3 months ago, my diabetes bag was stolen with nearly $1000 of stuff in it, including PDM, spare pods, etc.
What turned out to be the most vexing loss was the backup Freestyle meter I received as part of my Omnipod starter kit.
Insulet was unable to replace it (at least, no one could grok what to do after half an hour with them on the phone, so I gave up).
I noticed this new meter from Abbot called the Insulinx:
So, this is a very, very cool meter. Touch screen, backlight, insulin dose tracking, BG statistics, and much more. This is the sort of meter we paid $$ for in the past.
You can get one for free here.
Now, the main reason for this posting: Even though Abbot has a new Insulinx test strip that you're suppose to use with the meter, I've been testing mine with the Freestyle strips that work in the PDM. Since I have coverage for those, wouldn't it be nice if they worked in the Insulinx meter too?
After dozens of side-by-side tests, my conclusion is the new strips are a scam, and are really just Freestyle strips with a different label on the box. The strips themselves are indistinguishable.
Code 16 strips (you don't code the Insulinx meter) were consistently within 5 mg/dl of my omnipod from BG's ranging 60-250. Very consistent.
I'm convinced I can use my Freestyle strips in the Insulinx meter, and not have to buy two kinds of strips.
If you want a really great backup meter for free, go join Abbot's Diabetes Care program, ignore the junkmail, and get a great free meter.