[Electronics-Talk] best talking glucometer?

Wed Apr 13 17:37:16 UTC 2016

Sherri:

This question would better be sent to the Diabetes-Talk list. However, I
will answer it here -- once.

First, the term glucometerR is a trademark, rather as thermos is a
particular brand of vacuum bottle. So it would be better to say "blood
glucose monitoring system" or "blood glucose meter" rather than
"glucometer". Almost everyone makes this mistake.

Second, As with almost all other questions on this and other lists, asking
what the best glucose meter is akin to asking what the best automobile, TV,
washing machine, etc. is. There are about as many opinions as there are
users and it's a matter of individual preference which one you like.

Third, in the case of blood glucose meters, the "best" one is the one you
will use. After all, buying a meter and having it sit in a drawer unused
does no one any good.

Finally, though, what I suspect you're *really* asking is what bg meters are
fully accessible to the blind and what features do they have. There are, to
my knowledge, two bg meters that are more-or-less fully accessible to the
blind. One is the "Prodigy Voice" and the other is the "Solus V2".
Diagnostic Devices Inc. makes the Prodigy Voice and bioSense Medical makes
the Solus V2. Our Independence Market carries the Prodigy Voice; it's the
meter I use.

The Prodigy Voice is fully-accessible. You can set time, date and units the
blood glucose will be measured in. You can also review readings from memory
-- all four hundred of them. The meter will show you averages over time but
I deem this feature useless (for everyone, blind or sighted) except as a
general indicator. This is because readings are usually taken under
different circumstances and different dates/times so scientifically,
averages are meaningless. But that's my pet peeve.

The one drawback is that sometimes one will get an erroneous reading if
there's too little blood on the strip. But this happens with *all* meters
although people are loath to admit it. And the way you solve this -- duh --
is by taking a second reading. A sighted person would do the same thing.

The second meter is the Solus V2 which you can buy from Advanced Diabetic
Solutions in Atlanta, GA. Look at

http://www.advanceddiabeticsolutions.com

The Solus V2 can be set fully by a blind person. Readings can be tagged as
being before meals, after meals, bedtime or miscellaneous. One can set an
alarm to remind one when to take the next reading although I personally
consider this a frivolity -- one ought to know that sort of thing without
having to set an alarm. The meter is *theoretically* a little more forgiving
than the Prodigy on the amount of blood needed since there are two
electrodes on each test strip so if there isn't enough blood, the meter is
supposedly more likely to give an error rather than an erroneous reading.
I'm not convinced of this and, in any case, one does the same thing if one
gets an error -- tests again as with any other meter. The meter speaks both
English and Spanish.

The one huge drawback to the Solus is that, while all the 400 or so latest
readings are retained in memory, one can review only the last ten using
speech. Sight is necessary to review further readings. This is because the
amount of memory needed for the Spanish limits the number of past readings
which can be spoken from the meter. Were it not for this drawback, I would
unreservedly recommend the Solus. But this is a show-stopper for me. The
Solus was made for the Medicare market where an older person might need a
verbal confirmation of readings. So I still recommend the Prodigy.

Were I you, I wouldn't worry about trying to get your doctor or insurance to
pay for either meter but especially the Prodigy Voice -- it's only $60 or so
in the Independence Market. And one thing about the Voice: it can also use
test strips made for the Prodigy Autocode, another meter that speaks just
the current reading -- once. One needs sight to set the autocode up and
review readings. But pharmacies are far more familiar with the Prodigy
Autocode than they are with the Prodigy Voice and, in fact, if you tell your
doctor to get the voice, you are likely as not to get the Autocode because
sighted folks think if something talks at all, that's enough. It never
occurs to them that we manage our diabetes on our own. My advice would be to
buy the Voice from the Independence Market and tell your doctor you want
Prodigy Autocode strips. That lessens the confusion on the part of doctor,
health insurer and pharmacist. That's what I do.

Or I'd buy the meter from the Independence Market and buy the strips for the
Autocode from Amazon; they're generally cheaper than you can get them via
insurance. But if you want to be sure everything's right, getting strips
from your insurance may be better.

I understand that the brand ForaCare also has talking meters; I may try one
out shortly.

Anyway, that's more than you wanted to know but that's life.

Mike Freeman

-----Original Message-----
From: Electronics-Talk [mailto:electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Sherri via Electronics-Talk
Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2016 7:04 PM
To: Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances
Cc: Sherri
Subject: [Electronics-Talk] best talking glucometer?

Could I get some advice please?  I think I am going to need a glucometer and
want to let my doctor know which one she should prescribe for me. Could I
get the name nad/or model number of the best talking glucometer available? 
Thank you.

Sherri Brun
flmom2006 at gmail.com

NFBF Newsline Marketer
President,
NFB Central Florida Chapter

Character is the side of yourself you choose to show the world.
Integrity is what you do, what you say and how you act when you think no one
is paying attention.
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