I've used the Coag-Sense meter for about nine years. For the past year or so, I pretty much gave up on it, in favor of the CoaguChek XS for a few reasons:
Strips for the XS were easy to find.
Testing was slightly easier on the XS than on the Coag-Sense
Results were pretty consistent.
IF I had a doctor who also used the XS, my results would probably be almost the same as the doctor or clinic results.
It was easy to find good 'backup' meters - although I doubt that I'll EVER need one.
I moved away from the Coag-Sense for a few reasons:
Testing was marginally more of a process than with the XS
Supplies are not as easy to find (at least, not on eBay)
Results were consistently between .5 and 1.0 LOWER than XS results.
Coag-Sense results were frequently not as close to labs as the XS results.
I'm unhappy with the current management, their inability (or unwillingness) to respond to messages on their site, and the support that I've gotten from them. In fairness, the only time I interacted with Roche, support has been very good.
I just got some new strips - and a backup Coag-Sense PT2 (because of the price, and it also came with strips).
The results of both Coag-Sense meters were almost the same: 2.0 on Tuesday, and 1.9 on Wednesday. By contrast, on Tuesday, the XS gave me a 2.8.
My argument in support of the Coag-Sense that I made MONTHS ago, and seemingly forgot is this:
I'd rather have a meter that gave me a test result that was LOWER than my actual INR than one that gave me a HIGHER than actual result.
In other words, if the Coag-Sense gave me a 1.9, and the XS gave me a 2.8, I would feel far safer to slightly increase my warfarin dose - EVEN IF THE ACTUAL INR WAS SOMEWHAT HIGHER - just to be sure that my INR doesn't get BELOW 2.0.
I'll try to get some Coag-Sense strips, and for a while may use both meters. I feel a blood test coming soon -- to compare results to both meters and try to make a decision about which appears to be most accurate.
In other words, if I want to
Strips for the XS were easy to find.
Testing was slightly easier on the XS than on the Coag-Sense
Results were pretty consistent.
IF I had a doctor who also used the XS, my results would probably be almost the same as the doctor or clinic results.
It was easy to find good 'backup' meters - although I doubt that I'll EVER need one.
I moved away from the Coag-Sense for a few reasons:
Testing was marginally more of a process than with the XS
Supplies are not as easy to find (at least, not on eBay)
Results were consistently between .5 and 1.0 LOWER than XS results.
Coag-Sense results were frequently not as close to labs as the XS results.
I'm unhappy with the current management, their inability (or unwillingness) to respond to messages on their site, and the support that I've gotten from them. In fairness, the only time I interacted with Roche, support has been very good.
I just got some new strips - and a backup Coag-Sense PT2 (because of the price, and it also came with strips).
The results of both Coag-Sense meters were almost the same: 2.0 on Tuesday, and 1.9 on Wednesday. By contrast, on Tuesday, the XS gave me a 2.8.
My argument in support of the Coag-Sense that I made MONTHS ago, and seemingly forgot is this:
I'd rather have a meter that gave me a test result that was LOWER than my actual INR than one that gave me a HIGHER than actual result.
In other words, if the Coag-Sense gave me a 1.9, and the XS gave me a 2.8, I would feel far safer to slightly increase my warfarin dose - EVEN IF THE ACTUAL INR WAS SOMEWHAT HIGHER - just to be sure that my INR doesn't get BELOW 2.0.
I'll try to get some Coag-Sense strips, and for a while may use both meters. I feel a blood test coming soon -- to compare results to both meters and try to make a decision about which appears to be most accurate.
In other words, if I want to