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whole blood /plasma meter reading confusion

S

sallylondon

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This problem may be simple for some of you but I am having trouble getting my head around it - any and all help gratefully received.

I have an Accu-chek Advantage Plus meter. With my new regime of testing before and after meals :clap: I am having to change the vial of strips more often and today a warning notice popped out. (there may have been one on previous times but I haven't read them for years :oops: )

It says: "Blood glucose concentrations may be tested using whole blood or plasma. Your meter therefore displays blood glucose concentrations that refer to plasma although you always apply whole blood to the test strip."

Inside in the detailed leaflet it says: "Please note: If you have previously used test strips that delivered blood glucose concentrations based on whole blood please note your meter now displays results that are approximately 11% higher. Accu-check Advantage Plus test strips in your country previously delivered results which referred to whole blood."

So my questions are:
- Does anyone have the same meter and know how long this has been happening?
- Does it mean that I actually have to deduct 11% from the shown readings to get an accurate reading now?
- Are all meters like this or is it just time to buy a new meter?
- How does your Hba1c relate to meter readings? Is it usually higher or lower than the average of meter readings over the 3 months?
Thanks in advance
Sally
 
Hi Sally Accu Chek swapped over to Plasma reading test strips some time last year I believe, possibly even the year before that, I think they did it to bring them in line with many other meter manufactures and to be honest I didnt really notice any difference.

If your reading is 6.0 then 11% will add .6 mmol/L making 6.6 mmol/L
If your reading is 8.0 then 11% will be .9 mmol/? making 8.9 mmol/L

TBH the meters only work to a tolerance of -+ 20% so it wouldnt make a lot of difference, I'm sure you will soon get used to it, in fact if it happened last year as I believe it did then you will already be used to it :D

HbA1c are usually a little lower than average meter readings but that would obviously depend on how often and when you test, ie if you test always after food then your readings will be higher still as they would not reflect the lower pre meal levels you would be missing. If you only test for fasting levels then it would I imagine have very little in common with your A1c qas fasting levels are affected by so many other factors.

Hope this helps a little :D
 
Thanks Sid

I was hoping that if the results now displayed are higher then I could deduct the 11% :crazy: and get even better results than I have been getting since following the lower carb diet.

If they are not that accurate but just there to give a reasonable indication then I will just keep this meter and hope for a lovely surprise with my next HbA1c.

Never mind, onward and downward (I hope)
Sally
 
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