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I just did my after dinner reading. All I had was baked chicken and a green salad with oil, vinegar, and fresh squeezed orange juice. About 15 carbs or less. My reading was 342!!!!! What could be wrong?
Did you wash your hands first?
I washed before I fixed dinner.
Did you squeeze the OJ with your hands?
Yes, but they were clean……………
Always wash and completely dry your hands before testing. One small food particle on them can effect the reading. Rinse well too because believe it or not some soap contains sugar (why I have no idea). Then test again.
My meter is broken. I just did three readings in a row with the same drop of blood. The numbers were 106, 122 and 164. I just sent a meter back because of this, are any more reliable?
Your blood glucose changes from moment to moment, and once it’s exposed to the air it changes even faster. Never use the same drop of blood for another test. You’ll also get different readings from different fingers and hands because of circulation differences. Your readings are likely to be lower in your dominant hand because you use it more.
Although we would like 100% accuracy, it’s just not the case at this time. Meters are allowed to vary up to -/+20% by law, although most only vary about 5% usually. The same meter will vary the same amount, not 5% one time and 15% another time. So if your meter reads 122 with 5% variance the number could be 128 or 116. There is talk about trying to make this more accurate but right now this beats the only way people used to have to test glucose before meters. There was no way to get an exact measurement then either. You could only get a count if your blood was over 180 and then there were only wide ranges. Not even close to as accurate as it is today, so things have improved greatly. For your testing purposes you are looking for trends (unless you use insulin) and exact numbers are not as necessary.
Here is a link from Diabetes Forecast on different meters and their features, but the costs and what your insurance will pay for is also a factor in your decision:
Here’s a great way to check your meter: the next time you have blood work done take your meter and strips with you. Right after your blood is draw for the lab do your own test (do a new prick, don’t use the same blood). Then when your results come in compare the lab to your meter reading. That will let you see how much they vary. You can also do this at your doctor’s office since the meters they use are more high-end and technical.
See this post about meter maintenance:
One last word. A lot of people are upset when their A1C results don’t match what their tests reflect.
Remember that an A1C is an average measurement of glucose values 24/7 for about 3 months. There’s no way that you could test that often unless you wear a Continuous Glucose Monitoring Device, and very few of us do.
Keep that in mind when seeing your next A1C result.
Happy Testing,
Lizzy
© EMO 02/14
Knowledge is Power
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