Blood glucose monitors

Another contributor once expressed concern over his Accu-Check since he thought it might be inaccurate. He and I tried to find out just how accurate our respective meters were so we each contacted our suppliers and asked what the actual concentration of the control solutions were. Leaving aside the thread which was about 80 posts long we learned the following.

His Accu-check reads about 1.3 mmol/l high

My SD Codefree reads about 1 mmol/l high in the lower range but goes haywire in the upper range.

My Freestyle Freedom Lite is very accurate in the lower range and about 2 mmol/l high in the upper range.

The lower range being below 10 (3.8 solution) and the upper range being in the high teens.

All of which is a bit academic unless you want to frighten your nurse. She expects my readings to be taken with the Freestyle so if I use the SD I knock one point off.

The SD is the cheapest to run by far if you have to pay for your own test strips. From memory, if you get the VAT taken off they are less than £6 for 50. Being a cheapskate I sometimes use the SD for this very reason.

Most people are concerned about accuracy but research by Zurich University which compared most available meters suggests that none of them are completely accurate.

One very strange thing came out of our testing. The other contributor found that his test solution was 6.7. This figure was supplied by Roche and not by measurement. The tolerance of his test strips quoted on the package was also 6.7 at the low end and this was not involving the meter at all. Our conclusion was that since the meter was prone to reading high the manufacturer played the advantage rule with his tolerances.

There are lots of meters out there but these are the only ones we looked at. (Other meters are available).

For the other insomniacs among you

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=33985

I use accu check expert excellent. I had nano and a few others but this one for me work fine and it interfaces with a computer which is handy for work.

i have the following:

bayer contour next usb
accu-chek nano
accu-chek expert
insulinx
and the wavesense jazz


when i do a test, the results all fall within 10% of each other, which is what the specification requires.

look at a pot of test strips, when using control solution to confirm the meter is working you should fall between:

low: 2.3 to 2.9
normal: 6.7 to 8.4
high: 20.1 to 25.1

this means if you use 2 meters and one gives you 21 and the next gives you 25 then they are both considered to be correct. you will never get 2 meters giving you exactly the same reading, infact even the same meter from the same spot of blood will often give different results.

These meters are intended as a guidance to your level, regardless of whether you are 1.3 or 2.9 you are hypo, likewise regardless of 20.1 or 25.5 are are hyper

my current favourite meter that i use daily is the contour usb next, because of its size, and its compatible with the mac. if ive had a reading i didnt expect then i have checked it against the insulinx an its normally in the right area

I am using the iBGStar after having used the Accucheck cartridge one which I did not like. Love the fact that the iBGStar syncs with my phone reporting so no other record keeping required which I find excellent.


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I use the contour next usb, a lovely little meter, I also bought the insulinx, though you can get both these free from the suppliers (insulinx free to insulin users). Tried a few samples in both and the results were close to each other.

I like the next usb, because the colour display, is nice and clear, you can record carbs and insulin, the software is easy to use, I downloaded the main app off the Bayer web site as it allows to combine two meter onto one profile so the results show as one print out.

The insulix has a insulin calculator to give you a guide to how much to use, not used this feature so can't comment on it, though the speed my meds are changing it might end up going that way. It also allows you to add custom notes like for example test before driving.

I moved to the iBgstar last year and its been really helpful no need for paper as everything is done for you p.s. the technical support is also great


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I use the contour next USB, it's great and quite small with a bright display, I use the contour xt as a backup as it uses the same strips

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hello everyone, Im quite a newbie and have only been type one insulin dependent since 25th october last year. I was given a Freestyle optium monitor from the hospital with all the rest of my kit, and everything was going well. anyway one day I logged on to DiabetesUk and a pop up came up to see if i would qualify for this new monitor, so I just thought what the heck lets just fill this in and see, well it turns out that they said I did and would be sent this new machine. A few days later I had a OneTouch Verio IQ arrive in the post. I waited untill after christmas before trying it out because i didnt wanna mess with things at such an important time. So ive just done one day with just the new machine ( which was easy to set up and use) and a second day where I used both to compair any differences. after breakfast the new one was at 7.6 and the old one 8.2, before lunch the new was 4.8 and old 4.1, before dinner the new 8.1 and the old 9.1, then lastly before bed the new was 8.3 and the old 6.4. I am so confused now at the differences between them both at times and then just .07 difference at another time. I have requested the new lancets and test strips from my gp and I am worried that I should maybe just stick with my old machine. Please can someone help me to work out why these two metors can have such differences and if they are both within normal ranges? sorry if this was rambling a bit but I dont know what to do.
thank you for ur help.

ani xxx

ani010 said:

hello everyone, Im quite a newbie and have only been type one insulin dependent since 25th october last year. I was given a Freestyle optium monitor from the hospital with all the rest of my kit, and everything was going well. anyway one day I logged on to DiabetesUk and a pop up came up to see if i would qualify for this new monitor, so I just thought what the heck lets just fill this in and see, well it turns out that they said I did and would be sent this new machine. A few days later I had a OneTouch Verio IQ arrive in the post. I waited untill after christmas before trying it out because i didnt wanna mess with things at such an important time. So ive just done one day with just the new machine ( which was easy to set up and use) and a second day where I used both to compair any differences. after breakfast the new one was at 7.6 and the old one 8.2, before lunch the new was 4.8 and old 4.1, before dinner the new 8.1 and the old 9.1, then lastly before bed the new was 8.3 and the old 6.4. I am so confused now at the differences between them both at times and then just .07 difference at another time. I have requested the new lancets and test strips from my gp and I am worried that I should maybe just stick with my old machine. Please can someone help me to work out why these two metors can have such differences and if they are both within normal ranges? sorry if this was rambling a bit but I dont know what to do.
thank you for ur help.

ani xxx

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home stetting meters are not 100 percent accurate, they are allowed a 20 percent variation from the tray result

so say the true reading is 10 then the meter can show unto 12, if the true reading is 1 then it can show unto 1.2

they are only meant as a guide to your reading, so general advice is pick 1 meter and stick with it so at least your results are consistent

event the same meter with the same spot of blood can give slightly different results..

pick the meter you like.. and use it... my advice try several.. in most cases the companies will send you free meters as they make their money from the test strips