Range of readings - glucometer and strips

Status
Not open for further replies.
Elizabeth20

Elizabeth20

Member Since 2020
Hi

So an hour ago I got two BG measurements of 8.2 and 6.5 (147 and 117) for Lily within 10 seconds (AM+2, about right for her so far because she drops fast, she's fine and still looking pointedly at me from her food bowl). Using myself as a control I got 4 samples, three within 1mmol of each other (so 18) and one lower than the highest by 2mml (36).

I'm currently putting this down to having been give several pots of expired strips while I wait for new ones to arrive (they're coming in a couple of days). I'm also expecting some new batteries today. I just wondered though what people find is the usual margin of error/range of readings on their machines.

I'm sure Lily would prefer me not to stick her four times every time I test her, just to get a better guess of what's happening. Equally 2mmol is quite a lot if she's low. If I get a reading of 5 she might actually be at 3 and at risk. I also wonder if where I stick her the second time might make a difference. Should I swap ears? Could any residual dried blood from a previous test site be skewing the results? So many newb questions!

Thanks

Liz
 
meter variances are about 20 points.
Sticking multiple times shouldnt mater the test should be close (IF the strips are good)
Dried blood or even a finger print can skew a reading
 
Ah thank you! I'll be particular about cleaning her up with some boiled water and cotton wool before and after. I'll also try to shake the strips out of the pot rather than shoving my finger in there.
 
Elizabeth20 said:
Hi Mogs, is that between meters or between tests on the same meter? That's quite a lot!
Click to expand...
Tests on the same meter, Liz. You can actually get variance in readings when using the same meter to do two tests, one immediately after the other, on a single blood sample.

In practice, the degree of variance is acceptable for home monitoring, the lower the 'actual' BG level, the narrower the acceptable range will be (obvs), and that's where closeness of reading value to 'actual' BG is most critical. At the other end of the scale, high is high is high.

One useful tip is to immediately do a second test if ever you get a reading that seems completely out of whack with expectations, because sometimes you do get wonky strips. :)


Mogs
.
 
Last edited:
Ha, you'll see I've done just that Mogs, having got a 1mmol reading about 20 minutes ago! And yes the other two reads I got were very close. That all makes sense and is very reassuring. I think it only worries me when I'm close to the 11mmol and not sure whether to dose her or not. Eyeballed 0.75 this morning on the basis that it was quite close and am now very glad I didn't give her a full unit.
 
This probably isn’t the case here but for the record - I read elsewhere only this morning about someone who left the lid off the pot of strips and she deduced that this produced wonky numbers using those strips... I don’t know to what extent, but things like this are worth bearing in mind...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top