Figuring this stuff out

[Hay-Cart]

Hi, I’ve recently been diagnosed with Type 2, and was given a Tee 2 monitor by my diabetic nurse.
I’m still getting used to everything, and I’ve done repeat tests after a few unexpectedly high readings first thing in the morning (thinking maybe my finger wasn’t properly clean or something).
Out of curiosity though, I carefully washed & dried the target finger then squeezed a slightly larger drop of blood for my test this morning, and tested two strips one after the other on the same drop - first result was 10.8, second test (same drop of blood, less than 20 seconds later) was only 7.0.
Has anyone else noticed the same variation, and can anyone recommend which result to trust - first or second...?

 

[Bruce Stephens]

I have a different meter and the instructions that came with the kit says not to test the first drop but wipe it away, squeeze out a second drop and test that. I've done it that way since day 1.

How interesting. I've never read that suggestion. Rather, the standard advice (I thought) is to wash (with soap and hot water, since hot water tends to increase blood supply) and dry.

And don't take the apparent precision of these machines very seriously: they're supposed to be (IIRC) within 15%, 90% of the time (within the usually useful range). (Though I think the required accuracy has been improved a bit recently.)

(Admittedly 10.8-15% is 9.2 and 7.0+15% is 8.0, so that doesn't overlap.)

 

[Bruce Stephens]

This is what my test kit instructions leaflet says:-

Yes. I wonder how many guides say that as opposed to what I assumed everyone said, some variant of https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/managing-your-diabetes/testing#Howtotest

I can see the idea behind using the second drop of blood (might have some cleaning effect, maybe the second drop is "fresher"). I wonder if it actually works better (or worse)?

After some googling, looks like the advice (based on trials) is to wash and use the first drop. If you can't wash, then it might be OK just to use the second drop (but it might not, depending on what's on your skin). And don't squeeze your finger too much (because that can lower the blood glucose).