Well....I've held on to my One Touch Ultra Smart "for ever" due to a feature that TRULY connects with me....graphs!!!
Today my husband (who is also diabetic), was chatting with the CDE, and came home with an Accu-Check Aviva for himself. I'm being told it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. Could I have your views on this...IS the Aviva from the gods? ARE there meters/metres out there that warrant the consideration of departing from my beloved One Touch Ultra Smart??
My fate (and that of my metre) is in your hands ;)
linda
I liked the One Touch Ultra Smart but mine fell offthe back of my bike, c. 2009 or 10 I think and I've switched to the Ultra Minis b/c they fit in my shorts.I'm intrigued by the favorable accuracy reports of the Accucheck ones but loathe the process of doing research into stuff like that.
Sorry I have no input either. I haven't had an Accucheck meter since mid to late 80's. For the last several years I've had a One Touch in some form or fashion. Just recently switched to the Bayer Contour Next since Medtronic switched their meters.
This is an excellent question and the short answer is the one that works on your body with an accuracy you can verfy and trust.
Ubfortunately not all meters are the same. i am one of those for whom the man
made sugars leak from the gut/intestine to the blood stream and I find I need a meter that is glucose D specific and not one that reads both glucose d and the man made sugars and gives one a combined number. Any non specific glucose meter meter used on me will report my blood glucose 40 to 100 points higher than the actual glucose D two hours after a ingestion/digestion cycle.
In the morning after no digestion cycle thru the wee hours, both specific glucose D and non specific glucose meters will read similar.
Human body burns the glucose D. The result is that if your body behaves (misbehaves) as mine; one can miss lows or overdose on insulin due to a non specific gluco meter reading combined sugars and providing an elevated number.
The other issue is that each meter/manufacturer/test strip technology has slightly different operating ranges on key parameters such as water in blood, oxygen levels, hemocratic numbers and what interferors with the meter and has good rejection of. In fact for many; any meter is usually good enough but for some of us, self testing is critical to identify how meter works on you.
In the past, i was led to believe One Touch technology did read only glucose D and resistant to interference of the man made sugars present in the blood. I had switched in the past from the Accuchek as their earlier models were not glucose D specific. I have not retested newer models of Accuchek to see if that had been changed/corrected.
testing two meters is tricky and one really has to test both meters on a single drop of blood at same time from a single fingerprick to get reasonable results.
Trying to compare meter operation from the meter specs released may not be sufficient to elucidate the critical data. Sometimes key data is included in the strip packaging.
I've never used, but I believe that is the meter that dr. bernstein recommends.
I've used an Accuchek meter for many years now through upgrades etc & have always liked it. I use the software to download my data and review results. Now am on an Accuchek pump so have the meter that communicates with it. I have had good support from Roche as well. I also like the size of the meter,I don't use the case they provide and find it fits well into a smaller make-up pouch.
I have been using the ibg star since July and I was using the one touch ultra mini before that. I have several others that the hospital and my endo gave me. ibg star is my fav because it is very small and attaches directly to my iphone to upload data.. the ibg star app gives me complete control of my records and graphs, statistics and a log book with individual, customizable tags I can add to each data card- I can email 90 days or more to myself and print the info for my endo from there. I'm not sure about the accuracy or if dr. Bernstein has reviewed it or not. I also like the one touch ultra mini and I still use the lancets and device from that meter. I use the ibg star in conjunction with my phone to keep records, remind me when to eat, when to take basal, when to take novolog corrections etc. It has made my life much easier overall.
I had the Aviva and switched to the UltraSmart. Just personal preference, and liking the extra info you can see onscreen without even needing to plug into the computer. But, when it comes down to it, I think the most important thing is to find 1 meter and use it regularly. I've never understood bouncing back & forth between meters (except for free test strips or emergency backups); it's just necessary to have most of your data in one place and know how your individual meter works for your personal regimen.
I agree and also find it less stressful since any change would involve dealing with Blue Cross, to get approved, to get the number prescribed approved, phone calls to the doctor's office, etc. I went through this recently and it drove me absolutely nuts that while Blue Cross was lobbying for change ("how about the recently recalled Bayer family of meters?"), they would not provide any information nor links to information about reliability, features, etc. "It's a free market, except you can't have the one you're with, you need to change for us..." We have that feud every year but, since I've done that game before, I feel sort of comfortable dealing with it. I would hate to pick a meter, get it, deal with all the BS to get the change arranged and then find out that it read "off" from what I've been using since 1984...
Like you, I had been a long time user of the One Touch Ultra Smart (as well as others). But as I expected, the One Touch Ultra line is doomed. They announced it is no longer being sold as of 12/31/2012. They want you to get the new Verio line. I had an Aviva years ago, but it wasn't covered by insurance and it was a really basic meter, not really having the features of the Ultra Smart. In the end, I upgraded to the Verio, and it has been "ok." But I will tell you, although the Verio is more compact and has "some" of the features of the Ultra Smart, it actually only does a fraction of what was built into the Ultra Smart.
So as I looked at meters, I looked at some studies, which I discussed last October in a discussion comparing the Aviva to the One Touch. A more recent study confirms the basic comparison. Both the Aviva and Verio are accurate meters.
That being said, Roche made some recent changes to their strip technology which some people believe invalidates all these studies. The FDA was concerned that things caused system errors in meters and started asking companies to improve their strips. Unfortunately, the "improvement" leading to the "Aviva Plus" strips may have led to systemic errors. Dr. Bernstein himself was particularly concerned as he had for some time recommended the Aviva and used his gold standard Hemocue to evaluate meters. He has been working with Roche and the community to try to resolve these problems. Just an advisory.
I have used the Aviva for years. Then I used the cheapest chinese test stripes available on the German market. The difference is that the chinese device shows glucose number that are 5-10% lower. This was more in line with my A1c. After that I used relabeled stripes of unknown origin and these showed concerning variability. After this experience I had the chance to compare my blood results of 7 meters with calibrated lab equipment. There was only one meter that showed consistent results for me - the FineTouch manufacured by the Japanese company Terumo. Their technology is derived from the first glucose stripes. Thus they measure color changes with an optical sensor. In my impression the device is clumsy and has flaws but in respect to its purpose it is working fine in the best Japanese tradition of tool manufacturing. However the devive has problems with low temperatures that are slowing down the coloration process. This alters / lowers the result more than you will see with conventional meter technology. At the end you will have to find the meter that fits to your lifestyle and blood composition.
I used the mini for two years, switched to the UltraSmart and stayed with it for a year and a half, until my mail-order pharmacy decided they weren't carrying OneTouch strips anymore.
Though I used the graphs for the UltraSmart (and the averages), I must say that I LOVE my current meter. I use the AccuChek Nano, and I'm in love with its accuracy.
I got false lows with OneTouch, usually once every day or two. I wasted so many strips because of those, so many phone calls asking what the heck is wrong with their meters...
And now, I think I've had maybe three false numbers TOTAL with the Nano since I got it in October. The accuracy more than makes up for the lack of data from the graphs.
The only thing is, I hate its case. So I got a little multi-use bag from Kipling and my meter, strips, lancets, etc live in there now.