Re: Test Strips?

January 7, 2006

I don't know about " Freestyle " strips, but I'm using strips with my

Accu-Chek Advantage that are over a year past their expiration date & they

check OK

both with the control solutions & against my Dr's lab.

Now, there's some opinion that even if out-of-date strips test ok at normal

levels that they may have serious errors at both hi & lo ends of the range. I

haven't tested that thesis because my bg's are pretty near the middle of the

normal range & I'm satisfied that the readings I'm getting are accurate

enough & with the cost of strips, I'm not going to waste any.

All that may be different with your Freestyle, so if you want to know,

you'll have to use contol solutions and/or check against your lab the next time

you have some tests done.

Anyway that's my experience. A sample of one!

*****************************************

, T2, dx'ed 4/98 with Fasting bg 350mg/dl & HbA1c 15.5%

Controlling until last month with LC-D & very little E

Average Fasting bg 105mg/dl, Last HbA1c 6.0%

7+ Year Historical HbA1c 5.6%-6.0%

Now Experimenting with Metformin, Glyburide & " Merlot Therapy " for HbA1c

nearer 5.0%

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I'd like to ask if anyone knows how long test strips remain good. I have

an unopened container of FreeStyle test strips from 2003. Does anyone know

if the results would be reliable or if the strips are outdated?

Palmer

January 8, 2006

In a message dated 1/8/2006 11:44:45 AM Eastern Standard Time,

gretchen@... writes:

> This whole disease is pretty vile

Yes, but Vile with its anagrams of Evil, Veil, Live, and Levi, is good for

crossword puzzles.

P

January 8, 2006

Any food, drug, or test strip doesn't remain 100% wonderful until the

expiration date and then suddenly become toxic/ineffective.

They slowly lose potency. The expiration date is simply a date at which the

manufacturer feels they're still of sufficient, even if not best, quality;

in the case of test strips that would mean plus or minus 20%. But fresher

strips might be accurate to plus or minus 5%. And strips a couple of months

beyond expiration might be plus or minus 25% or 30% or 50%.

It all depends on how you keep things. Vegetables in a clean crisper drawer

will last longer than veggies left out in the hot sun. Same with film or

drugs. It also depends on how the products were treated before you got them,

which you can't know or control.

The best way to check would be to run a control solution on the questionable

strips or to compare an old strip with a new strip.

Gretchen

January 8, 2006

If you get an Rx for new test strips and the number on the viles is the same as

the one you already had the last time, do you still need to redo the calibrating

for the meter? Just curious.

I just did a test on myself a while ago - said 122 - which I didn't believe

since I'm getting used to what I eat, and my numbers and that seemed high. So I

recalibrated (the vial was new but from the same Rx and it was okay and within

range) - did another BS test but used a different finger - came out to 106

(which was more like it). Sort of frustrating when they are so different

sometimes. This is the first time I've retested my numbers at the same time

since I've been diagnosed. Interesting and sort of annoying they can be this

far off. So you can get a 140 reading after a meal and feel okay with it, when

it actually could be 160 or more . . . . . . argh.

Sandy

January 8, 2006

> If you get an Rx for new test strips and the number on the viles

This whole disease is pretty vile. .