I have recently received a replacement Pocketscan meter (FastTake) meter due to a fault in my first meter, so I decided to compare readings and the results were significantly different between the two. This would cause me to give either too little or extra insulin as I’m on a sliding scale. Have you heard any other complaints about the FastTake meter? Do you think I should get another meter?

I do not believe that I have had too many patients complain of inconsistent results, but just this month, the consumer advocate magazine Consumer Reports, did an assessment of many of the various meters. They found the results to be too often inconsistent. The FastTake’s cousin, the One Touch� Ultra, made by the same company, got a wonderful review.

DS
Additional comments from Dr. Jim Lane:

I agree that accuracy is vital. I would also suggest you obtain some control solution and test the meter. If it is way off and outside the performance standards, the company should be notified and they should either provide you with another meter, or you could consider another meter in their line of products, many of which have performed well.

JTL

[Editor’s comment: If your first FastTake was faulty, I would not be at all surprised to see differences between the two meters. A better comparison would be against a meter you know works properly, or, better yet, a lab. It is important to check whatever meter you use for decision making with control solution. Please see the results and comments from a recent poll on this topic.

SS]