Meter inconsistencies

[pixelgirl]

Well my bsugars have been running high for a few days. I have a problem though now i think with my meter and back up meter. My primary meter is one touch ultra and back up is Reli-on wal mart meter. Just checked my sugars and the one touch shows 302 but my reli on shows 375!!:( So, that said, which one would be accurate and btw i put brand new batteries in each so that's not it. Thank you for your help everyone i feel horrible but know it's got to be better soon. I have also not ate hardly anything today cause of my numbers.

[fgummett]

I sometimes think we need meters that read like this:

http://www.diabetessupport.ns.ca/images/gluc.gif

Sorry you are having a bad few days. :( I'll leave to to the Type 1 experts to suggest remedies for the high BG and not eating (although I suggest you should eat and correct with insulin).

My feeling would be to go with the One Touch over the Wal-Mart meter. As far as I understand, there should be only about a 15% discrepancy allowed between meter readings and actual BG... which is too much in my view but anyway you clearly are running high. I'd correct for the 302 and test again to see what to do next.

[Scrabblechick]

Most meters are less accurate the higher you go, and all of them are required to be within 20 percent of the actual BG, plus or minus. The readings you got are actually within an acceptable spread in that range, believe it or not. I'd do one more test on your Ultra and see how close the numbers are and if they are within about 10 points of each other, go with that number.

As Frank said, I'll let the Type I folks take this one on how to help you best get your BG down. I hope you get this worked out and feel a lot better, soon!

[morrisma]

Well, sadly the numbers you got COULD be within spec if you go by a +-20% and choose as correct, a number in the middle.

That said, the usual suspects are:

clean hands, fingers, arms

unusual conditions like high humidity (testing in the bathroom after a 30 minute shower is probably not the most ideal condition)

the location where you test could affect the readings as well. For the most accurate test, use both meters and the same finger stick drop of blood.

[JediSkipdogg]

Let's make it more confusing....check out my old post on Meter Comparisons (http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/monitoring/11696-blood-glucose-meter-comparison.html) then come back here and tell me which one you trust the most. Meter precision/accuracy is terrible and until we are willing to pay more for an already overpriced item we won't get anything better.

[bryan42]

Ive recently got a 30 point difference between ultra and ultra mini! :mad:

[Scrabblechick]

I keep my meter in the den because of the humidity factor, actually. I also try not ever to leave it in the car or anywhere it might be exposed to extremes of heat or cold. If I've had it in the car, for some reason, I always give it about 30 minutes to return to room temp before I test. I think I get more precise results that way. I think the True Track meters are a little temp sensitive.

But I digress. Mike has some good advice for you!

[Real4]

As far as I understand, there should be only about a 15% discrepancy allowed between meter readings and actual BG... which is too much in my view

I bet you want the increased accuracy with a meter that 1) cost no more, 2) is just as fast, 3) uses as little blood and 4) uses as inexpensive strips? Good luck.

I believe there is a meter on the market that meets none of those criteria but is much more accurate, and of course, the same can be said for a full blown blood test at a doctor's office or lab.

[JediSkipdogg]

Ive recently got a 30 point difference between ultra and ultra mini! :mad:

That's what drives me nuts even more when the same blood is used on the same type of strip and gives you different readings. It would seem that the same line of meters would be very close however that's not the case as my above link shows.

Now, if I can figure out how to do 15 meters at once with one blood sample I'll do that, although I may need a donation of some strips for a few meters I have.

[fgummett]

I bet you want the increased accuracy with a meter that 1) cost no more, 2) is just as fast, 3) uses as little blood and 4) uses as inexpensive strips? Good luck.

I believe there is a meter on the market that meets none of those criteria but is much more accurate, and of course, the same can be said for a full blown blood test at a doctor's office or lab.The trouble is if you are basing fast acting corrective insulin doses on your meter reading, being out by 20% or even 15% is really too much. And to answer your question, I would indeed be willing to pay more and for the process to be more complex/time-consuming if it meant increased accuracy.

[morrisma]

Even if you assume a 15% accuracy:
302 * 15% = 45 rounded down to nearest whole number
375 * 15% = 56 rounded down to nearest whole number

so 302 is really a range of 257 - 347
and 375 is really a range of 319 - 431

That leaves the range of 319 to 347 as overlap where both meters agree within 15%. Pretty bad but sadly what we live with.

In any case, pixelgirl, you need some insulin! :D

[pixelgirl]

I really thank all of you so much for the help i read and re-read all your replies. Just now tested with the one touch and reads 245. Now i was hurting actually cause i was so hungry, so just now ate peanut butter sandwich (1 piece of bread) only and took 1 unit of humalog. Before that I had taken 2.5 units of humalog @ 12:52 pm and it is now 2:45 pm. Hopefully will come down more I will report more and hopefully with better news :)

[Emm]

Glad to hear you've eaten - if you starve yourself your BG will only go UP! The best thing to do in that situation is to eat something free of carbs.

Meters are really so unreliable, it drives me nuts. The other day I had the family over for dinner and my sisters boyfriend wanted to be tested, he's always tired after he eats - not exactly full of symptoms, but worth checking on. So approximately 2 hours after dinner when my meter came out we did a massive test-fest on everyone.

David first tested at 8mmol, then when we double checked he was 5.7. So we triple checked, and he was over 9, and then a 4th check had him at 6.7. Those results are so totally different and really give us no idea of whether he could be diabetic or not! I'd have worried about the 9, but the 5.7 is perfect. The other two are a little high for a non-diabetic, but acceptable considering the super high carb tea we had, and the glass of coke he still had in his hand.

Pathetic isn't it? Meters really worry me - I make decisions every day based on what my meter says. I may take more insulin or eat something to balance out my blood sugar... and what happens when I do that when my meter's been wrong? NO wonder we get surprise highs and lows.

I would LOVE to see a really accurate meter. I don't care if it's big, bulky, takes 30 seconds to count down... I want accuracy!!

[pixelgirl]

oh yes emm it drives me nuts. I just had a thought.... do you all think that me sitting my insulin bottle on top of my microwave would have warmed it up enough to make it go bad? I just sit it on there today but now remember that i cooked for 10 mins in micro - ugh if it's bad it was a new bottle :( btw my blood sugar is now 313

[BEdmonson85]

I must say, I use a One Touch Ultra Smart and I am very pleased at the moment. I have never really had any problems with it ( have had it for about a year). I just tested twice since i read this to see for myself. 1st test read 127. 2nd 126. Not bad at all, imo :)