Do you...?

no. Are you supposed to?

oh, me me me!!! Just kidding.

i’ve only used the control solution when i get “hand-me-down” strips. like sometimes my endo’s office will give me supplies that i need if i can’t get them at that time (insulin, meters, strips, a glucogon kit that i doubt i will ever need) and once my friend’s dad sent me a box full of his test strips beause he’d started using a different meter. other than that i’ve never seen the point in killing off a test strip that i had to pay for. i even get mad when i get an error message on my meter and have to test again. the previous strip is angrily chucked into the garbage bin.

amy,

yeah it is supposedly be done everytime a new vial is opened, this is to check whether that particular strips is still good. A control is a substance/solution with a known standard/values.

anyways, dont worry about it though, coz we all dont run controls…LOL…

Nope. I did it once when I suspected my meter/strips were bad (this was the BD meter, which I stopped using after a history of bad results), but I can’t remember when else I’d done it. And I think I did it the first time I ever used a blood glucose meter. That’s about it. But for some reason I save the solution.

I remember one company had a hard plastic resusable “strip” that you could put in the meter that should always yield the same result. No solution or anything. It was good for validating the meter, but not so much strips. I wish those kinds of things were still made!

Since I go through a vial of 25 strips in 2 days or so anyway, I’ll be done with a bad vial soon enough!

Nope, not since my diabetes education class.

Nope! I am SO glad to see I am not the only one! I thought maybe I was being a “bad diabetic”. lol

This is SO me too! lol

Nope, nada, never!

I only run control if my level seems abnormal. And usually it is cause the strips are bad. But thats only once in a blue moon.

OK Maybe I’m the only one doing this. I guess I don’t need to huh???

no, my meter controls me - i figure, I don’t need to control it! :slight_smile:

Siiiiiggggghhhhhhhh! No, but don’t tell AccuChek!

What I can’t see is buying a vial of the solution. I’ve seen it priced at over $12.00. I usually get AccuChek to send me one or two for nothing.

Lois La Rose
Milwaukee, WI

Actually, it’s only really needed when you open a vial with a different LOT #. That’s straight from AccuChek. I did admit to them once that I didn’t test all the time and she said it wasn’t necessary. Of course, if the bunch somehow goes bad in using it … ??? If the vial was kept closed and not in extreme temps, the chances that it is bad are low. Do, though, what you figure is best for you!

Lois La Rose
Milwaukee, WI

Terry:

You’re a funny one too. Actually, I’ve only seen blue and it’s not too sticky. But it could be right along the line of … “dispose of outdate strips” … even when they haven’t been opened to the climate or other adverse conditions.

Lois La Rose
Milwaukee, WI

Kristin:

The bottles only expire like 60 days(?) after they are opened. You can see how often I test!!

Ohhhhhh, now I have to check. Ahhhhhhhh, it says 3 months after opened or by the expire date. It just goes to show you what you learn when you read the instructions!! Ha ha ha!

Lois La Rose
Milwaukee, WI

Yes! It’s always a good idea to be safe, rather than sorry. I’ve come across bad strips before, and it makes me glad I tested!

Since I have re-committed myself to getting my blood sugar in control, I have been doing the control thing with each new vial. I’m such a rule follower that I don’t think I could NOT do it. I would just feel weird and paranoid.

are we supposed to? …oops

Ahh Hell no !!! I have never run one

Rick Phillips