Type 2 Meter Reliability

I don't think any meters are very much different accuracy-wise. They all follow the same 15% tolerance range 95% of the time (this is the standard they have to reach before they can be marketed)

I use the Codefree. My second meter is an Accu Chek Mobile. I like it because the strips come in a cassette that fits inside the meter, so there is no handling of strips at all. However, the cassettes are very expensive (around £25 for 50) although you can get them cheaper on eBay. Because of this I only use it very occasionally for comparison checks.

You could get your local chemist to do a finger prick test for you .. then you do one straight after and see how different the two readings are. My SD code free meter is reading very high at the moment .. My accu is reading fine .. I am in the 10s on my code free and 5's on my accu .. its a bad batch of test strips .. but my SD meter is quite old now so may just let it slip quietly into retirement

I use the sd codefree because the strip are the cheapest. I used to have another meter but forgot the name of it as have now thrown it away, I got it free but the strips if I remember right, we're 25 pounds for 50 strips and I could not justify paying that amount

Maybe your Diagnosis is incorrect, rather than your Meter.

I have started using the SD Codefree this week after previously using my husbands spare Accu Chek Expert (he's now using a pump so no longer using). I have found the Codefree reads higher than the accu check which I must admit winds me up BUT the difference I suppose is only negligible between 0.2 - 0.6. I have checked using both and sometimes they agree and sometimes they are out so swings and roundabouts. The only reason it winds me up is that i've been used to having fasting readings of 4.8 - 5.3 but now they are 5.5 to 5.9 and now I can't help thinking is that right or is it the machine out. By the way I am 61 and have been low carbing for the last 8 months after having Hba1c result of 43 in Jan and 42 in May, only thing I was told by GP (who is french) was that " your body no like sugar - be careful!" I haven't been officially told i'm pre diabetic but have assumed I am with the figures given. I have now reduced my Carbs even lower so hopefully if I can persuade him to do another test later this year it will have reduced a bit more.

andyfh said:

Hi all.

I try to eat less than 30g carbs a day, add fat to my main meals, don't do puddings much and snack very little, usually sticking to nuts, a boiled egg or a baby-bel if I get the urge. I have a glass of red with my evening meal and eat a piece of cheese or a handful of walnuts as a snack just before going to bed.

I am 14st 6lbs, 6'1" tall and although not a fitness nut, do manage my obligatory 10k steps per day - usually closer to 20k. I also take 3 x 500 Metformin daily.

However, my readings in the mornings are never below 10, but usually 11+ and even when fasting the whole day I can take a reading in the evening and not get much below 9.

I use the SD Codefree meter which I know has a 12-15% tolerance, but I want to purchase another meter that is considered by you good people to be the most reliable, which I will use for the occasional sanity check (no comments please) before I make an appointment with the Doc/nurse and they up my meds.

I could google reviews, but I'd rather trust the opinions of our forum members.

Thanks in advance.

Andy

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There has been excellent input from other posters that I won't repeat. I have been using the Codefree for over 2 years and would shudder to think how much cash it has saved me. I have a spare Codefree, plus another meter of a different brand, but I stick with the one, single Codefree for my fingerprick testing.

As the others have said, all meters can vary, as can all batches of strips, just a bit. All meters and strips run to the same legal requirements.

As T2, especially in the early days, we are looking for trends, and I imagine you'll be looking for a decreasing trend? If you have an oddity you simply can't understand - like x meal usually returns a rereading of y, whereas this reading is double x. Wash your hands, test again, then if it's the same try to work out why that might be, record and move on.

Using more than one reference point doesn't really tell you anything, in my view. The only real reason I have 2 x Codefree is that I reckon at some point I'll tire the original right out, and the other, differently banded, one is for when I'm overseas (I travel for extended periods) and I might run out of strips. In that case, I'd be more likely to be able to find a mainstream provider than the SD brand, otherwise I wouldn't bother.

Good luck with it all. Fingerprick testing is a snapshot at any given time.

All good advice above.

10 is too high. But you know that. So if you eliminate the meter as being the issue, and you eliminate human error (dirty hands, etc), and you are still getting such high readings, then please go to your doc and get them to take it seriously.

How long have you been diagnosed? Any chance you are LADA or T1? Press for the tests, or for increased meds.
Hope you get to the bottom of this.

Thank you Andbreathe, you're right in what you say it is just to track trends and I am looking to decrease mine. Think it's because I'm a bit of a perfectionist I didn't like the higher readings but I'm no longer going to compare as it serves no purpose, stresses me and then probably raises my bg too!

Hi. As others have said, all meters are +/- 15% accuracy. Do bear in mind the possibility of being LADA if you are reasonably slim as your diet seems very good.

If it's any help, I was similar, I could fast and still be disgruntled when it read 9.7. I now read in the 4's fasting and 5's post prandial. I'm on zero meds as metformin doesn't work and Gliclazide is inappropriate.

How I did it was aim for as close to zero carbs as the protein I eat provides enough glucose when metabolised along with gluconeogenesis... and enter nutritional ketosis with fat as my main source. To keep my glycogen store (muscle store) levels under control, simple exercise seems to do it currently.

I'm 30, healthy, good BMI and unfortunate enough to have insulin resistance.

andyfh said:

Thanks everyone for the considered replies. I'll try another batch of strips and if still consistently high, go get a test done at the chemist as a comparison. If no change, I will then go to the DN and push for further testing.

I tend to avoid my Dr as he creeps me out every time I am alone with him in his surgery. I think it's the way he edges towards me wiggling his big fat fingers while asking if I want my prostate checked

Thanks again all.

Andy

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You are always at liberty to request a chaperone during any consultation, and for anything involving removal of clothing or intimate areas I know when I go, I am always offered a chaperone as a matter of course.