[Diabetes-talk] Meters and Strips

[Anita Ogletree]

On 9/1/15, Mike Freeman via Diabetes-talk <diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Anita:
>
>
>
> Free-style meters do *not* speak. As others have told you, there are only
> *two* meters that are fully-accessible to a totally-blind person and even
> this statement needs an asterisk. One of the meters is the Prodigy Voice;
> it
> can be ordered from NFB's Independence Market. I believe it costs $50. Some
> pharmacies may be able to order it also although they will undoubtedly get
> it mixed up with the Prodigy Autocode meter which also is billed as having
> speech. The difference is that the Autocode needs sighted assistance to set
> up, speaks the reading only once and requires sight to review past readings
> from memory. You want the Prodigy Voice which you can set up yourself and
> you can review its readings from memory. However, if your pharmacy can get
> Prodigy Autocode test strips, they will work perfectly well in the Prodigy
> Voice and, in fact, I use Prodigy Autocode strips in my Prodigy Voice
> because CVS Caremark mail-order carries them.
>
> The other fully accessible meter is known as the Solus V2. It can be
> ordered
> from Advanced Diabetic Solutions (the website is
> http://advanceddiabeticsolutions.com
> <http://advanceddiabeticsolutions.com/>
> and it, too, can be set up by a blind person. It can be ordered from Amazon
> also butone never knows whether one is getting a Solus V2 with the latest
> firmware (necessary for the blind for a reason I'll get to shortly). And
> here's that asterisk: since the Solus V2 speaks both English and Spanish,
> although it can be set up independently by a blind person, there's only
> enough speech memory to speak the last ten readings from memory; the rest
> of
> the readings are there but one needs sight or needs to hook the meter to a
> computer and use special software and an accessible website to view all the
> rest of the readings  if one is blind. The Solus V2 tends to tell you if
> there isn't enough blood on the strips slightly more reliably than does the
> Prodigy which tends just to give you a reading that doesn't make sense. In
> either event, though, you do the same thing: test again.
>
> Most meters that claim to talk (including the Solus V2) are made to market
> to the Medicare market where it is presumed that a reading for an elderly
> person needs speech reinforcement; all these meters need sighted setup and
> say the reading once. This is the way the companion and Embrace work.
>
> You'll probably have to get your physician to write and jawbone your
> insurance company to cover the Prodigy Voice or Solus V2 since these meters
> are undoubtedly not in their formularies.
>
> To dispel an erroneous notion many blind diabetics have, there is *no*
> civil
> rights or accessibility statute (including the ADA) that covers blood
> glucose meters.
>
> Were I you, I'd just buy the Prodigy Voice myself and try to get your
> insurance to cover Prodigy Autocode test strips.
>
> Despite the "doom and gloom" flavor of this post, welcome to the list
> (You've been on for some time, I believe). We all are ready to help you.
> One
> booklet we of NFB published some time back is called "Bridging the Gap".
> It's on the NFB website so just search for it. Plenty of good advice there.
> We can also recommend many BARD books you might find helpful, depending
> upon
> how much you want to know. (smile)
>
> Take care.
>
>
>
> Mike Freeman, President
>
> Diabetes Action Network
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Diabetes-talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
> Anita Ogletree via Diabetes-talk
> Sent: Monday, August 31, 2015 1:13 PM
> To: Diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org
> Cc: Anita Ogletree
> Subject: [Diabetes-talk] (no subject)
>
>
>
> Hello. I, too, have been diagnosed as a pre-diabetic. My doctor has me
> attending a class for diabetes. My insurance did cover the strips for
> testing but I had to pay $19 for a Free-Style meter.
>
>
>
> I told my doctor I needed one with speech so a prescription was called into
> my Pharmacy at Walgreens. Does anyone know if the Free-Style meter has
> speech and if so, are there online instructions to get it set up?
>
>
>
> I may need to contact the Pharmacy if I cannot set it up.
>
>
>
> Anita
>
>
>
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First I want to thank everyone for the responses.  The answers
givenhave bery helpful and I am going to apply each one accordingly.

Mike, sorry for the delayed reply to your question about me being a
member for a while.  Yes, but Ihave only tried to get more information
regarding diabetes.  Turning 52 and looking at all of the health
issues that different tests have renendered over the past year has
been a great motivator.

I am going to go with the Prodigy Voice since that sounds ideal for a
newby to me.  I will also talk with my physician because she has to
make good on my sister's promise that she is one of the best since she
has been her physician for some time now.  We shall see...

I am also taking advantage of the email about We Fit and I hope that
will be a good place to start getting my fitness routine going in the
right direction.  And thanks for the reading resources.  I am sure
there are those that give more information than what I need as well as
those that may not have enough.

I hope we all can be beneficial to each other as we strive to overcome
yet another challenge!

Take care.

Anita