Random: does anyone know anything re: glucose meters??

[AmberGretchen]

Hi guys - I know this is a bit random, but I was wondering if anyone knows anything about home glucose meters - particularly good brands or models, tips for setting up and using, or any other useful information.

My mom has been borderline for a while but now she''s supposed to start testing and I''m trying to do all the research I can to help her out. Any information much appreciated!!

Thanks

 

[MissAva]

Type 1 or 2? How often does she need to test?

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Type 1 or 2? How often does she need to test?

Boarderline diabetes is type II.

AmberGretchen - has your mom looked into the glycemic index? These index numbers are an excellent dietary guideline to follow for diabetics. Not all will respond as predicted, but by testing certain foods, you can see that the majority of high-index foods will raise sugar levels more than other lower-index foods with the SAME number of carbs as the former.

For every meal, have your mom eat protein BEFORE carbs because this will slow down digestion and reduce the chances of sugars spiking.

 

[Buena Girl]

I could get some information for you this weekend. Please PM me if you are still looking for information. I know a decent amount of people who are diabetic.

Here''s some very general info:
They have made great improvements in the models that prick your finger. From what I understand, they are not as rough on your fingers as they used to be. I believe they sell devices that scan your finger, but the people I know are happy with the new models that prick your finger. Also, check to see if anything is covered by your insurance and if it can be automatically mailed to your mom. Your insurance may give you a discount or pay for some of the equipment and supplies. Also, when your mom starts testing herself, make sure she is not obsessed about hitting a target number. It is easy to fall into the same trap as weighing yourself everyday and being upset with the scale. Your mom is going to have some good days and some bad days especially in the beginning. She should strive to be as close as possible to the 80 to 120 range (is that the range they gave her?), but not obsessed about having to get a specific result. The most important thing is to be consistant, follow the doctor''s advice, and learn what triggers the extra high numbers and extra low numbers (i.e. eating too much sugar, or exercising too much and not eating enough). If I think of anything else, I''l let you know. And if any pscopers notice anything incorrect about what I said, please call me out on it!

 

[MissAva]

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. In type 2 diabetes, either the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin. Insulin is necessary for the body to be able to use sugar. Sugar is the basic fuel for the cells in the body, and insulin takes the sugar from the blood into the cells. When glucose builds up in the blood instead of going into cells, it can cause two problems:

 

[Tali]

In answer to your actual question about glucometers, I highly recommend the One Touch Ultra. Smaller amounts of blood required allow one to actually test on the arm instead of the fingers all the time. Get the Fine Lancets, also. She''ll get less pain when she does prick her finger/arm with them. Best wishes, and I''m glad she''s getting on the band wagon early!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 5/12/2005 11:53:48 PM
Author: Buena Girl
She should strive to be as close as possible to the 80 to 120 range (is that the range they gave her?),

Okay, I was trying to find the model that I used while pregnant. It was One Touch Basic. My midwife had me test my blood sugar levels two hours after every meal.

This was a very cheap model (around $50-60) and it worked fine (not great). My score would vary as much as 20 points if I tested more than twice in a row, so I'm betting there are MUCH more accurate models for true diabetics.

The target 80-120 is for non diabetics. . .for diabetics, the post meal (two hour range) is higher. . .like 140 or 180 (you'd need to talk to the doctor about this). . .

Be sure to move after meals because this will lower BSLs.

OH, and ETA - BE SURE to find very thin lancets because these will hurt less!

 

[Buena Girl]

Date: 5/13/2005 12:03:50 AM
Author: MichelleCarmen

Date: 5/12/2005 11:53:48 PM
Author: Buena Girl
She should strive to be as close as possible to the 80 to 120 range (is that the range they gave her?),

Sorry, I should have been more specific. The 80 to 120 range (although, I think it can be as much as 80 to 150) is for an empty stomach like when she wakes up in the morning, or tests herself later in the day a long time after eating. MichelleCarmen''s range I am pretty sure is correct for 1 to 2 hours after eating.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Wow - thanks guys. I am actually pretty familiar with the mechanisms/biology of the disease (being a graduate student getting a PhD in biology as we speak), although I very much appreciate in the information. I was wondering if those of you who have used these meters or know people who have what difficulties they have had in actually getting them to work. My mo is extremely smart but sometimes a teeny bit slow on new technologies. Is there anything we need to watch out for? I don''t know what numbers the doctor gave her, I will get more details on that tomorrow.

Mostly this is because she is having hip replacement surgery June 15, and they are trying to have her be as healthy as possible before that. Like I mentioned, she has been borderline for a while, but I guess its gotten worse lately. This makes sense because she hasn''t been able to exercise as much due to her pain from the hip, and also because she has been under a lot of stress. She actually eats a very healthy diet for the most part (lots of fruits and veggies, reasonable amount of whole grains although could be a bit better, some low fat and non fat dairy and protein from tofu and some occasional chicken or fish), and has lost a fair amount of weight this year although she is still a bit overweight but I think it has less to do with her diet and more to do with the stress and the inability to exercise (before she had pain this severe, she swam for about an hour 4-6 days a week).

Anyway, any more information in terms of practical advice for setting up and using the meter, as well as any books or websites you guys could recommend would be great - and thank you so mucha gain for all the info and support!

 

[Tali]

The glucometers these days have been made pretty simply, and she could (should) go to a diabetes ed class with a Certified Diabetes Educator to get hands on practical experience in the machine. She should do fine, despite any techonophobic traits. Best wishes for her surgery!

 

[jellybean]

I'm a pharmacist so I have seen practically every meter on the market.

When I had gestational diabetes I used the AccuCheck Compact. It's the one that has the drum of strips so you just press a button and the strip pops out of the meter. Nice for people that either don't want to handle the test strips or don't have a lot of dexterity in their hands. I thought it was a pretty decent meter but kind of on the big side if you wanted to carry it around. I had to buy a bigger purse to accomodate it.

The one that uses the least amount of blood is the Freestyle meter. The test strips are pretty small so that is one drawback but this meter allows for testing on the forearm and on the palm which is nice b/c there are less nerve endings in those spots so less pain. The meter itself is small, so probably not my first choice for elderly people, however, the screen that displays the results is pretty big. It does a lot of advanced features like charting and you can download the data to a computer.

The One Touch line has been around for a long time. It was the meters of choice at the hospital where I worked. The One Touch Basic is about as basic as you can get. The strips are bigger however it requires a "hanging" drop of blood that you place on the strip. The newer strips kind of suck the blood out of your finger once you prick it and have a drop of blood there.

If you mom has prescription insurance, I would call them and find out what brand of meters is on their "preferred" list. If you have a prescription for a meter and strips and lancets, insurance will cover each and will charge your regular prescription co-pay for each one. Now if you pick a meter that is not "prefererd", then the insurance usually charges you a higher co-pay. Retail the meters cost around $70, but it's the test strips that are really expensive. The strips can cost ballpark figure around $80 for 100 strips. If you're testing 4x/day like I was, they really don't last very long.

If she doesn't have insurance, many chains (CVS, Walgreens, Albertsons, Safeway) have come out with their own "generic" meter. It's pretty basic but it does the job for most people. The nice thing is that the strips are interchangable, so if you bought the meter from CVS, you can get your strips at Albertson's or wherever else you may be shopping.

If you have any other questions please feel free to PM me!

 

[icekid]

is it really weird that i want a glucose meter just to play with? just call me a future doctor dork

but ever since we had a clinical skills session where they made us test ourselves, i really want one. i know i would probably check my glucose compulsively, for fun. also, i''d really like to use it on my family. ah yes, family- people med students use for practice!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 5/13/2005 3:28:01 PM
Author: icekid
is it really weird that i want a glucose meter just to play with? just call me a future doctor dork

but ever since we had a clinical skills session where they made us test ourselves, i really want one. i know i would probably check my glucose compulsively, for fun. also, i''d really like to use it on my family. ah yes, family- people med students use for practice!

Hi,

I''m not diabetic, but did test my levels as precaution while pregnant. It''s interesting to see how food affects sugar levels regardless if you''re diabetic or not. Foods like corn and rice still give me slightly higher, yet acceptable, readings.

I think that if you test now, you''d be able to see which foods are best for your body (metabolic) type and this could be beneficial in the long run. If you find that even complex carbs (as well as refined carbs) give you higher numbers, then you should focus on eating more meat!

Oh, and family aren''t necessarily cooperative with testing. I''d chase my husband around the house with my lancet thingy and he''d run and hide in the bathroom! lol (he did test once and had a VERY low score after drinking a glass of orange juice, so I guess this means he''s okay

)

 

[icekid]

hehe, i have a feeling my family would not be too thrilled about me poking at them with needles either! i do have a family history of diabetes, so i already avoid eating a lot of processed white foods anyway. but i still think it would be fun!

 

[sjz]

Date: 5/13/2005 3:28:01 PM
Author: icekid
is it really weird that i want a glucose meter just to play with? just call me a future doctor dork

but ever since we had a clinical skills session where they made us test ourselves, i really want one. i know i would probably check my glucose compulsively, for fun. also, i''d really like to use it on my family. ah yes, family- people med students use for practice!

I think it''s weird. I remember practicing on ourselves and on each other in nursing school. It wasn''t exactly fun

Trust me...if you HAD to poke yourself anywhere from 4 to 6 times a day with those lancets you''d get sick and tired of it very fast! The newer generations of Glucometers don''t use nearly as much blood, and some of them allow you to test on your forearm where there aren''t as many nerve endings, but it still gets old after a while. And those little test strips aren''t cheap (neither are the lancets). I can think of much better things to spend my money on.

I remember how sore my fingertips used to get, and how sometimes I literally had to SQUEEZE enough blood out just to get enough to make a big enough drop to test. Sometimes the machine wouldn''t read the strip, or I didn''t have enough blood on it, or I had a faulty strip or whatever, and I''d have to do it twice

.

Since you are a future doctor dork, I predict that you will have plenty of opportunities to test your skills on real patients. I don''t think you really need to subject your family to any kind of torture

 

[sjz]

Date: 5/13/2005 3:48:27 PM
Author: MichelleCarmen

Date: 5/13/2005 3:28:01 PM
Author: icekid
is it really weird that i want a glucose meter just to play with? just call me a future doctor dork

but ever since we had a clinical skills session where they made us test ourselves, i really want one. i know i would probably check my glucose compulsively, for fun. also, i''d really like to use it on my family. ah yes, family- people med students use for practice!

Hi,

I''m not diabetic, but did test my levels as precaution while pregnant. It''s interesting to see how food affects sugar levels regardless if you''re diabetic or not. Foods like corn and rice still give me slightly higher, yet acceptable, readings.

I think that if you test now, you''d be able to see which foods are best for your body (metabolic) type and this could be beneficial in the long run. If you find that even complex carbs (as well as refined carbs) give you higher numbers, then you should focus on eating more meat!

Oh, and family aren''t necessarily cooperative with testing. I''d chase my husband around the house with my lancet thingy and he''d run and hide in the bathroom! lol (he did test once and had a VERY low score after drinking a glass of orange juice, so I guess this means he''s okay

)

Unless Icekid is a diabetic, or hypoglycemic, or has pancreatitis, I doubt that testing blood sugars is going to be very beneficial at this point. The readings should all be pretty well within the normal range. You''d almost have to compulsively check your glucose levels at specified intervals both before and after eating over a period of time to detect any significant changes in blood sugar. They don''t even really do that in the hospital. There are blood tests that you can take that will determine how your body blood sugars are behaving over the course of time. One of those is called a Hemoglobin A1C.

 

[sjz]

Now, for the post I originally intended to make on this subject before I got sidetracked reading the other posts...lol...I asked my husband about this (being an MD I thought he would probably know the answer). He said that pretty much all of the latest generation of glucose meters are pretty good. He said that Acucheck and One Touch are probably the most popular brands and seem to work the best for the patients he sees. Most of the latest models use very little blood to get a reading, and most of them make a model that takes a preloaded cartridge of strips, so you don''t have to mess around with that aspect. The one I have is an Acucheck, and it stores the readings so that you have a data base for your blood sugar levels built right in. It''s also very easy to calibrate and read. It''s pretty quick, too. Only takes a few seconds to get the reading, and I don''t have to push any buttons or anything, just touch the drop of blood to the edge of the strip, and presto! The machine does the count-down and takes the reading without my having to do anything else.

 

[icekid]

oh, i know i don''t NEED to monitor my glucose. i''m very healthy. i just think it would be cool to see the fluctuations during the day. HbA1c would not be nearly as fun! that''s really more for monitoring diabetics control of the blood sugar obviously.

but then i have a different definitions of fun. i have cartilage damage in my knee (figure skating injury) and it swells up fairly frequently. i like to push on my patella b/c it feels "creaky" due to the fluid in my knee. kind of the same thing. i''m weird like that, but at least i know i''m going into the right field!

 

[sjz]

Date: 5/13/2005 5:10:04 PM
Author: icekid
oh, i know i don''t NEED to monitor my glucose. i''m very healthy. i just think it would be cool to see the fluctuations during the day. HbA1c would not be nearly as fun! that''s really more for monitoring diabetics control of the blood sugar obviously.

but then i have a different definitions of fun. i have cartilage damage in my knee (figure skating injury) and it swells up fairly frequently. i like to push on my patella b/c it feels ''creaky'' due to the fluid in my knee. kind of the same thing. i''m weird like that, but at least i know i''m going into the right field!

Like I said before, if you are a normal healthy person with a normal healthy pancreas, I doubt that the fluctuations in your blood sugar would be all that significant. As soon as the glucose enters your blood stream, your pancreas would be kicking in and secreting enough insulin to keep your blood sugar within normal limits. The likelyhood that you would know exactly when to stick your finger and get the blood before the insulin works is very doubtful.

But, hey, you go for it. If you want to keep sticking your self with a pin and squeezing out little drops of blood just to see normal blood sugar readings, that''s fine with me

 

[Gale]

This meter is probably available in the States, but I have no way of knowing for sure. It''s called Ascencia, and it''s from Bayer. This meter has preloaded strips, does a 14 day history, and you don''t have to calibrate it either. You do need to take fingertip blood with it though.

 

[tulipcloud]

There are many models that allow for testing on the forearm rather than the fingertips now. One Touch Ultra, Accu-Chek Compact and Accu-Chek Advantage to name a few of the more popular ones. Check with your local pharmacist and see if they have any special offers and recommendations. Our pharmacy will give a free Accu-Chek Compact or Advantage ($65 value) with purchase of 100 test strips. As for insurance coverage, most test strips and lancets are covered by insurance companies when written by your physician, but the meter itself usually isn''t. If she is Medi-Care part B eligible, her meter and supplies can be covered by Medi-care. Ask your pharmacist and they will usually be glad to help.

Hope this helps, if not, just PM me anytime, I help patients with this stuff on a daily basis!