Question on a Meter

Jojo mentioned to me about I think the Precision Extra meter, that tests for BG and Ketones.
I went to CVS and they had the meter, asked the Pharmacists about strips for ketones, he said that NO meter tests for ketones with blood, only urine.
My question is, is there only 1 strip to test for both or 2 seperate strips for BG and Ketones?????
He insisted that it isn't done.

So anyone with specific info would be appreciated
Thanks Jan

 

there are two different strips for that meter. one that does just glucose (aka: affordable for day to day care) and another that does ketones (very expensive but lifesaving for those prone to DKA) here's abbot's website on it (they are the manufacturer of the meter)

http://www.abbottdiabetescare.com/conte ... e_0004.htm

 

I asked a similar question just yesterday:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4968

and I believe Caryl & Alex (on Lantus ISG) use the Xtra for ketones also.

It's funny. I picked up my Precision Xtra at Walgreen's. I asked if there was a comparable Walgreen's meter and I was met by much confusion. No one had a clue the meter tested for both blood and ketones. I got my strips on eBay... the Ketone strips were $20 for a box of 10. Might get a better price another time, but that was available now.

 

And here's another recent AlphaTrak thread:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4973

 

Careful on the Price

The pharmacist was wrong. However, Precision Extra IS the only meter that checks for blood ketones. you will not want to use the meter for both BGs and ketones because it uses much more blood than the newer/better meters.

I checked the price of a Precision Extra at CVS and it was $80+. It's somewhere between $15 - $20 at Walmart.
As Sherri said, the best place to get strips are on e-bay. $2 per strip is the best I found when I bought mine. Since they are so expensive, I only checked Boo about once a week (basically, whenever I got extra blood on a poke) or if her number was higher than normal.

 

Re: Careful on the Price

Wow! I must have been lucky. It was $20 at Walgreen's.

 

Not true. The Precision only uses .3ul for testing blood glucose. The test for ketones uses more (1.5ul).

I have the Precision Xceed (name in Germany) I got my meter for free from Abbott by requesting it on thier website. It came with 10 glucose testsrips, 5 lancets, lancet device. It does not come with the ketone strips but I can order them from a number of online pharmacies. The cost is about 12€ for 10 strips ($16) so they aren't cheap but you don't use them everyday either.

The disadvantages to this meter (why I don't use for everyday BG) I don't like the individually wrapped test strips (hard to open, more trash...)

I could send you a meter, but I don't know if the test strips purchased in the US would be useable in a meter from Germany. Which would mean you have to get test strips ordered from here.

Abbott has a diabetes care hotline, I would call them and mention that you know someone who recieved a free test meter from Abbott and ask if that's something they do. Almost every meter I have I got free, by going to the website and signing up for thier diabetes newsletter (they also send you postcards when new meters come out etc, as well as access to online BG record keeping charts, diet info...) you can also get free replacement batteries for your meter. After signing up and recieving the free meter, there is usually a postcard or and email with a link to fill out a questionarre about the product. The meters are also under warranty or exchange programs (if a newer version comes out, you can normally exchange your old one, as the test strips won't always be available) perhaps I could send a German model and you could say you moved and need to exchange it for a US model? But I'm afraid that would take more time than it's all worth.

 

Monique - I actually checked my owners manual and then checked online. In the US, it uses 0.6ul for blood glucose. Maybe you have a better version in Germany.
http://www.abbottdiabetescare.com/adc_d ... 000078.htm

 

It must be different...........

Precision Xceed
# Weltweit schnellstes Blutzuckermessen in nur 3 Sekunden mit der weltweit geringsten Blutmenge von nur 0,3 µL
# Ketone messen in nur 10 Sekunden
# Gute Lesbarkeit durch große Zeichen und Displaybeleuchtung
# Automatische Aktualisierung und automatisches Codieren mit der innovativen SmartChip-Technologie
# Integrierte Startkontrolle mit optisch kontrollierbarem Blutauftrag
# Einzeln verpackte Teststreifen

http://www.abbott-diabetes-care.de/precision.html

But still .6ul isn't a huge amount. Most meters are between .3 and 1.0ul