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Everything You Should Know About True Metrix Test Strips
If you are diabetic, or if you have a friend or family member who is diabetic, you know how important it is to have a good blood glucose meter, along with a supply of true metrix test strips, on hand.
You also know that they aren’t exactly dirt cheap and that the test strips can run up there – especially if you are calculating the cost per year.
On the other hand, when compared to a life or a trip to the emergency room because you misjudged the amount of insulin or the amount of food needed to balance your system, then a good glucose meter is worth every penny and make sure there aren’t true test strips discontinued stocks.
The True Metrix Blood Glucose Meter
Metrix blood glucose meter uses True Metrix test strips. It is a reasonably priced, reasonably accurate monitor that will give consistent readings. That might sound like damning it with faint praise, but it isn’t really.
According to different reports, test meters on the market can be as much as 20 percent off – plus or minus. The reports explain that if your meter reading is 100, your levels might really be as low as 80, or as high as 120.
The good news about Metrix is that it will always be off the same amount, so once you’ve used it a little while and gotten it checked against another source, you’ll have a good idea of what it is truly registering because it will be consistently off the same amount, every time.
With that said, let’s look at Metrix and how it works. There are two versions of Metrix. First, there is the True Metrix, a plain, ordinary meter that will read the blood sugar level.
You will then need to record the result in a little book provided by your doctor or another medical consultant. The second type, the True Metrix Air does all the heavy lifting of recording your results by using Bluetooth technology to connect to True Manager Air, an app for your Apple or Android smartphone.
This is an added benefit value that has reviewers giving it a high rating, in addition to its reliability.
True Metrix Test Strips
The real cost of a lot of blood glucose meters, however, isn’t the cost of the meter. It’s the cost of the test strips that are used with the meter. Every test requires a fresh strip.
If the strip has gotten moisture in it, if it has been used or if it has expired, then it won’t give a good reading. It is important that the strips be kept in a sealed container when not selecting one for use.
It is also important that the user’s hands be clean and dry before trying to get a reading as contaminants on the skin can change the reading and give false information.
At that point, it doesn’t matter whether you are using a plain, ordinary reader with true Metrix test strips or the one that uses Bluetooth technology, you will have – as the computer programming people say – a bad case of GIGO, or garbage in, garbage out.
The uninitiated person might think that those true Metrix test strips are just pieces of litmus paper, or something similar. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Each strip is carefully layered.
At the very bottom of the layer is the most important part: a gold and palladium computer circuit, waiting to transmit information about your blood.
Next up is a mediator chemical that moves the blood along the track, and above that is the enzyme that reacts with the blood to create the chemical reaction that measures the blood sugar. At the very top is a sort of sponge that absorbs the blood.
The complexity of a True Metrix test strip doesn’t end with the layering of the paper, however, or even with storing it properly. Not only should the user’s skin be clean and dry, but the right amount of blood must be used.
Too much blood or too little, and the little circuit board has trouble doing its job. It will either give an error message, or it will give an inaccurate reading.
Cost of TRUEtest Test Strips
Because the test strips are so important, they can be expensive. One of the leading brands costs as much as $1.20 per strip. If you are a type I diabetic, you might need to test your blood four or more times per day.
You can see how that would add up quickly! In contrast, a True Metrix test strip will average around twenty-one cents per strip, depending on where you buy it.
That is a saving of nearly a dollar per test, dropping the daily cost of testing (at the rate of four tests per day) from $4.80 to $.84. Over a month’s time that is a choice between $144.00 or $25.22.
The difference is enough for a decent grocery buy, and since a balanced diet of good food truly is medicine for a diabetic, that could be life-saving.
Where to Buy True Metrix Test Strips
True Metrix Test strips are available online or through your local pharmacy. If you bought your meter there, you are likely to be able to purchase supplies for it.
True test strips can also be purchased from other Internet sources. Do, however, be cautious. Your source should be a legitimate outlet, that is authorized to sell medical supplies.
There is, strangely enough, a black-market trade in diabetic supplies. Such supplies might have been illegally purchased from individuals who are receiving assistance or might supply that are from true test strips discontinued stocks. Such supplies increase the likelihood of error readings or false readings.
Storing TRUEtest Test Strips
Even when purchased from legitimate sources, problems can arise with your TRUEtest glucose test strips. For best results, store your TRUEtest test strips carefully so you don’t use true test strips discontinued.
Humidity will cause false high readings. If the strips are not individually sealed, extract one strip, then close the container immediately, especially in humid conditions. Some users have reported losing an entire batch of strips due to improper storage.
Can TRUEtest Test Strips give error readings?
If you suspect that your glucose meter is giving false readings, check that the battery in the meter is good and that the True Metrix test strips are properly inserted into the meter.
This will either cause the meter to give false readings or error messages. It is a good idea to keep some extra batteries on hand and to always have enough test strips available to double-check the initial reading – especially if the numbers are telling you something different from what your body is telling you.
While your perceptions might not always be accurate, they should not be at extreme variance with the meter’s results which uses True test strips.
External Circumstances for True Test Strips error readings
Error readings can also be generated if the patient is dehydrated, if the patient is in shock, or if the sample site is contaminated with sugar, to name a few problem conditions.
If you or someone you know is diabetic, do not hesitate to take them to the nearest medical facility or to call for on-site assistance. Take the meter and/or daily record with you so the facility caregivers will have information that they can use to check the meter.
If the meter is accurate, it will provide a record of daily highs and lows that can be valuable for patient treatment.
If you take a diabetic to the emergency room, especially if he or she is unable to communicate, be sure to tell the ER staff that your friend, family member or associate is diabetic.
As you might imagine, the staff will need to adjust treatment for the condition.
Why use Metrix TRUEtest Test Strips
With all these possibilities for error, you might wonder, “Why to bother?” The answer is that readings with a True Metrix test strip or other blood glucose meter when correctly done can save lives.
Not only is it an immediate indicator of blood glucose, over time it creates a record that can show trends that can help with adjusting diet or insulin usage.
By creating a product that is inexpensive and consistent, True Metrix test strips make frequent testing affordable – an important consideration in an era of ever-rising healthcare costs.
Once you understand how your meter is reading and the percentage by which it might be off, you have a self-diagnostic tool that helps prevent the blood glucose highs and lows caused by over-correcting with sweets or with insulin.
It can also help family or friends who are trying to determine your needs at a time when you might not be sufficiently coherent to tell them what is going on. A good, working meter and reliable true test strips can mean the difference between managing your diabetes and requiring professional help.
The Advantage of Bluetooth and a Diabetes Management App
While reading and recording the results from your True Metrix meter by using True Metrix test strips is an inexpensive method, it creates a margin for error. You might forget to write down your results.
You might make an error in reading the meter. Over time, it can become just one more thing that you must remember and do as part of your diabetes management, and therefore become something that you are tempted to forget. Furthermore, paper records can be damaged or lost.
When you use a diabetes management app, such as True Metrix Air, your readings are automatically added to your general diabetes management app.
It is then easy for caregivers to read a report – which is stored in the air cloud – and for you to generate reports for yourself that help you to view trends in your blood sugar management.
Such records can help give a “heads up” about when you might want to make an unscheduled visit to your physician or diabetes management facility to double check your levels and to check your meter.
If you are newly diagnosed as diabetic, or if you are in a new geographical area, don’t hesitate to contact local support organizations and make yourself known to them.
Local folk often are aware of assistance organizations and other resources that might not be widely advertised.
The True Metrix Meter and True Metrix Text Strips Advantage
The True Metrix meter and True Metrix test strips offer an affordable, reasonably reliable resource to help diabetics manage their blood sugar levels through self-testing at home.
As with all such products, they are best used in conjunction with a doctor’s care. With that said, they help put control back in the hands of diabetic persons, allowing them to lead a normal life; one that encompasses the ability to hold down a job, have a family and do all the things that people without the condition are accustomed to doing.
Between purchasing insulin, test strips, periodic check-ups and the occasional emergency visit, diabetes can become an expensive condition with true test strips discontinued.
Fortunately, modern testing methods make it easier for people who are diabetic to manage their condition, taking a great deal of the guesswork out of balancing blood sugar and insulin.
True Metrix Meter and True Metrix True Test Strips
True Metrix meter and True Metrix True test strips are designed with diabetics in mind. They are reputed to report their findings consistently, making it possible to understand the potential error margin and to adjust readings.
They are reliable, in that each meter will report with the same error margin each time. When compared to leading brands (which have no greater reliability, by the way), they are considerably less expensive to purchase initially and to continue to purchase the necessary supplies – the strips and batteries.
True Metrix produces two types of meter: one that requires the use of a diary to create a record, and
one that can link with an app that has the potential to help manage a diabetic condition by creating charts of trends and by making recommendations for diet or exercise.
While not perfect, it is an affordable solution to an on-going medical management need.
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