Authenticity of blood test readings using machines

[Kaha]

Dear all
I am a Canadian and new in the forum .
I have a question to all of you .Can you please share with me the observations you might have (if any) when you found that the reading got through test trips were somehow abnormal /unusual (too much variation without significant reasons such as no excess carbohydrate/ sugar intake etc....In short what is the degree of authenticity/reliability of readings you think? I also noticed in the past that readings taken at home using machine significantly differed with the reading after a while (30-60 minutes) at the pathological laboratory .

 

[AndBreathe]

I'll try to be brief here.

Firstly, the tests conducted for finger-prick versus venous blood are different. The blood taken from your vein has a different composition to your finger prick.

Fundamentally, your blood is dynamic, so the scores any test returns change, and it is possible to change quite a bit, in the space of 15, 30 or 60 minutes; moreso if you have recently eaten or drunk, but not exclusively.

And secondly, glucometers are allowed, by international standards to have a variance of c+/-15%, on any given test. Clearly that appears most evident if the numbers are higher.

So, our home tests are a fantastic, instant indication of where our levels are, but the lab tests are likely to be more accurate. (Lab tests will also have allowable variances, but I have no idea what they are.)

Does that help?

 

[Kaha]

I'll try to be brief here.

Firstly, the tests conducted for finger-prick versus venous blood are different. The blood taken from your vein has a different composition to your finger prick.

Fundamentally, your blood is dynamic, so the scores any test returns change, and it is possible to change quite a bit, in the space of 15, 30 or 60 minutes; moreso if you have recently eaten or drunk, but not exclusively.

And secondly, glucometers are allowed, by international standards to have a variance of c+/-15%, on any given test. Clearly that appears most evident if the numbers are higher.

So, our home tests are a fantastic, instant indication of where our levels are, but the lab tests are likely to be more accurate. (Lab tests will also have allowable variances, but I have no idea what they are.)

Does that help?

 

[Kaha]

Thanks for your comments Andbreathe . Sounds reasonable to me.