The Precision Xtra With Ketone Test

[gman]

Anyone use this or have any useful information on it. I am interested in the blood ketone test it will do for keeping up with my 4 year old.

The Precision Xtra from Abbott Diabetes Care is the only meter that tests for both blood glucose and blood ketones. The latest verision of the Precision Xtra is quite small and weighs just over 1.5 ounces, making it easy to carry around. The latest glucose test strip (available late September 2005) requires only 0.6 microliters of blood and produces results in just 5 seconds. These improvements make the Precision Xtra highly recommended.

[BrendaK]

We have used this for blood ketone testing since my son was diagnosed almost 5 years ago. We love it!!! It is VERY accurate and so much easier to get a blood ketone reading than a urine reading for a little one. The strips are very expensive, but fortunately our insurance does cover it.

[gman]

Thank you for your reply.

We just went through the flu with our 4 year old our first since she has had diabetes and it is very hard to get a child go to the bathroom on demand to get ketone readings.

She did run moderate ketones so we were on the phone a lot with the hospital and they were great in helping us with this issue.

[Red (aus)]

Taylor (8) has used the Optium meter (Optium in Australia, Precision Xtra in US and Canada) since they were first released and we love it. The meter is really easy for her to use and the ketone testing side of it is fabulous. It shows ketones in the blood several hours before they show up in the urine, meaning we can treat them earlier and more quickly. Since using this meter Taylor has been sick a few times and we've manged to keep on top of things much more easily with the blood ketone testing.

[Twyla]

Hi,

This is the meter we were sent home with at diagnosis in April. It's a good meter and the ability to test blood ketones is very helpful. One issue, though, is that the ketone trip seems to require a lot more blood than the glucose strips. If his BGs are running high I've learned not to clean his finger off before getting a drop for ketones so he doesn't have to have another stick. Sometimes that works, sometimes not. We also have the urine sticks in case he prefers that option, although they are not as precise. The ketone test also takes longer than glucose--about 30 seconds I think. One thing I've noticed is that sometimes the ketone timer will beep while we're still trying to coax more blood out of his finger. So it may not need all that much extra blood but, rather, just longer to register the sample. I had their customer support on the phone the other day and the rep seemed to think this was likely.

Two other things...this meter was recently on sale at Walgreen's for $9.99/free S&H. We picked up a third meter to keep as a spare. That sale seems to be over now but keep an eye on Walgreen's and other pharmacies and you might get lucky. Finally, I called customer support to order a computer cable and software so we can track his numbers on the computer. The meter uses a dedicated cable--you can't just pick one up at Radio Shack. If you go this route be careful. When I called, I was told the software was ~$10 and the cable something like $25 but the cable was out of stock for phone orders but available online (??? What's THAT about??). So I went online and found their offer to send me the software for free! I was also unable to locate the cable on Abbott's web page so I called back on the phone. After some confusion I was told that I could order the software online and pay for it or yes, I could request it free over the phone (um, guess what I chose to do?). The rep than went to check on cable availability and when she came back told me she would send both items to me at no charge. I have no idea why, but I certainly wasn't going to argue! Bottom line: before you buy ask outright if they can just send it to you. Our stuff arrived last week and we are happily uploading. Makes it easy to e-mail his numbers to his nurse.

happy testing,

Twyla
mom to Daniel, 12 and non-D, and Gabriel, 5 dxd in April

[Jensmom]

There are some Walgreen's still carrying the meter with the special $9.99 price. I was fortunate enough to find one yesterday. We currently use the One Touch Ultra, and are very happy with it, so we are just planning on using the Precision Xtra when we need to check the keytones. It has been difficult for us to get Jennie to go to the bathroom for us when she is sick. I was so happy that we were able to take advantage of this great deal. Later on we may totally switch to this meter, but for now we have several of the One Touch Ultra's and the supplies.

Colleen

[Jensmom]

I am just furious!!!!! Yesterday I bought a Precision Xtra Glucose Meter at Walgreen's for $9.99, but did not try to get any strips because I wanted to contact my doctor for a prescription so my insurance would cover. I had only planned on using it for blood keytones.

Today, I called endo's office who called in the prescription for Blood Keytone strips, just to find out that they have been discontinued. Now is that a rip off or what? That's exactly why the price of the meter went from $76.99 to $9.99. It's another example of.....if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. Tomorrow I'm taking the meter back for a refund. If I don't get one for some reason, the whole world will probably hear a sonic boom as I blow up at the store. I feel I should have been told when I bought the meter why it was so cheap. Instead, the pharmacist and counter girl kept telling me I was getting a steal on this meter.

[AmyMcCracken]

I wonder if this has to do with new strips being produced. This was in the ADA Scientific Sessions notes.

"More importantly, Abbott also showed a new ketone test strip for their Precision Xtra, which requires only 1.5 microliters of blood (a 70% reduction) and yields results in 10 seconds (three times faster). This new ketone strip is end fill or top fill and comes with a "SmartChip Technology" calibration chip that will allow any Precision Xtra meter to take advantage of the new ketone strip. Boxes of the new ketone strips are white with a purple strip and should be available in local stores shortly. "

Hopefully the discontinued strips are the old ones and the new ones should be available soon. I was going to get a refill on the prescription this week.

[gman]

Walgreen’s will not help us with this meter as they said to us we would not carry the new strips because the supplier they use will not handle the new stock. End of story on Walgreen’s.


New Story
We did have a local drug store named "USA Drug" that was most helpful in the matter they are going to supply us with some of the old type ketone strips until they can get the new strips in stock. They went way out of their way to help us resolve this issue calling insurance company and so forth...and got it done.

JensDad

[Jensmom]

My husband (gman on the board) posted a reply explaining all that has happened in the past day with our new Precision Xtra meter. I am so thankful to USA Drug for helping me to keytone strips for the machine.

The problem lies with our local Walgreen's store, and possibly the whole chain. I never realized that pharmacies go through different drug distributors, therefore cannot get just any drug on the market when a prescription is called in by a doctor. I am still very unhappy with Walgreen's for selling a meter that they cannot provide all of the supplies for. Thank heavens the other pharmacy with a very nice helpful person went the extra mile to get us taken care of.

For anyone having trouble getting the new keytone strips, the order number that the pharmacy will need is 575990745-1. Also, if you or your pharmacy has any questions regarding the discontinuation of the old keytone strip and the issue of the new Keytone 2 strip, you can call 800-537-3575

I guess the bottom line is that I feel as parents of diabetic children (and sometimes diabetic parents as well), there is enough stress that you have to deal with on a daily basis while handling this miserable disease. The last thing any of us need is undue pressure when trying to get help for our :rolleyes: children and ourselves.

In the end, we will now have keytone strips for our new meter, so I guess the problem is solved.

Colleen