I have used my Dexcom G4 since november but haven´t had these extreme accurate readings that other people write about. It has been really good, but seldom spot on. More than OK enough for me and nothing I worried about,
I´ve used the meter I found to be most accurate according to those who test meters before they go on the market. They are all listed here: www.skup.nu. The meter I chose was the new from Bayer, the Contour XT.
Then I read here at tudiabetes that Dr. Bernsteins latest recommendation on meters was the Freestyle Freedom Lite. I switched yesterday and almost every single reading since then has been spot on. I kept the senor, just startet to calibrate with the Freestyle Freedom Lite while using the Contour XT for checks and back up.
I wouldn´t know why this is so, but I thought it´s worth posting.
Thanks for posting this. I have used the Freestyle lite in the past but am now using an insulinx meter because it has the insulin calculator and IOB so it makes calculation easier. It does use the same strips as the Freestyle and Freestyle lite meters. I start on the pod tomorrow which has a built in freestyle meter. Glad your G4 is matching up better. I guess I have been lucky with it, I got it in November and have always had really good readings that are quite close to the meter - except in the very low or high ranges. But that was with freestyle strips.
Thanks for you comment, Clare. I forgot to write this: The Freestyle Freedom Lite and the Freestyle Lite are two different meters even though they use the same strips
I used both the Freestyle Lite and the Contour XT to compare when switching to the Freestyle Freedom Lite. The Freedom Lite and Contour XT give different readings from the Freedom-meter. It´s the Freestyle FREEDOM Lite that I use and that´s the one that dr.Bernstein recommends. Sounds strange, I know. Dr B had the same with Accu Chek Aviva: Thumbs up for the Aviva not for the Aviva Nano.
Strange if both meters use exactly the same strips one would think the results would be comparable. But alas nothing in D is that simple is it ? I am happy with the Abbott line of meters and since that is the only strip my insurance company will cover, I guess that is a good thing. And now since it is incorporated in to the PDM that comes with the Omnipod system I at least have a familiarity with it.
Similar to someone else on the forums here I usually only calibrate twice a day, but each time using two strips to make sure the reading is accurate. If those two measurements are too different (which happens surprisingly often), I use a third strip. Then I just average the two closest readings.
I am just new to using the Dexcom G4 or any CGM. It is over 20 years of diabetes, perhaps much longer before diagnosis. I am a retired clinical engineer and I will tell you of my own study. You will be horrified to learn. Most glucose meters accuracy are specified to be +/-20%, yep! Not just that but only 95% of data points must be within that accuracy. The meter I use (which is not tested in the skup testing). It is the Wavesense Presto with a spec if +/-5%. It is a valid theory that taking a number of measurements and averaging them will improve the accuracy.
Thanks for sharing, pappyiii. Here in Norway the meter accuracy can be +/-25% for "out of the lab-use". It´s +/-20% otherwise.
I think the above fact is what makes it interesting that Dr. Bernstein only recommends some meters. Maybe it has something to do with him needing meters that are most accurate in the 70-90 mg/dl-area? He aims for what he claims to be "normal sugars."
