[Gizmo]

My readings for the last 2 months range from 150 to 210, But my a1c was low
6.3.
My doc says I have had some very low readings in the 40's .

So I have been testing my bs about ten times. Still High.

I washed My hands with hot water boy did the reading go down.

So I ask what up now ?????????????????????????

I need some help now !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Penny]

Hi Gizmo, I had that happen. The doctor suggested I test during the night. Turned out I was having some serious lows during the night. I fixed it by having a bedtime snack, sort of.

[xMenace]

Still have that calibrating fluid that comes with your tester? You may want to give it a try.

[sviskan]

The numbers on my meter never correspond to the A1c result. According to the meter I should have a higher A1c. My doctor says that it is probably because I tend to test when I am feeling high, and when I think about it he is right. I only test like half of the time when I am low, because I know for sure that I am low; I dont test often when I am feeling great, because that usually means my levels are normal; but when I am high I test like every 15-30 minutes until I get back to normal.

[Cyborg]

I use alcohol swabs to clean my fingers before testing.

[Funnygrl]

Originally Posted by Cyborg

I use alcohol swabs to clean my fingers before testing.

Your poor fingers must be so dry. There's really no benefit of alcohol over plain old soap and water, plus the alcohol can skew results.

[BlueSky]

My HBA1c is usually pretty close to what the meter average suggests it should be. I don't normally test within 2 hours of eating and miss the post-prandial spikes, which lowers the meter average. But then I dont test while I sleep either (not usually, anyway ). Because BG is below average at this time, missing these readings increases the average. The last HBA1c was 6.3%, but the meter average of 6.9mmol/l corresponds to an HBA1c of 6.6%.

[sviskan]

I found another potential reason for the diffence between my A1c and my home readings. Last night I compared readings on my usual meter to readings on a meter from another company and there was a huge difference. My usual meter said 151 and the other meter only said 130!

I have thought about it, and I will keep my usual meter. I would rather have a surprisingly low A1c than a surprisingly high A1c.

[seacomp]

Originally Posted by sviskan

My usual meter said 151 and the other meter only said 130!

That's is not unusual, rather it represents close agreement. The meters are just not that accurate. Consider readings within 20% of each other to be the same.
The meters could be made more accurate but that would mean:
1) more blood is needed,
2) the time to get a result would be greater, and
3) the strips would cost even more.
So, as important as accuracy is, the market goes with faster, easier, cheaper.

[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by sviskan

I have thought about it, and I will keep my usual meter. I would rather have a surprisingly low A1c than a surprisingly high A1c.

Are you dosing insulin based on bad meter readings?

[mark-TN]

There are many valid reasons why A1c does not always compare with glucose meter averages. One very important reason may be in the design of the meter itself. When it comes to home blood glucose meters there is a huge difference between the Precision of the instrument and the Accuracy of the instrument.

The following article explains why Precision is much more important than Accuracy: Quality Control for Blood Glucose Monitoring.

Mark

[sviskan]

I think that it is stupid that some meters in general test higher than others; it is very confusing. Why do companies not calibrate the meters to one and the same result. A 20 point difference is way too much. (Yes, I have compared the meters a couple of times more).

I think it is really important for diabetics to stick to one meter and base insulin dosage on that meter only.


Ok, I need to vent.

I hate the fact that companies, whos only concern is money, have a say in how I feel. Companies work together would you. Please!

I would rather have good strips than cheap strips (of course amount of blood, time and cost should be considered, but not at all costs! (and for me 20 points is a fairly high cost)).

Where I live money for things like strips and medicine is shared trough the whole population, so I dont have to worry about getting the cheapest strip I can find. Here we dont dump even more concerns on those that for some unknown and completely not self conflicted reason got a chronic disease. Every citizen by law pays a certain amount of money each month, sick or not; And no one complains.