Confused about Meter accuracy

[rjnkanwal]

Hi..
I am type 2 diabetic taking metformin 1gm in the morning and 1gm in the evening. I was given Glucorx nexus by the surgery last year and recently I got Bayer Contour Next USB meter. Contour next is showing the readings from 0.5 to 1.0 higher than Glucorx nexus. Reading from yesterday after washing hands, discarding the first drop of blood and taking readings from the same drop at same time.

Contour Next USB Pre meal 7.0 Post meal 8.1
Glucorx Nexus Pre meal 6.0 Post meal 7.0

Now I am confused which one is more accurate. Any advice please.
Thanks
Raj

 

[Daibell]

Hi. In general meters work to an accuracy of +/- 15% so you can't tell which is the most accurate. I'm afraid you just need to stick with one meter if you want to compare readings and use the HBa1C as a more accurate long-term measure.

 

[rjnkanwal]

Thanks Daibell. I just did another reading. I had my breakfast at 10am today. At 13.50 which is close to 4hours, Glucorx shows 4.9 and Contour next usb was 6.3. That is 1.4mmol difference which is more than +/- 15%. Should I compare these meters with the diabetic nurse to see which one is the closest match.

 

[Bluetit1802]

The plus or minus 15% isn't between meters, but which each meter is allowed to vary. So your 4.9 could have been 15% too low, and your 6.3 could have been 15% too high. You will never know! So discard one of the meters, just keep it as an emergency spare, and use the other. All you are doing is looking for trends, up or down. The actual numbers are only relevant to those needing to inject insulin.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

I sometimes use a meter the nurse never gave me. It reads differently to her meter. I did tests and convert the other meter into readings the nurse might like. Otherwise we will be talking fahrenheit and centigrade. Worse still, since the SD reads high I may end up on pills I don't need.

 

[4ratbags]

As posted above just choose one to use as it sounds very confusing trying to use 2 meters at the same time, there is no logic in it.

 

[LinsT]

Hi Raj. You'll find that even if you tested yourself twice with the same meter, you would likely get differing results. (I know as I once started a thread worrying about that exact same issue!).
As has already been said, don't get too hung up on the numbers. The idea is to get a feel for what sorts of food spike you really too high, and to get an overview of how well you're managing your glucose levels. As a type 2 diabetic on metformin, it's the averages over the days and weeks that are relevant, as well as spotting unusually high readings after certain food types. Just pick one of your meters and stick with it. As Bluetit said, just use the other as a spare.

 

[rjnkanwal]

Have been away, so missed these replies. Thanks LinsT and others. I would stick to gluco rx nexus for the time until I run out of test strips then I am going to go for a different monitor, either normal contour next or verio one touch iq.
I find the buttons on contour next usb little difficult for my big fingers. Surprisingly glucorx nexus test strips have become dearer than contour next.

As type one people need more accuracy for there insulin doses, do they get there meter calibrated?