Tag Archives: meter

I want!

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So, I found the next diabetes toy that I would like to try. It is the newest glucometer by LifeScan called Verio IQ.

According to the ad on the website, “Introducing the first meter ever that looks for patterns of highs and lows – and alerts you right on screen, when it finds one. So you don’t have to do all the work for a change.” If it actually works as advertised — Yay!

Looking at pictures on other blogs who have reviewed it, I think it looks pretty cool. Bad points: It looks like it doesn’t use the One Touch Ultra strips. (all my current meters use those strips.)

So, I haven’t touched one of these meters, so I can’t tell you if it is cool or not. But, I am looking forward to when it comes out so I can try it.

These blogs are where I heard about it first:

cold glucometer

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I live in an area with seasons. There is a hot season and a cold season. Right now we are in the cold season. Honestly, this season hasn’t been so bad. It has been temperatures above freezing for most of the winter. But, here comes the freeze. Freezing brings about other problems for me. First, I have to make sure my insulin pump stays warm. Insulin stops working if it freezes, and it can freeze just as well in a pump. That is easy to prevent, I just attach the pump to my underwear so it is right next to my body. If it can get cold enough to freeze in that location, I have a lot more problems 🙂

The next problem is my glucometer. I have discovered in previous winters that the meter doesn’t work when it too cold. Luckily, my meter gives a warning when it is too cold, so I don’t get faulty readings. (According to the manual, my meter doesn’t work any lower than 43 degrees Fahrenheit.) But, I still am not getting any readings with a cold meter. That has caused problems and I have had to guess if I was going low or not. I wasn’t always right.

If I remember, I try to keep my meter in my pants pocket when I go out in the cold to keep it warm. But, that method doesn’t seem to work that well to warm the meter after it is already cold. The woman behind the Pump Wear company happened to post some solutions to the cold meter problem a couple of days ago.

contact lenses

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Have you seen this yet? It is super cool! Microsoft Research and University of Washington is working on something called the “Functional Contact Lens”. They have discovered that a person’s blood sugar level can be read in a person’s tears. So, the contact lens will sit in the eye (just like a regular lens) while it is there it can read the blood sugar level and send the info to a different device. Now, that is cool enough – technology like this could avoid a lot of finger stabbing and belly stabbing. But, that is not the end of this technology.

They are hoping that the contact lens could show the information to the wearer directly. So, the info will be seen on the side of their vision. Maybe with a blood sugar number, or perhaps with a warning message. The video that they have on the website makes the Natural User Interface look like the info the Terminator gets in the terminator movies.

This project is a long way away from being released, but looks very very cool. I know I would be interested in trying it out when it comes out…

 

Self Diagnosis

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Bayer's A1CNowâ„¢ SELFCHECK System

Have you seen this article Washington Post complaining about the drugstore HbA1C kits being used for a diabetes diagnosis? They say that it isn’t official, and could not be accurate.

The thing is, I wasn’t diagnosed by an HbA1C test. I was diagnosed by a simple over the counter finger stick test. It was done at the doctor’s office, but it was a fingerstick test that had an answer in 30 seconds. Most of the people that I know that were diagnosed with diabetes were tested by glucometers.

Now I think the main problem is that people are getting these tests without a doctor. An HbA1C test done with a pre-existing diabetes can be helpful. It can help a patient make some good decisions. But, a HbA1C test without a doctor and no pre-existing diabetes diagnosis can be bad. Most people have misconceptions about diabetes. If someone tries to self diagnose, and self treat, they might end up making their illness even worse.

If you were diagnosed, what test did your doctor use?

Ultralink is now being sent to Paradigm 512/712/515 and 715 owners

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Medtronic Minimed Paradigm insulin pump with a One Touch Ultralink meterYay! I just got a letter yesterday from Medtronic Minimed. They have finished mailing the One Touch Ultralink meter to the owners of 722/522 and now have started sending them out to those who own the 512/712/515 and 715 model. (The letter said that people with those models should be getting the Ultralink FREE by August 30, 2008.)

I am so happy! I really liked the way the BD link meter worked, but I didn’t like the cost of the strips. (It was covered by my insurance, but with a much higher copay than the Ultra strips. Since I test around 8-10 times a day, it can make a HUGE difference. )

I’ll put a review here once I get it.

Here is a link to Medtronic’s announcement, if you would like to read it: http://www.minimed.com/products/insulinpumps/components/onetouchultralink/faq.html