Accu Check Monitors

I have been recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and I am using an accu check monitor. Tonight I got a reading of 208 then retook it and got a reading of 318 and tried a third time and got 140. Does anyone have any problems with these monitors?? Do not know which is correct. Any advice out there???

(I have switched your post to black and white because typing in red can cause members with epilepsy to have a seizure.~Jeannie)

Post Edited By Moderator (Jeannie143) : 5/17/2007 12:51:22 PM (GMT-6)

Dang, unless you were juggling marzipan or working in a confectionary, I'd return it, and get a new one.  Yours is not working properly or even within the 20% maximum error tolerance.

 

They shouldn't give you a problem returning it for a new one. And if they do, I would pull out the kit, take a couple samples in front them. That ought to scare away half the store.

 

I presume that you are using the same test site (a clean finger) , and that these tests were within a few minutes of each other?

 

That really sucks that these kits can be so inaccurate!

 

Did you wash you hands with soap and water real good?

I do not believe in the isopropyl alcohol wipes as they can just move sugar around on your finger and not remove it as I passed out from a low and the paramedic tested my finger about 3 times (as I was told by my wife who insisted they give me glucose to bring my sugar up) and got highs every time (The paramedic said I was not low as I about died of a low).  They took me to the hospital and the Dr in the emergency room had the blood drawn from my arm and sent to the lab which reported a reading of 14.  They gave me glucose and I came back to life.

I now wash my hands very good to wash all sugar off as it could be on different fingers in different amounts.

Then again, You could have a faulty meter.

Bob

You can always call the phone number on the back of the meter.  My husband had a new meter sent to him over night mail.  Once a new one was sent after my husband dropped it in the dishwater. 

Give the AccuCheck folks a call (should be a "hotline" number or service number on the back of your monitor). They'll run you through a few checks and balances - calibrating your monitor, doing a finger test, etc.- then they'll usually not hesitate to send you a new monitor with some test strips and a return envelope to send your defective one back in. When I had to do it, I received it the next day.

***Note: I just received in this morning's mail, a letter from LifeScan advising to check the OneTouch Ultra test strip bottles for possible puncture hole near the opening of the strip container/vial. They show a picture of what they describe and the hole would be very readily recognizable; you would see it right away. They say only a small number of vials may have gone out but, I'm glad they forewarn us nonetheless.

I've had problems with Accu-check monitors consistently reading high, so I don't use them any more. I posted some of my experiences in early March in this forum. I have found Ascensia Contours, and OneTouch Ultras or Ultrasmarts to be dependable, accurate, and usable at colder temperatures than some of the other meters.

As other posters have said, you need to check your testing technique (clean dry hands,) and verify that your strips are good (not out of date, clean, stored in original sealed container). A coding error would not cause your problem since in that case all of the errors would be in the same direction (all high or all low, depending on which way the coding error was). The only real way to calibrate your meter is to take several meter readings at the same time as you have a lab blood sample taken for a glucose reading. If your meter readings are not all very close to each other and reasonably close to the lab reading, there is a problem. I don't consider the +/- 20% standard to be reasonably close.

It's not unusual to sometimes get a bad reading, but it should not happen frequently. I always retest to confirm when I get a reading which is way off what I expect.

Let us know what the problem was once you figure it out.

What's his Name,

A control solution test is not the same as calibrating a meter against a lab test. Control solution testing has the advantages of being able to be done immediately, at home, and with minimal cost. Yes, noplainjane should check her/his meter with test solution, but it is not a calibration, just a "go/no go" test. My current test strips have an acceptable control solution result of 5.4 - 7.5 (96 - 132). That's almost +/- 16%.

If your readings are out of the range of the control solution (higher than 136, lower than 90), there is no way to determine the accuracy outside the range. I called the One Touch folks and asked for a low range control solution (since my readings are usually in the 75-95 range) and the rep said, "HUH?" (direct quote). Then I asked for the molarity of their 'sugar' solution and was asked, "Is this some sort of a joke?"  So, I asked for tech support (as opposed to customer service) and no one there could help me out either- he read the manual that came with the meter to me word-for-word.  Now I just use my meter to look for trends in my sugars- and don't drive myself crazy with the rest of it.

Molarity is a measure of the concentration of a solution.

My training is in protein biochemistry and I hold a PhD, and I am well-versed in statistical analysis. I have access to software that is capable of calculating and plotting both linear and non-linear regression. If they could supply me with the molarity of their control solution, I could make my own, serial dilute it, measure the results, and perform my own statistical analysis. I could analyze the contents of the control solutions that I already have, but the results would only be valid for those bottles- unless they have a standard concentration and they manufacture to the standard- which they can't or won't tell me. They don't publish their data anywhere they I can find- so I have decided to just relax and watch the trends rather than obsess over the numbers themselves.

Thanks for the reply   sandy