ACCU-CHEK BLOOD GLUCOSE MONITOR. Review on Dealing with Diabetes

Those who are diabetic know the necessity of having their blood glucose level monitored periodically. While this is done by laboratories, it sometimes is inconvenient for a patient to go to a lab every now and then.

I have been a diabetic for almost 20 years and am on DIABETROL and PIOZ. I am using ACCU-CHEK BLOOD GLUCOSE MONITOR which is manufactured by ROCHE and imported into India by NICHOLAS PIRAMAL.

I bought this instrument while I was still in India in August 2003 for Rs. 4800/=. Now it is Rs. 2400/= in India. If you have some relatives in the U.S. It is good to ask them to buy one for you in the U.S and ship it to you in India, because here it costs only$20(Rs. 960/=). But do not buy the strips from  U.S., because one pack of 50 strips cost$50 here, whereas in India it is around Rs. 1000/=( about$22).

The unit is provided with a lancer which has a puncturing needle with which you could gently pierce the tip of your finger to coax out a drop of blood. The process is painless. Take a test strip and insert it into the slot of the instrument. When the instrument panel displays the appropriate signal, transfer the drop of blood to the middle of the strip. You get the blood glucose reading in just 5 seconds. The reading is stored in the machine's memory and can be recalled by pressing the'S' button on it. The memory can store upto 200 readings.

If you need help to use it effectively, the NICHOLAS PIRAMAL salesman will come to your house and show you how to use it. All that you have give him is a cup of tea. The instrument is easy to maintain. However follow the salesman's advice about the strip code chip which you have to replace with every new pack of strips. However it is provided free with every new pack. So no hassles.

I have been using this instrument for the last 20 months. I take my blood sugar reading every alternate day so as to decide what I could eat or can't eat on a particular day. With this instrument I have also been able to also decide how much medication I should take everyday. My doctor is very happy with me for I present him with the entire readings for months on end. He has had less trouble with me ever since I have started using ACCUCHEK.

However some labs frown upon this instrument because it affects their business. Do not listen to their bulshit if they tell you it is not reliable. I have found it quite accurate, and if you look after your instrument well, I anticipate no problem for you.

Please remember that there is a difference between veinous blood sugar reading and sub-cutaneous B.S. reading. It is usually about 10% to 15%. So if your monitor shows your F. B.S. reading as 80 it is actually around 70.

So go ahead and buy it if you want to.