Which meter to trust?

I always wonder about the duration of oxygen exposure on the test because sometimes I wait for a minute for enough blood to come up.

I use the contour next and it seems to be in in line with the A1c numbers I get. And that is true for when it has gone up as well as when it has come back down.

BG’s machines have an inherent 20% variability from actual blood sugar. So, you might be getting more precise that the equipment allows for. I use the Walmart ReliOn because the cost in strips is profoundly less and they are over the counter. I ran tests between brands a couple years ago and found, in some case, one machine will run a little lower numbers than other. So, it doesn’t hurt to be aware of that. I’ll look for the data, but I seem to have 100 folders called ‘diabetes’ on my machine. Might be faster to search the Tu site for previous discussions of this.

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Really just pick one and stick with it. Yes I love my meter and it is top rated, but I would not switch meters to have a better one unless I was forced.

The key is consistency. Is 120 really different than 105 when all of them are approximations of blood glucose. We live and die by meter readings but in reality they are no more than the approximate measure

That was my thought. And actually is often times.

But the conversations I heard regarding the Contour One were enough to push me over the edge.

Reported better accuracy
Smaller drop size (0.6 for Contour compared to 1.0 for One Touch Ultra)
30 seconds (second chance) to get enough drop onto the Contour - less wasted strips?
Bluetooth
Previous reason for One Touch was integration with Animas Ping - no longer relevant with our new Tandem pump

That was enough to kick me out of my rut. It sounds like the Contour One is simply newer and better technology then the One Touch Ultra. Me being comfortable and not wanting to change is not a good enough reason. So we are switching.

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13 posts were split to a new topic: New Topic

While I appreciate the interesting turn of event here, I had intended this thread to focus on the accuracy of BG meters. Perhaps this particular tangent would be more appropriate for a separate thread where it would garner a bigger audience of people wanting to weigh in, as opposed to the number of people who will click on this thread thinking that it’s only about meter accuracy.

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Agreed. Apologies. I flagged what I think was the beginning of the hijack and would ask one of the Mods to split the posts below (the start of the hijack) into their own thread.

It is interesting but we should not have hijacked your thread.

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Sorry, david48

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Yes, to me that is a big difference, and would affect what I would do.

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The one I have. Contour Next Link. It came with my insulin pump and is very accurate.

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Contour has a new meter with reported better accuracy, with all other features, but it does not connect wirelessly to medtronic pumps. It is s very cool meter and uses the same strips.

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Eddie if you look at your meter even with the best of accuracy it is + or - 12% of actual day in day out. My point is that the meters we use may give us s number but that number is not exactly real. It is best to use a single meter and abide by that as opposed to trying to fixate on an individual number.

I would question the claim of better accuracy of a particular meter over another meter where they both use the same strip. Although I may be wrong, it is my understanding that the “accuracy” (or magic if you like) of the meter is actually in the strip. If so, the meter should not matter as long as it is compatible with the strip.

I would be quite interested in (reasonably scientific) articles that either support or refute my “understanding” of such.

It’s a combo of the two. Either part can impact accuracy. The strip itself produces an electrical current that is interpeteded by the meter.

I still disagree that the meter has a part in the accuracy given the assumption of a properly functioning meter. Obviously if the meter is malfunctioning than all bets are off. Absent that - the meter does not matter. It will operate exactly the same and provide exactly the same interpretation of the given signal from the strip. It is the strip itself which can deviate.

Again - I would be interested in any scientific article supporting or refuting such. Absent that - I firmly believe the strip is what counts.

http://www.msn.com/en-us?devicegroup=downlevel.mobile&webslice=ieslice

I don’t think you have to settle for +/- 12%

diatribe - blood-glucose–18-meters
Diabetes Technology Society Blood Glucose Monitor System
integrateddiabetes-blood-glucose-meter-comparisons

Sure use a single meter, but use a good one!

I guess I really don’t have much of an understanding of how the magic works, but if the strips are more important than the meter in determining the blood glucose value, then it makes sense that the strips are the expensive part of the package. And probably like a lot of people, I instinctively don’t trust cheap test strips, but I really have no reason to feel this way.

Just FYI, I just did another test of my meters and got this:

Dario - 87
CVS Advanced - 117

I skipped the OneTouch because I just don’t like it and don’t use it much. Regardless, that’s a 30 point difference between meters, which seems significant. But like I stated, since I mainly use this to calibrate my Dexcom, I will stick with one meter at a time. Plus, I would prefer to err on the low side.

Contour Next one, about 22 cents a strip on Amazon, and it’s on the top of everyone’s list…

diatribe - blood-glucose–18-meters
Diabetes Technology Society Blood Glucose Monitor System
integrateddiabetes-blood-glucose-meter-comparisons

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Sure out of the box with fresh strips with a few tests averaged. Use a meter for a few months get test strips at the end of thier life, test in hot or cold, or eseciallly test high or low, results like diabetes varies. The number, is at best an estimate. A good estimate, but an estimate.

I use the contour (top rated in the Diatribe sample), but I have no illusion my 2 year old meter is 99% accurate. It is +/- 15% just like the company tells us to expect.