As a recently diagnosed diabetic without health insurance I am painfully aware of the high cost of "treatment." I looked long and hard at testing supplies, meters and which brand would be the lowest recurring cost for things like test strips. If you are in a similar situation I know you have done the same thing.

What we decided on was the Lifescan OneTouch® line of meters and supplies, if for no other reason than they were the only line that could use the same test strips across all of the meters in the line. What we also found is that in the finest tradition of "Gillette" marketing all of the test meter companies will gladly give you the meter in exchange for perpetual purchase (or insurance or Medicare if you are lucky enough to have it) of the test strips.

Most companies will also give you the software for your PC for free. What they definitely don't give away is the little cable to attach the meter to the PC. Most of the meter brands are also stuck selling serial PC cables with antiquated DB-9 connections for $30 a pop. When is the last time you saw a new PC with one of those? To its credit, Lifescan does offer a USB cable but will also hit you up for $30 for it.
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