FreeStyle Lite is the newest glucose meter being offered by the manufacturer, Abbott Diabetes Care. This company offers a few other FreeStyle models, such as the Flash, Xtra and Freedom, but there are factors about the FreeStyle Lite which make it stand out among the rest. The following review will focus on the various components of the FreeStyle Lite glucose meter and highlight different pros and cons associated with this particular testing method.
Product Characteristics
The FreeStyle Lite glucose meter is, as the name would suggest, light in weight. One can carry this monitor around without having the extra burden of a heavy glucose meter in their pocket or purse. This glucose meter has a no coding component as well as touting the world’s smallest blood sample size. In order to view your glucose level results easier, the FreeStyle Lite also comes with a backlight as well as a test strip port light. This model will only use FreeStyle Lite test strips which can be purchased quite readily. The FreeStyle Lite glucose meter is also PC compatible which makes downloading data easy to do.
Pros of the FreeStyle Lite Glucose Meter
There are many visible pros to using the FreeStyle Lite glucose meter. First, the no coding capability is a wonderful asset when it comes to ease of use. With the no coding capability users are able to simply perform the test without having to manually enter information prior to doing so. Another beneficial aspect of this glucose meter is that it takes an extremely small blood sample which makes for a less painful testing situation. In addition, the meter itself is small in size, measuring only 2.0 x 1.5 inches.
Another favorable aspect of the FreeStyle Lite glucose meter is that it has easy to read features due to the various lights such as the backlight and test strip port light and is simple to use. In addition the meter has a no-slip grip on the sides which makes for easy handling during testing. The many pros are quite evident with this new glucose meter by Abbott Diabetes Care.
Cons of the FreeStyle Lite Glucose Meter
As with any type of product, there will often be some unfavorable characteristics as well as the beneficial ones. The FreeStyle Lite glucose meter is one such product which does not have many cons associated with it. However, there are a couple potential issues which should be mentioned. The first pertains to the testing strips. The FreeStyle Lite is only able to be used with FreeStyle Lite testing strips and no other ones can be used with this glucose meter. This can cause some issues if for example it becomes difficult to obtain FreeStyle Lite strips for one reason or another. Also, these types of strips may be more expensive than others due to the no coding capabilities associates with these specialty strips.
Another con which can be cited with the FreeStyle Lite glucose meter is that even though the meter is cited as having easy to use components it may be too simple for some. There are other glucose meters on the general consumer market which may have more features available within them than the FreeStyle Lite. Therefore, some diabetic individuals who use this type of glucose meter may find that they crave more testing options than what is currently offered with the FreeStyle Lite.
The Bottom Line
When all is said and done, the FreeStyle Lite is a good glucose meter to choose for your blood sugar testing needs. The no coding feature is a wonderful thing to have and a small blood sample size is an even more beneficial component. This type of glucose meter will meet all of your testing needs and then some. Depending on where you purchase this item, it can be found for around $55 which is quite reasonable on one’s wallet.