5 comments about ACCU-CHEK Compact Plus Meter Kit.

1. I had been using the older Accu-chek compact plus, but recently replaced it with this revised version. So far no regrets - it's the same terrific meter I've grown accustomed to, just in some new packaging.
   
   Among the many features I like:
   
   - Painless lancet...notably better than most of the competitors thanks to the thinner lancets and the teflon coating
   - Highly accurate...agrees exactly with my doctor's unit and with the lab
   - Convenient and easy to use, one piece design
   - Large, legible display
   - Drum design holds supplies for 17 tests so there's less to carry around or fumble with
   - Good memory functions built-in
   - Long battery life...my last one was three years old and I never once needed to replace the batteries with daily testing
   
   Something not mentioned on the Amazon product description is the wonderful interface to the Accu-chek software package called SmartPix, which you can order from the manufacturer. This software talks to the meter using an IR (infrared) signal like your TV remote control, and it lets you create all sorts of useful data on your PC. The product generates all sorts of charts and graphs, which you can share with your doctor to give him a much more detailed view of how you've been doing. I'm a big believer in data collection on the PC, and I routinely monitor blood pressure, exercise (via my pedometer) and blood sugar levels this way.
   
   About the only complaint I have is that the supplies for this meter are somewhat hard to find locally, and when I can find them, they tend to be 2-3 times as expensive. I just order through Amazon way in advance and that seems to work for me. I also liked the older style case better, but luckily the meter fits in my old case.
   
   Recommended.



2. ACCU-CHEK is the only brand I have had during five years of diabetes and the Compact Plus seems to get better with each purchase. (I am currently on my second one). It is very easy to use and gives super fast readings. The test strip drum feature eliminated having to insert a test strip every time you test. I heartily recommend this monitor to everyone who needs one.



3. works great! great idea with the pin attached the the meter so i can't lose it



4. I was disappointed that the control solution and the test strips were not included in this purchase



5. I just bought this from my local walgreens on saturday. I love it. So much easier to use. My freestyle freedom kept giving me very inaccurate reading no matter what i did. The only thing i don't like is the case it came with. Not a big deal though.

2 comments about Bayer Self Check At-Home A1C System, A1CNOW 1 ea.

1. Product arrived on time. I tested my A1C and compared it with the one I had drawn at the lab the accuracy of the test was right on. I am very happy to have a home test to keep my diabetes in check.



2. I was skeptical about this home A1C so i did one test at the lab at almost the same time. The results were very similar for both. It was very easy to use and the price (per test - 2 included) was about 1/4 of going to a lab.

4 comments about OneTouch Ultra Control Solution, Vials - 2 ea.

1. I have a couple of boxes of test strips that are coming close to their expiration date. The control solution will help me determine if I can continue to use them or not. This vendor shipped promptly, and the price for the solution is a fair one.



2. I could not find this item stocked in any of the pharmacies in my town so was very happy to find it at Amazon.com and the shipping was very prompt.



3. This is the only product for testing One Touch Glucose meters. It does what it's advertised to do.



4. The One Touch Ultra Control Solution is a needed item when using a blood meter.

   The control solution is used each time a new test strip container is opened. Only a couple of drops are used each time when testing. The control solution will show if the new test strips will register within the control solutions test range.

   Testing is done as if you were testing a drop of blood, but instead you are using a strip from the new container of test strips, and a drop of the control solution. The Ultra Control Solution is red and contains an amount of sugar. The blood meter will then show the solutions sugar count, which is then compared with the given range on the back of the new strip container. If the sugar number is within the range shown on the new container of strips, then a good reading will happen when you are testing your blood.

   Check your blood meter to make sure you are using the correct test strips and control solution
   for your meter.

5 comments about One Touch Ultra 2 Blood Glucose Monitoring System.

1. I was recently diagnosed with gestational diabetes (pregnancy-induced diabetes) and was less-than-happy to learn I would be pricking my fingers 6 times a day. But this meter is simple to use, and by my 4th prick, I actually found myself thinking this was "kinda fun." It's no party, but this meter is so extremely simple and low-hassle to use that it really is no big deal. It doesn't take much blood at all to activate the reader. I recommend the One Touch Ultra 2!



2. I originally ordered this because I thought my One Touch Ultra was malfunctioning and not giving proper readings. I decided to upgrade to try the newest version and was really happy to receive my new monitor in the mail.
   
   What I loved most about the Ultra 2 is that it uses the same test strips for One Touch Ultra, and the monitor allows you to add in comments describing the reading; one group of descriptions for pre or post meal, and another for how you're feeling/why. Another boon is this monitor will give you averages based on the info you input.
   
   As well, it turns out my readings were consistent on both monitors. This says to me the One Touch Ultra brand is sturdy and reliable. The old one was about a year old, and I dropped it a lot.



3. Easy to use and very helpful showing you how what you eat can affect your blood sugar level. Small and compact, easy to carry around. Over all a great item.



4. i have used this meter for quite some time and am very pleased with it.. i also own the ascensia breeze 1 & 2. i have never had a problem with the one touch ultra 2. it DOES NOT require a lot of blood at all and i have never wasted any strips with this meter.. the ascensia breeze 1 & 2 are great with the 10 test strip disc but i have wasted numerous test strips where i didnt have enough of a blood sample.. buy the one touch ultra 2, you wont be disappointed...



5. One Touch Ultra 2 Blood Glucose Monitoring System is a real charm to use. The test strips only require a small speck of a sample. One drop of blood can easily make 10-15 or more samples for this meter, and it is fast.
   
   The meter can hold 500 readings but you can't do much with them without a data cable and software, that cost as much or more than the meter. The paper log book that comes with the unit to write down the readings this sophisticated instrument automatically stores with comments times and dates shows that marketing was all over this one to increase the bottom line.
   
   This unit comes as a nice kit with zippered and velcro pouches for tucking the supplies away, but the whole thing is fiddley. You have to take everything out of the pouch and put it on another work surface to use it. Customers in a restaurant may not appreciate the production required and opting to do this in the car or public transport would be tricky. This one is probably the best, but all of these kits currently share this "User Convenience Problem".
   
   All in all I am happy with this Kit.

1 comments about ACCU-CHEK AVIVA CNTRL SOLUTION.

1. This is important in order for the meter to give an accurate reading, therefore it's necessary.

2 comments about Accu-Chek Aviva Diabetes Monitoring Kit - Meter System.

1. Now you can help make every test strip count -- by testing right the first time.Right technology:A wide-mouth strip quickly attracts and absorbs a tiny blood drop, helping 97% of testers fill on the very first try,1 so you can avoid painful retesting.In addition, the system has over 150 automatic checks to detect and prevent unreliable results.The least-painful lancet device:The ACCU-CHEK Multiclix lancet device is proven least painful among leading lancet devices.Test from your fingertip or other sites:Test from your fingertip, palm, forearm, upper arm, thigh, or calf.



2. This is the first time I bought a glucose meter, so I dont have anything else to compare this against. I bought this also because the test strips were more affordable than some of the other units I saw at Wal greens. I bought this and Accu-Chek Roche Aviva 50 Count (Mail Order) from here amazon.com
   
   The unit is easy to use, and the measurements are repeatable. There is a sort of "calibration" you need to perform every time you are opening up a "new pack" of strips. I thought that was a nuisance, but then I can understand why it is required (I think this is common for all meters)
   
   Overall, I should say I am pleased with the purchase.

5 comments about Home Diagnostics Sidekick Blood Glucose Testing System.

1. Purchased the Sidekick because my 2 year old Acucheck Compact Plus started reading 65 points lower than my sugar actually was. The purchase of the Sidekick was to tide me over until I could get my insurance company to purchase me a new Acucheck (they won't). The Sidekick works well, is tiny compared to the Acucheck and has cheaper supplies. Test strips are available for this meter at WalMart. While a solid functional meter, it does have a few less electronic features than the Acucheck. The Sidekick keeps your last 30 tests or so in memory but doesn't store the date and time like the Acucheck. The Acucheck had other features but none of which I ever used. Other than that it works every bit as well, I strongly reccomend it.



2. My wife is suffering from gestational diabetes and we bought these on the weekend when she ran out of strips for her other tester (Freestyle --- we were waiting for more mail order strips). The price is good, but the quality doesn't seem good to us. First, this requires more blood than other testers. Second you have to do some kind of control test before you can use the strips using a sweet liquid that comes with the strips. When we finally had it ready to start using, the first several strips didn't read out and we had to throw them away, wasted. And it seems about 25% of the strips won't work. When it does work, the reading seemed too high (my wife compared with her Freestyle which read 10 to 20 lower). Maybe we just got a bad one (we only tried once), but if you can, I'd choose something else over these.



3. The item description on the web gives the impression it is a complete kit - It is not!!! It does not include a very important part - a lancer something to prick your finger to make the blood collectable for the test. Nor did the write-ups say this is a disposable unit. When the 50 test strips are gone you are to dispose of it - not refill it. I thought this was a good buy - It is not when you take into consideration it does not contain a vital element needed to perform the tests, and it is not refilable. I would not have purchased if these had been fully disclosed.



4. I've used these for the past nine months or so. Wal-mart sells them for around [...] or less each, which includes 50 test strips. The name brands get twice as much money for the strips alone and you're stuck with a big glucometer. I wanted to test more often than my insurer would pay for, which is why I started using these.
   
   The amount of blood required seems to be half what my One Touch wanted. The slightest prick usually draws enough blood. I haven't taken it to the doctor's to compare readings, but the results usually match how I feel and where I think I should be based on exercise and carb intake. If I skip lunch, the results from the Sidekick start to show I'm getting hypoglycemic just as I begin to feel it.
   
   The Sidekick does not include a "lance", so I use the one that came with another glucometer. The Sidekick is very small, looks like a longer version of an old 35mm film cartridge. The lit flips up to give access to the strips, which are inside. It would be perfect if they could attach a lance.
   
   The Sidekick "remembers" all 50 tests, so you don't have to write them down all at once. You push a button on the side of the lid and the readings show on top with the most recent one first.
   
   You don't have to set it as you do for the One Touch. There's a tiny vial of test liquid and you use your first strip to verify the glucometer is working properly.



5. I have lived with type 1 diabetes for 25 years, the last three of which I have ONLY used this meter. I have literally gone through dozens of these little beauties and I have never had a defective meter. In my experience this is the best meter on the market today. When you consider that a vial of 50 strips from any other manufacturer will cost about $50 and that doesn't include the meter. The Sidekick requires no coding, there is no clock to fiddle with, no batteries to replace and it gives you a result from a very small sample in a few seconds. All this for about $32. Plus it is small. Having to lug around a meter is a constant reminder that you are a diabetic. Having to lug around a meter that is the size of an iPod along with a vial of strips is an even bigger reminder. Five Stars all the way.

5 comments about Bayer Contour USB Blood Glucose Meter 1 ea.

1. This product will not work on MAC OS Snow Leopard and you should not buy it if you have a Mac using Snow Leopard.
   Once the meter is hooked up to the Mac USB port and you manage to open the GlucoFacts software you will get an error: "Bayer Glucofacts quit unexpectantly while using the BayerHIDOO.dll plug-in." and the program quits.
   To be sure, I even downloaded the software from the Bayer website (after giving away much personal information) and that software too crashes for the same reason.



2. After many years of using Lifescan One Touch meters I'm now switching to Bayer Contour. The Contour strips use less blood and suck up the sample easily. The color screen is very easy to see. Since I use the backlight on my Lifescan UltraSmart constantly having a backlight is necessary. The color screen does that one better as well as adding a lighted test strip port. The meter is very easy to use and comes with a wall charger and USB extension cord in case you can't plug it directly into a computer's USB port to charge. I plan on keeping the wall charger at work because I have an older computer there and it does not have USB 2.0 ports.
   
   At home I have a very inexpensive Acer desktop running Windows Vista and have no problems with the software.
   
   The lancet device is cheap and I recommend tossing it in a drawer and replacing it with an Accu-Chek MultiClix device. The strips vial is very big and could really be downsized. The case overall is poorly designed and bulky due to the big strip vial.
   
   This meter reads very close to my Lifescan One Touch meters and since I'm used to those I don't anticipate any problems switching over to the Contour faily of meters. You can get regular Contour meters for free or close to it for backups which is always a good thing. Nobody should have just one meter and since the Contour meters do not need coding you can move you vial of strips between meters.



3. I have been trying for four days now to get this meter to work on a computer, any computer. Under Mac Snow Leopard, the installation software crashes. Under any version of Windows 7, you have to start the installation manually and install Sun Java RTE6. After you install that, the software will run off the meter exactly once. It will ask you if you want to download the software to install on your machine, and the Bayer web site will time out with a message saying An error occurred, please try again later. This will happen every time you go to the web site to try to download the software for either Mac or Windows. It will happen on any computer you try.
   
   Once the software has run in Windows 7 off the meter exactly once and the download has failed, every time you try to run the software again, it will tell you another meter is already connected, please disconnect that meter and reconnect the 2nd meter.
   
   If you call Bayer, a recorded voice will tell you about how much they care, but no one will ever, ever, ever, ever answer the phone. You will leave many messages, but no one will call you back.
   
   Mind you, I have successfully programed Logitech Harmony remotes and installed third party open source software on my linksys router; I've successfully removed my Macbook pro's hard drive and upgraded it to a larger one; I've hacked my iPhone. So it's not that I just don't understand how to install software. This is easily the worst software installation I have ever seen.
   
   I could try installing it on a Windows XP with service pack 3, but I don't have any Windows XP install cds lying around anymore.
   
   On the plus side, the meter is cute. I like being able to mark readings before or after meal, something I could not do on my One Touch Ultra mini, making the reading downloads useless because I never started or finished meals in any preset time frame. I was hoping with the USB Contour, I could stop having to enter my readings eight times a day manually, but no such luck. I don't believe Bayer actually provides working software for this meter.



4. I've had this new meter for about 6 weeks and it has been great,small,color display, and the USB connection is far easier than keeping up with yet another cable in the writhing mass of gadget cables we all seem to collect. One reviewer says it isn't supported on Windows 7 64 bit but it works fine on my Vista 64 bit system. Does not work on Snow Leopard Mac but big surprise there... The test strips are the usual rip off but if you search Amazon there are mail order vesions of (as far as I can tell) the same test strips for about half the price. I had been using One Touch and was happy except for getting reults into the computer via one off cable they charged for hence move to USB meter.
   
   So all in all only imporvemets I could wish for are Mac Support and an Iphone app to display my results..



5. I bought this USB Glucose meter based on the favorable review of Walter Mossberg in the Wall Street Journal. It looks great and was easy to set up. Unfortunately, the software failed to load on my computer. I went to Bayer's website to see if there was a later release. There was not. I called Bayer customer service and was told that the device is not supported on Windows 7 64-bit computers. I had no choice but to return it. Return was a hassle. I easily printed a return shipping label on Dec 22. The tracking system shows it was received on December 29. As of January 7, no refund has been issued.

No comments about Omnis Health Embrace Blood Glucose Meter with On Off Audible Feature.

4 comments about Freestyle USB Serial Cable.

1. This is a good product. I would highly recommend to anyone with a glucometer. One would think that Freestyle would include it with the meter.



2. Unlike the other reviews, I have nothing but good things to say about this cable and the seller, Celeritous.
   
   The cable was purchased for use on a computer running Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit and I found the installation to be fast and easy. From the time I began reading the instructions to installing the USB driver software, the CoPilot software and uploaded data from the meter, less than 15 minutes had elapsed. That included 2 reboots since I always reboot the system after installing new software. Though probably not necessary to do the reboots, old habits are hard to break.
   
   Note: Celeritous does not supply the CoPilot software but it is free download from Abbot Diabetes Care. Celeritous does include a disc with the driver software and driver installation instructions.
   
   I highly recommend this cable for those who have the Freestyle meters and need to upload data into the CoPilot management system.



3. this produce is NOT compatible with mac as it states. if you have a mac don't buy it. And there are no return either, all finale. They need to let you know that too.
   Very disappointed!



4. This cable does not work if you are running Vista 64bit. There is no 64 bit driver according to the Abbott rep. At least last time I checked. Had to use an old XP machine. Works as specified on XP machine.