My insurance company is rather forcing me to get a new meter because as usual, they’ve negotiated that they prefer one kind over another. Basically what that means is the test strips (of course these are not universal!) I’ve been using have become exorbitant.
I like Bayer Breeze 2, and FreeStyle Lite. They are more accurate of my numbers and lab results, and more consistent than any other meter I’ve ever used. The Breeze 2 even has all strips, in a disk, that I never have to handle or fumble with, and drop strips on the floor. Sure, it’s bigger… but who cares, I don’t drop strips on the floor! lol The FreeStyle Lite is neat… it’s tiny, uses a tiny tiny small sample, and has a back light, and strip light… they’re nice. I think insurance companies just get paid off by meter companies so that they can be biased toward their product… imho. I’d say “economics” is the reason, but it’s truly a toss up as to what meter they will say they favor, or not (and most of them, the strips aren’t any cheaper.)
I like the One Touch meters - the mini, ultra smart and the ultralink. I use the Ultra Link as my primary meter as it links to my pump, and the Mini as a back up meter. They all use the same strips. I get very consistent, very reliable results with these. Theyt are spot on for ME when compared to lab work blood drawn at the same time. YDMV.
I’ve used One Touch, several models of Accuchek, and a couple of Freestye models. By far, I’ve liked the Freestyle Lite the best because of the size, ease of use, and amount of blood required. This year, my insurance stopped longer covering Freestyle. It just so happens that Freestyle Lite strips are some of the most expensive models I’ve seen. Hmmmm.
I use the Accuchek Aviva now and, to be honest, I haven’t noticed much difference in accuracy between the Freestyle models and Accuchek Aviva. I get lab tests done every 3 months and I always run a BG test when blood is drawn. Both Freestyle Lite and Accuchek are well within 20% and I’ve yet to have an Accuchek measurement fall outside of 10% this year.
I’ve recently begun using the Freestyle meter that is integrated with the Omnipod. The regular Freestyle strips are cheaper and it’s not so bad paying out of pocket for enough strips to keep me from having to carry around both my Omnipod and Aviva while away from home. However, at times, the Omnipod seems to be the least accurate of all the BG meters I’ve used if I’m using my Aviva as reference. That’s even compared to the Freestyle meter that came with the Omnipod Starter Kit, using the same cannister of strips.
No, they are NOT equal! I have been using the AccuChek Aviva because of its rating as being accurate. When I started having some problems with the meter itself, I thought I would look and see what else was out there. I posted the question on the Dexcom user’s group and several people suggested WaveSense Presto. When it was time to get my test strips refilled, I got a script to get the Presto meter and strips – it is horrible! It runs about 20-30 points higher than my Aviva. When you have one meter saying 45 and the other 75, that is a huge difference. When I felt low and the sweat was rolling off of me, I tend to believe the 45. The good thing is that I only got a one month supply instead of three months – I can get more Aviva strips on Friday. I feel like I have been playing Russian roulette with my BS these past three weeks because I am “guessing” what it should be when the stupid Presto meter comes up with a number!
One touch meters and the the bayer contour. I use onetouch ultralink as my primary meter since it is for my pump and then the ultra mim for back up and the contour I used before my new pump when I lost the meter to my old pump and the contour was great!!
My meter preference is determined entirely by ease of use/compatibility with other devices. All meters on the market meet or exceed the FDA standards for accuracy and are going to give you reasonably good results. I think you’ll find that the new strips your insurance is making you switch to are going to work fine although you may find that you still prefer the old ones. I don’t think I would pay extra for strips that I might like a little better if I can get different strips for a much lower cost.
That said, I have almost always used oneTouch strips and really like them. I have also used accucheck in the past and those were fine too. I have noticed through TuDiabetes that some people have very strong preferences one way or another for various reasons but I never have; I shop for cost when it comes to test strips.
OneTouch is the one I use and the one they no longer classify as “preferred.” I’ve used AccuCheck before (during my pregnancies), and that is now classified as “second tier” which means they’ll cover a bit more than OneTouch. The one they are pushing on me is called is called Truetest by Nipro. Have you or anyone here ever heard of that one?
One touch, but only because it is the same brand my mother and a few friends use. Go in on bulk orders and share supplies