Guest guest Posted June 1, 2003 Report Share Posted June 1, 2003 On Saturday, May 31, 2003, at 07:17 AM, Hlmn@... wrote: > Are you washing your hands before testing. I don't ask because of > germs, but because you can have food and other residue that will cause > significant errors? > IMHO, a meter that you don't have confidence in its accuracy is almost > worse than none. > Many meters can be gotten with no cost after rebates. It may be worth > your while to get a better one. Look for ads in Diabetes magazines or > the internet. Well , medicaid won't pay for the stuff quite yet, until it gets more severe. My earlier years of hypoglycemia didn't count either. only severe diabetes. I have this brand of meter twice, both years apart. i used it before, and the low readings like 23 did indeed correspond to feeling really cruddy, but this time I am finding that I get the symptoms I think of as low blood sugar but the readings are in the 80's to even 100-teens! this may not be inaccurate, after all the doc said my body appears to be prediabetic, but it leaves me wondering if there is some reason that I am getting these symptoms at higher amounts than before, or if they come from another health condition (and there may be other things going on but have to find and treat each thing one at a time....) New to diabetes and Puzzling things out.... -Sherri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 1, 2003 Report Share Posted June 1, 2003 On Saturday, May 31, 2003, at 07:17 AM, Hlmn@... wrote: > Are you washing your hands before testing. I don't ask because of > germs, but because you can have food and other residue that will cause > significant errors? > IMHO, a meter that you don't have confidence in its accuracy is almost > worse than none. > Many meters can be gotten with no cost after rebates. It may be worth > your while to get a better one. Look for ads in Diabetes magazines or > the internet. Well , medicaid won't pay for the stuff quite yet, until it gets more severe. My earlier years of hypoglycemia didn't count either. only severe diabetes. I have this brand of meter twice, both years apart. i used it before, and the low readings like 23 did indeed correspond to feeling really cruddy, but this time I am finding that I get the symptoms I think of as low blood sugar but the readings are in the 80's to even 100-teens! this may not be inaccurate, after all the doc said my body appears to be prediabetic, but it leaves me wondering if there is some reason that I am getting these symptoms at higher amounts than before, or if they come from another health condition (and there may be other things going on but have to find and treat each thing one at a time....) New to diabetes and Puzzling things out.... -Sherri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 1, 2003 Report Share Posted June 1, 2003 At 08:08 PM 6/1/2003, Sherri wrote: >I have this brand of meter twice, both years apart. i used it before, >and the low readings like 23 did indeed correspond to feeling really >cruddy, but this time I am finding that I get the symptoms I think of >as low blood sugar but the readings are in the 80's to even 100-teens! > >this may not be inaccurate, after all the doc said my body appears to >be prediabetic, but it leaves me wondering if there is some reason that >I am getting these symptoms at higher amounts than before, or if they >come from another health condition (and there may be other things going >on but have to find and treat each thing one at a time....) Hi Sherri, The recommended method of verifying the accuracy of your meter is to take it with you to the doctor when a glucose test is going to be performed there. Right after they draw the blood for your " office " test, poke your finger and test with your meter. If your results are with + or - 20% of the lab results, your meter is considered accurate. An example: if the lab comes back and says your glucose level was 100 mg/dl, your meter would be considered accurate if your reading was between 80 & 120 mg/dl. One other factor to be considered is the type of meter you are using. If your meter is calibrated for " plasma " readings, your results can be compared directly with the lab's results. If your meter is an older style that is " whole blood " calibrated, your reading will automatically be about 12% lower than the lab results. This 12% difference means that your meter is accurate if your reading was between 70 & 106 mg/dl. A question I have is, which meter are you using? I don't want to overdo it here... ) If you need more info, just ask. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 2, 2003 Report Share Posted June 2, 2003 On Monday, June 2, 2003, at 03:42 AM, diabetes_int wrote: > > One other factor to be considered is the type of meter you are using. > If > your meter is calibrated for " plasma " readings, your results can be > compared directly with the lab's results. If your meter is an older > style > that is " whole blood " calibrated, your reading will automatically be > about > 12% lower than the lab results. This 12% difference means that your > meter > is accurate if your reading was between 70 & 106 mg/dl. > > A question I have is, which meter are you using? > Hmm it sold for $8.80 and it is labeled as whole blood reader. Its the Relion models sold at Walmart. What meters are recommended by folks here for cheap cost of strips and reliable readings? -Sherri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 2, 2003 Report Share Posted June 2, 2003 On Monday, June 2, 2003, at 03:42 AM, diabetes_int wrote: > > One other factor to be considered is the type of meter you are using. > If > your meter is calibrated for " plasma " readings, your results can be > compared directly with the lab's results. If your meter is an older > style > that is " whole blood " calibrated, your reading will automatically be > about > 12% lower than the lab results. This 12% difference means that your > meter > is accurate if your reading was between 70 & 106 mg/dl. > > A question I have is, which meter are you using? > Hmm it sold for $8.80 and it is labeled as whole blood reader. Its the Relion models sold at Walmart. What meters are recommended by folks here for cheap cost of strips and reliable readings? -Sherri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 2, 2003 Report Share Posted June 2, 2003 The Hamburgs wrote: > Hmm it sold for $8.80 and it is labeled as whole blood reader. Its the > Relion models sold at Walmart. > > What meters are recommended by folks here for cheap cost of strips and > reliable readings? > -Sherri Sherri, " Whole-blood " calibration (such as yours) will have readings " about " 12% less than " Plasma-calibrated " readings. Plasma readings are comparable to the results you get from your lab. Using a " whole-blood " meter is not a problem as long as you understand what the results mean and can relate them to your situation, i.e. feeling hypo, etc. I have been using an Accu-Chek " Advantage " now for over 5 years. In fact, I have two, one for home & one for work. When I have checked them together, they seem to read within +/- 5mg/dl of each other and +/- 5mg/dl from my Dr's lab. That's pretty good accuracy for something that the manufacturer specs at +/-15%. They both give good, repeatable results. Don't know about the cost of the strips as my insurance covers them (with co-pay). It is my understanding that for the major brands the cost of the strips is pretty close. It is the cheaper ones that have cheaper strips (I think, hearsay only). I have also heard good reports on the One-Touch " Ultra " . Now, regardless of the cost, if your meter isn't giving accurate & reliable results that you can trust, then it just isn't doing its job. It may be better to test a little less often (to keep the cost down) with a better meter that you can rely on. Just MHO, of course. , T2, dx'ed 5/98, controlling with LC, average bg 100mg/dl, last HbA1c 5.6% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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