Hi everyone, i changed insurance plans & the coverage of strips for my Abbott Freestyle meter is awful. The plan covers the meters listed below & I need to switch.
<<Bayer Contour, Contour Next,
Contour Next EZ, Contour Next Link and the Breeze 2 monitors>>
I’m wondering about people’s experiences with these, advantages/disadvantages of each, etc. Are the strips interchangeable among these meters?
I appreciate your time 
I use the Bayer Contour Next USB meter and have a Bayer Contour Next as backup. Both of these meters use “Contour Next” strips and are interchangeable between the two (as well as the upcoming Contour Next One meter). I quite like them and have no real complaints about the meters.
Be aware that “Contour” and “Contour Next” strips are different strips and are NOT interchangeable even though they look identical. Basically any meter that has “Contour Next” in the title uses the Contour Next strips, any meter that just has “Contour” in the title uses the Contour strips. So, if you had a Contour USB and a Contour Next, the strips would not be interchangeable. And the Breeze2 uses a cartridge of strips, so is not interchangeable with any other Bayer meter.
Jen, take a look at your first sentence. I suspect you meant “Bayer Contour Next USB”. And kind of an FYI - that meter was discontinued as of January 1st, this year. It’s all about the Contour One now, which uses the Bayer Contour Next strips even though “next” isn’t in the name. It’s a moving target. 
Off all the Bayer meters you listed I’d maybe take the Contour Next and keep it for backup. Then I’d give Ascensia a call and ask them if they would send you the new Contour One, for free. I suspect they will. Then you’d have a new state-of-the-art-bluetooth enabled meter and a backup that both use the same test strips.
I have several Bayer meters. The Contour(s), the Contour Next, and the Breeze all use different strips and are not interchangeable. Find out exactly what strips your insurance covers and get the meter for them. They are excellent meters.
Thanks, you’re right - I’ve corrected the first sentence.
It sounds like this varies by country. The Contour Next One (which is what’s printed on the box here in Canada) was just released last week, to my knowledge. I literally just got one on Friday or so. I hate the iPhone app that comes with it, though (it’s practically unusable to me because it doesn’t support iPhone’s accessibility features), and I’m disappointed that I don’t seem to be able to log events on the meter itself. So I’ll probably go back to using my Contour Next USB.
You are right. I went back to the box and it does include Next in the title. My bad. So far, about three weeks into using it (I’m in the USA) and I’m liking the meter. I use a pump so I don’t append any information to readings other than fasting or before/after meals. This I can do on the meter and even change that on the app if I needed to edit the info. But I don’t see how entering insulin would show in any meaningful way, like on a graph. That’s a huge negative.
Mostly, I’m waiting until the One uploads to Glooko (in the works and due sometime late summer or early fall). That will mean Dexcom CGM data along with meter readings and insulin doses all nicely graphed. I’d also like to see t:slim included but I’m starting to sound way needy.
I liked the system I had because my pump (Ping), meter (Contour Next USB), CGM (Dexcom), and fitness tracker (Fitbit) all uploaded into Diasend. Diasend never managed to really combine that data into anything that useful, but it was nice having it all in one place. I’m hoping now that Diasend has bought Glooko that might improve. I did do occasionally shots even while on the pump (attempted IM injections if I was high, or regular if my pump was running low and I needed to bolus), and now I’m back on MDI for a while because my out-of-warranty Ping seems to have died, so I did find it convenient to log those things plus exercise. I can log some things in my Dexcom, but unfortunately it’s impossible to look back and see when you actually took a a shot after you’ve logged it.
I truly appreciate everyone’s responses & valuable feedback. I feel less hassled about this whole thing! I’m 13 months in on type 1 & already have three glucometers, a CGM, and as of last month, an insulin pump. With the moving target of insurance, as one of you said, I’ll need a warehouse for all the different supplies, especially if I have to change plans every year! Yes, I’m whining lol
Seriously, thanks again to each of you ladies 