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I've met a lot of pricks in my life. But these take the cake.

As a diabetic, you are often required to regularly monitor your blood sugar level which is influenced by food intake, medication, stress, and physical activity. Close monitoring allows you to better assess your diabetes as well as dangerous situations like #hypoglycemia or low blood sugar.

A #glucometer or blood glucose meter like the OneTouch Ultra 2 or the CVS True Metrix is quick and gives accurate measurement of your blood sugar level. I started with these after my diagnosis and can honestly say it sucked. It is cumbersome and painful because a new #fingerstick is required for each measurement.

You do not have the luxury of being #needlephobia. I could never get enough blood out for the fingersticks or my fingers were too sweaty from the #anxiety of pricking and the blood ran.

Your fingers become sensitive from playing the eeny meeny miny moe game to pick your prick finger victim.

The alternative is Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM). I only recently switched over to the CGM system. I tried out samples provided by my endocronologist and just wasn't sold on them. The biggest up side of CGM systems is they provide real time reading of your blood sugar levels without pricking your fingers each time for a read. My fingers are grateful and can resume their main mission of constant hand holding with my sweetheart.

Depending on your insurance coverage, the costs vary and without any coverage, you are looking at easily $1500 for a CGM system each month. After meeting my deductible of $1500, I pay about $90 for monthly refills. These are the ones I tried and my honest review of them.

“Making choices of what should you do and what you want to do.”

Dexcom G6

I call this one the cockroach. The sensor (a needle on a big band aid patch) goes on your stomach or legs. Let's face it as a woman, I am not going to go sporting the cockroach on my upper thigh when my professional attire consists of dresses. At least applying it on your belly, it can be discreet. The sensor sends your sugars "wirelessly" to the meter reader or your smartphone or Apple Watch and gives real time readings on your phone. The Dexcom G6 is waterproof so you can swim in the pool or ocean without a worry.

The downside? You replace the sensor every 10 days and the transmitter is replaced every 30 days. You feel tied to your smartphone even more because it needs to be close to receive the sugar reading. I will say having the app on the Apple Watch makes it somewhat easier. The patch starts to lift around the time it needs to be replaced and leaves a sticky residue. Also, you do have to calibrate the system after 24 hours of inserting a new sensor or if you feel your readings are off.

Abbott Freestyle Libre 2

Abbott's latest "flash" CGM system, this quarter-sized sensor can be placed anymore but most people put it on the back of their arms. You put the reader or your smartphone next to the sensor and it will flash your blood sugar to your Apple or Android smartphone. Ease wise, this is less cumbersome but given I wore a lot of sleeveless dresses and sundresses, I wasn't sold on the CGM.

The cons? You replace the sensors every 14 days and it records your sugars for 8 hours at a time. Again, you feel tied to your phone since you need it to read your sensor. Not even a few days after using the Libre, the sensor fell off at a work conference. I had to resort back to the traditional glucometer because I did not have a spare sensor on hand. It seems to be a constant complaint for Libre users about the adhesive for the sensors. I also found that the meter was not syncing to the app on my smartphone and ended up carrying the meter which is the equivalent of the first smartphones. Scrolling through the data you needed was so inconvenient and archaic. The Libre is also not as waterproof as the Dexcom G6.

OneTouch Ultra 2 Glucose Monitor

Around $120, this monitoring kit is an alternative to the CGM systems. I initially used this before transferring over to the G6. I was fortunate that this was covered by my insurance provider but the test strips are expensive! With only 50 strips, if you prick 4 times a day, the math doesn't add up for even a month's supply. Not to mention, they limited my number of refills. I will say the lancing device for this system is by far the easiest and needle friendly. However, the test strips require a lot more blood and I would waste 2-4 strips easily trying to not get an error read. The meter is easy to use and with the Ultra 2, I didn't see any issues of it being too hard to read. I love that it did capture data for longer periods. I still use this system to calibrate my G6 and have it as a back up.

CVS True Metrix Self Monitoring Glucose Meter

Under $30, this self monitoring system is small and compact for carrying. You pretty much can locate a #CVSpharmacy pretty much anywhere, at least in CA, AZ, and CO. The carrying case holds your meter, lancing device, lancets and test strips. You do have to purchase the compatible test strips but they are pretty low cost and any lancet works with this device. Once you figure out the lancet device setting (it pokes hard), you don't have to give as much blood which I liked a lot better than the OneTouch. It is also eligible for #FSA (Flexible Spending Accounts).

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Estes Park

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