Wildly inaccurate BG readings

science
(Erin Macfarland ) #9

@David_Stilley I will definitely check I hadn’t thought about that!

(Erin Macfarland ) #10

@KetoCancerMom they were within a couple of minutes. Pretty crazy right??

(Erin Macfarland ) #11

I meant to add too that I am very metabolically healthy, active…I did not work out prior to taking the reading either :grin:

(Cancer Fighting Ketovore :)) #12

I should have tagged @Weeverrm. I know yours were within a few minutes.

Yes, it is crazy how different the readings were. Keep us updated, if you want, if you do decide to do some extra testing.

(Erin Macfarland ) #13

@David_Stilley, the strips were out of date six months ago! Do you think they’d be inaccurate after that amount of time?

(Full Metal KETO AF) #14

I’m no expert on that, I just knew they had expiration dates because I dug out my old one recently. :cowboy_hat_face:

(Cancer Fighting Ketovore :)) #15

Just as an example…

I just tested (and didn’t wash my hands - thought they were already clean, but I guess not), and got a reading of 140! I knew that had to be way off, especially as my CGM was reading 90. A restest, after washing hands was 80. That reading was much more in line with what I expected. I don’t really have a good way to mark the 140 as a “test” reading…

(Trish) #16

Could also be the soap residue on your finger.

#17

Yes test change the strip and test again from the same stick even. The same blood bubble ( whatever it is call)

(Central Florida Bob ) #18

Somewhere around these forums, someone posted a paper from the Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology that compared accuracy of 17 meters. The article is dated 2016, so some of the meters aren’t even around anymore.

The important part is not even the very worst meters were that bad. The worst were around 20% error - which is horrid. The best was around 5% - the Contour Next. Previously Bayer, now spun off as Ascencia (spelling?) I dumped the one I was using, which was middle of the pack - 12%, I think, and bought a Contour Next.

Hey… I found it.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1932296816672237

(Bunny) #19

A big YES! (I use multiple meters when I feel like playing with them) Note: I still want one of those fancy Libres to play with…lol

I have had the exact same thing happen to me, it could be from the residual left over from what your washing hands with (chemical composition?), using an alcohol swab (not letting the alcohol evaporate?) or using the same pin pricker over and over again which is responsible for causing sepsis deaths in the elderly from using the same pin sticker over and over again because they have a hard time changing them? Lots of deaths because of that one little thing alone! The pin stickers alone will kill you before the diabetes gets you!

(Cancer Fighting Ketovore :)) #20

Have you asked your doctor for one? Mine is covered just like a medication prescription with insurance. I do have to pay 50% of the sensor cost (I don’t know where they come up with that). Still, its nice to have. Recently some of the readings have been way off (sensor vs fingerstick), but generally they are close. I’d love to have a sensor that also recorded ketones. That would be sweet!

#21

So based on this I would imagine my readings are just within the margin of error. Though the keto mojo is not shown. I’m seeing 10-15 points which I think is just within the accuracy.

I’m thinking on reading showing on the lower side and one on the higher would give the margin.

It is just a little surprising to see a 66 which is about 10 lower then 'normal ’ fasting bg

Thanks for the info

(Central Florida Bob ) #22

Like you say, the Keto Mojo isn’t in the list, but 10 or 15 isn’t points isn’t unusual out of 100. At the time, I was using a meter that would give me readings that far apart. Coming from a world where most measurements are within 2%, it makes me nuts.

Somewhere on the forums, I’ve seen discussions comparing the Abbott glucose/ketone meter and people comparing it to the Mojo There’s no equivalent paper for ketone meters that I know of.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #23

Are your test strips properly calibrated?
Are they still in date?
Is it possible the batch is bad (do you have a different batch you can try?)
Did someone (who shall remain nameless, lol) drop the meter on the floor?

P.S.–Good luck figuring it out, Erin. :bacon:

(Bob M) #24

I pay about $75/month for the sensors for the 14-day US version. The Sweden version I got was about $65/month with the exchange rate, and the Swedish version is over the counter (no prescription) and does not need calibration, unlike the US version, which requires calibration using pinprick sensors.

I’d like to see one that does glucose, ketones, insulin, and glucagon.

(Cancer Fighting Ketovore :)) #25

The 14-day one doesn’t need calibration. It even says so on the website.

(Bob M) #26

Interesting. Mine asks me to use a pinprick stick and actually seems to be wildly inaccurate at first, as in 20 points off, unlike the European version, which was rock solid.

I’ll revisit this once I get another supply of them, which will be soon.

(Cancer Fighting Ketovore :)) #27

Mine says to do that too, but its only for the first 12 hours or so, as its getting used to my body. Its not required to do finger sticks. They just don’t want you to rely on the sensor for decisions. Mine have been about 5-10 off, or less. But also, they say that there could be a discrepancy anyway, based on the differences in how ISF and BG are measured.

(Bob M) #28

I’ll show you what I mean. Here’s the first time I put the sensor in:

image

I guarantee that value is way higher than the real reading, as evidenced by the next few days:

image

So, I’ve been using the pinpricks just to see if I can get the readings closer to reality.

The European model was not like this. I never once looked at it (unless the seal around the sensor went bad) and said, “What the heck?”. But with the US model, the first half day or so is totally out of alignment with reality.

I guess this is even more clear when you look at the rest of the days of that week:

image

The later days are really what my blood sugar is, considering I’m basically eating meat and eggs, with minor veggies, and maybe some dairy, sometimes.