Meter Questions

[lewisjl]

I am using a ReliOn Ultima meter and feel like sometimes I get strange readings. I have replaced the battery very recently to rule that out. Please don't laugh at my details - I just want to make sure I am doing this right. I wash my hands with soap and water, load the lancet, tear open the strip & load it in the meter, prick my finger, sqeeze a little, and then touch the drop to the strip for the channel to fill up. This morning, I only got about 1/2 the drop of blood on the strip and then had to squeeze my finger again & add another drop. I did this very quickly, but my FBG reading was 74, which I knew was not right. I immediately retested with a new lancet and new strip...the blood loaded just right & my reading was 107 (which is probably more accurate). Does this mean that anytime I don't get the full drop on the strip that I need to repeat to get an accurate reading? If there are instances when I can't wash my hands first, should I just not bother to test (cause it would not be accurate)?

I also would like some input on meters that you senior members of the forum like.

[morrisma]

First, good for you on taking testing seriously. It is the best tool (after insulin) to keep you healthy.

The lancet, in my opinion is quite re-usable. I change mine less than once per month.

The hand washing is only really important if your hands are dirty. You don't want any crud on the skin surface to have access to your bloodstream as much as, and maybe more, than you don't want to contaminate the blood sample. If you have recently eaten, wash the food off certainly.

As for the change in readings, if you accept the +- 20% accuracy, 20% of 107 is 21.4 and 20% of 74 is 14.8. Those are large enough expected errors to overlap in the middle between 85.8 and 88.8. It is odd to see readings both high and low in the same batch of strips however.

I use a freestyle lite meter which uses a very small drop of blood and allows me to take the sample on my forearm. That means less washing issues and less re-filling the blood sample capillary. Also, you could have reduced the accuracy by squeezing for more blood. I have heard that but I have no references on it.

Keep on testing and look for a meter that uses less blood and does not require samples strictly from finger tips. There are usually free deals going on all the time.
Mike

[lewisjl]

From a statistical perspective, 20% variance is HUGE. There is quite a difference between a FBG of 74 and 107, right? Am I being naive to ask is there anything more accurate?

[Granny Shanny]

From a statistical perspective, 20% variance is HUGE. There is quite a difference between a FBG of 74 and 107, right? Am I being naive to ask is there anything more accurate?

You aren't being naive . . . I think better accuracy can be had for a price. Meters are often freebies, given away with a limited number of strips. Then you get to keep buying their strips for an outlandish price.

There's a post in another thread around here someplace, that names a more accurate (and higher-priced) meter, but I can't find it. Perhaps whoever posted that will notice & respond here.

[cyberus]

From a statistical perspective, 20% variance is HUGE. There is quite a difference between a FBG of 74 and 107, right? Am I being naive to ask is there anything more accurate?

Thats the FDA allowance for home meters so that what the manufacturers build them to.
There is talk about a tighter requirement since the standard is old but given the size of Bayer/Roche etcs lobbyist corps I'm not holding my breath

[ShottleBop]

When this question has been raised before, folks report different experiences with different meters--some folks have found one brand to be less consistent than others they have tried, and other folks have found THAT brand to be less consistent than one or more of the meters that the first person didn't like. Whether the meter itself (as opposed to the entire brand generally) is a "lemon", and the conditions under which a particular batch of strips was manufactured, shipped, and stored, can affect your experience.

Personally, I have Accu-Chek Avivas (3 of them--one at home (as a backup), one at the office (as a backup), and the one I use all the time. I have found them to correspond pretty closely to my lab results (i.e., based on testing myself right after having blood drawn for a fasting BG), and to give consistent readings among themselves. (Last night, I left my everyday meter in the office, and had to use my home backup. This morning, I got to the office, and used my everyday meter for my two-hour post-breakfast test. It came up 105. To spot-check the readings I got last night from my backup, I tested using my backup as well; it came up 104.)

Not everyone reports the same experience with Accu-Chek Avivas, however, and Jenny Ruhl (author of the "Diabetes Update" blog and of "Blood Sugar 101") found that hers read high enough over her "true" readings to create a significant risk for hypos. (I.e., she was running low, and her Accu-Chek was reporting a higher BG, in her safe range.)

[cyberus]

Personally I use a Accu-chek Compact plus .. the readings are consistent with my doctors office and the avg readings are pretty close to my a1c so it works for me .. YMMV
That being said as a type 2 my issue is high bgl, never had a low so variances aren't an issue.
I would say however that if I were looking for a new meter and I was worried about lows I would look for one that has a control solution and control low range on the strip container, IMHO if they have a control solution and acceptable range for the zone I'm working in that is better than one that has a test way above my zone.

[butterflykisses]

The truth is, all of the meters out there tend to have issues like what you described. Although they're supposed to be within 20% +/- that is "on average". There will be times when they are way off...with no apparent reason. I've used Freestyle, OneTouch, Aviva, Compact, Contour and some I can't remember, and all of them have made me raise an eyebrow. I'm not so sure that the price really has much to do with it. As already pointed out, one persons experience with a meter might not be the same as the next. Some people love OneTouch and will hate Accu-Chek or love Bayer and hate Freestyle. Some report they love Relion, some hate it.:confused: YMMV

Excessive squeezing to get more blood is not a good idea because the squeezing causes other fluids to contaminate the sample, or so I've been told. I've read, in a pinch without a way to wash your hands, licking and wiping is acceptable. :eek:

[Granny Shanny]

Excessive squeezing to get more blood is not a good idea because the squeezing causes other fluids to contaminate the sample, or so I've been told. I've read, in a pinch without a way to wash your hands, licking and wiping is acceptable. :eek:

True. Squeezing causes other tissue fluids to ooze into the blood sample - diluting it.

[rededmcm]

The Relion Micro meter requires a much smaller blood drop
than Ultima-very easy to use.
Eddie

[lewisjl]

This is why I asked!! Thanks for all the great input. I still say +-20% is ridiculus, but I guess I am preaching to the choir.

[ShottleBop]

I had to go to the Rite-Aid today for something and, on a whim, decided to check out their diabetes monitors. They are now carrying the WaveSense Presto for $34.99, with a $35 mail-in-rebate. (Of course, they didn't have any test strips for it, so I asked them to order some for me, and said I'd be in tomorrow to pick up the whole thing. Looks like they charge somewhere in the $30 range for 50 test strips. I want to see if the thing is as accurate as they claim--I know at least one person has posted here that he's been very happy with his WaveSense.)