My Wavesense Jazz meter was delivered last evening, well a pair of them bought on the cheap because the kits were long out of date with the included test strips and control solution - hence the cheap, but fine to play about with for now whilst I get my head around it and waiting for delivery of in date items.....
Two things I am not clear on...
1. A 'normal' Control Solution is included, but I don't understand the actual purpose. The instructions say how to use it, but not when/why. The test strip container says the 'normal' solution should produce a result on the meter of between 5.8 and 8.8 - they produce results of around 7.2 mmol/L near mid range. I would expect the Control Solution to be carefully calibrated to provide a precise reference reading, rather than a wide range of 3mmol/L. All it really proves is the unit is sort of working.
2. I have tested it in earnest a few times, just to get the hang of it, with the long out of date strips. The results are reasonably consistent, though I fancy higher than actual. How crucial are these use by dates on the strips?
As already said, I don't desperately need to keep a close eye on my glucose, I am right at the bottom end of the diabetic range/ marginal. I just fancied having a bit of rough feedback of progress at home.
On a different note - I thought I might be struggling to self inflict injury with the lance. Accidental cuts and bruises never much bother me, but inflicting injury deliberately... In fact it was barely noticeable when fired.