Diabetes Diet

Reviews

I received the first order and it had some problems. When I informed Amazon, they sent me a new kit. I love it. It works perfectly. It is a good kit if one wants to monitor his/her health, especially diabetes. It gives you results in less than ten seconds.

Reviews

I've been using the True Track for 2 years. It seemed to work fairly well over that time. This morning my reading was exactly the same as it was last night (162). I took three more readings and got 125, 137, 135. Normally I only take one reading. If I believed the 162 I'd be taking steps to reduce my blood sugar. I'm going to check it again when I get home from having my blood tested this morning but in the mean time I'm switching to the Wave Sense recommended by my dietitian this week.

To all the reviewers who cite inaccuracies when taking multiple tests within a 3-5 minute or so window... THIS IS NOT A BLOOD PRESSURE METER!!! ACCURACY IS MESSED UP - NOT IMPROVED, ON THE MOST ACCURATE, HOME USE(not made to be used in an office setting) MONITORS BY TAKING MULTIPLE TESTS WITHIN A FEW MINUTES!!!!! These meters have components that are biologically sensitive and every time you test your blood the components are affected for a period of time after it's processed the reading. Most people haven't educated themselves on these meters well. Also, many people think that because testing your blood pressure three or so times in a row is more accurate THEN, OF COURSE, testing your blood multiple times must be better then ONCE! WRONG!!! If your readings don't make sense check the calibration! EVERY METER ON THE MARKET(Yes, even the no-codes) needs to be calibrated. If you can't be bothered to do test the calibration of your meter, at least wait several munutes to a half hour before testing again. But realize that testing multiple times within minutes will CAUSE just as much inaccuracy as if your meter is miscalibrated or damaged. I've got a Freedom meter that uses $60/per 50 test strips and occassionally test the two at the same time against one another and they have never been more then 3 points apart in readings(and once, before I got the TrueTrack, got a weird reading on the Freedom meter - no product is perfect). The Freedom meter doesn't require coding(big deal, coding, takes a few seconds for every box of 50 strips - how lazy are people who find that a big deal?) but the strips are a couple of bucks over $60/per 50. I didn't mind the expense, though being overly Catholic I think it's wrong to outright just WASTE money, but even though I could afford the strips, my doctor recommended the TrueTrack meter over it because he believes the "four lead" technology they use is more accurate. I'm willing to deal with sticking a chip in the meter once every 50 strips for a few seconds(coding) as well as 10 seconds vs. 5 seconds for more accurate results. Plus, hello! The test strips are less then $20/per 50. A few seconds coding per 50 strips and 5 extra seconds gets you MORE ACCURATE readings. Those two ridiculously petty sacrificies are worth the added accuracy. AND the supplies are ridiculously cheaper!!! People, please read up on these issues before you trash things that you aren't using properly! I've seen this syndrome with computer and other tech produsts when I sold computers so many times it's maddening. People imagine how the equipment will work before they educate themselves on it's use. Then when the real, actual, physical tech item doesn't act in a way that in their heads they think it should, THEY ASSUME IT DOESN'T WORK RIGHT! It NEVER EVEN OCCURS TO THEM that just because THEY IMAGINED the tech product(real object) works a certain way DOESN'T MEAN THE PRODUCT ACTUALLY WORK THE WAY they IMAGINED. IMAGINING something functions a certain way doesn't mean you really know how that hardware works. If imagination made us knowledgable, anybody with an imagination would be able to Engineer, build, repair and fix anything. That's just not the way the real world works. :( P.S. To help the gentleman who wrote the following in his review: "Also, TrueTrack's meter reads low (LLL) at 20 and high (HHH) at 600. With those blood sugar results it would be really unsafe to drive, or you might not be able to call for help before you blacked out." You are misunderstanding what you read. The meter is not saying a blood sugar level gets low only when you go below 20 or is high only over 600. A quick glance at the owner's manual explains this in the instructions on the page immediately after the instructions on how to take your test. All they are saying is that the meter's range is 20-600. The LO warning is to let you know the meter can't read the Blood Glucose level because the level is LOWER then it is able to read. The HIGH warning is to let you know that the meter can't read the Blood Glucose level because the level is HIGHER then it is able to read. The warning telling you whether or not the meter can't read it because it is either too LOW or whether because it is too HIGH is an important FEATURE, not a flaw. Why you may ask? When I first developed diabetes my doctor sent me to the emergency room because my blood sugar level read 550 on his meter. (Actually at the time it was as much because I was presenting the symptoms of a gallbladder attack as much as the crazy sugar reading). His meter gave no warning that my blood sugar level was really out of its 550 max range, so he assumed my blood sugar level was actually 550, cab(no driving) to the emergency room high, but nowhere near as high as it actually was. When I got to the emergency room and got the laboratory blood test results it wasn't 550, it was 1020!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A HIGH out of range alarm on my doctor's handheld would have let us know that it was higher then the range the device could range. LO just means your sugar is lower then the device can read, HIGH just means your sugar is higher then the device can read. They are not making any statement that anything in between is necessarilly okay in any way. They are only warning you the results are either too low or if it is too high for the device to read. It has nothing to do with telling you that between 20-600 you are okay. I hope this makes you feel a little more at ease, good luck! To help the guy who wrote: "I have this testing machine. It worked well with the first ten strips it came with. Then I spent $$$ on additional strips & it never worked again." Coding? A new box of strips will NEVER work unless you take a few seconds to use the unique coding chip that comes with every new box of strips. Did you use the new coding chip that comes in every box? The strips on coding meters will never work unless you use the new coding chip that comes in every new box. Maybe this wasn't the problem, you might have also gotten a box with a damaged coding chip. That happened to me once and I was able to exchange the strips for a new box. Not coding or a bad chip seems to explain your problem pretty exactly. But regardless, if you find coding to be too difficult, and/or you suddenly seem to have the problem again after running out of strips and you can't figure it out, or if it's simply too a big a hassle and you don't want to be bothered with it, try buying an accurate no-code meter like the Freedom meter, but be prepared to pay more for the strips guy. :(

I really liked this monitor when I got it. It's easy to use, and the strips cost way less than other meters. My diabetes is type 2, and I've been on metformin and diet control for about 15 years. I keep a very close watch; when I can afford it I test 4 times a day. Suddenly my blood glucose was reading 130's to 150's before meals. I put it down to stress and maybe less tight diet. I tightened up my diet control, made sure I was getting enough sleep. Sugars began reading 160's to 300 before meals. I don't have health insurance and I had no way to get in to a doctor over the weekend. Before we went to the ER my husband said "Don't you get nauseated and sleepy when your sugar goes high? If you just feel a little tired, are you sure the meter is right?" He's not diabetic, and he did a pre-meal test at 124 (he's normally 80 or less). I went and bought a bottle of One Touch strips for an old meter I had, and it read 125. I got 165 on the TrueTrack. I found out I have to send the meter back to be recalibrated and wait for it to return. No suggestions on how I monitor in the meantime. They consider 20% variability to be acceptable. My readings were anywhere from 20-40 points off. Now, most sliding scale insulin based on how high your blood sugar goes over a certain number, in increments of 10. I think 20 to 40 off could be a real problem for anyone taking insulin. Fortunately I'm on oral medication and increased that according to my doctor's directions, which just made me feel rather nasty. If I had been taking insulin to correct I could have gotten into serious trouble. Also, TrueTrack's meter reads low (LLL) at 20 and high (HHH) at 600. With those blood sugar results it would be really unsafe to drive, or you might not be able to call for help before you blacked out. My current meter reads LLL for low at 40, giving me time to get some carbs in and/or get help. Since you're not always the brightest thing on the planet when you're having a critical low, it helps when the meter practically screams "Do something now!" in time. This is a great low cost meter for someone who wants to casually monitor and is willing and able to verify on another meter or at their doctor's office if they start getting strange results. If you're trying to go it on your own with only minimal doctor visits and no health insurance, save yourself from diabetic complications and spend the money for a more expensive meter and strips. There's a discount card program called Together Rx Access you can find on the Web. You can watch for strip sales, and some internet sites have almost-expired strips you might be able to use before the expiry date. Ask your doctor how infrequently you can get away with testing to make the expensive strips last, and if they have any samples from the reps. I've learned my lesson. I would rather test once a week and when I have symptoms and have it be accurate, than test more often on a less accurate meter and get into trouble.

Like many people, I have the Walgreens branded version of this meter - and overall I was (key word here) pleased with it. Sure the lancet is cheap, and the meter is basic - but this meter is one of the most affordable systems on the market once the cost of strips is figured in. Add the bonus that this meter requires a smaller blood sample than some, and there is no coding to mess with, and in theory this system should be a winner. But there is a major issue I've run into with this system. My meter reads very low, and it is consistant at doing so. My diabetes caught up with me one day, and I became type 2 seemingly overnight. Yet this meter didn't "express the urgency of the situation" so to speak. It was when I checked my glucose with another meter (WalMarts ReliOn system) that I about fell out of my chair, and drove to the hospital... with a glucose level of over 400! After the dust settled, turns out my ReliOn meter is very accurate. The real rub is that I wrote customer service, and received a reply that this is normal... meters can be expected to have a +/- 20% variation (a quote). I am throwing my meter away. The manufacturer does not stand behind it, I rely on my meter to keep tabs on how my diabetic meds are doing, and this isn't worth it. I am giving this 2 stars - one for the low cost and one for the simple design. But if you have or buy one of these, have it compared to a lab grade unit before trusting it.

I have this testing machine. It worked well with the first ten strips it came with. Then I spent $$$ on additional strips & it never worked again. Save your money and buy something else!