Another Good Question From Yahoo Answers:

Where is a good place to find inexpensive testing supplies if you are either too young for medicare and/or don’t have health insurance?

Any other advise would be greatly apprieciated. I was resently dianosed boarder line. I’ve started using Splenda and have changed my diet, but what else can I do?
I’ve gotten past most of the panic. I’ve been seeing a wonderful doctor who answers my question and have friends with worse cases. None of them know were I can get my testing supplies at a better price. I don’t make enough of health insurance but too much of government help. I’m only 30 so I don’t qualify for medicare. This is getting expensive, but I can’t not have it.

Good Answer: A lot of hospitals and county health departments have programs for no or low cost supplies, as well as outreach programs for diabetes education. Additionally, some drug companies have patient prescription assistance programs. Contact the company that manufactures your strips and lancets, medications, etc., and ask. It doesn’t hurt to ask.

Best Answer: I live in San Francisco, and we have a great program called Wellness SF, where they take your earnings into account. Specifically, those of us who are right in the doomed ’sweet spot’ of healthcare. We can’t afford regular health care, and we make too much to get Medicaid.

Like the answer above, check your local hospital or free clinic & see what their recommendation is. Either way, you definitely want to check out:

ClickOnHealth

They’re a cool site where they can set you up with a free monitor – All you have to do is fill out the form & to get free testing supplies. Sign up Now!

I found this great post on Yahoo Answers & thought I would pass on the info:

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I need to get the Most accurate glucose meter, I check my levels about 25 times a day and I use the insulin pump, my A1c is about 5.3, so I need to find a glucose meter that is very accurate so that I can get my a1c level down to about 5.

Thanks so much!!!

I still use my old “Advantage Meter”.
I live in New Zealand and a couple of weeks ago on the News it said that the new meters were being recalled because they were giving a high reading … sorry but forgot what brand it was.

If I got down to 5 …. I would be hypo on the floor. I cannot go below 9.

Why check 25 times a day? Good grief that’s about every 55 minutes. Don’t you sleep 8 hours.

I’ve been a diabetic for 35 years and never had any problem and check my blood sugar about once a fortnight.

Why don’t you go and do what I did. I went out and found a Doctor that is a Diabetic. Makes life a lot more easier.

I have never in the past 35 years been to a Diabetic Clinic and found a Diabetic Doctor or Nurse. And yet …. they are telling us what we feel like, what to do, how much insulin to take daily….. how the heck do they know how we feel.

You go for your check-up, you get a different Doctor, he changes your insulin, he also changes your dosage, he also tells you that you should be taking insulin four or five times a day …. no wonder some Diabetics go high … they are stressed out with the changes.

I take 24 units in the morning and 12 at night .. .and not changing. They kept altering my insulin and dosage 20 years ago and I went from 9 stone to 6 … and my mum thought I was dying.

So I haven’t been back since … I have a Doctor who asks me how I’m doing … I say fine .. .and that’s the way I want it.

I don’t want the stress of what they try to say to you. It’s your life. I’m 56 now, and I got Diabeties at the age of 21 … and I’m fine. I stand on stage singing and playing my guitar in a band twice a week for four hours each time … hey I’m not going to stop the band and go have an injection or something to eat …. this is my living.

And I’m doing just great.

Consumer Reports has just released their newest findings on the best Diabetes Testing Meters. They tested 19 different meters, but only 4 were named as Top-Performers. I guess they didn’t want to embarrass the ‘losers.’ Personally, I would like to know if my meter wasn’t up to snuff, but I guess I’m in the minority.

Without further ado, here are the top Performers:

1. OneTouch UltraMini: (The ONLY Blood Glucose Meter which received an EXCELLENT Rating) This small and discreet Meter is perfect for everyday use and it’s easy to find strips both online & at your local pharmacy.
2. Ascensia Contour: A lot of effort has been put into the design and it requires a very small blood sample. For those who have eyesight difficulties, the display is very large compared to most meters. The diabetes test strips are a fairly good value.
3. ReliOn Ultima: A Wal-Mart Brand. A good value, their test-strips are really quite a bargain. Be careful though, multiple reviews have reported that the readings could be off substancially.
4. Accu-Chek Compact Plus: A very good, easy to operate meter; it comes with a small amount of test strips, lancet mechanism w/ extra lancets, and easy to understand instructions. The only reported gripe is that it takes a little longer than normal to get a reading, and the blood sample has to be placed exactly right.

If you have any comments/experiences about any of the above meters, let me know!

Source Article:
http://www.emediaworld.com/press_release/release_detail.php?id=120736