Varying BG Meter Readings - How??!!

[alfietom]

Our newly Diagnosed son has had fun ordering a selection of 'Free' BG Meters via the diabetes.co.uk Facebook links to try and find one he likes, that is quick and easy to use and suits his lifestyle .

We have been trying each one and comparing results and are a bit concerned by the different readings we get from the same finger prick. We have found that some can differ as much as one whole unit, with most varying about 0.4

Even 2 models of the same tester vary by 0.4....this is the difference between a Hypo or a normal reading.

Would like to know your thoughts and experience on this subject.
Thanks

 

[luceeloo]

The machines are manufactured to a certain degree of accuracy, none will ever be 100% accurate all of the time.
I spoke to my DSN about varying readings on my monitors and she explained that a blood glucose monitor is a guide but does not offer a precise reading.
I'm sure I read on this forum that there's +/- 10% accuracy.

 

[alvern]

Hi there, most meters are claimed to be +/- 20%. They are only a guide.

 

[Thommothebear]

Yep, I have a number of meters too, the one that seems to be most accurate and correlates well to my Hba1c is the freestyle, the least accurate is the IBGstar which, frankly, is all over the place which is why I rarely use it. Reading comparisons today from the freestyle gave 4.9 which is what I would expect following my low carb intake and heavy exercise schedule), while the iBGstar gave me 7.9 one minute later.

Both meters checked with control solutions and according to the tests, in range. I like the fact that the freestyle has two solutions for testing high and low.

 

[wizardinblack]

Yes I would just stick to one machine and use only that one. I have pricked my finger and tested, then tested a different finger or a different hand straight after and had a pretty big result difference too. I don't think 0.4 of a reading is going to make much difference in regards to a low or not.