DrSue.ca Product Review - Glucose Meters

So, your doctor has told you that you need a glucose meter to check your blood sugars at home. You arrive at the pharmacy to find yourself standing in front of a shelf with a confusing array of options. What should you do?

There are dozens of meters out there, and rather than bore you with a long list of every single one, I’ve highlighted some of the new and unique features that are available amongst some of the most commonly used meters (in alphabetical order):

Accu-Chek:

The Accu-Chek Mobile glucometer is unique in that it has the meter, testing strips, and lancets all niftily packaged into one device. So, after a blood sugar test, there’s nothing to dispose of.

BGStar:

Techie alert: the iBGStar glucometer connects directly to your iPhone or iPod Touch! Very cool.

Contour:

Another Tech Alert here: The USB Meter‘s name tells you what’s unique about this one – namely, that you can plug the meter directly into your computer to download data.

FreeStyle:

The InsuLinx meter is a newer meter that can help you calculate how much mealtime insulin you need. It is programmed to fit your insulin needs by your diabetes educator.

I have many patients who are taking mealtime insulin, who have found the meter’s dosing suggestions to be very helpful. REMEMBER, however, that your brain is still better than your meter – if there is a particular situation where your own experience tells you differently than what the meter suggests – listen to your spidey sense.

OneTouch:

The newest member of this family is the VerioIQ, which is the only meter with a full color screen. A really cool feature is that it will alert you if it detects a pattern of high or low blood sugars.

A few other considerations:

Super small, discreet meters: Consider the OneTouch UltraMini, the Contour USB , or the Freestyle Lite (though most meters are pretty compact these days).

Meters that use the least blood: Freestyle and Accu-Chek meters are amongst those that use the least amount, around 0.3 microlitres.

Meters with big numbers on screen: Freedom Lite, VerioIQ, Accu-Chek Mobile

Accuracy: Some meters claim to be a bit more accurate than others, but the differences are small. Your doctor should send you to the lab periodically to check the accuracy of your meter in any case.