Glucose Monitors!

glassyo
glassyo Posts: 7,739 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm officially prediabetic now so which glucose monitors are you using?

I'm in touch with my doctor (sorta, Doogie Howser hasn't email me back yet) on what my medical insurance recommends and if they'll pay for part of it.

But, until then, I'm driving myself crazy trying to pick one.

I'm going for cheap (duh), accurateish (duh), nonhurting finger pricks, easy to read, easy to insert test strips, CHEAP TEST STRIPS!!!

Normally, I'd go for a CGM because, why not, but I know they can be expensive.

Replies

  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,327 Member
    I personally use an Accu-Chek Guide. Yes, it requires pricking your finger, but the kit we got with the SoftClix lancet pen makes it pretty much painless. It is a little older, but was affordable and the test strips, at least around here are affordable as well. My personal suggestion would be go to a Pharmacy and ask the pharmacist for an opinion (maybe even more than one Pharmacy). They do want to help. If you get any of the major brands, at least here in Canada, they are considered medical devices and all have to fall into the same accuracy range. I am going to guess that is the same in most western countries.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,216 Member
    What did you plan to do once you get one?
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,739 Member
    neanderthin wrote: »
    What did you plan to do once you get one?

    I wasn't sure if it was too soon to think about getting one but I'm weird when it comes to how I eat so mostly test my levels to see what I can get away with :) I'm already making changes but I have quite the inventory of cookies and chocolate I'm not ready to just get rid of.

    @rileysowner Thanks! I'll look more into it :)
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,216 Member
    Well if your prediabetic then cookies and most chocolate will definitely spike your insulin more so than most whole food carbs, now what? You don't sound like you have a plan but are willing to spend the 100 a month just to find out that cookies and chocolate and I'd imagine quite a bit of other highly processed foods that you have stored away will be problematic going forward. I wouldn't wait until your a full blown diabetic before make some real lifestyle changes, imo, and I do wish you good luck, cheers.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,739 Member
    edited May 2023
    My plan right now is to get more protein in (which I'm doing) and fiber (which I'm working on. I have UC so it can be tricky). And lower my carbs. Which I have.

    And, nah, it's mostly just the cookies and chocolate. :)

  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,216 Member
    glassyo wrote: »
    My plan right now is to get more protein in (which I'm doing) and fiber (which I'm working on. I have UC so it can be tricky). And lower my carbs. Which I have.

    And, nah, it's mostly just the cookies and chocolate. :)

    Ok, that's a decent plan and with some exercise thrown in that surely will get A1C moving in the right direction. Just spread those cookies out. :) Cheers.
  • badnoodle
    badnoodle Posts: 216 Member
    Which meter you need will depend an awful lot on how frequently you're supposed to test. If you're only doing it a couple times a week, or you aren't actively recording your measurements, you can get away with a cheap but awkward shape, or one that doesn't have the cheapest strips (since you won't use that many. BTW, you may find it cheaper to buy over the counter if your insurance is crappy.

    I just went through this rigamarole myself over the past few months, trying to find a meter & lancet that I liked. I knew that I wanted one with bluetooth, because it could be synced to apps like OneDrop, mySugr, or the various ones the manufacturers support.

    I tried the Freestyle lite that my insurance covered. It was fine. Easy to use, but I had to manually input any values. So I bought myself an AccuCheck Guide Me starter kit, a ReliOn Premier BLU, and a Contour Next One. Of these, the AccuCheck has by far the WORST strips. I consistently get blood on the back of the strip instead of in the test area. The ReliOn was cheapest, with the cheapest refills. Both these meters are pretty big. My favorite by far was the Contour Next One, which was smaller and had really nice strips that are really easy to get blood onto the sample zone.

    However, for me, the best lancet was the Accucheck Fastclix, with the drum. Easy and safe disposal, and a really consistent spring and penetration depth because it's much harder to jam the housing of the lancet into your tissue too deeply. If you can trust yourself to just rest it on your skin, the Contour and Relion use a more universal lancet that you can pick up cheaply.
  • Kiwi2mfp
    Kiwi2mfp Posts: 166 Member
    Have you seen Beat Diabetes on YouTube? I had a fasting glucose of 113 last year. My doc said I was fine but given my mom had her first amputation a few years ago I wasn't taking raising blood glucose lightly. I got a monitor and have been testing. I can't remember what kind it is. But that youtube channel will likely steer you right where you want to go. Please check it out if you haven't.
  • PeachHibiscus
    PeachHibiscus Posts: 163 Member
    I was given the Contour Next EZ and it really is EZ to use. With my insurance, the meter itself was free and the Microlet lancets are super cheap. The strips are what costs the most. My doctor prescribed I test twice a day but I like the option to do more so I bought extra strips and lancets directly from the Ascensia store on Amazon. I actually pay less there than I do with my insurance.

    You are smart to make these changes now. I had prediabetic numbers last year at my annual checkup and didn't change anything. At this year's annual checkup I received my type 2 diagnosis.
  • raymax4
    raymax4 Posts: 6,070 Member
    You are in the right place. 2015 my doctor told me I was prediabetic, and my cholesterol was also borderline. He told me that I would probably have to start taking meds for cholesterol if I became a diabetic. I started my fitness pal, tried to reach my protein goals, and followed the program. I increased my exercise also. My A1C and lipid panel returned to normal. While on this program I have met many diabetics that no longer needed insulin.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,739 Member
    I heard back from my doctor's office. She said she can prescribe a monitor if I want but they basically suggest keeping an eye on the levels with blood tests every 3/6 months and to lose weight, exercise, and eat better.

    I have to laugh at the advice I tend to give on here if I get to people first because, except for the 5 lbs I gained at the end of the year, I'm STILL only 110 lbs and if I exercised anymore I'd get no sleep and my boss would fire me. I asked for the prescription anyway for pricing purposes and since I know how I eat, even tho I'm making changes, it'll help to know how it's affecting me.

    @badnoodle Thank you! Comparisons are so helpful. I've been thinking ReliOn because...well, Walmart....I don't mind big. I don't IF but I'm used to eating most of my food a couple hours before bed so I'm curious how it affects my levels.

    @kiwi2mfp I'll check it out. LOL I'm so into listening to music while walking that, at first, I thought it was like an exercise program or something.

    @PeachHibiscus I'll check that out too. You did NOT just say "EZ to use" :)

    @raymax4 Glad to hear you were successful! The one good thing about this is I really needed to up my protein anyway so grabbing some chicken here, an egg there instead of my beloved cookies or handfuls of cereal when I get peckish is really helpful.

  • MaryFloNS
    MaryFloNS Posts: 19 Member
    Tip I was given for the pin prick. Do it on the side of the finger top instead of the pad. A marked difference in sensation.

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