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Posted 7/31/2006 9:52 PM (GMT 0)
Greetings,

I was diagnosed with type 2 in April of this year. As such, I am still trying to learn. I am taking 500 mg of Metormin twice daily. My morning (fasting) readings have been running about110/115.

A couple of months ago I got a reading of 142. I did not have a heavy meal or snack the night before. No real reason for the high reading. I followed the initial test with another a minute or so later. Sure enough the second test was 114.

A couple of weeks later the same thing happened. This time the initial reading was 148. An immediate second test was 122. I then did a third test which was 110. This has been happening every few weeks or so.

My meter is an Ascensia Contour. I just called customer service about this. They ran some electronic test over the phone and said everything checked OK and the meter was accurate. The service rep told me to be sure and use a differant finger when I re-test. While on the phone, he had me run a test. Reading was 132 (I had ate only an hour before). He then started telling me my meter was 100% accurate. While he was telling me this I ran another test (using a differant finger) which came back 120. When I told him this he simply said that the meter was OK and accurate. Is it normal to have a change of 12 points within a matter of seconds?

Thanks, TDH

P.S. Great forum, I'm learning a bunch here.

 

Posted 7/31/2006 11:39 PM (GMT 0)
The meters do not run 100% accurate and this is cause for concern by some diabetics. Others take a more casual approach. Myself, I like to take my meter along and test my blood whenever I have labs blood draws. I record this number and check it against the lab report when I get it. My meter has been pretty close. I would suggest that you take your meter with you for your next doctor appt. and check it there and use their meter and do a different finger or perhaps the same site, just another drop of blood.

Because the public has asked for small meters that give quick results and are easy to load the companies have sacrificed accuracy for size and speed. My meter is a Prestige IQ and it's big and clunky. It uses AA batteries and takes about 25 seconds to give a reading. Not only that but I have to use a large drop of blood. The upside of this meter is that it is very accurate and the strips cost about 30ยข each. :-)

The high readings you are getting could be from a low battery or possibly a defective strip. Humidity can affect the strips as well as how well hydrated you are, too. So there are a bunch of variables here. I would keep track and if you get a high reading, retest and see what you get, (just like you did, you smart cookie!) Unless you get an unreasonably high retest I would probably ignore the fluke high numbers. If you get high numbers a few days in a row I would call the doctor's office for advice. Hope this helps.
Posted 8/1/2006 12:34 AM (GMT 0)
Hi there,
Welcome to the forum!

I use a hypoguard Quicktek meter.My mom is also a diabetic on an insulin analogue.Two days back she went into a hypo' and when i tested it showed 45 mg%.I immediately gave her glucose mixed in water(I feel it's always better to keep a glucose pack handy at home) and re-tested 10 min.later and sure enough the value came back as 72 mg%.Within a minute,i rechecked from the same finger and the value was 73mg%.

I re-checked within 1 minute because each cardiac cycle takes 0.8 seconds.Thus Fresh blood comes into the circulation within one min.everytime.So the trick is to prick the finger for the test,see the result and using the same pricked finger,press out blood from the same pricked site to test a second time immediately.That may help you to test the accuracy of the meter,

Post Edited (spooky) : 7/31/2006 6:44:15 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 8/1/2006 3:46 AM (GMT 0)

Thanks for the help. I am planning on taking the meter to my Doc for comparison.

Spooky, I tried multiple test a few weeks ago from the same site and "stick". Did not record the readings but they were something like: Test 1: 148 - Test 2: 122 - Test 3: 110. All 3 test were done within the span of a minute.

I think I will probably go ahead and get another meter for a spare and to compare with.

Thanks again for the help.

Take care....TDH

Posted 8/1/2006 6:35 AM (GMT 0)
Another possablity for getting readings like that can be residue of a million things on your hands.
Make sure to wash before every test AND make sure to rinse them off very well to get all the soap off and dry with a clean towel or better yet use a paper towel to dry with. I know this is basic diabetes testing 101 but I have found many times when I get an abnormal reading when I at least just washed with warm water and retested I would get a more acurate reading.
Yes you may have a problem with your meter but maybe try this next few times.
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