difference in fingers/readings

[gail2]

nurse came this morning as normal she did my l hand finger 4.4 (after breakfast) b4 breakfast it was 6.1. So she tested r hand finger it was 5.3 Is it normal to have this difference in hands? Or is the diabetic fairy being playful

 

[Leadinglights]

nurse came this morning as normal she did my l hand finger 4.4 (after breakfast) b4 breakfast it was 6.1. So she tested r hand finger it was 5.3 Is it normal to have this difference in hands? Or is the diabetic fairy being playful

Given the range of accuracy that blood glucose monitors are allowed those reading are the same. There would potentially be that difference from the same drop of blood.

 

[Docb]

@gail2 - I have done tests on different fingers and would say that it is quite possible to get those sorts of differences between tests done at the same time but on different fingers. My suggestion to anybody is to round the reading to the nearest whole number (your 6.1 would be 6, and your 5.3 would be a 5) and then only begin to think that the readings might be different if the difference was more than 2.

It is a simple rule of thumb but sensibly reflects the reproducibility of blood glucose results from finger pricking.

 

[gail2]

Thanks for putting my mind at rest staff have just tested as per nurses sayso and its 11.8 the diabetic fairy is up to her tricks

 

[trophywench]

She isn't really gail - it's just that your breakfast has got more there than it had, earlier. It'll go down again. Simply impossible to match everything that food and everything else do to our blood sugar at the exact time it hits our bloodstream! (unless of course you don't have diabetes and your pancreas is fully functional) Have to accept 'near enough'.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

At any one time, and from the same drop of blood you could expect 2 different fingerstick results to fall within these sorts of variations @gail2 …

BG meter accuracy
It can be quite disconcerting for members new to self monitoring of blood glucose to get different results from BG readings taken close together, even when carefully following manufacturers guidance (washing hands etc). All meters for sale in the UK should comply with the following ISO standards 95% of the time, which allows a degree of variation (and 5% of results can read anything at all). If in any doubt, or if a reading doesn’t match how you are feeling, you should check again with a fresh strip.

 

[gail2]

thanks for that

 

[Ivostas66]

Had you washed your hands before the finger prick? I had a massive panic not long after I was diagnosed when my reading was 20 something. I then noticed my hand was a bit sticky, then remembered I had taken a big swig of Lucozade about half an hour earlier when my BG was going very low and there must have been residue on my finger (I was guiding a group of Year 9 students around Ypres at the time!).

Anyway, I washed my hands and checked again to find I was actually around 7.

 

[gail2]

yes had washed hands always do used my meter for first one and house one for 2nd dont know if that makes a difference

 

[rebrascora]

yes had washed hands always do used my meter for first one and house one for 2nd dont know if that makes a difference

Yes, it absolutely makes a difference. Different meters will bring more variation into the mix as some seem to be calibrated slightly higher or slightly lower than each other. For instance, my Caresens meter consistently reads about 1mmol higher than using Freestyle Optium test strips in my Libre reader... which doubles as a BG meter.

 

[Leadinglights]

If you use a different protocol each time you add in an additional variation into the mix. Consistency is important.
To get students to understand it was important to add things to a reaction tube in the specified order and not just randomly, it was for a reason.