Similar to the last one I showed, except this one has an automatic lancing device instead of the manual lancet holder I posted before (to me it doesn’t really matter, any poke in the finger is the same as any other, but I know some people like the automatic lancing devices better).
Like before, I started with a Blistex tube, cut to the correct size.
Get one of the lancing devices that comes with the True Metrix meter. The meters aren’t great, but the lancing devices are the smallest I’ve ever come across. (The lancing device is worth the cost of the meter, just because of its size).
I am not sure if these lancing devices come with all of their meters, or only certain ones. Ask @Sam, he knows all about these things.
I do. I need to post some stuff in exercise for all of that.
For running I use the ReliOn Micro. It’s small and relatively accurate and easy to use. I have a sweatband I made that holds it. And for the strips I made a dispenser that is easy to take them out of. It’s just made out of silicone that I molded to fit the strips. It holds them securely but lets you pull them out easily.
I can send a strip holder to whomever wants one. I have the mold already made up, that was the hard part. Making them now is easy, I just press in the silicone compound and let it cure.
brilliant as you are, i have something that i have not been able to find, so i thought that maybe you could come up with something close to it (or direct me to a place where i could purchase something similar).
i would like a pump that would not only tell you IOB, but your last BG, how many carbs you were eating, time of bolus, etc. i know that for some reason, whenever i do an extended or dual bolus, i have this info at my disposal when i go back into my pump screen. but why wont it provide this info for a regular bolus? makes no sense to me.
also, on my meter, i would like a light near the strip slot so i could see it in the dark. (not just the screen light).
do either of these already exist and i am just missing the manual which will direct me to program this for my pump? and why hasnt anyone thought about this light for the meter? i mean its really considerate of the companies to make a lighted screen, but if you cant find the slot for the strip, whats the point?
All of this information is available on my pump, but on different screens. Sure would be nice if it was in one place, right?
The problem with pumps made for the masses is that they are always tailored down to the least perceptive, the least savvy, the most accident-prone, and the most foolish among us.
Here is a completely hypothetical illustration of how this might happen:
Supposed a pump had all that data on a single screen. Everyone loved it! But in clinical trials with 100 people, one person made a mistake with that screen. They mistook carbs for BG, or bolus for carbs, or IOB for basal, or whatever. That one single mistake makes them go back to the design and try harder to make it fool-proof. So they had to put all that data on different screens.
Pumps will never be perfect for you. They will always be designed for people far less perceptive than you. That’s just the way it is. Unless you make your own pump.
My pump has a BG test light. Maybe one of those very tiny push-button flashlights could be attached to your pump? Or glow-in-the-dark paint could be painted near the strip port?
i always carry a tiny flashlight in my meter “bag” for this very reason. its great for movie theaters, etc. but the point being is that it seems like a very obviously overlooked mechanism. what kind of ding-a-ling is designing these meters? i mean, if they can come up with the importance of a lighted screen, why skimp out and not have a little light for the strip slot? how much harder would that be for them??? duh
PS: and furthermore, why dont all new meters have a backlight? whats up with that?
i’ll check this out. how do you feel about this meter in general? i have the Contour Next One (on your recommendation ) and i love that i can but 600 strips on AMazon for $124. i also have a One Touch Ultra for which Medicare pays for 300 strips a month free.
The FreeStyle Lite is a very good meter. The strips are expensive though. But the light makes it easy for things like movie theaters or dark restaurants. And it is very compact.
If insurance can cover it for you it might be worth getting. Buying the strips yourself for daily use would be expensive. But buying a box of strips for occasional use in the dark might be okay.
If you get a FreeStyle meter, buy the “Lite” model.
OmniPod has the light but it’s rather paltry. And using the PDM as a meter always feels like landing the USS Enterprise on a postage stamp to me. So the size of the meter makes the light seem too small at 3am as I’m frustratedly trying to figure out if he’s actually at 55 or not.
Regarding your other pump requests, I feel the same way – the technology for the OmniPod PDM seems like something from 10 years ago. Why can’t it just work well?!? (FDA approval track is my guess.)
the thing is that these are such simple details, which shouldnt require putting in that much more programing i dont have a clue as to why the companies dont think to do it. i mean, they must have some sort of D trial runs before manufacturing their devices; hasnt anyone thought to mention functions which would deffinately help make usage easier?
To understand the meter market, I think you also have to put the size of the market into perspective. Most meters are being used by type 2’s who don’t test the way you have to, and their typical use case doesn’t require everything be lighted etc. So when designing a meter, would you design for 10% of the market or 90%. Not saying some companies shouldn’t be commended for getting it right, but expecting the companies to cater to the 10% (even though they probably buy the lions share of strips) takes vision, and that is why you want small companies in the market. fyi - The Freestyle meter was developed by a small company which was purchased by Abbott.
Well the FDA is an easy target to bash, but they have done a good job of protecting us over the years, unfortunately, as most government stuff goes, it costs a lot to do their job, and they don’t have an incentive to do it faster or more efficiently, so they are expensive and slow. With that said, having a free-for all market strategy in medicine isn’t the best approach either (think turn of the century snake oil).
So I will take the FDA and hope they move towards safety on medical devices rather than safety + efficacy.
i take a medication for diabetic gastropareses called Domperidone. it use to be available in the USA, but the company wasnt making enough $$$ off of it, so the FDA took it off of their formulary and it is no longer available here anymore.
now, the only way i can get it is via Canada. it is expensive b/c insurance will not cover the canadian pharmacies meds (and i have to pay for shipping). this is something that really upsets me. there is so much to be said about how many $$ are being made from certain drugs and if it is worth the while to manufacture them here.
similar to what you mentioned about the BG meters catering to the T2Ds rather than to us with T1.
Well I understand how frustrating it is to not have access to a medication that is working for you. However, I don’t think the FDA ever approved it, I think they just didn’t crack down on people selling it, until after the studies came out showing that people taking it with heart conditions were having more cardiac issues.
i had absolutely no idea that it could effect the heart. is that a side effect of taking the medication, or just something that those with pre-existing heart conditions are suseptible to?
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