As mentioned at the end of my last column, I'm writing more about blood glucose meters this week, and will finish up in my next column. There is so much information that I can't get it into just two columns.
I appreciate the encouraging emails about my last column, and I hope this one is well received, too. But before I get started, I wanted to share something with you.
While doing some research last week, I noticed an article on the website of the Independent Journal Review (ijreview.com) that was written by Caroline Schaeffer. It is about Sierra Sandison, Miss Idaho 2014. The 20-year-old beauty queen was diagnosed with adult-onset diabetes in 2012.
Beauty pageants happen all the time, I know, but Sandison took the swimsuit portion to a whole other level. She wore her insulin pump, which is attached to her hip, during the swimsuit competition. And let's just say it wasn't a one-piece suit. The pump was there for everyone to see.
Her inspiration was Nicole Johnson, Miss America 1999, who also wore her insulin pump during competition.
Sandison posted her bathing suit competition photo on social media, where it quickly went viral. Fans responded with photos on Twitter of themselves wearing their insulin pumps in day-to-day activities.
As she so aptly put it -- "My message to everyone, diabetic or not, is that we all have something that doesn't 'measure up' to the beauty standards set by the media -- and that is OK! It does not make you any less beautiful."
I could not agree more.
I have a subscription to Diabetes Self-Management magazine. The June issue featured the first segment of a four-part article titled "Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring." It was written by Lee Dubois, the diabetes coordinator for Pecos Valley Medical Center in Pecos, N.M., and he has Type 1 diabetes. The June article is about some of the gear diabetics use.
Dubois starts by giving some history on blood glucose monitors, the first of which were made available to the general public in 1978. The Ames Eyetone weighed almost 4 pounds, and was 7 by 4 1/2 by 2 inches. It had to be plugged into a wall outlet for power, and it took about a minute to give results.
Flash forward to 2014. Meters are now small, fast and portable, and they're more and more accurate. According to industry tracker Kelly Close of diaTribe (diatribe.org), there are about 62 different styles of meters on the market.
The modern meter kit contains three elements -- the meter, test strips and a lancet device. Meters can be as small as a toenail clipper, as big as a smartphone or somewhere in between. Some just report blood glucose readings, but many offer a variety of bells and whistles. It's all usually carried in a little kit that keeps everything together and organized.
There are two basic types of meters, coded and self-coding. I don't have enough space to explain the differences here. It's complicated. Your doctor or diabetes educator could give you more information.
But in general, coded meters demanded more work from the user and attention to detail, and they were not user-friendly. Technology eventually gave rise to the self-coded versions, which are more convenient. The coded meter was on the verge of extinction about five years ago, but it has made an unexpected comeback. They are, according to Dubois, cheaper to manufacture.
The bottom line is that we need to know our meters. And if we have a meter with older technology, we need to adapt our routine to ensure that the meter and test strips are working together.
When I was first diagnosed, my doctor gave me a sample kit, a Contour from Bayer. It came with a few lancets and test strips, enough to get started. But other than showing me how to take a test, I didn't get much more information from my doctor or his nurses.
I still use the Contour, which you can see in the photo on this page. Its kit bag works well for me, holding everything neatly in place.
One thing I know firsthand is that the problem with many meters is the cost of test strips. The strips I bought for my Contour meter cost about $125 for 100. If I test regularly, just once a day, they'll last 100 days, and if I tested two times a day ... well you get the picture.
When I buy them, I'm supposed to pay out of pocket and then submit receipts for the strips to my insurance company. (My insurance doesn't cover strips like regular medication.) I have never been able to skillfully jump through enough hoops to satisfy the requirements for reimbursement, so I just gave up. And I seriously doubt I'm alone in this.
It's sad because many of us don't have money in our budget for out-of-pocket medical expenses. I can only imagine how many people don't test regularly because they're skimping on strips, or stop testing altogether.
Some stores now sell their own brand of meters. Wal-Mart offers a version named ReliOn, and Kroger has their BGM, or Blood Glucose Monitoring System. The meters are reasonably priced and, judging from customer reviews I have read, they're reliable. You can get a package of 100 ReliOn strips for less than $50. I haven't priced the Kroger strips in local stores but according to information online, BGM is available in 25-, 50- and 100-count packs, and the test strips cost less than 50 percent of major brands.
As with other meters, if you want to try to get your insurance to cover strips for the store-brand meters, you'll probably need a prescription. I spoke with a pharmacy employee at the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market in Sherwood, and he told me that if you have a ReliOn meter and don't want to go through insurance, you can buy the strips in smaller amounts without a prescription.
If you care to share, email me at:
rboggs@arkansasonline.com
ActiveStyle on 07/28/2014