I have been injecting insulin for 18 years. I started out using the Freestyle brand test strips and glucose meter, because that brand seemed popular according to my research. For many years, my A1C was always too high. When it reached 9, my primary care doctor became concerned. I was worried, too.
I finally suspected that my glucose meter might be inaccurate. I wondered whether glucose meters had to meet any specific criteria. Was there any oversight by the FDA or anyone?
I searched the Net for reviews about the BEST brands of test strips and meters. The Freestyle got the highest rating. Later, I became convinced that whoever bribed the reviewer the most got the best score. That may sound like a conspiracy theory, but I had valid reasons, and I’ll explain why.
If you can appreciate a scientific experiment, you might want to do what I did. At a time when the manufacturers of different brands of glucose meters were feeling especially competitive – that is offering cheaper meters in hopes of attracting customers and making their profits mostly on the test strips – I collected 5 different blood glucose meters with a few complementary test strips for each. It wasn’t as expensive as you might expect, but well worth the investment as you will see.
The next time I had an appointment for a blood draw at a medical lab, I took all five meters with me. The minute they had my blood sample drawn, I rushed out to my car and tested my blood glucose with each one. I did a deeper finger stick than usual and accumulated a larger sample. I used all 5 test strips on that one large drop of blood. I recorded the scores and found them all different from one another! There was a 50-point difference between the lowest and highest scores! I waited until I got the lab report and compared my scores with their blood glucose report. The Freestyle test showed my BG to be lower than the rest, which explained why I had always thought I was on the verge of risking a dangerously low glucose level. I never wanted to experience passing out, so I had always been very careful to take the score seriously. All the other scores were higher – up to 50 points higher. I was aghast!
One brand in the middle matched the lab draw report. I ordered some of those, but Medicare insurance only favored one brand and that wasn’t it. Since that time I have had to pay out of pocket for my choice of test strips. The reward for my experiment was that I brought my A1C down to 6.7 in no time. My doctor was astonished. I explained what I had done, and he said, “That was very scientific of you.”
I said, tactfully, “Some doctors might think that their patients aren’t even trying to control their glucose levels. But the diabetic patients might just be putting their trust in whatever device someone recommended. Unfortunately, those don’t seem to be regulated for accuracy.”
Since then, I have not had as much trust in doctors or the FDA or the manufacturers of devices meant to help patients. The decisions I make now are for my own long-term survival, no one else’s. Nobody cares like I do. If you want to live as long as possible, trust in yourself to do what is best for you.
