It was awesome.
It was amazing.
It was about to rock my teenage world.
So, when the CDE handed me an One Touch Ultra,
promising me I'd love it, I took her word for it +
tried it out. After all- it was the era of change, and
I wasn't particularly emotionally attached to my brick
of an AccuChek.
5,4,3,2,1. Whoo Baby, I'm sold. Have 508, have latest
meter-I'm going places.
6 years later,I've pretty much stuck w/my Ultra +
Ultrasmart, tried the Freestyle(and the Cozmo
attachment), but my insurance company doesn't cover
those strips(at all) + I figure, it's not really a
battle worth fighting. I like my Ultras,+ I'm lucky to
have good coverage on them.
Even if I won the (Freestyle strip)appeal, the out of
network copay would still be too expensive for me to
afford..
I've heard of the Accuchek Compact, when I saw a deal
at the local drugstore, I bought it. Yeah, I know
you're NOT supposed to spend any money on a meter but
I'll get the $10 back anyway(mail in rebate). And it
comes with 17 strips. (check out retail strip prices-
+ this is actually cheap...)
Will it be big?
Will it be bulky?
Will it be a blood sucking vampire from the Black
Lagoon?
Will the bg values correlate well to my Ultrasmart?
Check it out:
Not much bigger then an Ultrasmart.(Although, you can't tell that from the picture)
The size of the strips:
(Compact versus Ultra)
And the stabber isn't bad at all- I was able to get a
big enough drop out of the 2nd depth setting. It takes
about half as much blood as the Ultra.
On the back, there's a test strip counter(showing how
many strips are left in that particular drum):
I think this might be a good "work" meter, I'm always
forgetting my lancet device/and/or/strips. All you
have to remember is the meter,and maybe a backup drum
of strips(if the counter is running low that day).
Very convenient.
Ultra vs. Compact:
119 mg/dl- Compact
123 mg/dl- Ultra
On Ebay, strip deals abound, and these are cheaper then many
(100 for under $30) cost wise, it's defiantly a keeper.
Although I am not totally ditching my Ultra, the
Compact may yet find a spot in my heart. This thing is EASY- you just push a button, the strip pops out/meter turns on, you stab your finger, hold it up to the strip + 8 seconds later, there's your reading. Punch the button again-and the strip pops out/meter turns off.
