First let me set it up. I had an insurance change at the beginning of the year and was once again switched to what I thought would be a downgrade in accuracy. Few years back I went from Contour to One Touch Verio and now to Metrix.
Diatribe had an article a while back about accuracy of meters that were bought off the shelves of different pharmacies. And of course the 2 I have been using and must use going forward are on the failed list. The Contour was the top of the list.
I just finished up another clinical trial yesterday. I was on an overnight and they have the lab there where they test my blood sugar every half hour or hour depending on results. And I thought, letâs put all the meters through the test. I had a Contour, One Touch Metrix and a Precision( tests sugar & ketones & it was the one I used during the study as they were testing ketone levels also).
We did one test on low side and one on the high side and the results were shocking.
Lab said 82.3, Contour 90 (+7), Metrix 84(+2), One Touch 93 (+11), Precision (+21).
Lab said 359, Contour 386 (+27), Metrix 373 (+14), One Touch 354 (-5), Precision 416 (+57).
So looking at these numbers the Metrix was pretty darn close. And wow the one from the study was way off! I mean all but the Precision were pretty darn close but for those who are very insulin sensitive, some of these could cause some issues. And I know this is just one testing but it was very interesting and I just love the reaction from the nursing staff when they see the differences between meter and CGM to lab results. And one was shocked at the range of results and she said how do you know how much insulin to take? I laughed and said, this is a huge problem for all of us. Insulin if taken incorrectly can kill and we canât get accurate numbers.
And just one more fun note to this overnight. I was off my pump and they had IV going with insulin. Every hour or half hour they would test and adjust the basal rate depending on results. Now I have one rate going overnight but that night the rate changed from 1.7 (never had a basal rate that high) to .5. And again team said how is anyone suppose to control blood sugars when things go up and down so quickly even when all I was doing was sitting in bed the whole time.
This is why I canât wait for my next trial which will be a true AP. One that will control everything! I canât wait!
Did you mean this as 2 different meters, one touch verio and metrix?
I have used many meters and never expect an exact reading, so not surprised at the variations. If the number is within 10-15% I consider it accurate.
Many times I have used the same drop of blood on multiple tests using SAME meter, and can get variation.
Sorry, it is One Touch Verio & Metrix. Oopsđ
And I agree meters or CGMâs are never perfect, but canât we get a little more accuracy & consistency? I mean we make some pretty big decisions based on these numbers.
The last time I had blood drawn for my Endo I also did a finger stick within 5 minutes and my Contour was 5 points higher then the blood test results.
Don
over the years i have been on Medicare. they cover all the One Touch products, so i had always used their meter and strips. i found them to give me such a variety of results, not particularly consistent or even accurate. none of them seemed to help me with my insulin needs, nor were they particularly accurate when it came to measuring my A1cs.
after reading a lot of members experiences, i decided upon the Contour Next One meter, and i have found it to be both consistent and accurate. but iâve had to pay OOP for my strips. I buy them through Amazon; i get 600 strips for about $125. but i just read on another thread on TuD that Medicare DOES cover them. so i asked my endo to put in some paperwork and get part B to start paying for the Contour strips since i have piles and shelves filled with unused One Touch products.
hope this helps. (and thanks for your âat homeâ experimental study! 
)
Iâve been on the Contour Next strips under Medicare for almost a year now. Only a script from my doctor was needed.
Meter accuracy is often discussed here, but this is my perspective. My first meter in 1977 had to be timed for a minute, squirted off with water and blotted. And I wrote an equation for each bottle of strips because there were no calibration numbers. Thankfully ease of use and accuracy has improved a great deal since then. But even with those inaccuracies, there were zero trips to the emergency room or situations where I passed out.
I canât remember now when I last had a BS in the 300+ range. But if I did, my least concern would be meter accuracy. All I would need to know is that I was totally out of control on the high side. And I would take a calculated insulin bolus, knowing that it would be extremely unlikely that I would stick a perfect landing. As my BS approached something close to my goal range, I would make further adjustments either to insulin or glucose. And in that zone, my meter would be far more accurate.
We seem to talk far less about the inaccuracies in food labels(+/-20% according to Bernstein I recall) or about weighing our food portions. But bolusing based on food assumptions can lead to emergency situations too. And even if we had perfect meters and perfect food labels, our bodies probably wonât respond perfectly from one day to the next.