UltraLink batteries Options

[Arlene S.]

Yesterday I inserted a strip in my UltraLink and I got a low battery message. I opened it to change the batteries and I was shocked to see that one of the (Duracell AAA) batteries had leaked and the contact was corroded as was part of the cover. Based on the amount of corrosion I think this happened some time ago, but I am amazed that the meter worked up until yesterday even though one battery was not making contact. I tried to clean the contact and I replaced the batteries anyway but the meter was dead.

Lifescan is sending me a replacement. I've had leaky batteries in devices before but not in devices that are constantly in use.

[Liz]

Lifescan is sending me a replacement. I've had leaky batteries in devices before but not in devices that are constantly in use.

Yikes! I've never had batteries in a meter leak before. I'm sure that in my bag full of unused meters most of them have batteries installed, but most are the button type. I should probably go through and remove them all even though I will most likely never touch these meters again.

I've been using both of my UltraLinks since April 2010, when I got the Revel pump and could actually use the meters. I keep wondering when I'll get a low battery message. I know I rarely had to change the batteries in the UltraSmart but that didn't communicate with anything. I would think the Link meters would run through batteries faster.

[Arlene S.]

Yikes! I've never had batteries in a meter leak before. I'm sure that in my bag full of unused meters most of them have batteries installed, but most are the button type. I should probably go through and remove them all even though I will most likely never touch these meters again.

I've been using both of my UltraLinks since April 2010, when I got the Revel pump and could actually use the meters. I keep wondering when I'll get a low battery message. I know I rarely had to change the batteries in the UltraSmart but that didn't communicate with anything. I would think the Link meters would run through batteries faster.

I've never had batteries in meters leak before either. The old One Touch and I believe the Profile had a J battery but everything after that (until the UltraSmart and UltraLink) used the button batteries. I don't if this is the old UltraLink or the newer one. The serial number doesn't match any of the numbers on the box. (I only have the box for the one I got with the Revel.)

[Liz]

I've never had batteries in meters leak before either. The old One Touch and I believe the Profile had a J battery but everything after that (until the UltraSmart and UltraLink) used the button batteries. I don't if this is the old UltraLink or the newer one. The serial number doesn't match any of the numbers on the box. (I only have the box for the one I got with the Revel.)

I can't remember what kind of battery my old Profile & Basic used. J battery sounds familiar. I prefer the AAA batteries over button batteries even if it makes the meter larger. I know some companies, Accu-Chek for one, sends free button batteries for their meters if you call.

One of my UltraLink meters was for my 715 pump and the other was for my 722. I didn't get one with the Revel because mine was through the Pathway program. I got both meters around the same time. They sent me one for my 722 after it came out (and after they fulfilled newer pump orders first). My 715 was still under warranty so I called and asked them to send me one for that as well. I know the ID codes you put into the pump are different for the x15 meters and later versions. The x15 doesn't let you input letters so those meters are numbers only, but they do work with the newer pumps. It's great having two because one always stays home and one always stays in my bag.

[Arlene S.]

I can't remember what kind of battery my old Profile & Basic used. J battery sounds familiar. I prefer the AAA batteries over button batteries even if it makes the meter larger. I know some companies, Accu-Chek for one, sends free button batteries for their meters if you call.

One of my UltraLink meters was for my 715 pump and the other was for my 722. I didn't get one with the Revel because mine was through the Pathway program. I got both meters around the same time. They sent me one for my 722 after it came out (and after they fulfilled newer pump orders first). My 715 was still under warranty so I called and asked them to send me one for that as well. I know the ID codes you put into the pump are different for the x15 meters and later versions. The x15 doesn't let you input letters so those meters are numbers only, but they do work with the newer pumps. It's great having two because one always stays home and one always stays in my bag.

I believe I had the BD meters for my 515. I just checked and both of my UltraLinks have letters. The bad one is the second one entered in my pump so I assume it is the newer one. The other one would probably be out of warranty.

BD used to send button batteries for their meters. I am used to having two UL meters so I hope I get the new one by tomorrow.

Those J batteries were not easy to find.

[Liz]

I believe I had the BD meters for my 515. I just checked and both of my UltraLinks have letters. The bad one is the second one entered in my pump so I assume it is the newer one. The other one would probably be out of warranty.

BD used to send button batteries for their meters. I am used to having two UL meters so I hope I get the new one by tomorrow.

Those J batteries were not easy to find.

When I first got my 715 I did receive the BD Link meter. Right after getting it I was reading so many bad things about the BD meters/strips so I never used it and just stayed with my UltraSmart, entering everything manually. When the UltraLink meters replaced BD, Minimed said that everyone with an in warranty pump would get a meter. Since I had two pumps in warranty I wanted two meters. I used the 722 meter for just a couple of weeks but then I started CGMS and had to stop. Even though I never thought it was a pain to enter BGs manually I am really happy that I no longer have to do it. This evening on the bus coming home I wanted to test my BG. I usually do that right before leaving work but I forgot. I had left my UltraLink on my desk but I had my Contour USB in my bag. After the number appeared I kept waiting to feel my pump vibrate to indicate it received the reading. Took me awhile before I realized that wasn't going to happen.

Did Lifescan say they wanted your defective meter returned to them?

[gigem99]

When I first got my 715 I did receive the BD Link meter. Right after getting it I was reading so many bad things about the BD meters/strips so I never used it and just stayed with my UltraSmart,

I got one of those POS BD Link meters! My gosh, I couldn't believe how bad those things were! It's the only meter I've ever owned that I just totally couldn't believe. That's about the time I started posting online, so I may have been one of the ones you read about!

Since I still don't have a Revel, I still don't use the UltraLink...I still like my UltraSmart, and upload it every Sunday. I like the Lifescan reports. I can't remember whether the Ultralink allows you to enter insulin and carbs into it. If not, I'll not consider it even when I do get around to upgrading.

Tom

[Liz]

I got one of those POS BD Link meters! My gosh, I couldn't believe how bad those things were! It's the only meter I've ever owned that I just totally couldn't believe. That's about the time I started posting online, so I may have been one of the ones you read about!

Since I still don't have a Revel, I still don't use the UltraLink...I still like my UltraSmart, and upload it every Sunday. I like the Lifescan reports. I can't remember whether the Ultralink allows you to enter insulin and carbs into it. If not, I'll not consider it even when I do get around to upgrading.

Tom

Maybe a year before getting my first pump I was sent (unsolicited, I think) a free BD meter. I think it was called Logic, but I'm not positive. It was just a regular meter, no pump communication. They also sent 50 free strips, which was great. At the time I did do a bunch of side by side tests against my Ultra meters and they were usually close. I was prepared to switch to the BD Link when I got the pump until I read all of the negative comments. Even though I had no issues with the regular meter those comments did scare me off. I know Minimed still supports the replacement NovaMax meter & strips which I believe are interchangeable with the BG meters.

The UltraLink doesn't let you enter carbs or insulin - that's what the pump is for! You can tag readings (Before Meal or After Meal, Not Enough Food, Too Much Food, Mild Exercise, Hard Exercise, Medication, Stress, Illness, Feel Hypo, Menses, Vacation, Other). It does not have a backlight or a beep, two things I really miss. Whenever MM comes out with their next pump I hope they rework the meter to at least include a backlight. I know you can view the BG right on the pump but you can't scroll through the last few readings on the pump. Also, sometimes I don't want to have to retrieve the pump just to see the reading if I've tested in low light.

[Arlene S.]

When I first got my 715 I did receive the BD Link meter. Right after getting it I was reading so many bad things about the BD meters/strips so I never used it and just stayed with my UltraSmart, entering everything manually. When the UltraLink meters replaced BD, Minimed said that everyone with an in warranty pump would get a meter. Since I had two pumps in warranty I wanted two meters. I used the 722 meter for just a couple of weeks but then I started CGMS and had to stop. Even though I never thought it was a pain to enter BGs manually I am really happy that I no longer have to do it. This evening on the bus coming home I wanted to test my BG. I usually do that right before leaving work but I forgot. I had left my UltraLink on my desk but I had my Contour USB in my bag. After the number appeared I kept waiting to feel my pump vibrate to indicate it received the reading. Took me awhile before I realized that wasn't going to happen.

Did Lifescan say they wanted your defective meter returned to them?

I received my new meter yesterday. It's interesting that this ID is only numbers whereas my other two have letters and numbers. They sent a shipping box (the one that contained the meter) and a a return label with instructions for sending back the defective meter, but I'm pretty sure the person I spoke to told me to dispose of it. I will call to make sure. I was looking at the instruction booklet this morning (I never read it before) and there is a warning section that says the batteries may leak. I thought it was a Duracell problem but apparently it's a Lifescan problem. The leaking battery was a Duracell; it was the original battery. I know that because I use Energizers.

[Arlene S.]

I got one of those POS BD Link meters! My gosh, I couldn't believe how bad those things were! It's the only meter I've ever owned that I just totally couldn't believe. That's about the time I started posting online, so I may have been one of the ones you read about!

Since I still don't have a Revel, I still don't use the UltraLink...I still like my UltraSmart, and upload it every Sunday. I like the Lifescan reports. I can't remember whether the Ultralink allows you to enter insulin and carbs into it. If not, I'll not consider it even when I do get around to upgrading.

Tom

The only use I had for the BD meters (I had at least three of them) was for uploading pump data to Solutions and Paradigm Pal and to Carelink before they sent out the free USB device.

I felt lost having only one working UltraLink for two days. The only thing I don't like about the meter is its lack of a backlight. Otherwise it's my meter of choice. I have an UltraSmart and the only thing I like about it is the backlight.

As far as entering insulin and carbs, I don't use a meter for that. When the Profile came out in the 1990's I got one (maybe I even paid for it) I was so happy to be able to enter information but I didn't do that very long.

A couple weeks ago we replaced a 25-year old gas clothes dryer and when I cleaned out the space I was looking for money and socks but instead I found a Profile strip.

This post has been edited by Arlene S.: Apr 9 2011, 03:06 PM

[Liz]

The only use I had for the BD meters (I had at least three of them) was for uploading pump data to Solutions and Paradigm Pal and to Carelink before they sent out the free USB device.

I felt lost having only one working UltraLink for two days. The only thing I don't like about the meter is its lack of a backlight. Otherwise it's my meter of choice. I have an UltraSmart and the only thing I like about it is the backlight.

As far as entering insulin and carbs, I don't use a meter for that. When the Profile came out in the 1990's I got one (maybe I even paid for it) I was so happy to be able to enter information but I didn't do that very long.

A couple weeks ago we replaced a 25-year old gas clothes dryer and when I cleaned out the space I was looking for money and socks but instead I found a Profile strip.

I still have 2 BD meters and the cable in case something happens to my Carelink USB. I actually don't know if the cable will work because it's not USB. I was pissed at Minimed for sending me a non-USB cable at the time but it wasn't a problem with the computer I had at the time, which could use either. I never had the Solutions software and found it easier to make changes directly on the pump rather than using Paradigm Pal.

I don't miss the logbook features of my UltraSmart but I do miss the backlight and the beep. My brain is still trained to listen for the beep before applying blood to the strip. I did use the features on my old Profile. I received that meter unsolicited at some point in the '90s. At the time I had no insurance and wasn't testing my BG so I just put it aside. When I got insurance (no prescription coverage) and went to a doctor and had blood work done, my A1c was over 15 so I started buying strips when I could. Eventually I got a FastTake (for free) but found it to be very unreliable. It was also really sensitive to temperature and would refuse to work a bunch of times when I was on vacation one summer. I went back to the Profile. In 2004 the pharmacy gave me Ultra strips by mistake and I opened a box without looking. I called Lifescan and they sent me an original Ultra meter and I got the UltraSmart soon after. I did pay for the UltraSmart but I got all but $5 of my money back, and I had found a place online that was selling it for much less than everywhere else.

Last year I was walking from my apartment to the bus stop and saw a Profile/Basic strip on the grass by the curb. I immediately noticed it. Do they even make those strips anymore?

[Arlene S.]

I still have 2 BD meters and the cable in case something happens to my Carelink USB. I actually don't know if the cable will work because it's not USB. I was pissed at Minimed for sending me a non-USB cable at the time but it wasn't a problem with the computer I had at the time, which could use either. I never had the Solutions software and found it easier to make changes directly on the pump rather than using Paradigm Pal.

I don't miss the logbook features of my UltraSmart but I do miss the backlight and the beep. My brain is still trained to listen for the beep before applying blood to the strip. I did use the features on my old Profile. I received that meter unsolicited at some point in the '90s. At the time I had no insurance and wasn't testing my BG so I just put it aside. When I got insurance (no prescription coverage) and went to a doctor and had blood work done, my A1c was over 15 so I started buying strips when I could. Eventually I got a FastTake (for free) but found it to be very unreliable. It was also really sensitive to temperature and would refuse to work a bunch of times when I was on vacation one summer. I went back to the Profile. In 2004 the pharmacy gave me Ultra strips by mistake and I opened a box without looking. I called Lifescan and they sent me an original Ultra meter and I got the UltraSmart soon after. I did pay for the UltraSmart but I got all but $5 of my money back, and I had found a place online that was selling it for much less than everywhere else.

Last year I was walking from my apartment to the bus stop and saw a Profile/Basic strip on the grass by the curb. I immediately noticed it. Do they even make those strips anymore?

I think I still have 3 cables somewhere and I'm sure they are USB. Once I switched to a Mac I couldn't use Paradigm Pal but I didn't really use it for changing settings; it was useful for keeping records of my changes, but Device Settings on Carelink does that.

The FastTake was a terrible meter. It wasn't around very long. I traded both of mine in for Ultras. I don't think Lifescan makes those old strips. Someone on another forum was still using his Profile until recently when he found out that Lifescan was no longer supporting the Profile. When they came out I got meters for two of my British friends.