My five-year-old daughter was recently diagnosed with Type 1. We are currently stationed in Okinawa, Japan. They do not have a pediatric endocrinologist at the Naval Hospital here, so we were transported to Hawaii for treatment and education. The hospital in Okinawa provided a Precision XTra meter and while we were in Hawaii, the JDRA gave us an Accu-Check Aviva Meter. When we arrived back in Okinawa, we were getting some wide variations in my daughter’s numbers, from the 40s to the 300s. I purchased some test strips for the Accu-Check meter to compare the results. They are usually with 10 numbers of each other, but the mornings they can be as much as 40 numbers apart. We don’t return home to the States for 3 more weeks and we will then be under the care of a pediatric endocrinologist. For now, we are under the care of her pediatrician at the Naval Hospital here. I am curious to know what meters you all have found to be the most accurate. Thanks for any input or advice you can give me.
The one I’ve found to be the most accurate is One Touch. I’ve tried Accu Check and it is accurate but cumbersome, that is the one most doctors and hospitals seem to use. Take care during this time of education and adjusting. You’re in my prayers.
That is kind of you to offer, but I am sure we can get whatever we need when we get back to Florida. Do you like the one-touch that you use? How accurate is it? When we were in Hawaii, we tested our Precision Xtra meter against the one the hospital used. They told us we could expect it to be as much as 10 to 20 numbers off. When it was only 2 numbers off, we were excited. I know the endocrinologist told us to go by how our daughter is acting instead of completely relying on the meter, but today the Precision meter said 25 and the Accu-Check said 76. That is way too extreme. I just want to know which meters on the market are the most accurate.
Thanks for the input, and especially for the prayers. That is what is getting us through right now. I am so happy to have found this group!
I use the One Touch mini and have found those meters to be the most accurate. When I am in a situation where I really feel the need to confirm a BG, I will check with two different meters using two different bottles of test strips. The FDA allows meters to have a +/- 20 % level of accuracy, which I find very frustrating. So, if I get two different numbers, I will take the average of the two and use them to put into my pump when calculating my bolus. Again, I only do this if I have a really high or low reading and just want to be extra sure. I also sometimes compare with a Bayer meter I have floating around the house (which, at the moment, I cannot find). The issue is that my insurance will only cover one type of test strips, so I have to pay for the Bayer strips out of pocket.
Unfortunately, meters are notoriously bad at identifying low BGs accurately. I’ve been told that when your BG starts to reach the low end, the meter is less accurate. That said, my One Touch meters always seem to be most in line with one another and most in line with how I’m feeling.
Try as much as you can to key into any external symptoms your daughter is having when she’s low. It’s likely that she will get cranky, tired, and irritable when her BG starts to go low. A lot of us have very specific symptoms we start to exhibit. For example, I will have trouble talking and will often start rubbing my forehead. It’s helpful to be in tune to those. Sometimes, my symptoms will start before my BG registers as being low on a meter.
Hi Tamra. I am sorry to hear about your daughter’s diagnosis. I have used the one touch and accu-check products and have found them both to be very reliable. The FDA requires that all meters have an accuracy of +/- 20% (which is horribly low in my opinion). I have read a posting on TuD that showed most meters are accurate to about +/- 10% (which I feel to be about right from my experience).
I wonder if there is some user error involved in your inconsistent readings? If I get a number that I do not “feel” is right I often retest to double check. If possible I would make sure your daughters hands are clean and dry before testing. If dried fruit juice is on the finger that you do a BG test on then your reading will be incorrectly high and if your finger is still moist from washing it then your BG test will show an incorrectly low number. Please make sure that you wash her hands (I prefer soap and water, alchohol pads will work, baby wipes work too) and dry them before testing when possible. I would also recomend that when you decide which meter to use that you stick with it. A single meter often reduces the variability that may be caused from using multiple machines.
Yes, I think I initially had quite a bit of user error. (However, the day that they were 40 points apart I used both meters back to back on the same test site, which is what prompted my question.) Also, testing on a sometimes squirmy autistic child can be challenging, to say the least. I currently use an alcohol wipe and then wipe off the first drop of blood with a clean tissue (I read that in the Pink Panther book) and then use the next drop of blood. That has worked better than my initial testing seemed to. I think I will now add hand washing before as well. (She does fairly well with routines, so it should only take a few days of resistance to make that an anticipated part of the routine.) I certainly want to make sure I am doing everything correct and I also want to start using only one meter. I just want to trust the one that I am using. Thank you so much for your input!
Since my daughter’s levels were so incredibly high at first (she was at 430 on our initial trip to the ER, but thankfully with no DKA) that I am only now learning the symptoms that she has when she gets low. She has autism and her speech is limited, but I am slowly learning the early warning signs. She starts getting a little tearful and whiny and even begins to feel very warm to the touch.
Thanks so much for the recommendation of the One Touch. Everyone I have talked to seems to think that they are the most reliable. I would like to have a backup meter for the occasional extreme numbers (since both meters will test so far apart on a drop of blood from the same site.) Thanks so much for your input!
I like the AccuChek Aviva. One Touch ran higher for me and my Aviva always comes back within a couple points of the lab. There was a discussion here awhile ago about meters and how some seem to work good for certain people but not others. One woman said a certain brand of meter ran high for her, but it worked OK for her husband. There is apparently something in our chemistry that can affect the readings. I asked about meters in the Dexcom group once and decided to get a Wavesense one – a lot of people seem to like those. It was horrible and did not recognize lows. I took it to the lab and compared it to a lab blood draw and it did not even fall within the 20% for me. Like I said, my Aviva is always within a couple points. Whatever you decide on, take it to the lab with you when she has blood work and do a comparison at the same time they do a blood draw – you can compare the numbers when you get the results and know if the meter is accurate or not.
I also second the hand washing – especially if you have a questionable reading. It is very easy to have something on our fingers that throw off the readings.
At an average of $1.00 per test strip you would think the accuracy would be better. It’s a Diabetes gold mine. At what point is it consider price gouging those with diabetes?
I’ve used both the one touch (meter and remote for the ping) and Aviva. Both come out pretty much the same for the same draws. I prefer the aviva, but that’s just me.
I find myself asking this question myself right about now. As i detailed in my blog post, I had some varying readings - all 4 taken one right after the other, using 2 different meters, on the same finger prick. I used an Accu-Check Aviva & a Freestyle Lite. The readings were 97 / 76 & 95 / 81. I test about 4 times a day & am trying to maintain tight control, so the accuracy is important to me. I believe I am going to go with the Aviva simply because I prefer their Multiclix lancet to the one that came with the FreeStyle. It has also served me well in getting my A1C down to a 5.7 (translated to an Average Blood Glucose in mg/dl 117 mg/dl), which is pretty close to what the Average on my meter says.
Haven’t tried a One-Touch, but I would like to at some point to see if I like it any better.
Accuracy study of 27 blood glucose meters (PDF file):
http://bionimeusa.com/files/journal_papers/IDT_Report.pdf
More than 40% of meters failed to meet required standards.
I really like my Glucocard X- mini plus meter (probably not available in the US)
http://www.onemed.com/onemed/onemedwww.nsf/sp3?Open&cid=content316E1D