Hi all!
My 4 yr old daughter was diagnosed with type 1 last month, and I am having meter issues. We were given one in the hospital, a Freestyle Lite… I received an Aviva Accu check in a Bag of Hope also. I was using the Freestyle Lite up until recently I had a funny feeling it was giving inaccurate readings. Then I pulled out the Aviva and I have to say I love how it just sucks up the sample, where with the freestyle meter I felt like we needed an ounce of blood and had to hold it there forever. Anyhow, I used the same blood sample from my daughter on both machines and got drastically different numbers. Can I please get some feedback on what meters you all use and find to be the most accurate? I don’t care how much it costs, I need accuracy, she’s 4! I’d love some opinions on the two brands I mentioned and also mom’s of little one’s…what do you find works best for testing your child? Thank you in advance, don’t know what I’d do without you all 
Well, the best thing to do is to take a blood sample from both meters, right as you’re about to have your blood drawn at the lab… and compare it to those results. The one meter that gets closest to the lab is the one you will most feel comfortable with. I have to say, I have had no problems with the Freestyle Lite… nor with my Bayer Breeze2, but have heard a lot of folks on our forums complaining about Avivas, and how they score way too high. I haven’t used one, personally, but I am guessing that’s what people are going to say, from what I’ve seen. lol
Instead of buying anything, and investing, you can go to different websites, and get some meters for free, with no commitment. The Bayer Breeze 2, and the Contour, are both offered for free right now, from their manufacturers, as well as the One Touch Ultra Mini (which I consider to test too low, but some people love it, and swear by it.) Most of them now give you a coupon to print, and with an rx from your doctor, you can get them for free… For some, you don’t even need anything… and they don’t take very long to arrive. I got the Freestyle Lite, in the mail, free… and it took like 5-7 days to get here.
By the way, the Abbot people (who make the Freestyle) also have a meter that tests for ketones… so if you don’t like trying to get urine from a fussy 4 yrs old, that might be more ideal for you, as well… It’s called the Abbott Precision Xtra Blood Ketone Meter. The strips are a little more expensive, but it might be worth it.
Hi Kelly,
My son SANTI is 2 1/2 yrs old, T1 since 2 yrs.
Meters… they all provide different readings… not sure why, but that’s the case.
Accucheck PLUS is the one we use on SANTI.
It’s very convenient bc it has a drum full of measuring strips, so you don’t have to insert the strip into the meter. It’s got relatively the same accuracy as freestyle’s. We use both in a doctor’s visit and they differed by 5 points, which is not bad at all.
In terms of accuracy our ENDO has said that freestyle has the best technology.
My son uses a insulin pump, OmniPod & it’s great!! highly recommended… it has the capability to be used a meter with freestyle strips…
best of luck to you & your daughter, feel free to ask me questions… Elkin
Meters can vary from one another by quite a lot. Lizmari has got a great tip for finding the one that gives “accurate” readings.
I weigh a number of factors when choosing a meter: Sample Size, speed, coding, cost of strips (if you pay for them, or have a co-pay) size… I made a big chart with the highest-rated and most-trusted meters and made my decision from there.
I was advised not to compare 2 seperate meters side by-side on a daily basis, and use one that you trust consistantly.
Whatever works best for you and your daughter.
Good luck!
Rock on!
It’s +/- 20%… and even two different lab tests taken at the same times, might show different results to a certain degree.
Mine was off more than 60 points from a lab result, and so was my husband’s… so I quit using it, and I am never looking back. lol They are free, if you go to the One Touch Ultra site.
Thanks so very much… I have read a lot of bad things about the Aviva, but it’s so darn easy the way it takes up the sample! Hmmm, can’t have it all I guess but accuracy is definitely priority!
I had some concerns at my last A1C ,with my meter tests( I did 2 ) done at the lab compared to the Lab drawing random venous blood …numbers were at a large spread…the 20 percent variance went out the door . I called Bayer Canada last month and was told , that if one does the meter test , while at the lab , to use venous blood , NOT a finger poke . Have done a lot of tests in my life with diabetes and this was the first time I heard this . Does anyone else use venous blood for one’s meter test at the Lab ???
I have sent my CDE Nurse an e-mail to have this clarified ; no response yet .
And how would one exactly do that? Wait till the site is still bleeding, or ask the medical technologist for help?
Lizmari , I will try , when site is still bleeding , meaning I will mention my plan to the Technician , before I am asked to press cotton batten ( sp??) on the vein , to stop it from bleeding …pain in the butt ??? But maybe never too old to learn
Wonder if they’d let me do that lol
Go for it and please share somewhere here , what the response is …regardless , I still think it is a pain in the xxxx
The Freestyle is the most accurate strip meter. The Freestyle used the smallest sample, but the is a trick to getting it to suck it up. If you put any pressure on the skin with the strip it may hinder the flow of blood in the strip.
However, with the new strips from Lifescan, the strips are really easy to use and take less blood than before. The new strips are very consistent, much better than the old ones. The are checking the sample twice, as someone mentioned.
The only other strip I have used is the is the Home Diagnostics True2go meter. I have to tell you that it is the easiest meter and strip I have used in 20+ years. I’m not sure how accurate it is because I have not done a lab/meter test. But having the meter be the cap on the bottle is really convenient and the strip draws really well in the dark. The display is not good and hard to read in some situations.
I used to have the Ultra Mini now my insurance covers Accucheck Contour, which is cool because of the drum. I would just stick to one and not switch around.
My One Touch Ping definitely reads too low. Meter said my 90 day average was 119, with about 12-14 checks per day. But A1c came back at 6.0, meaning average more like 137. My freestyle lite meter average always correlated almost exactly with my A1c. I am really disappointed with that difference! But it goes with the pump and the insurance prefers the one touch strips, so I guess I’ll just adjust accordingly. My lab test said 149 when the meter read 84! That’s a HUGE difference. I repeated lab correlation with new strips - still off by about 40 points. Oh to have technology that is consistent… I’ve been treating 60s that were probably 100s.
Yeah, the same happened to me… I was treating lows, thinking they were lows… and then the lab did a morning fasting that was hugely off… it was pretty upsetting.
Yes, capillary or finger poke blood can have different results from venous drawn blood. When using a meter in the hospital (the meter we use anyway) on our patients, we have to input capillary blood or venous blood.
My endo discouraged me from using the true2go meter. She told me its accuracy was questionable… but, just like you I found it very easy to use…sigh.
One thing I love about the Freestyle meters (and my Omnipod) is that it has that lovely little light at the bottom for nightime tests… fabulous!
The light is a neat feature. It’s also great if you want to test your blood sugar in a dark theater during the show. Another nice thing about Freestyle meters (Flash, Lite) is that they’re small. I tried the Ultrasmart once because I liked being able to record everything. But after a while that fun ended and the UltraSmart seemed like this boulder that I carried around with me, compared to the Freestyle. I also didn’t think it was as accurate. I returned to the Freestyle Flash.
I use freestyle- reliable, small sample size, accurate. Freestyle also has a savings plan if you are paying out of pocket at all
When i run out of test strips (covered by insurance) I use the rite aid brand generic. With the rite aid savings card, 100 strips cost around $40 (easy on the wallet) but the only bad part is the sample size is HUGE compared to freestyle.