Meter Reports

You have evaluated the evaluator, with good results. I will not change my meter because of the results reported in Consumer Reports and if I read you correctly neither will you. You demonstrated that although there are many meters on the market it actually the Insurance coverage, the availablity and finnally the cost of the strips that makes the difference. I will add one more variable. Familiarity and force of habit. It is these two that will make me continue with Lifescan One Touch ultra. Insurance pays for strips thu medicare.

I, too, would be interested in knowing what criteria Consumer Reports used in its evaluations.  For example, the range of accuracy varies considerably from one brand to the next (at least at the lower end of the scale, usually below 70 mg/dL, when accuracy is far more important than at hyperglycemic levels).  But we don't know what went into the criteria other than cost.  However, in the past Consumers Union (the publisher of Consumer Reports) has been very responsive to readers comments and/or questions.  This one sounds like it may be worth a follow-up!

Some of the meters you note as rated for "ease of use" have, according to the manufacturers' sites, approval for use by people with arthritis. It would seem that criteria here include how easy the meter is to hold, how easy it is to insert and remove strips, and how easy it is to operate the lancet device.

Except for the Reli-On, which is Wal-Mart's private-label version of the Abbott Precision Xtra, all of the meters listed are readily available at most pharmacies and retail outlets. I've only seen the Maxima available by mail-order through Hocks.com. Bionime meters are similarly not generally available at local pharmacies.

As far as comparison protocols... is there a standard, or does each person or agency doing the testing choose his or her own protocols?

Here is my system for unusually high or low readings. Meters tend to be accurate to about 5%, but if they are working they can be as much as 20% off, and still meet standards. I am guessing that only 1 in 50 readings is going to be more than 10-15% off. Hence, unexpected readings can be coped with by 1) wash hands, recheck with the same meter in the other hand. If the results are the same, but you still suspect it is in error go to step 2) check with your other brand of meter. If it roughly agrees with the first meter, you indeed have an unusual high or low. If instead, it gives you a reading that you were originally expecting then your first meter is likely wrong. But as a matter of safety check again in an hour or two.

My thinking is that the odds of getting two different brands of meters making the same error, when they are accurate 49 out of 50 times, is unlikely.

Any stataticians out there?

Mr. Medosa, What an angry response!  I'm sure if you contact Consumer reports they will provide you with the information you believe is missing or purposely left out in the article about how they arrived at their recommendations.  Do you have something against One Touch?  Have you ever considered that maybe doctors don't trust or have had a bad experience with some of the least known brands that you mention in your article? 

And if you believe patients should have the least known meters, why don't you advocate for them to be added on the formularies of the insurance companies?  That's what the other companies have done.

With this article you belittle your diabetes reader and implied that we are all a bunch of yahoos that are too stupid to think for ourselves by continuing to use the meters and test strips that our insurance plan pays for.

Thank you for this informative and well-reasoned article.  (I don't think there's anything at all belittling about it, BTW.)  May I ask you to check the link to the Wave Sense meters?  It seems to be dead.

I am a diabetic for 49 yrs. and have had just about every meter that was ever made. As of a week ago I began using the ultra mini. I have tested it with my own blood sugars and 5 other brand new meters. I also tested all the meters with the salutions. Some of your better meters did not come out on top against the ultra mini. The what is suppose to be the best was 40 points off, as compared to the ultra mini, which was 6 points above the normal. I made 5 different blood tests using all 5 or 6 meters. That is 25 tests. I also did the salution test on all of them. They were controled tests, and done the same each time. Now I am one of the people who does this just to stay alive and not one of your persons getting paid to do the tests. As far as I am concerned I am well satisfied with and will continue to use the ultra mini. I think it is the best of them all. As far as the cost goes, well we all know that the meters are given away, but it is with the test strips where those blood sucking companies make their money. If anything I think that people should try to get these companies to lower their prices on the test strips. Why is it that I never hear about anyone trying to do that. Is everyone getting paid by those companies. Why doesn't someone look out for us, the ones who have to use the merchandise.  W.E.Schettini

I'm an MD who is a borderline diabetic and has been watching my meals and blood sugars very closely over the past year.  I was a little disheartened to see the Freestyle Flash get such a poor rating since I've really liked using it given that I'm a surgeon who prefers alternate site testing.  I did go and get the Bayer Ascensia Contour since it was highly rated.  I was surprised to find a 30 point difference between the Ascensia and the Flash when tested on my palm.  There was also quite a difference of about 40 points between palm testing and lateral thigh testing with both meters, the thigh being much higher.  One thing I didn't like about the Contour was that it required more blood and unlike the Flash if it didn't get enough the first time the strip was ruined, whereas you have a second chance with the Flash (although since it requires half the sample it rarely happened).  So I continue to use the Flash because of my preference for alternate site testing, but I am fairly confused about the variation in results from meter to meter and site to site. One final point, my final test was to draw a plasma glucose at the same time I tested a palm sample with the Flash.  The results were identical.  Bottom line, we really need a good comparison of meters by diabetics who use them.  In the meantime, I will continue to evaluate the two meters and see what I come up with.

I guess Consumer Reports didn't test A1C meters. I've been trying to buy the Metrika ever since I learned they put it on sale to the general public. But all my emails to sales and management people listed on thir website have gone unanswered. Finally I splurged on postage about three weeks ago. Still no reply.

I wonder how many people, like myself, have no choice in what BG meter they get, making Consumer Reports' evaluations meaningless. I have AARP's UHC Secure Horizons, and am required to get supplies from First Line Medical, who cover only one meter, the Contour. So it's frustrating to know there are cheaper alternatives, some better-rated and with cheaper strips. But I guess it's all part of the wasteful spending that makes health care so expensive in the US. UHC SH and FLM will, I presume, be handsomely reimbursed by Medicare no matter what.

BTW, I'm a newbie, and atypical; diagnosed Sept2006 at age 66, and by no means overweight. I'm beginning to suspect diabetes is being caused by all the high fructose corn syrup in so many foodstuffs these days. (Google "The Cornification of Food".)

I'm not doing too well at control. I did fine for the first year, according to my doc, dropping from 10.8% A1C (300BG) to 6.1% A1C. But by then I felt I was suffering more from the meds than from the diabetes. I was presenting with oedema. In fact, I found on Drugs.com a major drug-drug interaction between Tricor and Lipitor. Then came the Avandia scare. Then came the study indicating that aggressive treatment to near non-diabetic BG levels is contraindicated, and a maintenance level of 7.1 to 7.9% is best.

All in all, I feel much better now that I'm taking no drugs, and am living on Subway whole-wheat veggie foot-longs*. And all I can say at this point is, if I am damaging myself, I'd rather feel good with my Subway sandwiches than bad with the drugs...and if I'm killing myself, I just hope I get to scarf down at least one more stack of crêpes Suzette before Armageddon.)

Furthermore, since quitting the meds seven months ago...no more oedema.

~~~Peter.

*PS  I ask for whole-wheat, but I'm not entirely sure that's what I'm getting. Is it possible that Subway's wheat bread is actually white bread colored with caramel? I wrote to them to ask. Again, no reply. Furthermore, it seems to me that my local grocery store, Publix, is systematically removing diabetic-friendly items from their shelves. Has anyone else noticed this? (Hood choc milk 3% sugar is gone, as is Dannon 0-sugar-added Light-&-Fit 32oz yogurt.) It looks to me as if the food industry does all it can to confuse us, and our grocers don't give a damn.

Since my diagnosis, I've ordered through www.diabetesstore.com. Their service is excellent and much, much less expensive than buying my strips through any other location, including Costco and Walmart.

I recently received an offer from the Diabetes Store for a free Maxima meter with the purchase of 200 test strips -- total cost was $84. Which is, I might point out, what one box of 50 to 100 of any other test strips would cost me.

I have used the One Touch, the Ascensia Breeze and the True Read systems previously. My favorite, and the most accurate, was the True Read. The strips for that meter, also through Diabetes Store, cost $20 for 50 strips.

Perhaps ssomeone can explain to me how a meter can be considered as accurate and not be consistent.  CU has tired to explain it to me, but their explanation doesn't make sense to me

I now have five meters. My two day to day meters are Relion from Walmart. It was $9.00 for a meter and 100 strips for $39.00. I can keep one at work and one at home now.

IMO, accuracy varies so much from the various meters even with the same blood sample, that I'm looking more for the trend. I know that my Relion's show the high 70's when I'm having low symptoms or am about to. Good enough for me.

I recently was part of a survey which later on was pretty easy to tell was from Relion. Looks like they are coming out with some new meter products. I hope that they don't increase the price of the strips in doing so.