First test... whaat!

[Snowwy]

Morning all,
So I bought a BG tester (Standard Gluco Navii) hope that was the right one?
After reading through many words at 5:30 in the morning I managed to stab myself and got my first reading... 2.7 !
So after a coffee and a rich tea biscuit I am now posting some questions?
: 2.7... is that a bit low?
: How often do I test and when?
: Is there an app to record results from this machine (either ios/android)?
: Where do I go from here?
Sorry if posted in wrong section
Snowwy

 

[Northerner]

Hi Snowwy, yes 2.7 is low - anything below 4.0 is considered a 'hypo'. How did you feel, did you have any symptoms, such as feeling sweaty or shaky? If not, then it's worth doing another test to confirm the first. It's highly unlikely as you are on no medication, and whilst you can still go high, your body will prevent you dropping much below 4.0 🙂 Have you tested again yet?

 

[Andy HB]

I'd also check the use by date on the test strips. I know you've only just bought the meter, but it is possible that they may be out of date (but only maybe).

Also, and this seems to be my theme for the week, it is also possible that the strips or meter are faulty. Hopefully, you have some test solution which can be used to check them (usually this can be ordered if it didn't come with the meter).

 

[Snowwy]

Well I have just done another test... 4.7
Strips are well in date.
Would the coffee and rich tea have an effect?
First reading was 5:45 am 2.7
This one 7: 50 am 4.7

 

[Docb]

Hi Snowwy. My take is that you have got to take a few readings to get into the routine and begin to get a pattern of what is normal to you. Normal sort of regime to start with is to test, first thing in the morning, before meals and 2hours after, and bed time. No need to get obsessive, perhaps check effect of breakfast for a couple of days, effect of lunch for a couple of days and then test effect of evening meal. When you have got that, then look to see what the patterns are. It's the patterns that are important because there are many reasons why spot readings vary, including the machine getting a wrong answer.

As for the 2.7, as Andy has said, unless you are taking insulin or an insulin promoting drug like gliclazide, you should not be getting that low. If it happens as a routine, go back to your GP or DN and see what they have to say.

Would a rich tea and coffee have an effect? Again its very individual and depends very much on what's in the coffee. Full blown cappuccino with chocolate sprinkles would put me well into double figures ( I did it once) whereas 1 rich tea I would expect to be undetectable. Cannot stress too highly that exact effects depend on the individual and only worth reacting to when the spike is big, or a low reading occurs a few times under the same conditions.

 

[Andy HB]

I agree with Northerner and Docb, you really should not be going that low (the 2.7mmol/L). Even when I was on gliclazide, I was never that low and certainly not when I was on metformin. Are you taking any medication? If not, then I would really check your meter and if that is ok, then a chat with your GP or DSN is in order.

Another possibility which may have affected the result... how hard did you squeeze your finger to get the blood droplet? Squeezing your finger too hard may lead to off-readings. Make sure that your hands are nice and warm before testing (maybe wash and rinse them fully in warm water). That may help get the blood flowing more easily.

 

[Snowwy]

Some great advice here! Thanks...
Will get some test solution
I did wash hands in warm water but 'may' have squeezed a bit so will have to learn that.

Not on medication and aiming to stay that way if I can.
There is a lot to learn it seems ⁉️

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Could simply have been a duff strip. Meters need to comply with ISO accuracy 95% of the time, but 5% of strips can read anything and the meter still passes muster. If a reading doesn’t match how you are feeling, you are always advised to recheck.

There’s an illusion of decimal point accuracy, but self monitoring meters are really only giving ‘ish’ values.

 

[Eddy Edson]

Morning all,
So I bought a BG tester (Standard Gluco Navii) hope that was the right one?
After reading through many words at 5:30 in the morning I managed to stab myself and got my first reading... 2.7 !
So after a coffee and a rich tea biscuit I am now posting some questions?
: 2.7... is that a bit low?
: How often do I test and when?
: Is there an app to record results from this machine (either ios/android)?
: Where do I go from here?
Sorry if posted in wrong section
Snowwy

FWIW, I agree that it was most likely a dodgy strip & it always makes sense to do a quick re-test if you get a reading which looks odd.

On the other hand, it's uncommon but not unknown for people to dip into the 2's even if not on insulin etc. Anyway, it seems to happen with me, sometimes. Personally, I don't think it really counts as a "hypo" in the sense of something to worry much about, if it's just transient.

 

[silentsquirrel]

I have no experience of your meter, but my current meter sometimes gives me readings in the 2s or even 1s if I don't get a large enough sample on quickly enough. Retest a minute or two later tells me this was a nonsense result! Very scary the first time it happened. My previous meter (replaced by surgery, strips too expensive) always gave an error code when this happened.
Always best to retest if you get an unexpected extremely low or extremely high result - for the latter washing hands thoroughly before retest in case of contamination.

 

[Brando77]

I've tested before and got 10+....thought, no way, it's before food, washed hands, 5something, there you go.
Always wash hands first, or if you're rationing water/soap just the test finger 🙂

 

[Snowwy]

Hi guys, seems to have settled down to normal readings now.
Learning on the way...

Thanks for all the help.

Just wondering if I can turn these readings into some sort of HbA1c guide?

 

[Deleted member 25429]

I've tested before and got 10+....thought, no way, it's before food, washed hands, 5something, there you go.
Always wash hands first, or if you're rationing water/soap just the test finger 🙂

I get 15.6 on my meter when I’m hot , simple wash and dry of the hands means I then get a sensible reading ‍♀️