# Boots own brand Optium Xceed meter



## Robster65 (Aug 26, 2010)

Been out for the day but ran out of test strips for the Optium Xceed meter. Can't get more on script until tomorrow.
Went into Boots in the hope of buying a small box of 10 strips to tide us over. They didn't have any but...

...their own brand test meter is identical to the Optium Xceed and includes a box of 10 strips. Got it VAT free, after asking, so have a spare meter now and enough strips to get us out of trouble for ?9.34.

So anyone wanting to buy an Optium Xceed could buy a Boots one for less money.

Rob


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## Steff (Aug 26, 2010)

I've seen that online and in store its good value for money.


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## Sugarbum (Aug 26, 2010)

Good tip!


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## Northerner (Aug 26, 2010)

Can it use the ketone strips too?


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## Robster65 (Aug 26, 2010)

I've looked all the way through the booklet and back again, and nowhere does it say i'll take ketone strips.

I wonder if it's a 'lite' version of the real thing. It does look, feel and taste the same though.

Rob


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## am64 (Aug 26, 2010)

crazy prices almost cheaper to buy a new one instead of just strips ..!!


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## Northerner (Aug 26, 2010)

Robster65 said:


> I've looked all the way through the booklet and back again, and nowhere does it say i'll take ketone strips.
> 
> I wonder if it's a 'lite' version of the real thing. It does look, feel and taste the same though.
> 
> Rob



Thanks. The reason why I ask is that I have got my GP to prescribe the Optium test strips and ketone strips but I don't actually have a meter yet! I tried to blag a free one by calling Abbot but the woman said I'd have to get one off my nurse or doctor  I only really want it for the ketones and a back up meter, but I thought that the foil wrapped strips would be handy for when I'm out running rather than carrying one of the big pots that my accuchek uses


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## katie (Aug 26, 2010)

Ive got the optium xceed from boots and im pretty sure it mentioned the keytone test strips in the booklet.  I can't check though because all my stuff is in storage 

Mine was only ?5, woo


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## Robster65 (Aug 26, 2010)

I must admit, it's the first one I've bought since my first one 20-odd years ago. Blagged all others from clinics/surgeries. There's normally a 'magic' cupboard full of promotional stuff. 

Rob


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## rossoneri (Aug 26, 2010)

Robster65 said:


> I've looked all the way through the booklet and back again, and nowhere does it say i'll take ketone strips.
> 
> I wonder if it's a 'lite' version of the real thing. It does look, feel and taste the same though.



I would be surprised if Abbott went to the trouble of manufacturing two versions of their Xceed meter, one with and one without the ability to measure ketones, unless the first Xceed meters did not have the ketones facility and Abbott are using Boots to sell their old stock!  

I am not surprised you cannot find any reference to ketones measuring in the manual, the manual I have for my Abbott Xceed meter is almost impossible to extract useful information from e.g. what are the ketones strips called so that I could ask my GP to prescribe them for me?  I think the GP and I eventually got their name from the NHS website.



Northerner said:


> Thanks. The reason why I ask is that I have got my GP to prescribe the Optium test strips and ketone strips but I don't actually have a meter yet! I tried to blag a free one by calling Abbot but the woman said I'd have to get one off my nurse or doctor  I only really want it for the ketones and a back up meter, but I thought that the foil wrapped strips would be handy for when I'm out running rather than carrying one of the big pots that my accuchek uses



Do you have a hospital based diabetic nurse you can contact?  If so then I would try giving them a ring to ask if they know if the Boots meter measures ketones.  The aim is not necessarily to get a definitive answer but instead if they have the Abbott meter in stock then I am sure your question would prompt them to offer one to you!  

Re using the foil wrapped strips while running, I have tried this and I cannot say I am a fan.  When trying to use them with sweaty hands I find it almost impossible to open the foil packs!


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## Northerner (Aug 26, 2010)

rossoneri said:


> ...Do you have a hospital based diabetic nurse you can contact?  If so then I would try giving them a ring to ask if they know if the Boots meter measures ketones.  The aim is not necessarily to get a definitive answer but instead if they have the Abbott meter in stock then I am sure your question would prompt them to offer one to you!
> 
> Re using the foil wrapped strips while running, I have tried this and I cannot say I am a fan.  When trying to use them with sweaty hands I find it almost impossible to open the foil packs!



I think I will pop into the clinic one day and just see if they have one. I will have to try and experiment with the strips! They do look a bit fiddly, but I find it equally fiddly trying to extract a strip from the accuchek tubs if hands are cold and wet (or hot and sweaty!), plus there's always the danger of the whole tub flying everywhere  What do you use when out running?


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## MIsmail (Aug 26, 2010)

katie said:


> Ive got the optium xceed from boots and im pretty sure it mentioned the keytone test strips in the booklet.  I can't check though because all my stuff is in storage
> 
> Mine was only ?5, woo



I got one for ?5 too! The batteries on mine ran out and the replacement batteries didn't wrk.

I think the test strips were expiring soon that's why they were cheap. 

Oh well it was a life saver.


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## Northerner (Aug 26, 2010)

MIsmail said:


> I got one for ?5 too! The batteries on mine ran out and the replacement batteries didn't wrk.
> 
> I think the test strips were expiring soon that's why they were cheap.
> 
> Oh well it was a life saver.



That's a point actually - if you get the Boots own brand version can you still register it with Abbot and get the free batteries and stuff?


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## rossoneri (Aug 27, 2010)

Northerner said:


> ... What do you use when out running?



Well I don't run for that long, normally 30 minutes or so, an hour at the most.  And I am very slow too so I just do enough for my hands to get either cold & wet or hot & sweaty!  I consequently normally just test before and after the run.  The few times I have tested mid exercise have been when I have been more worried about hypos or been experimenting to see what happens e.g. is playing tennis an aerobic or anaerobic exercise?  Conclusion: I am undecided so probably both!

I am now also on Accu-Chek test strips since I started using the Roche pump.  I am happy testing with them when exercising but I have a couple of empty Ultra tubs from the meter I used before pumping.  I put about three or four Roche strips into these tubs as they are a little smaller and therefore both easier to carry and a little less likely to spill their contents than the Roche tubs.  I think their tops are also just a little easier to open if I am fumbling, they have a slightly bigger lip!  If I do lose the contents it is not too big a loss and I have still got the (hopefully) fuller Roche tub back where I started.  All I have to do then is to remember to take both the meter and Ultra tub with me and to remember to test!


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## NiVZ (Aug 27, 2010)

Hello,

Thats interesting that Abbott seem to be making an 'own brand' meter for Boots.

In fact if you read halfway down this page it says to contact Abbott for support for the Boots meter:

http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Blood-Glucose-Monitoring-System_44687/

NiVZ


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## traceycat (Aug 29, 2010)

i also use the boots own brand meter, i bought it for a fiver as it was on offer and before i got my strips on precription i bought another one just for the strips so now i keep one at home and one in my handbag for when im out. i also registered it with abbott and got a free log book and i think you are able to get the replacment batteries aswel. i dont think it tests for keytones though but i could be wrong. its a good wee meter an i get my strips an lancets from the doctors now aswel.


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## Copepod (Sep 4, 2010)

I went looking for a replacement Optium Xceed meter yesterday (for one I lost) and ended up in Boots, where I also found the Boots own brand equivalent, for ?5 less than I'd seen an Optium Xceed in another chemist. I'm using the 10 strips supplied in the pack, but I'll send the pack of 10 lancets to IDDT for international use.
I don't bother with ketone strips, as they're so expensive, and in the 2 years of so when I had some, I never detected ketones in my own blood, even on a very few occasions when blood glucose was above 20mmol/l. 
Re batteries - so cheap to buy online, about ?5 including postage for 5 batteries, that I don't bother hassling meter manufacturer for them. Plus, I can use self bought batteries in any appliances eg tiny head torches.


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## PhoebeC (Sep 5, 2010)

Robster65 said:


> Been out for the day but ran out of test strips for the Optium Xceed meter. Can't get more on script until tomorrow.
> Went into Boots in the hope of buying a small box of 10 strips to tide us over. They didn't have any but...
> 
> ...their own brand test meter is identical to the Optium Xceed and includes a box of 10 strips. Got it VAT free, after asking, so have a spare meter now and enough strips to get us out of trouble for ?9.34.
> ...



I use this one, never had an issue with it. Should really get a spare, last time the optium one died i just got the boots one as i couldnt wait to go the doctors and all that.

x


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