As much as I hate diabetes I'm fortunate I didn't live during an earlier time . If you were diagnosed with diabetes 100 years ago, it could be a death sentence. Until the first meter was marketed for home use in 1981, most people were clueless on their actual numbers and faced challenges daily when it came to giving themselves shots. Too much insulin in the blood can lead to hypoglycemia & coma and too little insulin to high blood sugar or hyperglycemia. A lot of diabetics learned to recognize the symptoms of hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia, without testing. In the early 80s one of my Mom's friends would give herself insulin 3 times a day without the knowing her blood sugar level. A few years after my mom died, her friend Chloe lost both legs and then her life to diabetes.
Most people today wouldn't attempt insulin injections without testing these days. In the early 80's Chloe had no choice.
In the early years of my marriage my husband's Uncle Harley stayed with us, Harley had diabetes. He was on insulin and had the testing strips that didn't require the meter. Once the blood was put on the strip it would change color and you had to match the color to the grid on the bottle to get an approximate glucose level. It was a pain in the ass testing like this.
The earlier meters marketed for home use were often expensive and required a prescription. Alot of times insurance would not pay for testing supplies or meters for home use. Once glucose monitors became more readily available and affordable did testing happen more. Now anyone can buy monitors, Lancets and testing strips right off the shelf without a prescription.
Even though I'm early in my diagnosis I have 3 meters. My first meter I bought used without finding out how expensive the strips were. The strips are too much so I bought a meter (ReliOn meter) at Walmart. The meter was reasonable and strips were cheaper than the first. I needed a better Lancet holder so in order to get the lancing device my friends bought me a Contour Next EZ monitor and 50 strips. The strips for the Contour Next is expensive compared to the ReliOn. Put it this way I can purchase 150 strips for the ReliOn meter vs 50 strips for the Contour Next. The Contour Next EZ meter cost less than the ReliOn meter.
I am buying strips for the ReliOn ( keeping as the backup meter) and Contour Next EZ next Monday. Love the Contour Next it's super easy to use and it's fast. When I travel this summer I'm taking the Contour because it would be less to replace than the others if I lose it. And it's good to always have a backup and strips.
If you're Diabetic what kind of monitor do you use?
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