Well that was the 1980’s… Infusion sets were bigger and so were BG meters 
I was looking for a picture of the Glucoscan 2000, my first meter, but couldn’t find one - so here is a contemporary meter. The One Touch.
…and apologies for hijacking this tread.
No worries. If we get enrolled in the trial you can believe I will hijack it right back!!!
The first one I had was about the size of a pen. It was awesome. Still, to this day, it is the smallest meter made. Because back then, we didn’t worry about uploading the data anywhere, or any of that stuff!
I can’t find mine, but here is a generic web picture of it:
This was also my first meter, except I had the one shaped like a credit card! And I agree, it’s smaller than most meters available today. (I think this company eventually turned into Abbott, and they do still make some of the best and smallest meters, like the Freestyle Lite and Precision Neo.) If I recall, it had a 45 or 60 second countdown and had a 10 test memory (but with no time stamp), and the lancing device allowed you to “change depths” by using a bigger or smaller hole in the cap…
I got Type 1 in 1991, so don’t feel as experienced as some of you, but still used some remnants of 1980s-era technology when I was diagnosed.
I had the “Credit Card” version of that, which could fit in my back pocket like a wallet - It was the smallest meter I ever owned. Probably early 1990s.
For some reason, (I think it was probably the increasing number of Type 2’s doing SMBG) the meters have grown in size since then.
Yep, I also had the credit card version too, but I broke them too easily, and so I stuck with the pen version.
Eyesight maybe was an issue. And then the data collection, where everything needed a port to download data, or the ability to transmit BG logs…
@Eric I remember that one! Loved it for the short time I had it. But like with most pens, I lost it pretty quickly.
I definitely used and liked the medsense.
Also, the credit card version of that meter had a battery that couldn’t be changed. Once it died, you just got a new meter. So that may have added some bulk. But I think larger screens, more buttons, backlights and strip lights, memory features, logging features, and so on all added up to increase size. The two meters I use today (Cotour Next USB and Precision Neo) are both pretty small. I think the big meters were a trend of the 1990s and early 2000s, and may be reversing now that people want to carry that sort of stuff in their pocket.
I remember the non-replaceable battery. The pen version had the same thing.
But it was cool they gave you new meters for free, and smart of them since they made their money on the strips.
I would like to point out that I have not paid for a meter since the Glucoscan 2000. (And actually my Dad paid for that so technically I have never paid for meter.) I keep getting these “free meter with 100 test strips” deals at the local phamacy.
