 where they compared several brands for accuracy and internal consistancy. The relion I had was towards the bottom. I found the rport online.

Yeah, the Glucocard isn't on the report and I didn't find any reviews on it. So, I think it's still new.

Just called Dr. Bernstein today, as I have a combination BG and ketone meter from Abbott, the Precision Xtra. I noticed that my BG from my last fasting BG test at the doctors lab showed 86. I've been getting a fasting BG slightly higher from 91-96 with my meter. Dr. Bernstein is still recommending the Freestyle Freedom Lite from Abbott labs. I found one on Amazon for $13.99 and ordered it. Note that there is another model called Freestyle that is not the same as the Freestyle Freedom Lite. Be aware of this if you're planning to order.

Good info! thanks for calling him.

I got the Freedom Freestyle Lite. I like it. I tested it against the Accuchek Aviva, and I was actually a point or two lower with the Freestyle Lite.

You have to put the blood on the side of the strip, rather than the end, so that was kind of awkward to me. But, it does beep to let you know when it's full. It really doesn't take much blood at all.

I had to get a new battery for it (button cell), so I had to set up everything. For me, set up wasn't intuitive and I had to refer back to the instructions, several times. But, now that it's done, hopefully I won't have to do it again in the near future.

I like the meter a lot -- you'll get used to it very quickly Jeannie. One nice thing is if there isn't enough blood it won't beep and you have some time to squeeze out some more so you won't waste any strips. Mine always reads lower than my other meters but the internal consistancy is what I like -- not numbers all over the place when taking a reading right after another. Since using it I only had one anomoly -- a reading of 43. Then I retook it and it was in the 70s or 80s. I figure there was too little blood and it beeped by mistake but that was only once out of many readings. I just wish it was a little more affordable. The Diabetes Warrior has an article where he compare a Relion Micro to a Freedom Lite -- he concluded that when the free Freedom Lite strips they sent him ran out he would just go back to the Relion because he pretty much knows the range of his BG levels. He said though that if he were type 1 he might reconsider. When I called Dr. Bernstein a few months ago he also endorsed the other Freedom model as well. Also the 2013 ADA chart with the acuracy and consistancy numbers had the other Freedom model as very high.

I have the Freestyle Freedom Lite also and have loved it. Takes very little blood. Very consistent readings. I order my strips through Amazon for better price. Has been worth the extra money to know my results are accurate given my goal of lowering my glucose.

As a noob to diabetes & low carb your comment got my attention. Where is a good place to start on this website in order to learn more? Thanks

Also using Freestyle Freedom lite and AgaMatrix (Kroger/Walmart/etc)--- Strips are $1.52 and 21 cents. But the Freestyle is always lower -- so I created an excel formula that takes the AgaMatrix number, weights it by an offset relative to size of the reading then corrects it to the Freestyle. After several readings got a correlation of about +/-5%.

Then 2 days ago everything went totally crazy-- I thought it was the new lot of strips were junk but figured out was caused by a fine layer of protein powder dust that settled on the desk where I measure. (Should take it to the kitchen) In the process I didn't realize I got it on my hands, the lancet, the meters, the case and strips. It's extremely fine so it was unnoticeable until I rubbed my hand across the desktop. Then I put it all together and wiped down everything with slightly damp paper towels-- Anything with sugar in it causes high readings if it is close by.

Dirty fingers aren't the only problems-- handling a banana will do the same thing. I always squeeze 1 big drop of blood, wipe it off, then squeeze a 2nd big drop, only sampling the tip of the drop--NEVER touching the sample surface to my finger-- I think skin surface contaminants can corrupt the enzymes in the strip. Also I always handle the strip by the sides, carefully avoiding the electrical contacts on one end and the blood drop contact point on the other end-- Even though I've washed my hands I believe salts from my skin can mix with the blood sample on one end or leave slightly conductive contamination on the contact end. Since the input inside of the meter is a very sensitive amplifier the slightest ionization may throw off the reading.

Now I've found the new lot of Freestyle strips are about 10 points higher than all the previous lots when compared to the Kroger as a standard. What I'm seeing is the Freestyle is not coming in at the 5% for 98% of the measurements as indicated by the survey. Even with a change in strip lots it should hold better than 10%. This is unfortunate. Because I used the Freestyle as a reference standard, assuming it was 5% accurate most of the time.

Sorry about all the voluminous detail but I've really be focused lately on finding the holy grail of the glucometer: Accuracy. Haven't spotted bigfoot either.

Amylaze

Welcome Amylase not Ken, but I'll give you a roadmap to this forum and Ken and others can later add more about meters and fasting.

If you enter from this page http://forum.lowcarber.org/index.php? you can see all the sub-forum topics and which ones have been active. Places to learn about the different Low Carb diets, newbie questions, journals (Ken's is great!) general health topics...and under that one you find Diabetes.

Check out the Diabetes sub-forum, read back through the threads as there are many videos and websites linked there that will explain insulin resistance and how to control it through diet. http://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdisplay.php?f=45 One of the best 18 minute TedxTalk videos explaining insulin resistance, obesity and diabetes is a new one by Dr. Sarah Hallberg. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da1vvigy5tQ or her website: http://fitteru.us Her rule is No GPS (Grains, Potatoes, Sugar) and don’t drink any calories. You don’t even have to count carbs if you do just that.

Another excellent website with links to many shorter videos and articles on a wide range of Health and diabetes topics is: https://lowcarbrn.wordpress.com This is a large resource guide written by a diabetes educator, check all the links under Everything Else tab, and under each topic, plus she has a free diet ebook for diabetes.

A simple real food, low carb website is: Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt, has written one of the best explanations of not only how to eat, but why, all on one page http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf. His video lecture, which took place at 2011's Ancestral Health Symposium is an excellent 50 minute review of reasons for the US obesity epidemic and what to do about it.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSeSTq-N4U4

His diabetes page, How to Normalize Your Blood Sugar is http://www.dietdoctor.com/diabetes


Fasting (or Only eat when hungry, stop when full) has been part of Low Carb for years, but last year Dr. Jason Fung burst on the scene using extended fasts to particularly help diabetes. The very long thread about it here stays active and at the top of the Diabetes forum because he is prolific on his blog and Dr. Eenfeldt's website, the DietDoctor. http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=461563 A good place to start now is this lecture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcLoaVNQ3rc

Many members here follow the Atkins diet and have for years. A summary of the rules are at the top of the Aktins forum: http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=236482 During Induction you are limited to 20g carbs, that is a plan I followed with success from Dr. Westman's clinic at Duke, an author of the New Atkins. Of course, many here also follow the amazing Dr. Bernstein plan that is 30g carbs/day split 6-12-12. http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=470804

Much info here, but fasting is quite easy when you are first fully fat-adapted following a ketogenic diet like the ones listed. If this is a new diagnosis, you might consider removing grains and high sugar fruits from your Mediterrean style diet, it may be all you need.

Thanks for all the information, Janet. For the last few months I've spent a lot of time reading, researching and experimenting with foods in order to find the best solution to my diabetes. Seems like lots of exercise---aerobic & anaerobic/ HIIT--- AND a healthy diet AND 7-8 hours sleep are the 3 prerequisites to reversing T2 diabetes. My current doctor is very supportive, so maybe that's the 4th ingredient.

My ex (as in doctor) wanted to put me on drugs and told me diabetes is a chronic condition with no cure. He says "his job is to use medication (like metformin) and eventually insulin to keep me alive long enough for something else to take me out." He views that as success. Unfortunately this archaic view is prevalent in mainstream medicine. They treat the symptoms (like high BG, BP, LDL, weight and CVD) when all are interrelated and effectively treated with little or no medication through lifestyle changes.

Looking into Dr. Fung's fasting treatment is definitely something I'm interested in and I'm happy to see there's a whole forum dedicated to it. My doctor mentioned fasting as something he does once a week. I'm mostly curious about the "36 hour fast" resulting in low FBG levels in the 70 - 80 range. Would love to get there!!!

Luckily I've been off sugar and most processed carbs for years, so the transition was much easier-- like you say "keep the med. diet but drop the carbs". Great Advice.

Thanks for all the links and high points. Looks like I'll be doing a lot of reading this Christmas vacation.

Amylaze--

PS: I'm still interested in glucometer accuracy -- It should be much better and I don't think the FDA, ISO and manufactures are doing much to improve things. I believe that until consumers can easily verify accuracy and share data with other consumers, the industry will not be prompted to bring accuracy (versus repeatability) within 5 - 10%.

Mentioned at Support group last night.
FREE meter offer from Freestyle, including the one to measure Ketones.

https://www.choosefreestyle.com

From those that tried this offer, no problems came in about five days. They ask for insurance but not a verification. Humana may not work? The strips are of course more expensive than other brands but if you want a freestyle..try it. Like printers..it's all about the ink

Thanks Janet. I just ordered the Freestyle Freedom Lite as I'm curious how this one compares to my Accuchek Aviva. It looks like the strips are little cheaper and if it's accurate, it will be interesting.

I have both the Freestyle Lite and the Freestyle Freedom Lite. Both read the same and use the same strips. both are rated very highly in the 2013 trial -- basically the same meter but one is smaller. I prefer the freedom lite. The beep is louder and the screen is bigger. I find it a little easier to use.

Actually these meters might read a little low. My last HbA1C was 5.3 which is an average of 105. My meter never read 105 except once when I was experimenting. Usually its much lower than that. So either my meter reads a little low or the A1C is inaccurate. The later might be true as a lot of factors can influence it.

Hi Whited - I know this is an old post, but I just started getting Accu-Chek Aviva test strips from the Accu-Chek company. I've occasionally gotten them cheaper from sellers on Amazon, but lately the price has gone up. The company also has an prescription discount card.

Go to accu-chekto.com to see prices & ordering info. I've been getting 100 strips for $50+tax. They could probably go cheaper, but they include "freebies" in the box. Kind of fun, but I usually re-gift them to a friend.

Thanks Bonnie -- I'm pretty happy with the Freedom and can get strips for around $65 for 100 online. Like I said though they might read a little low but maybe not.

i might check out your link though -- thanks again

Dennis