I’m trying to find the smallest possible meter kit: the meter, the strips, the pain stick (lancing device), and the carrying case.
I use a CGM so I only need a meter for calibration and CGM failures. I’ll be able to use my existing meter, which has nice features and strips that are covered by insurance, at work and at home. I’m just looking for something super small for when I’m out and about.
What I’m looking for:
the whole kit needs to be as small as possible
What I don’t care about
cost
cost of strips
ease of use
a light
an easy to read display
large strip container
somewhere to store a log book
somewhere to store lancets
Any suggestions? What do you all do when you want to go out without carrying a bag with you?
I use a Contour Next USB (or One), a Fastclix lancing device, and put my strips in a OneTouch container. It all fits in a True2Go case. I’m not sure it’s the smallest, but that case is pretty compact.
True metrix go. Meter sits on top of the tube of strips and pokie attaches to side with an elastic band. Whole thing goes right in pocket, no case needed. Impossible to find online, have to get them at CVS or Walgreens. Strips on amazon.
I came across this the other day. It reminds me of a much larger Accu-Check meter with a drum of strips that it would dispense on demand, I had that meter 20 years ago.
Cool let us know how you like it… it’s not the best meter by a long shot but convenience makes up for a lot and the strips are dirt cheap on amazon (about $45 for 300 including shipping usually) so i put it to good use
The difference between the CGM and the meters shows why we don’t want to calibrate when our BG is moving. If the Dex says 86 rising and we calibrate it to 142 or 139, after the interstitial glucose concentration eventually catches up with the bloodstream, the Dex will now be reading maybe 30 points too high.
@bkh do you think the Dexcom takes that into account, or do you think I should wait to calibrate until the Dex is reading steady, even if the Dex is asking me to calibrate?
I’d definitely wait. Although the Dex is asking for a calibration, it will continue to work quite well for a long time. I’ve had wild days where I’ve waited 24 hours between calibrations, and the late calibration was within 10 points of the CGM reading. I think calibrating twice a day is good practice, but only when everything is calm and steady. For me, that’s about a half-hour to an hour after waking (which gives time for the feet-on-the-floor spike to level out) and just before going to bed, long after the meal bolus and digestion has calmed down. Just try to find two good times in your day, and it doesn’t have to be the same time every day or 12 hours apart or anything.
I use xdrip+ and not the dexcom reciever, so keep that in mind…
I calibrate for the first couple of days when my BG is relatively flat. Once it is calibrated I leave it alone and may calibrate once every 2 days if my BG is dead flat - like in the morning.
