Per an MD's recommendation, I bought the Aviva and its expensive strips, and decided to see how accurate it was. So on same finger - same blood sample these are the results while on Metformin er
so since I didn't wipe off the first reading (i guess it was too serous) the first reading was 107 with the Aviva, but same sample, more blood - it was 133 on the Relion. The MD had been saying that the Relion was not accurate in that it was too low. Hmmm.
So, the Aviva had a 12 point difference, and the Micro relion had a 21 point spread. wow.
Tigger, you tested at the time - and center of the field - where they should be most accurate. Which lets us know we’re all treating ourselves based on a cloud of fluff. Which means they ought to give us more strips in those thar cans so we can do more testing.
Hey Leo2 - thanks for replying - I certianly wish the Aviva was as cheap as the relion micro. Well, I was told to get the AVIVA for its accuracy - and - well - the values were actuallylower than the Relion. I will use up the relion, because it uses only like .3 ml or micros fo blood vs. the 0.6 of the Aviva. Needed more blood for the Aviva. What meter do you use?
I had a one touch ultra mini and now have the accucheck compact plus. The accucheck always runs higher than the one touch but I have no idea which one, if either, is correct.
You are not measuring accuracy you are measuring precision. Accuracy is only available when you compare your meters to the lab machine. Visualized an archery target. Precision is how close the arrows are clustered. accuracy is how far the average arrow position is from the bulls eye.
PS I never found the Aviva to be very accurate they read high compared to the lab test. Most new 5 second meters have very poor accuracy. I really miss my 60 second meter from 10 years ago it always read 5 % below the lab test.
Me too - but the other comments below really clarify precision vs. accuracy. Thanks for your comment - nice pciture - you almost look like a Gainsborough protrait holding your pet like that.
yikes - thanks for the info - ugh, later on like maybe 4 hours from the last meal - still drinking my coconut milk with coffee - I will redo the test - on seprate fingers - and will report back later. Thank you for the info.
Anthony thanks for that info! Your archery imagery is very vivid and memorable. Yes, I was measuring precision - and the well known MD that I called was the one who recommended the Aviva as compared to the lab standard. He said that the Relion was not accurate, saying it lacked precision, that is- the number of similar readings at the same time. Hmm, I guess I will go with the MD’s suggestion for now - but I will be rechecking my BG in 4 hrs, and that should be a frightening thing - since I just made coconut flour pancakes which supposedly does not raise the BG too much - but the amount of syrup - even if sugar free - well - like I said, the numbers will probably be a frightening thing. Thanks for your info again.
When you say “lab test” are you referring to the HGA1c, or do you mean you take the aviva with you during the lab sampling, and test it on the spot? The last time i did that, I flustered the phlebotomist so much, I had to come in for another sampling - perhaps the sample hemolyzed - who knows, I just had to go in for another blood draw. Icch.
Ok so then, I ate at 1130 am, 12 carbs 10 grain cooked rice + KFC grilled chicken drumstick and thigh, sugar free jello,
It is 5:46 pm and these are the results of my BS on 2 different fingers within seconds of each other:
Aviva =99 Micro-relion = 97… Very close to each other. This means that they are both fairly reliable? Sigh - well, I way prefer the lesser amount of blood that the relion requires - I guess I’ll just see which I like better later.
JohnG is right about testing using the same finger.
I took several different meters to measure against a lab sample (not A1c). Though, that wasn’t exactly a fair test because the lab used venous blood, but best I could do. Went with the one that was closest, which happened to be the Aviva.
Wow - this is such important info - thank you so much Gerri - it is nice to know that your serum glucose was closely matched with the Aviva. Well - perhaps there is more accuracy involved in a larger blood sample? Thanks again Gerri - such good info!
Actually, I have no idea:) The tech who took the sample gave me a long explanation about why she couldn’t test doing a finger stick, but I can’t recall what she said. Maybe someone here knows the answer.
The Aviva tested higher than the One Touch I was using & also higher than FreeStyle when I used them for comparison. Wish any of them were accurate! The ± 20% margin of error is unacceptable.
Oh Gerri - what I meant by the larger blood sample is that the Aviva takes like 0.6 micro or something, whereas the micro relion only takes 0.3. so you don’t have to push on your finger os much…
The rest of your info was also helpful too. I also liked your entry on the 3 word game - it was hilarious - I think yours were something like over naked body???! ha ha funny!
Sorry, I misunderstood. Good question about the relative size of the samples. When I was showed how to test, the nurse said to never drop the blood on the strip. Who in the world gets enough blood to pour it on a strip!
If a meter lacks precision is is a pain but it still can be more accurate than one with better precision. Aviva I don’t like it reads consistently high and makes your bg control look worst than it is and as a result I inject too much insulin and have become grotesquely obese.
No the a1c but a blood sample from a vein that is cetrifuged and the sugar concertartion meased with a lab grade device. The meter measures for 5 second the maximun current that is proportional to BG. In the us the plasma meter calibration is supposed to match the lab test. It did ten years ago perfectly. The meters measure the average reation betwem the test strip and the blood over aperiod of 60 seconds making it much mure accurate.
Yes, for a while I saw a spread like that but right now I’m getting practically the same number of retest with my Accu-Chek Aviva. It helps to keep your strips from bad weather, but FDA only requires them to withing 30%. As a person who sees numbers from 20 to 600 and has to take the right amount of insulin to deal with them, I still find the numbers worthwhile, but I’m not sure I’d bother to test if I my numbers were in a tighter range.
The Aviva has more filters in its strips- it’s less affected by things like people’s vitamin C levels, or their hydration status, that sort of thing, which it measures and corrects for.
Anthony - I am sorry to hear that about Aviva and the effect on the amount of your insulin use. I’m afraid I am not very familiar with the intricacies and complexities of insulin use -but it seems something between the numbers you are getting and the insulin response just does not work that well - is this a common thing for insulin users? Please bear with me if this is a rude sort of question - I ams o new to the insulin diabetes thing that I may not know if I am being offensive in my questions. I certainly hope that your current meter is more appropriate use for you and that your insulin usage is appropriate for your situation.
