Meter accuracy

Tink6366 said:

Hi Everyone,

Just wondering if anyone else has had a similar issue.

At 11.30am i had a brunch later at 1.25pm my BS reading was 8.1.

I haven’t eaten anything this afternoon so while trying to decide what to eat for tea, i thought i’d check my BS to help me decide. The reading was 15 i nearly fell off my chair (i panicked) and took another reading.

2nd reading 11.9
I washed my hands as i had forgotten
3rd reading 8.1 (similar to earlier, feeling better. I decided to take a fourth reading for consistency to make sure it was correct).
4th reading 7.1
5th -6.7
6th - 7.5
7th - 6.4

Now i know the info on the internets says they have to be provide an accurate reading 95% of the time. But im now worried. The meter I’ve only had a week isn’t working properly.

Should i contact the supplier to discuss the issue??

If anyone can offer me words of wisdom on the matter i’d be grateful.

My stomach is summersaulting at the thought its inaccurate.

Click to expand...

It only has to be +/- 15% accurate 95% of the time, so all your later readings are the same.

Test solution, available from the manufacturer (and sometimes included in the kit) is the only way to test your meter. It’s worthwhile getting some and testing now and then, especially if you get a dodgy reading. The advice for my meter is to test each time you open a new pack of strips. I don’t do that, but I do check occasionally.

edit to add - given the nature of the meters, test solution will provide a result within a range of values as specified on the tub of strips, it’s not an absolute thing.

I've just read the leaflet that comes with my test strips, and I'm somewhat alarmed as to the quoted accuracy.

At 5.55 mmol/L or below, it claims that 100% of readings are within 0.83 mmol/L of the true reading (so a true 5 could read as high 5.8 or as low as 4.2.) Any higher than 5.55 mmol/L, and it claims that only 97.4% are within 15% of the true result. So 39 out of 40 tests, a true 6 could show anywhere between 5.1 and 6.9, and in the other 1 out of 40, the error margin can be even higher.

This could explain why I was able to test 3 times in quick succession and get 8.5, 9.0 and 7.5 respectively, a few days ago. With 15% margin for error in each direction, a true 8 could read anywhere between 6.8 and 9.2.

These kinds of figures really don't build confidence. I know mine is one of the cheapest meters around for supplies (I'm paying £10.50 per 50 strips) but I think I'd be willing to pay more for greater accuracy. Do other brands do better? (GlucoRx-Q, by the way.)

I have Contour next ONE. It’s an all singing and dancing checker that I can connect to my iPhone and keep a record. My last actual blood test gave a reading of 65 from 83. My contour is giving me readings of 9, 11, and 12? My nurse said the monitor may take some time to catch up?

I've always worked on the basis that my glucose levels aren't fixed otherwise I'd not see the effects food etc have on them over time, so I'd expect to see some slight changes between repetitive tests or from different fingers due to my blood circulating, in addition to any variations due to specified accuracy ranges of a meter. IMO it's quite natural and not generally a meter fault.

For what it's worth, I tend to look for patterns and trends rather than absolute figures. Larger variations I'd definitely ask myself why.