Blood glucose meters how to use
Common Questions and Answers about Blood glucose meters how to use
blood-glucose
I know that there are some meters that use tinier drops of blood than others, and also that people can use sites other than fingertips with some meters (usually the ones that don't require a large blood drop). I have read, however, that sites other than fingertips can be less accurate. As to how different the glucose reading would be, it probably depends on the meter and perhaps on the size of blood drop.
In your first thread I mentioned that the FDA set manufacturing guidelines for home glucose meters at ± [plus/minus] 20%. This means your 70 mg/dl reading could be 70 mg/dl or it could be as low as 56 mg/dl or as high as 84 mg/dl. Home meters give an approximation not a true reading of glucose levels. Since your 100 mg/dl reading two minutes later falls out of this range, the questions remaining are:
1. How old is your father's meter?
2. Do the test strips have an expiration date?
3.
Home glucose checking is designed to only give a ballpark snapshot of what our blood glucose is at that moment of time. Blood flow through the body is dynamic and the chemistry, including glucose, at any given point will very from one moment to the next. That said unless you took a blood sample and tested it many times (not taking a new sample for each test, thus a different blood chemistry) the variance in readings you recorded are normal.
s interesting that you question the accuracy of your glucose meter for I was reading the September 2008 issues of Consumer Reports that rated both blood-pressure monitors and blood-glucose meters. Only one blood-glucose meter scored excellent overall and also scored the highest for consistency- the Johnson & Johnson Lifescan OneTouch Ultra Mini. The Ultra Mini was followed by Ascensia Contour, ReliOn Ultima (WalMart), and Accu-check Compact Plus.
Your numbers indicated glucose out of control and you need to pay attention to what your doctor says to you. Go back and consult with your doctor so you can understand what you need to do in order to control and manage your glucose levels before they get way of hand. If you Google "diabetes complications", I guarantee you will not like what you read.
Your home meter [test kit] could also be whacked giving you inaccurate test results.
The FDA set meter guidelines as ± 20%, meaning a meters results can be 20% deviate in both directions. Meters are not designed to be accurate but only to reflect an estimate. Not all blood samples are alike nor carry the same amount of glucose and the reason for one reading to be 116 mg/dl and a minute later 88 mg/dl. This is why doctors and hospitals alike use the A1c test as the gold standard. The A1c measures your glucose going back 2-3 months. Why?
t tell a doctor what is going with your glucose levels at all times of the day. Home glucose meters are good to see how well one is managing their glucose levels. Having scaled results (high to low, or normal to near high or above) calls for an A1c test to see the entire picture.
An A1c test measures your glucose going back three months. Why three months? On the average, new red blood cells live three months before dieing off and getting turned into Bilirubin.
Testing once a day, in your case, will not provide you with adequate data to learn what is causing your blood glucose to elevate. This is the testing regimen first time users must perform before they step down to once a day or even once a week testing. The latter takes months and in some case years to get to. Until you make lifestyle changes - proper nutrition, maintaining normal weight, perform daily physical exercise - you will continue testing 6-7 times a day, or more.
Sorry about auto correct.
i did it and went to lab and result was 80.i went to my doc who is not a specialist in diabetes said do hba1c and result was 5.5.he said moniter your bs for 2 3 days last night i checked after one and half hour after dinner and glucometer reading was 248.and in less then 5 minutes i checked with another and reading was 117.so my question is can home gluco meter reading wrong and how much margin for erorr.and 5.5 what indicate.
Great meter as I use the same unit. The FDA only requires test meters to be within +/- 20%. They are not meant to be an accurate representation of your glucose but an estimate for you to judge what your liver is doing while sleeping, for you to test upon awakening in the morning, to test and provide a baseline measurement preprandial [before meals] level, and to test to see how the foods you consumed affected your glucose level postprandial [2-3 hrs after meal].
Go here to understand what it is about and why doctors use it to help determine if you a diabetic or not.
http://www.diabetes.org/type-1-diabetes/a1c-test.jsp
Also, keep in mind that stress/anxiety does not cause diabetes, although it may be a trigger for the body turning on itself diabetes. as in the case of Type 1 diabetes. It does, however, make the symptoms worse for those who already have.
Bottom line, go see a doctor and get tested.
He/she sounds like a quack. It is important to monitor your blood sugar (glucose) on a regular basis to understand how well you are controlling your diabetes. Your above 300 mg/dl readings are high and getting real close to a dangerous level where diabetes complications start to set in. I'll get back to when to test your glucose further down in this thread.
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