Sorry to be posting AGAIN but this time we are having issues with my daughters blood glucose meter.
2 weeks ago we had a issue where her meter read 60 and so we gave a juice and she shot up to ~234 after 10 mins. Four mins later we checked again and she was 300. We went and got our back up tester and she was 120 which is more what I expected.
I called the company and they sent us a new meter along with one container of strips. Everything went fine until tonight. I just checked her and she was 241 so since she was going to bed I checked her again before giving a correction and this time she was 180. Wow a 61 point drop in 2 mins. So I checked her again and the 3rd reading was 201. We always either wash her hands or use alcohol pads to clean her fingers before testing.
The meter we are using is the Aviva Accu-Chek and we are now back to using her original set of test strips.
What do people think, should we discontinue use and switch companies.
Hi I could understand the 180 to 201 reading being that wonderful +/- 20 points that meters can sometimes be, but the 61 point difference is a HUGE difference and I would be very leary about treating in ANY circumstanc with a meter that was giving me that huge of a difference in readings. Either way could be a huge disaster. Either correcting something that may or may NOT need to be corrected, or treating a low that might NOT really be that low.
If you are back to using the original test strips that you were using when you first encountered this problem. It may be the strips. Maybe its a bad batch. Either way I think I'd invest in another meter and compare OR toss those strips out and get new ones. After reading back over your post, Im kinda inclined to think it may be the strips. Especially if those were teh ones you were using when this first started.
I'd personally look into getting another meter, I had at one time the Relion brand walmart sells, and its results compared almost perfectly with my one touch ultra mini. It is an inexpensive meter, and the strips are inexpensive too, and I'd compare, even compare those reading with the back up meter you have now, and see which one is the most consistent.
Is your daughter on MDI or a pump? Or does she have any kind of CGM?
shes on a pump and does not use CGM (I am hoping for a non invasive one :) ) I agree with you about buying a new meter, I'm going to switch back to one touch I think. I just called the company and they are going to send me out new control samples of course that wont help me much if the test strips have random issues. Unfortunately our insurance company makes us mail order 3 months supply at a time so we have 650 test strips left. The insurance company forcing us to buy 3 months at a time is yet another story that I disagree with.
I wouldnt get alll that concerned. 180 to 216 woudnt be so impossible given how meters have the 20 percent difference. You can make yourself nuts testing and testing. Also, soap and water is fine, you dont need alcohol on the fingers. It's highly unlikely the 61 point drop was a real good number. Once you settle into the 'pattern' of the meter, you kind of can tell what the number really is.
Wow, I wonder if you call them up and explain the situation, how you feel you are unable to adequately treat your daughter based on such a huge discrepency in results if they'd do something to remedy the situation.
I've always loved my One Touh, Im on my 3rd one and I've never felt that it has given me inaccurate results.
I certainly understand your feelings about the CGM. I've just started on my insulin pump, but havent progressed yet to the CGM, LOL I guess they felt doing both at one time would be info overload??? But yeah that thing um KINDA scares me, and I've been dealing with this for YEARS.
Don't forget that it is not +/- 20 points, it is 20%. Meters are not always that great. I would take the meter to the lab when you go and see how consistent it is. It sounds like you got another lemon. Keep in mind that no 2 meters, even by the same company are the same. I have a freestyle lite that is very accurate and precise. You may want to try another brand or just try and get another meter.
Unfortunately a One Touch meter is not going to resolve the issue. I am not aware of any meter that is technically accurate all the time. The issue you describe with your Aviva Accu-Chek are the same issues I have with my One Touch and other meters I have used.
True I dont think the OP thinks that, but some of those results are a huge discrepency. A 61 point difference to me is a bit scary, especially when you seem to consitently have those problems. I think we all know there is a margin of error and accept that for what it is. But when you are trying to treat your child the BEST you can, and you are getting a 61 point difference, I too think I'd try a different meter. Different strips or something. Maybe its just me...maybe im very slow at responding to carbs when low. But I would be conscerned over a 60 to 234 jump in just 10 min, short of having had a LARGE glass of juice.
I dont think the OP expects the meter to be 100% accurate ALL the time, but for me personally I've never had that big of a variance in my meters. You want something you feel relatively confident with, and that you can trust the results with some degree of accuracy. At least I would. I can deal with the 20% deviation, but if my numbers were changing that rapidly that fast, and then I went back to the same bottel of strips and it was doing it again, I'd be concerned. At least checking those results against another meter.
I have one One Touch that consistently reads high. So I put it away, and stuck a sticky note on it. They wont even replace it, because it works with the control solution so they say it is fine. Some meters are just problems.
I agree and I think we probably all have brands we gravitate too. I've always loved my One Touch and have never had it more than a few points difference from other meters I've compared it to, and never more that that 20 deviation. I think the important thing though, regardless of what brand you use, is to find one that you feel can deliver rather consistent results, and one that you feel is as accurately as possible giving you results. If you have serious doubt about the results your meter is giving you, it makes treating in my opinion even that much harder and makes the second guessing if you are treating correctly more so. I think if rpwils is having serious doubts about daughter's meter, than there is no harm in replacing it with another brand or testing it against other meters.
Surprisingly enough, when money was really tight when I was in school, I ended up getting the Wal-Mart Relion brand meter. The thing was like less than 10 dollars, and for fifty strips I think was around 25-30 dollars. It was surprisingly accurate and when I tested against my One Touch the results were within just a few points of each other.
I'll wait and see what the company does, if they replace all 650 strips we have remaining I will stick with them for awhile, if they don't I will switch as soon as we are thru the 650 strips. Over the last 2 years we have never had this many issues with testing.
First don't use alcohol, it can alter readings. Even not dry fingers can dilute blood and give lower measures.
Usually I do clean my 3 years old daughter hands with soap, and wash and dry accurately (not every time, only when they are dirty).
Not all meters are equal. I and some friends of mine find Verio Pro, iBGstar and FreeStyle Lite meters with consistent (repeatable) measures, in that order of preference.
Some of my friends are part of trials where they can compare readings with YSI blood measures, otherwise it is difficult to judge.
But if you do more tests on the same finger, same hole and "squeeze" a different drop per reading, if you get very different measures (more than +- 20%, but I aim for less) change meter (sell or exchange your strips with others).
