For diabetics, consistent monitoring of blood glucose levels is a critical step in your diabetes management program. Without knowing what your blood glucose is doing throughout the day, how can you make good, informed decisions about what to eat? I test my blood sugar at least four times a day. Most of the time I can guess what it is within 5-10 points. That comes from years of testing and understanding how and why I feel the way I do at any one time.

I have used a number of different blood glucose monitors over the years. The one I use now is the Accu-Check Compact. I also have the newer Accu-Check Compact Plus but I still like the older Compact the best. Here’s why:

• The Compact has a cylinder of 17 test strips so you don’t have to mess around loading a test strip every time you want to test your blood sugar. THAT is really convenient.
• It is so easy to use. Just open the lid, hit the button and out pops a strip, ready for your blood.
• The results are fast as it takes only 5 seconds or so to process the sample.
• The machine beeps when it’s ready for your blood and beeps when the test is completed.
• The strips are relatively cheap, costing about .50 each (at Costco they are a dollar each so I buy online at the HealthWareHouse).

The Compact also has memory and some programmable functions. I don’t use those features as I have other methods for tracking. All in all I have really been satisfied with this Blood Glucose Monitor. I recommend it to anyone. If you can’t find the older Compact, then go for the Compact plus. It’s pretty good too.

By the way, you should be able to get a free meter. After all, the real money for the drug companies is in the strips you buy every month. Talk about a racket!