The FreeStyle may save my life.
Written: Apr 10 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: 97% painless; quick results; well designed
Cons: Test strips can be more expensive; must enter strip code
The Bottom Line: Finally! A blood glucose test monitor that is almost completely painless! What a relief! It is also easy to use. Highly recommended!
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| JazzcatCB's Full Review: Therasense Freestyle Blood Glucose Monitoring Syst... |
I discovered that I had type 2 diabetes 11 months ago. My doctor provided me with a popular blood glucose test kit at that time. I was supposed to stick my finger several times each day and test my blood glucose level. During the first couple weeks, I did this faithfully. But as the weeks dragged into months, I began to dread that painful sting in my finger from what I had come to call "The Harpoon." As a result, I eventually got to the point where I was only testing when my symptoms told me something was wrong. This was not a proactive way to stay healthy.
So I began to search around for a less painful way to test my blood glucose. After much research, I found the "TheraSense FreeStyle" Blood GluCose MoniToring SysTem (what is it with these medical companies and their mixed upper and lower case anyway? hehe.) I bought it at my local Walgreens Drugstore. It was on sale for only $45. There was also a $40 rebate, so this worked out really well!
The first time I used it on my forearm, I practically sighed with relief: no pain. NONE! (well, okay, a *tiny* twinge, hardly even perceptible...if even that :) The first time, I botched it because the meter had turned itself off while I was getting blood, so I wasted a strip. But I got it right the next time, and have never wasted a strip since then.
The other thing that came as a pleasant surprise was my blood glucose reading: it was much lower than it had tested with my old meter. The old meter had been consistently reporting very high readings, even though I had been careful about my sugar and carbs, and using meds to bring it down. So it was such a relief to discover that the old test kit was incorrectly producing greatly inflated readings.
The FreeStyle meter produces a reading in about 3 seconds. This is much faster than my old tester.
I now test several times each day, and I practically *look forward* to it, because it is so painless and easy! As I stated in my review's title, the FreeStyle may save my life by giving me an accurate picture of my blood sugar whenever I need it. My sugar and my symptoms are under much tighter control now :)
Here are some FreeStyle features from the TheraSense website:
• 3 simple steps from start to finish
• Insertion of the test strip automatically turns meter on
• The small sample is drawn into the test strip
• Audible beep signals user when strip is full
• Fast response times of 15 seconds on average (3 for me)
• The lightweight meter is designed for portability with an easy-to-read display
• Automatically shuts off 2 minutes after last user action
• Built-in data port allows users to download readings to a PC using FreeStyle Connect Data Management Software.
• FreeStyle uses state-of-the-art Duracell® AAAA lightweight batteries.
It also holds several results from your past tests, and allows you to easily page through them.
There is one area where the FreeStyle could be more user friendly. When you get a new canister of test strips, you must enter the code from the canister into the test unit. This is not obvious, and could be easily overlooked, thereby producing incorrect test results. The process of entering this number requires reading the documentation, because it is not intuitive. Fortunately, there is a Quick Reference Guide with large text and illustrations that explains this process and is easy to understand.
The cost of the strips varies widely depending on where I buy them. At one location, they were $48 for 50. At another, they were $38 for 50. Shop around.
I can't vouch for the accuracy of the meter's readings. The readings do seem to match my symptoms (or lack of them.) I have confidence in it.
So overall, I am extremely pleased with the FreeStyle meter. I highly recommend it to anyone who is tired of getting "harpooned"
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
JazzcatCB
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Reviews written: 64
Trusted by: 4 members
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