Decided to do a side by side of meters

Since I'm going to be switching over within the day to the Reli-on, I figured I should do a side by side to compare, and I was quite surprised by the results. My Accu-chek gave me 105, the Reli-on gave me 77....same blood droplet. Now I'm really confused.

 

Hi Allison,

Glucometer readings are accurate to within +/- 20% of the 'true' BG level. Even if you did two separate tests using the same meter to test the same blood drop, odds are the readings would be different.

How's Mouse doing? And how's your own recovery progressing?


Mogs
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One could be 20% high, the other 20% low. Pick one and don’t compare is my advice. Remember we are looking for trends and to keep kitty safe. The only times I compared was if I got a very low test or one that just didn’t fit with the rest of the tests that day. Just my $0.2 fwiw!

 

Agreed. The other day I did 2 tests back to back and one was 192 the second 180. This is with the same blood sample and meter. You’ll never get a match and it will just create anxiety for you.

 

My big concern was the sheer difference in the numbers. Since I'm going to be switching to the Reli-on I wanted to make sure the difference wasn't going to be too dramatic... That's a pretty dramatic difference, but I reached out to Walmart for their control solution to make sure I don't have faulty strips. I tested with my Alphatrack control solution and it was closer to the same numbers.

I get what you all are saying about the 20% difference, but I don't understand how much of a difference that could mean, can someone put that into normal numbers for me? I can't grasp percentages

 

I cant interpret numbers but *maybe*think of it like this. The difference from buying a Cadillac and a Volkswagen. They both get you where you need to go, but both are built different. Does that make sense?

 

Your Accucheck number was 105. The 105 with the meter variance gives you a range of 95 to 115.

The Relion was 77. The 77 give you a range of 69 to 85.

So, if you look at the low from the Accucheck (95) vs the high end of the range from the Relion (85) there's really very little difference.

With any measurement -- whether it's a thermometer, blood pressure, humidity, polling data, speed of your car, etc. -- there's what's referred to as a standard error of measurement. That's what gives you the plus or minus number. The "number" is actually the mid-point of a range that takes the variability into account. The inherent "error" is a result of taking an infinite number of tests and getting different results that vary within a particular range. We tend to treat the measured numbers as set in granite -- they're not.

 

Thank you!!! That helps so much

 

Oops. My bad. I was using 10% - thanks for the catch.

 

Wow, I just posted about the same thing today. First AMPS was a whopping 450. I was so surprised I used the same droplet, same AT tester and viola! new number is 485! Oh my goodness! So I too learned about the 20% give or take.

 

Mouse had some weird numbers this morning, but otherwise, she's doing awesome. She's currently being a kitten right now again, and breaking her toy. She's also decided she wants to walk on a leash all of a sudden, and has had some fun playing in our garden

My recovery is also going well. I just started PT for my shoulder, and am starting to get on a normal sleep schedule.

 

So glad I'm not the only one

 

@Polgeria -

I'm very glad to hear you're both doing better, Allison.




Mogs
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Her pre shot this morning on the Reli-on was 71...if I hadn't done the side by side last night, that'd have me freaking out. But thanks to my questions yesterday, I'm only sorta kinda freaking out....yeah....I still don't know if I should shoot her. I'm off to the Lantus forum, lol

 

It’s a bigger gap obviously with higher numbers, but the difference you got there was actually less than 10% so that’s pretty good!

 

I’d be nervous to shoot with a 71. Let us know what they say!

 

We decided to shoot. She's holding steady around 60, we're at +3:30 right now. She usually hits nadir at +4. I've been napping between tests, but she's been alert when I tested, and for the first hour she was bouncy and playing.

 

You’re following TR so that makes sense