Love is a new meter
It's been a crazy week. 2006 budget due for work, economics exam, and two econometric assignments, and a Joslin appointment.
Ahhh.
Not to mention my computer fried my Paradigm meter last Friday as I was down loading my pump information for the impending Joslin appointment. Friday afternoon to be exact. No big deal- called BD and they shipped me a new one. But I needed a new meter to get me through the weekend.
On many diabetes websites, message boards, email groups, I heard a lot of complaints about the paradigm link meter. I was thinking about it as well. Not that it really gave me an problems- but have to say, I never really felt close to it.
Seemed like a sign to change. So I went back to a One Touch product, the UltraSmart.
I am in love again!
I should have never left the One Touch family. I still remember the amazement at moving from my first meter (Accu-Check II) to the original One Touch. No wiping, 60 seconds for a result. It was the greatest thing ever. Then the came out with the One Touch II. Made it even smaller, and faster, 45 seconds. I had it with me for four years of high school and three in college. It went all over England when I studied there. By the time I was finishing school, One Touch had out done themselves again. The FastTake. 5 Seconds- seriously! They had cut 1 minutes and 55 seconds in sugar testing. That's crazy.
Two years ago, Minimed replaced my trusty 508 with a shiny new 512 pump that spoke with their BD meter. I never really liked the new meter- but gosh, it talked to my pump. It had to be better, right? Nope. It had all these fancy features outisde of speaking ability, but they were far too much of a hassle to use.
In this brave new technical world, the one thing no had figured was how to make recording data easy. I have been carrying around sheets from the Minimed site for the past year. But if I can have a PDA and phone in one device (Treo 600) why can't I get my meter to record info as well? My pump recorded some stuff, but then I had to down load on the computer- and it is hard to read off the computer program. Why can't a meter be a log book that is easy to use?
One Touch did it, and I shouldn't be surprised. Meter happiness once again.
And to boot, I got a fancy new Kate Spade comestic bag to carry it around in. I am a whole new diabetic.
Ahhh.
Not to mention my computer fried my Paradigm meter last Friday as I was down loading my pump information for the impending Joslin appointment. Friday afternoon to be exact. No big deal- called BD and they shipped me a new one. But I needed a new meter to get me through the weekend.
On many diabetes websites, message boards, email groups, I heard a lot of complaints about the paradigm link meter. I was thinking about it as well. Not that it really gave me an problems- but have to say, I never really felt close to it.
Seemed like a sign to change. So I went back to a One Touch product, the UltraSmart.
I am in love again!
I should have never left the One Touch family. I still remember the amazement at moving from my first meter (Accu-Check II) to the original One Touch. No wiping, 60 seconds for a result. It was the greatest thing ever. Then the came out with the One Touch II. Made it even smaller, and faster, 45 seconds. I had it with me for four years of high school and three in college. It went all over England when I studied there. By the time I was finishing school, One Touch had out done themselves again. The FastTake. 5 Seconds- seriously! They had cut 1 minutes and 55 seconds in sugar testing. That's crazy.
Two years ago, Minimed replaced my trusty 508 with a shiny new 512 pump that spoke with their BD meter. I never really liked the new meter- but gosh, it talked to my pump. It had to be better, right? Nope. It had all these fancy features outisde of speaking ability, but they were far too much of a hassle to use.
In this brave new technical world, the one thing no had figured was how to make recording data easy. I have been carrying around sheets from the Minimed site for the past year. But if I can have a PDA and phone in one device (Treo 600) why can't I get my meter to record info as well? My pump recorded some stuff, but then I had to down load on the computer- and it is hard to read off the computer program. Why can't a meter be a log book that is easy to use?
One Touch did it, and I shouldn't be surprised. Meter happiness once again.
And to boot, I got a fancy new Kate Spade comestic bag to carry it around in. I am a whole new diabetic.
posted by Elizabeth at 4:57 PM
5 Comments:
We love our Ultra Smart too!
Okay-- now you need to snap up a Multiclix Lancet device (just posted about this on my blog the other day).
Much, much, much less painful than the device that comes with the Ultra Smart...
And, no-- I am not getting kickbacks from the Accu-chek people (makers of the Multiclix).
I am just so damn happy that my son doesn't flinch when he checks his bg. AND he now sleeps blissfully through the middle of the night checks...
Yes, we are experiencing some big-time gadget love over here as well.
I have the One Touch Ultra, too. A girl in my office had one and I experiences such D-Gadget Envy that I called my doctor immediately and had her fax out a prescription. Meter Love, indeed. And the software is decent enough.
Phooey to the meter that comes with the Paradigm. That thing eats batteries, anyway. :)
Actually, I really love the meter that comes with the Paradigm meter. I've only had one problem with it, but other than that I really like it. I don't have any problem with entering in data because everything is in my pump: the time of day, my BG, my carbs, my correction bolus, my food bolus, whether I squared it or not... everything. AND it's purple.
Gary told me to get the software for the pump, but I don't mind writing things down at the end of the day, now that I'm using a computer log sheet. I'm already on the computer enough, it's pretty simple to just type in the numbers straight from the pump (and the meter if I tested at any times that I didn't eat).
Maybe I'm just weird...
I like the Paradigm meter, too. I think the ultrasmart is a good meter, too, but there's almost too many options on it and since I wasn't downloading it to the computer, I never really used them anyway.
I must be a bit of a Luddite because I like paper logs.
E-
I know that there are probably better meters out there than the Paradigm pump (I keep my OneTouch as backup) but the beep my pump makes when my paradigm meter "talks" to it, is just too cute. It's like they're friends. (That and the first shipment from the MedTronic place had A TON of testing strips for the Paradigm in it).
Anyways, I'm Joshua, a diabetic in Atlanta trying to keep it together and go back to school full-time while managing the D. Your blog inspired me, though it took a couple hours to find a blog that had both "gay" and "diabetic" in it and didn't have to do with an Andrew Sullivan article published earlier this summer.
Thanks,
Joshua
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