Discrepancy between Free Style and Glucometer?

[thaurermellon]

I've been testing with the glucometer before giving insulin if the Freestyle Libre says 'High' since I don't know his number. Yesterday morning my Libre said 'High' (so over 400), but when I did his blood test he was 320.

Just wondering if that's normal to have such a large discrepancy. Should I be concerned that the Libre is reading higher than the glucometer since I mostly use the Libre to monitor his cycle?

 

[cocokittybrown]

Hi there. Douglas is using a Freestyle Libre3 and it will read differently from the blood glucose meter. The Libre is reading interstitial glucose and the hand held meter is measuring blood glucose. There is a time lag between the two readings. I learned a lot about the Libres from the Freestyle Libre for Dogs and Cats FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/libreforpets

They have a lot of good educational material, and a lot of Freestyle experts.

Here is a link that was posted in this group (an Abbott video about why the numbers don't match):

I use a handheld blood glucose meter for lows, and to double check that the libre is still working. Yesterday morning pre-shot, I measured 280 with the blood glucose meter (human ContourNext) and the Libre measured 349. The day before, the contour read 381 and the Libre said HI. I've been testing for blood ketones lately, since his numbers have been running high. And since I am poking him anyway, I take that as an opportunity to get a blood glucose reading also.

On my spreadsheet, if I measure with the Contour, I will mark it with a C. In the remarks/comments section, I put some info about any readings I make with the BG meter.

 

[thaurermellon]

Hi there. Douglas is using a Freestyle Libre3 and it will read differently from the blood glucose meter. The Libre is reading interstitial glucose and the hand held meter is measuring blood glucose. There is a time lag between the two readings. I learned a lot about the Libres from the Freestyle Libre for Dogs and Cats FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/libreforpets

They have a lot of good educational material, and a lot of Freestyle experts.

Here is a link that was posted in this group (an Abbott video about why the numbers don't match):

I use a handheld blood glucose meter for lows, and to double check that the libre is still working. Yesterday morning pre-shot, I measured 280 with the blood glucose meter (human ContourNext) and the Libre measured 349. The day before, the contour read 381 and the Libre said HI. I've been testing for blood ketones lately, since his numbers have been running high. And since I am poking him anyway, I take that as an opportunity to get a blood glucose reading also.

On my spreadsheet, if I measure with the Contour, I will mark it with a C. In the remarks/comments section, I put some info about any readings I make with the BG meter.

Thank you that was very helpful! He's finally come out of the highs so I can at least kind of compare the numbers more.

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

Human glucometers are permitted to have a “variance” of about 20 to 25 percent. That means that if you test the same drop of blood, it is possible (but doesn’t always happen) that you may get, for example, a reading of 300 one time and 360 the next time— or even 240. It’s +/- 20 percent. It’s frustrating to realize this. That’s why we are looking at trends in BG. Of course, we must check the low numbers carefully and take them at face value and act accordingly. What most people on this Board find os that the Libre sensors read very low in the lower numbers — frequently frightening the members— but when those Libre low numbers are checked with a handheld human glucometer, the number is higher and not in a danger zone. The Libre can be both a blessing and a curse.