From: gheavyg [#1]
3 Jan 11:56
To: ALL
Hi, I am Type 2 and have just recently started testing my fasting blood sugar. I tested this morning and had a 297 which I of course realize is high.
Out of curiosity I tested again three times at 30 second intervals and got 357,309, and 281. All of these are high also but my main concern is why such a wide spread in the results in such a short period of time.
I am using a Bayer Contour which is less than two weeks old, has a fresh battery and tested 126 with control solution which falls exactly between the recommended 108-150 range.
Any suggestions?
From: toneylee in VA (TONEYLEE) [#2]
3 Jan 18:02
To: gheavyg [#1] 4 Jan 10:18
Hi and welcome.
Well, the sad news is that meters aren't always that accurate. I realize your disparate readings are a bit excessive, but I think a 20% variation in re-tests is not unusual. And with high readings, I have read that the differences are worse. Not always, but commonly. Of course, even a new meter can be faulty. But maybe you are just seeing the frustrating fact that meters aren't that "precise and consistent."
Here is a Diabetes Monitor article that addresses the issue:
http://www.diabetesmonitor.com/m72.htm.
OK, I can't resist: Yes, those numbers are too high. Did you do better the rest of the day? :)
From: Geri in Co:Byetta(3-06) (GERI) [#3]
4 Jan 9:20
To: gheavyg [#1] 4 Jan 10:18
Welcome.
As Toney says our personal meters are considered to be accurate and still be off by 20%. Your numbers are within that 20% altho the 357 is at the very top of the 20%.
About 6 mos ago my numbers were running real high but I didn't think they should be in that range and after calibrating the machine it seemed the meter was not right. Well they sent me a new meter(mine was 3 yrs old) and the numbers were still off. Turned out the strips were the problem so they sent me new ones and I sent the bad strips back to them. The new strips showed that my numbers were down where they should have been all along.
Meters are not suppose to be exact but to give us an idea of how we are doing. Hope this helps.