If you find yourself asking this question, hang on, because you have just opened a can of worms. There is not really a simple answer. Well there is, sort of, in a way, a “most accurate” meter depending on who you ask. From what I have heard, and read, there seems to be a consensus, but by no means is it unanimous.
In general, the One Touch Ultra reads lower than other meters. This comes up a lot in forums and in conversations. When you do some research, you find different people like different meters, but in general, the Freestyle meter is “loosely” agreed on as the most accurate. There you have it, a short answer. Now for the real answer that I did not know until now.
Blood glucose meters are doing some intense calculations most of the time in about five seconds. There is an electrical current which is used, temperature comes into play, residue on the skin can effect the reading, and the list goes on and on and on. This technology is not where we, as diabetics, would like it to be. This fact is unanimous.
Monitoring your blood glucose levels is extremely important especially for those taking insulin, and especially if you are new to pumping insulin. You want to avoid having hypoglycemia at all costs. This can be very frustrating to lots of diabetics. Also if you are a Type 2 and trying to keep your A1C low, it would be nice to have a meter that tells you the truth, right?
A meter does not exist that is 100% correct.
Just to make things more complicated, the strips used in testing also introduce a whole new group of variables into the mix. I am not going to get into all the percentages and ratios and all that technical data here. The point of this post was to provide a relatively short answer to an important question that I could not find elsewhere myself.
When it comes to monitoring your glucose and maintaining your diabetic health in general (here it comes) you need to see your doctor regularly. If you want to see how accurate your meter is, you need to bring it to your next appointment, and test yourself as close to the same time as the doctor. Then based on those results, you will know how accurate your meter is.
For example, lets assume you are a good boy or girl and your fasting test is 89 (doctors test) and your fancy pants meter is 100. You now know that your results are 11 points higher than your doctors and you can adjust your diet / exercise / insulin / medication accordingly. Do not rely on your meter to tell the whole story, and do not test one meter against another, because this does not tell you anything.
Here is what I mean by that. Meter 1 ( One touch Ultra ) reads 100, and meter 2 (the Bayer brand meter) reads 79. Here you are all frustrated because there is a 21 point difference in the readings. The reading at the doctors office (the most accurate one) was 89. So all you know by comparing two meters without the doctors reading is that they are both off…
I tweaked out on this issue for far too long, my advice is get to know your body and how you feel, and over time (ask a long time diabetic) you will not really use the meter that much.
In conclusion, get a meter you like, test the accuracy against the doctors results, and adjust.
Tags: blood testing meters, diabetes meters, diabetic blood meters, glucose testing meters
