Differing readings on both hands

[lucykop]

When I tested my finger on my left hand I had a reading of 6.4 and then checked a finger straight after on my right hand and got a reading of 5. Why is this? It worried me as I need to inject insulin at night-time and didn't want yet again another hypo. I ended up eating 2 slices of toast with jam then retested again. Please help as I am now confused.

 

[TorqPenderloin]

I hate to tell you but your left hand may have diabetes.

In all seriousness, there is always going to be a margin of error in testing. Dirty or wet hands can affect readings and there's always going to be varied readings from the monitor itself even when everything else is the same.

I own 6 different glucose monitors (plus my dexcom). If I tested using all 6, I'd be surprised if any two read exactly the same.

Best thing you can do is test in the same conditions as best as possible. Hands should be clean, and dry (including if you use alcohol pads)

 

[lucykop]

Thank you for answering my question.

Every time I test myself I always scrub my hands with soap and water directly before I test and use a clean towel each time to dry my hands. I have been Type 2 for the past 12 years and only started injecting long term insulin since February 2015. I never realised there could be such a difference in readings between both hands. It still concerns me whether I should trust the higher or lower reading but don't want to inject both hands each time?

 

[TorqPenderloin]

Thank you for answering my question.

Every time I test myself I always scrub my hands with soap and water directly before I test and use a clean towel each time to dry my hands. I have been Type 2 for the past 12 years and only started injecting long term insulin since February 2015. I never realised there could be such a difference in readings between both hands. It still concerns me whether I should trust the higher or lower reading but don't want to inject both hands each time?

I was kidding about the left vs. right hand. The actual readings, in theory, should be exactly the same when testing both hands at the same time. Unfortunately, the technology isn't that precise quite yet.

One of the joys of American healthcare is that I get 250 test strips a month. I usually test using two strips and average the two readings together. For example: I may get a 91 and 101 reading (that's mg/dl). I'll average those two together and assume my blood sugar is 96mg/dl.