Accuracy of meters

[toots8298]

Do anyone find strange readings on the meters?

I have onetouch ultra2 and been using the meter for around 2 months now.

The other day just before my meal, I tested my blood, nothing out of the ordinary for the meal before, healthy low carb meal, and the first reading was 7.7!!! shocked with the result, for a laugh and a check i redid the test, using new strip, same blood sample (was still bleeding) and the reading was 4.7, a difference of 3 units with a space of around 1 minute.

Has anyone come across something like this.

As far as I know the strips were from the same batch.

 

[hallii]

Meters are well known for not being accurate, they do give odd readings from time to time and we just have to live with it. The manufacturers will say they meet the current standards fot accuracy and they do, but the standatd is not very tight, I forget what it is but that's what they work to.

I even tried two different meters on the same spot of blood at exactly the same time and got two readings 2 mmol out from each other!

Roll on the non blood testing sytem, that should be a lot more accurate.

H

 

[toots8298]

Thanks - glad to hear i'm not actually crazy!!! or a little mad.....

will mind to take the reading with a pinch of salt.....

 

[Tybir]

Hi folks, can anyone tell me if this is true about type2 diabetes???? My father was diagnosed with type2 diabetes and was also told that doctors will not write prescriptions for blood glucose strips for type2 diabetes as its not necessary for them to do so, plus it will save money for the government during these cuts.

There should be no difference between type1 (which I have) type2 or diet controlled diabetes at all. thanks for listening folks


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[1970clea]

I didn't get any on prescription until I actually asked my doctor for some strips. I get one pot every 2-3 months when my repeat prescription gets filled. He didn't seem to object but it certainly wasn't offered at the start (2 years ago now)..

 

[Sid Bonkers]

Strange! I "won" a new One Touch Verio IQ which I trialed last month and seemed to be recording higher than normal readings, I had a blood test done a week or so back and was concerned that my HbA1c would have gone up a bit as I hadnt kept such tight control recently, nor had I been testing as regularly as I used to.

To my amazement my HbA1c had reduced to 5.1% again and it has not been that low since I was on insulin so I have now switched back to my faithful Accu-Chek Aviva and notice my levels seem to have come down again.

I can only surmise that the One Touch that I had been using was reading a little high or at least higher than my Accu-Chek :?

That said all these meters work within an error tolerance of + or - 20% so they are never going to be 100% accurate and I have heard that even same sample blood tests can give different readings perhaps the blood sample being open to the air prior to the second test may have effected your reading toots????

Isnt life (and meters) strange?

 

[carb-counting-mum]

I don't know if this would be useful to you (or anyone else), but I asked the manufacturer for some control solution, to test our meter (Freestyle Optium). This is to see if your meter is measuring accurately. It arrived the next day. They also said they send replacement batteries free of charge, I didn't know that...nice surprise. I think most manufacturers offer this?

 

[toots8298]

hi tybir, i think its down to the doctors, i wasnt offered one to begin with (and to be honest i didnt really want one - so far not really impressed with the prick holes on my fingers ) and was on diet control, but cause my husband and I are trying for a baby, they want to monitor my BG more closely so they have given me one for that reason, and will have to do that til when I have the baby too.

My dad was offered one and he's on metformin but didnt want one, and my MIL was given one, but just to check her BG every now and then rather than daily.

To be honest, you can get abit obessive about the BG reading (i know i have) and if your HBAC level is coming ok, it might be better not to have one for Type 2.... but definitely try and get one if your dad is struggling to get the BG down.

 

[Joe Sweatthang]

Hi folks, can anyone tell me if this is true about type2 diabetes???? My father was diagnosed with type2 diabetes and was also told that doctors will not write prescriptions for blood glucose strips for type2 diabetes as its not necessary for them to do so, plus it will save money for the government during these cuts.

There should be no difference between type1 (which I have) type2 or diet controlled diabetes at all. thanks for listening folks


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

Hi Tybir, I don't agree with comments about taking BG reading becoming an obsession or not being necessary. I was diagnosed as type 2 several weeks ago and I asked the nurse if I would get a meter. Instant response of "no, you don't need it, we dont give them out if you're not on medication". I was diagnosed as glucose intollerent 5 years ago and because of the total lack of support and follow up monitoring, it is now type 2. So i got my own meter and strips and I am taking readings every day, before meals, 2 hours after meals and after exercising. The readings I get are predicable and show a distinct trend. High in the monings, high after bad carbohydrate intake (which shows me what I should not eat) low after excercising. I find the meter a great help and any high readings give me an incentive to put things right.

 

[KKrysta]

Hi Tybir, I don't agree with comments about taking BG reading becoming an obsession or not being necessary. I was diagnosed as type 2 several weeks ago and I asked the nurse if I would get a meter. Instant response of "no, you don't need it, we dont give them out if you're not on medication". I was diagnosed as glucose intollerent 5 years ago and because of the total lack of support and follow up monitoring, it is now type 2. So i got my own meter and strips and I am taking readings every day, before meals, 2 hours after meals and after exercising. The readings I get are predicable and show a distinct trend. High in the monings, high after bad carbohydrate intake (which shows me what I should not eat) low after excercising. I find the meter a great help and any high readings give me an incentive to put things right.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

First of all. Yes I have experienced spoof readings which I assume is either due to the way I took the reading or the strips. There isn't much I can do about it except ignore it if I am sure it cannot be right.

EDIT: I once ran two different makes of meter in parallel. With each drop of blood I took a reading with both meters. I did this fifty times. One of the meters ALWAYS read one mmol/l higher than the other.

On the other point, it is very common for strips not to be prescribed. Many people (including me) buy their own. My surgery did allow me one strip a day until recently but now they have been stopped. They offered me Viagra though. It seems the NHS has its priorities round its neck.