Trueresult twist and odd results

[Soupladel]

I have recently been put onto Metformin, currently at 1500mg per day, and for my own benefit, i have been given the trueresult twist blood glucose monitor. so far I have been relatively happy with the results but tonight i hvae had cause to call into question the accuracy of this monitor.

I had a late lunch, which was followed by something sweet, about 8pm i tested my level and i got a 9.8 reading which is not unexpected, however i have just taken my level for pre-evening meal and got a result of 5.7, so i immediately tested again with the same sample and got 6.3 so decided to do it a third time with a fresh sample from the same point and got 6.6.

Is this normal to have different results in such a short space of time and from the same sample?

 

[luceeloo]

Test once, and if you get a really random and unexpected result, then retest. If you get a normal or expected result, don't retest.
ISO guidelines state that the glucose monitors should an accuracy of +/- 20%. So if your blood was really 5.7, then your machine result could be 4.6 to 6.8.

 

[Soupladel]

I knew there would be a margin of error, but never realised it would be such a wide variance. It would be fair to say then that home testing is more a guide than an exact science given variance in the results?

 

[Sid Bonkers]

It would be fair to say then that home testing is more a guide than an exact science given variance in the results?

Thats exactly what it is Soupladel, a reasonably accurate guide

The HbA1c is a more accurate measurement but even that is just an average of your total control over an 8 to 12 week period but doesnt show any highs or lows. A random blood test taken at a hospital or a clinic where the blood is analysed professionally in a lab will give an accurate measurement "at that time" but it even that doesnt show whether its going up coming down or is reasonably stable, there are so many things that can have an affect on our blood glucose levels that its fair to say that they are changing all the time.

The things that affect our bg levels include:
Food
Exercise
Hormones and chemical signals released naturally by our bodies
Colds, infections or being generally run down
Some prescription medications
Stress
Alcohol
General mood
etc etc.

The best we can do is try to keep our highs down as best we can and try to attain a reasonably consistent HbA1c result.

Home test meters are an asset to all diabetics as without them its impossible to work out the portions sizes of carbs that we can eat that will not raise our bg levels too high, but they are never going to give a completely accurate measurement in much the same way that the speedometers in our cars are never completely accurate but will give a good indication if we are speeding or not.

Test carefully before meals and record the level then check again 2 hours after finishing your meal and record the level again, if too high reduce the portions of carbs you ate with that meal the next time you eat it and record it again and again tweaking the carbs till you are happy. Do this over a year or so and you will know roughly what you can eat and in what portion sizes.

Remember that one high postprandial reading may be reading a little over or under so dont always rely on just one test for any one meal, only by repeating tests can you be sure that you get the portions right.

 

[Soupladel]

Thanks for the advice, I suppose what I was most worried about was a dodgy meter as I have had problems getting lancets for it as they are discontinued and was starting to wonder if there was maybe issues with it, it didn't come with any test solution for calibration purposes.