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'Low' with regular reading in background, "treated," then was high

22nw22

22nw22

Well-Known Member
Messages
382
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi I am here to explain what happened and how to prevent it happening to YOU! Let's go.
So, my meter read LO of the test strip and I was feeling NO symptoms - one of the clues it was a fake but didn't know it was at the time. I slept on Mum's bed but luckily I was just in case it was REAL. My mum asked whether I wanted the Glucogel then Lucozade or just Lucozade and I chose JUST Lucozade (In case I'd get HI for real). Some minutes later the blood was read at 17.4 - ANOTHER clue that a regular reading was behind LO. Checked again and we DISCOVERED THE TRUTH! It was 19.0 and the LO was in fact, a regular reading. So, let's get right into how to tell BEFORE going through with treatment.
If you test your sugar and it comes up low or high - it applies with Highs but treatment is different to lows - and you suspect it is a fake, do another reading. It is says a regular reading on the 2nd test, then that was a faulty strip. If it says a similar reading then treat it like you normally would - or if still suspicious keep checking.
I don't want YOU going through what I went through that night!
 
nathanw777 said:
Hi I am here to explain what happened and how to prevent it happening to YOU! Let's go.
So, my meter read LO of the test strip and I was feeling NO symptoms - one of the clues it was a fake but didn't know it was at the time. I slept on Mum's bed but luckily I was just in case it was REAL. My mum asked whether I wanted the Glucogel then Lucozade or just Lucozade and I chose JUST Lucozade (In case I'd get HI for real). Some minutes later the blood was read at 17.4 - ANOTHER clue that a regular reading was behind LO. Checked again and we DISCOVERED THE TRUTH! It was 19.0 and the LO was in fact, a regular reading. So, let's get right into how to tell BEFORE going through with treatment.
If you test your sugar and it comes up low or high - it applies with Highs but treatment is different to lows - and you suspect it is a fake, do another reading. It is says a regular reading on the 2nd test, then that was a faulty strip. If it says a similar reading then treat it like you normally would - or if still suspicious keep checking.
I don't want YOU going through what I went through that night!
Click to expand...

Hi @nathanw777 ,

You seem like an astute guy!
Just exploring other "variants" that could have been thrown into the mix excluding the "faulty strip. (& dare I say it? Hypo unawareness..)
How long aproximately after the Lucozade did you test?
Did you wash your hands after handling the Drink.?
Batteries on your meter. How old are they? Sometimes when batteries drain the power distribution can throw a "wobbler?"

I do empathise that it's annoying when the meter throws a curve ball like that...
 
im not sure as if to most, however, the meter I use doesn't have batteries. It's the Libre
 
If you get an odd Libre reading always check with a finger test.
 
I am a T2D and not insulin dependent, but in the last 2 years I have had a couple of suspect batches of strips, and one obvious forgery with re-badged out-of-date strips. These all came from a recognised pharmacy, but they refused to replace them or send them back to the manufacturer. So this is a problem I have had, and I get round it by using 2 different meters in parallel testing, and keep an excel spreadsheet to log my results, and use this to check for sudden jumps in either trace that indicates a problem with either a meter (e.g. a battery problem) or a new batch of strips.

My GP has signed me up for strips on scrip, and I self fund the second meter privately. I have not used the Libre meter, so there may be specific causes for misreadings that are unique to its technology. The advice to finger prick as a backup sounds a good idea, and is cheaper if only used occasionally for checking suspect results.
 
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