I'd been keeping notes about my impressions of the VerioIQ meter, planning on posting a mini-review after the first week of usage was done. Alas, I think this post is going to be a little less of a cheerleading party than I'd thought it was going to be. You see, I'm on hold right now with LifeScan's customer service because of this:
Note how it says "control solution" below each of the results? The funny thing is I don't own any VerioIQ control solution yet. As I've been doing since I received the meter last week, I inserted the strip, lanced my finger, applied my blood...and yet the meter thought it was control solution. Upon retesting, it read the blood correctly, but c'mon. The meter is practically brand new - should I be experiencing this kind of issue already?
**** Note: I'm at 15:20 for holding. ****
Other than this current malfunction, which started at 4:59 this morning, I've been
in love with this meter. (My poor crushed heart is so sad to think my love was for naught!)
* I've been impressed with the numbers. Usually, when my meter and my Dexcom disagree, when I retest to see who's right the second result generally declares Dex the winner. But this time? If I get a result that doesn't line up, I retest and the second test is
almost identical to the first one. I have been astounded every time it happens. I mean, it SHOULD line up like that, but in my experience it doesn't. So yay for consistency! Accuracy is another matter altogether, of course.
**** Note: I was switched to holding for a VerioIQ rep. I'm at 20:27 now. ****
* Holy crap is it SO MUCH EASIER to do a blood sugar in the dark! When I get up for L's middle of the night feeding, I hate turning on lights/waking her up any more than I need to - this week, for the first time ever, I was able to do a test without turning on a light. Or, y'know, using the glow of my meter or Dexcom, or a particularly bright part during a movie, or the open refrigerator door, or a candle on a bar or restaurant table, or any of the other weird ways I've tried to shed some light on my meter.
* I love love LOVE the white strips. When they suck up a drop of blood, I can actually see contrast between the blood and the strip! Not so with my old black One Touch strips.
**** Update: Samuel is very nice. However, he has told me that this is "a very unusual issue," so he's going to have to go speak with his supervisor. Yeah, Samuel, I know it's weird. This is why I'm I've called customer service. I've never seen something like this in 18 years! And no Samuel, dear. This is not a matter of not washing my hands. Nor is it a matter of expired test strips. Currently at 26:59. ****
* I don't know why, but I am - again, for the first time ever - using the lancing device. I tried it because, in
Think Like a Pancreas, Gary Scheiner basically says manual lancing is just about the worst idea ever. I've been doing precisely that since I was fifteen without too much problem, but if I'm gonna go another 18 years with the D, perhaps I'd better listen to the professionals. I don't know if it's that the Delica is more awesome than other lancing devices OR I just haven't bothered to find one I like since I was fine with the manual method, but I've been using the device without complaint since I got the new meter. I still have to curl my toes and brace myself like I'm doing a infusion set or Dexcom sensor change, of course, but I'm
doing it and that's all I care about.
___________________
Well, that's the end of it. Those are my big first impressions. I love the meter, and yet... LifeScan is sending me a replacement meter and vial of test strips. I am a bit conflicted about this. I'd been SO excited about the new machine, SO excited at the possibility of having new gear that was better than what I was already using. Now? Now I'm less able to trust the technology. Such a weirdo malfunction in the very first week of usage? How can I completely rely on something like that? We PWDs rely so heavily on technology - our meters, our pumps, our CGMs - but technology is so very, very far from perfection.
