Seven years into my LADA diabetes journey, I’ve now used about 7 different blood glucose meters.  Tech improvements keep making them better.  The one I’m currently using is the One Touch Verio Flex Blood Glucose Meter.  It’s the first meter I’ve owned that has bluetooth and a mobile app (for both Android and iPhone).

I switched to this meter because it was one of the preferred ones for my current health insurance provider, Aetna.  If you have health insurance, you may want to ask about which meter is their preferred one, to get the best prices.  The meter itself is not usually very expensive.  The re-occurring cost that adds up over time is the cost of the test strips.

Summary: I like it👍

The OneTouch Verio Flex meter is easy to use and their Android app works well.  There are a few things I wish were better, but overall I recommend this meter.

The mobile app allows for entering carbs and insulin, which is very helpful if you dose mealtime insulin based on number of carbs, as I do.  Exercise can also be entered.

I’ve had no problems with the battery.  I was concerned about that because when the device first turns on, the battery symbol can be seen briefly, but the manual explains that this is normal and not indicative of low battery.   It uses a CR2032 battery.  I bought these Energizer CR2032 batteries and one battery is still working well after 2 months of continuous use, with bluetooth turned on!

I didn’t like the accompanying literature (I disagree with some of the statements about carbohydrate requirements.), but that’s a small thing. This meter is accurate, easy to use, and reliable.

The Good

• ✅ Small amount of blood required.
• ✅ Doesn’t beep.
• ✅ Battery lasts a long time.
• ✅ Readings automatically sync via bluetooth with mobile app.
• ✅ Graph shows your readings.
• ✅ Lancing device work wells.  10 depth settings.
• ✅ Nice case.  It has a plastic insert which holds the 3 things you need: case of strips, lancet, and meter.  Pocket available for lancets and alcohol swabs.  Makes staying organized easy!
• ✅ One Touch Reveal mobile app for both Android and iPhone.
• ✅Long battery life, even with bluetooth turned on.
• ✅Easy to understand manual.

The Bad

• If you don’t put enough blood on the test strip, there’s no way to add more.  An error code displays and you have to insert a new test strip.
• Bad literature.  Graph shows blood sugar dipping down to 40 after lunch and there’s no text explaining that…. Having it go that low after lunch would likely mean too much insulin?  A glucose reading that low is certainly not the expectation!
• Bad literature, continued. Also it says that “Generally, people need 45 to 60 grams of carbs in each meal for energy, but it depends on how your body handles carbs.”  I’d argue that this isn’t my experience.  My experience is that a low carb diet of less than 45 carbs per meal makes controlling diabetes easier to manage!  On the other hand, maybe I shouldn’t pick on this, as the other pages in the booklet do encourage less carbohydrate consumption.
• Software could be more flexible.  It would be nice to be able to flag certain days and add notes.

Screenshots from the OneTouch Reveal Android App

Tips

• If you are having trouble syncing, open up the mobile app on your phone, and then turn on your meter.  A syncing symbol should appear on both devices.  Wait a couple of minutes. That always seems to work to update my phone!