jkm7 - as you may have seen on other threads, I bought my meters on eBay. I have a physician who orders the strips for me from a medical supplier. My original tester was a 'classic' ProTime meter, and it worked just fine. I saw ProTime 3 meters - the next generation - and the illustrations made them look much smaller, plus the battery was replaceable, and it looked like the display was easier to read. I figured that an inexpensive upgrade to a smaller, probably more capable meter (for about $50) wasn't a bad idea, so I was able to buy it. It seems to work great and takes the same strips. It's not really smaller, but it works just fine.
I had been reading on this forum how members liked the CoaguChek and InRatio machines much more. I didn't realize that the CoaguChek S was this close to end of support (and end of strip supply) and got one, brand new in the box, for $40 DELIVERED. I thought I would compare the results to my ProTime, and decide which meter I actually prefer when it came time to get more strips.
I would imagine some of those on this forum have upgraded meters - perhaps from CoaguChek S to CoaguChek XS or from InRatio to InRatio 2. The difference may be that I didn't pay as much for either meter and I kept my old meter. Had I known about the impending end of support for the CoaguChek S, I may not have even bought the meter for $40. I was about to forget about buying the CoaguChek S when the vendor accepted my ridiculous offer of $40 for the meter.
If I don't waste most of my CoaguChek strips trying to get a good test, I should be good, test-wise, until next June. My ProTime strips don't expire until next March - and I'm not burning through them, either. I'll be doing tests using both meters to verify the continued accuracy of the CoaguChek S - a matter of personal curiosity. My total cost for my original ProTime meter, my ProTime 3, my CoaguChek S, and a backup ProTime meter that I was able to get for 99 cents, plus $5 shipping was less than the price of a box of XS or InRatio strips.
Who knows - perhaps I'll have a medical plan before then that will actually reimburse me for an XS or InRatio 2 bought from a more legitimate source by the time I'm out of strips. Then again, even though it's larger than the other meters, and the strips require refrigeration, I may just continue with my old reliable ProTime 3.
