Accu Chek Aviva Expert - DAFNE Online

January 18, 2012 18:05

Naz DAFNE Graduate
Barts Health NHS Trust 10 posts

Hey everyone.

We were very kindly given new Accu Chek Aviva Experts at our 3 month DAFNE review, which I was really pleased about.

I'm still getting used to it, but so far, so good. Does anyone have any experience with this bolus advice meter?

Also, I just want to say that I'm so happy I did DAFNE - I've always struggled with my blood sugars and as a result my Hba1C was always high. I'm happy to report that in the matter of a few months I have brought my Hba1C down from 9.9% to 8.6%. Yay! lol.

January 19, 2012 00:05

thebatoutofhull DAFNE Graduate
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals 60 posts

DAFNE. Brilliant! the expert metre however is on a scale of 1 to 10 a 6 for me. Dafne gives you the skills to work out what needs changing for yourself. When I used the bolus adviser I found myself being too reliant on the tester. Because I am in different times zones I was sick of working out the uk time so I could allow for my change in ratio this really confused the machine. I could I suppose reprogramme it each time. I now use my accu chek mobile. This is by far the best blood test metre I have had. Simple and convenient. No strips to carry around and no mess after testing. It is a bit bigger than other metres but I'm ok with this. If accu chek could combine the benefits of both machines they'll have a winner.

January 24, 2012 20:30

Carolin
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals 83 posts

Naz said:
Hey everyone.

We were very kindly given new Accu Chek Aviva Experts at our 3 month DAFNE review, which I was really pleased about.

I'm still getting used to it, but so far, so good. Does anyone have any experience with this bolus advice meter?

Also, I just want to say that I'm so happy I did DAFNE - I've always struggled with my blood sugars and as a result my Hba1C was always high. I'm happy to report that in the matter of a few months I have brought my Hba1C down from 9.9% to 8.6%. Yay! lol.

Hi Naz,
Well done on the HbA1c improvement! Great to see your hard work paying off isn't it Smile

These new bolus adviser meters have been introduced on the back of pump therapy really, where they've been incorporated in some way in pumps to enable users to more accurately calculate the bolus required and take away some of the complicated maths you need to do.
We've tried them out in Sheffield, indeed a few of our DAFNE graduates took part in the early 'trials' (which weren't really scientifically done and pts were self-selected). I think they were a bit of a novelty and most stopped using them as they could do the maths quicker in their own heads following DAFNE training, so it became a bit of a pain to put all the data in each time you test or eat CPs.
Having said that, I have had a few people who have found them useful, especially those who have had problems with hypos, often after correcting high BG, this is because the calculator factors in the 'active insulin', I.e, the previous dose of QA that may still be having an effect on the BG when you test it. So in that way it can stop you from overcorrecting your BG and prevents hypos.
The impending REPOSE study (see DAFNE main website) will test out bolus advisers in both pts using multiple dose insulin and those using insulin pumps, so we should start to gather much more useful data on them over the next couple of years.
Good luck!
Carolin

January 25, 2012 07:25

Stew B DAFNE Graduate
Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital 125 posts

A few patients at our clinic (including me) were given Accu Check Aviva Experts as part of the early trials. Unfortunately, the one I was given was giving me readings which were consistently at least 1 above the readings I was getting from my one-touch ultra meter. As a consequence when I was getting early signs of a hypo, the meter was telling me I was in target (which was what alerted me to the problem). I ran the two meters together for a few days and then stopped using the expert (I am still using the multi-clix "pricker" though!). I've had a similar (though not so significant) problem with a one-touch ultra easy, so I'm not suggesting that this is a problem unique to the Expert, and was probably just the individual meter I was allocated.

I know that the small-print says that meters are not precise, and can vary up to 10%, but in DAFNE terms 10% can make a real difference to decisions about doses and corrections.

January 27, 2012 16:50

Naz DAFNE Graduate
Barts Health NHS Trust 10 posts

Thank you for replying guys, sorry it's taken me so long to respond myself - no net for a while.

I am honestly so happy about improving my HbA1c - it makes it all worthwhile.

About the meter, I'm actually really liking mine but that could be because I still feel very new to DAFNE and haven't had much time to get used to the calculations by myself. I find the meter really helps me and it hasn't steered me wrong at all, but I can see why some people would find it a bit of a nuisance.

Stew, I think I'll do what you did and run 2 meters just to make sure I'm getting accurate readings.

Again, thanks for replying - I like to have as much info on a new aspect to my diabetes as possible!

January 28, 2012 06:40

Stew B DAFNE Graduate
Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital 125 posts

Hi Naz, if its working for you why worry? I ran the two together because what I was getting from the new meter didn't feel right for me - a great thing about DAFNE is that because you understand what's going on, you can develop an intuition about levels (not unique to DAFNE grads I know). I also know that my intuition is far from 100% reliable, hence the importance of a meter that is reasonably accurate. As a gadget freak I was really attracted by the Expert, but I didn't use it for long enough to benefit from the bells and whistles!

Its great that DAFNE has helped you to improve your HbA1c, it will be brilliant if the Expert adds another dimension to your control - good luck!

Stew

January 28, 2012 09:05

Macka DAFNE Graduate
Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust 7 posts

Hi Naz

Well done on your Hba1C results, i to have just be given the Expert as a pre runner to getting the pump (which im getting in about 3 weeks) and i have to say i love it, yes it takes a bit of time to enter all the info etc but once you have got used to it it takes not much time at all, and the bolus advice on insulin that is still active is to me, very important. As a diabetic of 25 years i thought i controlled mine quite well, but recently i also did DAFNE and it has revolutionised my life, im not telling you anything you don't know by saying this but it really is amazing !.

Good luck in the future.

Regards Paul.

January 28, 2012 16:20

Naz DAFNE Graduate
Barts Health NHS Trust 10 posts

Stew B said:
Hi Naz, if its working for you why worry? I ran the two together because what I was getting from the new meter didn't feel right for me - a great thing about DAFNE is that because you understand what's going on, you can develop an intuition about levels (not unique to DAFNE grads I know). I also know that my intuition is far from 100% reliable, hence the importance of a meter that is reasonably accurate. As a gadget freak I was really attracted by the Expert, but I didn't use it for long enough to benefit from the bells and whistles!

Its great that DAFNE has helped you to improve your HbA1c, it will be brilliant if the Expert adds another dimension to your control - good luck!

Stew

That's exactly why I like it - I love my gadgets! And I think you're right, it's working for me so far. If I start to fiddle around with things too much, I could end up in a muddle. I am finding the Aviva Expert the perfect lazy guide right now =)

Thank you for the luck, the same to you too!

January 28, 2012 16:22

Naz DAFNE Graduate
Barts Health NHS Trust 10 posts

Macka said:
Hi Naz

Well done on your Hba1C results, i to have just be given the Expert as a pre runner to getting the pump (which im getting in about 3 weeks) and i have to say i love it, yes it takes a bit of time to enter all the info etc but once you have got used to it it takes not much time at all, and the bolus advice on insulin that is still active is to me, very important. As a diabetic of 25 years i thought i controlled mine quite well, but recently i also did DAFNE and it has revolutionised my life, im not telling you anything you don't know by saying this but it really is amazing !.

Good luck in the future.

Regards Paul.

Hi Paul,

I'm glad you like it too - it seems we're in the minority at the moment but I have a feeling this kind of meter could really take off in the future.

I found DAFNE amazing as well and I'm so thankful I got to do it. With all the recent NHS cuts, I know many people will miss out which is a huge shame.

Finally, good luck with the pump, I'd love to know how you get on as I'm interested in one myself.

Take care =)

January 18, 2012 18:05 Naz DAFNE Graduate Barts Health NHS Trust 10 posts	Hey everyone. We were very kindly given new Accu Chek Aviva Experts at our 3 month DAFNE review, which I was really pleased about. I'm still getting used to it, but so far, so good. Does anyone have any experience with this bolus advice meter? Also, I just want to say that I'm so happy I did DAFNE - I've always struggled with my blood sugars and as a result my Hba1C was always high. I'm happy to report that in the matter of a few months I have brought my Hba1C down from 9.9% to 8.6%. Yay! lol.
January 19, 2012 00:05 thebatoutofhull DAFNE Graduate Sheffield Teaching Hospitals 60 posts	DAFNE. Brilliant! the expert metre however is on a scale of 1 to 10 a 6 for me. Dafne gives you the skills to work out what needs changing for yourself. When I used the bolus adviser I found myself being too reliant on the tester. Because I am in different times zones I was sick of working out the uk time so I could allow for my change in ratio this really confused the machine. I could I suppose reprogramme it each time. I now use my accu chek mobile. This is by far the best blood test metre I have had. Simple and convenient. No strips to carry around and no mess after testing. It is a bit bigger than other metres but I'm ok with this. If accu chek could combine the benefits of both machines they'll have a winner.
January 24, 2012 20:30 Carolin Sheffield Teaching Hospitals 83 posts	Naz said: Hey everyone. We were very kindly given new Accu Chek Aviva Experts at our 3 month DAFNE review, which I was really pleased about. I'm still getting used to it, but so far, so good. Does anyone have any experience with this bolus advice meter? Also, I just want to say that I'm so happy I did DAFNE - I've always struggled with my blood sugars and as a result my Hba1C was always high. I'm happy to report that in the matter of a few months I have brought my Hba1C down from 9.9% to 8.6%. Yay! lol. Hi Naz, Well done on the HbA1c improvement! Great to see your hard work paying off isn't it These new bolus adviser meters have been introduced on the back of pump therapy really, where they've been incorporated in some way in pumps to enable users to more accurately calculate the bolus required and take away some of the complicated maths you need to do. We've tried them out in Sheffield, indeed a few of our DAFNE graduates took part in the early 'trials' (which weren't really scientifically done and pts were self-selected). I think they were a bit of a novelty and most stopped using them as they could do the maths quicker in their own heads following DAFNE training, so it became a bit of a pain to put all the data in each time you test or eat CPs. Having said that, I have had a few people who have found them useful, especially those who have had problems with hypos, often after correcting high BG, this is because the calculator factors in the 'active insulin', I.e, the previous dose of QA that may still be having an effect on the BG when you test it. So in that way it can stop you from overcorrecting your BG and prevents hypos. The impending REPOSE study (see DAFNE main website) will test out bolus advisers in both pts using multiple dose insulin and those using insulin pumps, so we should start to gather much more useful data on them over the next couple of years. Good luck! Carolin
January 25, 2012 07:25 Stew B DAFNE Graduate Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital 125 posts	A few patients at our clinic (including me) were given Accu Check Aviva Experts as part of the early trials. Unfortunately, the one I was given was giving me readings which were consistently at least 1 above the readings I was getting from my one-touch ultra meter. As a consequence when I was getting early signs of a hypo, the meter was telling me I was in target (which was what alerted me to the problem). I ran the two meters together for a few days and then stopped using the expert (I am still using the multi-clix "pricker" though!). I've had a similar (though not so significant) problem with a one-touch ultra easy, so I'm not suggesting that this is a problem unique to the Expert, and was probably just the individual meter I was allocated. I know that the small-print says that meters are not precise, and can vary up to 10%, but in DAFNE terms 10% can make a real difference to decisions about doses and corrections.
January 27, 2012 16:50 Naz DAFNE Graduate Barts Health NHS Trust 10 posts	Thank you for replying guys, sorry it's taken me so long to respond myself - no net for a while. I am honestly so happy about improving my HbA1c - it makes it all worthwhile. About the meter, I'm actually really liking mine but that could be because I still feel very new to DAFNE and haven't had much time to get used to the calculations by myself. I find the meter really helps me and it hasn't steered me wrong at all, but I can see why some people would find it a bit of a nuisance. Stew, I think I'll do what you did and run 2 meters just to make sure I'm getting accurate readings. Again, thanks for replying - I like to have as much info on a new aspect to my diabetes as possible!
January 28, 2012 06:40 Stew B DAFNE Graduate Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital 125 posts	Hi Naz, if its working for you why worry? I ran the two together because what I was getting from the new meter didn't feel right for me - a great thing about DAFNE is that because you understand what's going on, you can develop an intuition about levels (not unique to DAFNE grads I know). I also know that my intuition is far from 100% reliable, hence the importance of a meter that is reasonably accurate. As a gadget freak I was really attracted by the Expert, but I didn't use it for long enough to benefit from the bells and whistles! Its great that DAFNE has helped you to improve your HbA1c, it will be brilliant if the Expert adds another dimension to your control - good luck! Stew
January 28, 2012 09:05 Macka DAFNE Graduate Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust 7 posts	Hi Naz Well done on your Hba1C results, i to have just be given the Expert as a pre runner to getting the pump (which im getting in about 3 weeks) and i have to say i love it, yes it takes a bit of time to enter all the info etc but once you have got used to it it takes not much time at all, and the bolus advice on insulin that is still active is to me, very important. As a diabetic of 25 years i thought i controlled mine quite well, but recently i also did DAFNE and it has revolutionised my life, im not telling you anything you don't know by saying this but it really is amazing !. Good luck in the future. Regards Paul.
January 28, 2012 16:20 Naz DAFNE Graduate Barts Health NHS Trust 10 posts	Stew B said: Hi Naz, if its working for you why worry? I ran the two together because what I was getting from the new meter didn't feel right for me - a great thing about DAFNE is that because you understand what's going on, you can develop an intuition about levels (not unique to DAFNE grads I know). I also know that my intuition is far from 100% reliable, hence the importance of a meter that is reasonably accurate. As a gadget freak I was really attracted by the Expert, but I didn't use it for long enough to benefit from the bells and whistles! Its great that DAFNE has helped you to improve your HbA1c, it will be brilliant if the Expert adds another dimension to your control - good luck! Stew That's exactly why I like it - I love my gadgets! And I think you're right, it's working for me so far. If I start to fiddle around with things too much, I could end up in a muddle. I am finding the Aviva Expert the perfect lazy guide right now =) Thank you for the luck, the same to you too!
January 28, 2012 16:22 Naz DAFNE Graduate Barts Health NHS Trust 10 posts	Macka said: Hi Naz Well done on your Hba1C results, i to have just be given the Expert as a pre runner to getting the pump (which im getting in about 3 weeks) and i have to say i love it, yes it takes a bit of time to enter all the info etc but once you have got used to it it takes not much time at all, and the bolus advice on insulin that is still active is to me, very important. As a diabetic of 25 years i thought i controlled mine quite well, but recently i also did DAFNE and it has revolutionised my life, im not telling you anything you don't know by saying this but it really is amazing !. Good luck in the future. Regards Paul. Hi Paul, I'm glad you like it too - it seems we're in the minority at the moment but I have a feeling this kind of meter could really take off in the future. I found DAFNE amazing as well and I'm so thankful I got to do it. With all the recent NHS cuts, I know many people will miss out which is a huge shame. Finally, good luck with the pump, I'd love to know how you get on as I'm interested in one myself. Take care =)