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Switching meters

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Katieb

Katieb

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Morning all. Just ordered a new meter - Codefree - mainly due to reduced cost of strips. Have been using Accuchek Aviva Nano. Can I expect to see any difference in readings or will they be roughly the same? Have others found the Codefree to be fairly accurate? Hope it comes soon. Down to last few strips! 🙂
 
@Vince_UK alternates between an Accu-Chek meter and a Codefree and he does see a difference in readings between the 2, I'm sure he wont mind sharing his experiences with you when he see's this but please bear in mind he is in China so don't know when he'll see this! haha
xx
 
Katieb said:
Morning all. Just ordered a new meter - Codefree - mainly due to reduced cost of strips. Have been using Accuchek Aviva Nano. Can I expect to see any difference in readings or will they be roughly the same? Have others found the Codefree to be fairly accurate? Hope it comes soon. Down to last few strips! 🙂
Click to expand...
I initially used the codefree when I self funded...then got a meter & strips from GP...still do...there is a difference between the one I use now & the codefree...I prefer the codefree...for me its the more accurate one...others may have a different experience...however...my 90 day average reading was almost as accurate as my HbA1c test result.
 
All modern meters have to comply with an ISO standard for accuracy against a lab test. Having said that, some generally seem more reliable and consistent than others. And in truth *all* home BG meters are really only giving 'ish' measurements despite the illusion of decimal point accuracy. See below:

meter_accuracy600.png



Many members here use the Codefree and find it very usable and that it gives them results that they can use to successfully adjust their self-management decisions.

So while there may be a slight general difference between the two (there often is between different BG meter brands) it probably won't make all that much difference overall, and without cross-checking against lab measurements you won't know which of the meters is reading closest to your real BG.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
All modern meters have to comply with an ISO standard for accuracy against a lab test. Having said that, some generally seem more reliable and consistent than others. And in truth *all* home BG meters are really only giving 'ish' measurements despite the illusion of decimal point accuracy. See below:

meter_accuracy600.png



Many members here use the Codefree and find it very usable and that it gives them results that they can use to successfully adjust their self-management decisions.

So while there may be a slight general difference between the two (there often is between different BG meter brands) it probably won't make all that much difference overall, and without cross-checking against lab measurements you won't know which of the meters is reading closest to your real BG.
Click to expand...
A really nice practical context for use of upper and lower bounds.
Would have been very useful if I was still teaching Maths!
 
Great to know, I have also just ordered a code free for the same reason. I asked why I had been given a machine that they knew I wouldn’t be prescribed strips for, surely that was a waste of nhs funds, the nurse said the machines are provided free of charge from the manufacturer in the hope we will continue to self fund the strips o_O
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
All modern meters have to comply with an ISO standard for accuracy against a lab test. Having said that, some generally seem more reliable and consistent than others. And in truth *all* home BG meters are really only giving 'ish' measurements despite the illusion of decimal point accuracy. See below:

meter_accuracy600.png



Many members here use the Codefree and find it very usable and that it gives them results that they can use to successfully adjust their self-management decisions.

So while there may be a slight general difference between the two (there often is between different BG meter brands) it probably won't make all that much difference overall, and without cross-checking against lab measurements you won't know which of the meters is reading closest to your real BG.
Click to expand...
Thanks! Useful and interesting! 🙂
 
Thanks all! Some useful feedback! 🙂
 
Kaylz said:
@Vince_UK alternates between an Accu-Chek meter and a Codefree and he does see a difference in readings between the 2, I'm sure he wont mind sharing his experiences with you when he see's this but please bear in mind he is in China so don't know when he'll see this! haha
xx
Click to expand...
Don't mind at all 🙂
 
That information is very useful thanks @everydayupsanddowns
If I have this correct, Meters are acceptable if for 95% of the time they are +/- 15% accurate at 5.6mmol/L for example.
Well I believe a potential + or- 15% accuracy 95% of the time is totally unacceptable in anyone books but that is just me, ISO standards or not. That equates to a 5% failure rate. It would also appear that this has not been revisited for 5 years. In addition to this while we focus on the meters themselves what , if any, are the standards for the strip reliability. Just curious about that one. Also wonder how often manufacturers are audited and field samples taken and validated against these standards in the market place. These things are mass produced. the Codefree in South Korea, the Accu-Chek in Germany.
I couldn't run a business or sell products based on those tolerance bands or a 95% hit rate, that is just my opinion.
I just use my meters as guides in terms of ranges and nothing more, BG up or down.
My own experiences, and I have them charted, show anything between -5% and +18% between Accu-Chek and Codefree.
Hey Ho 🙂
 
Flo15 said:
I use both the sd code free and the nano, they are usually spot on for readings. I wouldn't actually mind the sd code free being on my prescription instead of the nano, it's that reliable for me.
Click to expand...
Flo for some reason the SD codefree is not offered on prescription at our practice...although it is one of the cheapest to use...particularly if self funding...for me it's one of the most accurate ones I have used.
 
CathyB said:
Great to know, I have also just ordered a code free for the same reason. I asked why I had been given a machine that they knew I wouldn’t be prescribed strips for, surely that was a waste of nhs funds, the nurse said the machines are provided free of charge from the manufacturer in the hope we will continue to self fund the strips o_O
Click to expand...
Spot on Cathy...they are free of charge to our surgeries...the strips for my meter cost at least twice the price of the codefree if you self fund...in fact when the batteries on my meter expire if I ring the manufacturer they send new ones out to me...or will send me a new meter free of charge.
 
You may be disappointed to know that some available meters do not even meet this level of accuracy in practice @Vince_UK - some of which is down to operator error (contamination on hands / strip handling / strip storage etc) but also down to strip manufacture and distribution challenges.

Having said that we have come a long way since only being able to measure (or estimate) glucose levels in urine, and accuracy as it stands does allow intensive management decision-making. We just need to remember that the results we get are subject to variation and try not to stress about smaller differences (unless around hypoglycaemia)

I have a link to an article on the most accurate meters which I will try to find.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
You may be disappointed to know that some available meters do not even meet this level of accuracy in practice @Vince_UK - some of which is down to operator error (contamination on hands / strip handling / strip storage etc) but also down to strip manufacture and distribution challenges.

Having said that we have come a long way since only being able to measure (or estimate) glucose levels in urine, and accuracy as it stands does allow intensive management decision-making. We just need to remember that the results we get are subject to variation and try not to stress about smaller differences (unless around hypoglycaemia)

I have a link to an article on the most accurate meters which I will try to find.
Click to expand...
That would be terrifc @everydayupsanddowns 🙂
 
Vince_UK said:
That would be terrifc @everydayupsanddowns 🙂
Click to expand...


Here are a couple of links - unfortunately from US sites, so the meter names (and some of the brands) may be different/unfamiliar:
Commentary on a 2012 study (linked) http://www.diabetesdaily.com/blog/2013/07/blood-glucose-meter-accuracy-comparison-chart/

This from last year suggests that only a handful of US meters cleared by the FDA actually achieve the recommended US accuracy levels in real life:
https://diatribe.org/are-blood-glucose-meters-accurate-new-data-18-meters
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Here are a couple of links - unfortunately from US sites, so the meter names (and some of the brands) may be different/unfamiliar:
Commentary on a 2012 study (linked) http://www.diabetesdaily.com/blog/2013/07/blood-glucose-meter-accuracy-comparison-chart/

This from last year suggests that only a handful of US meters cleared by the FDA actually achieve the recommended US accuracy levels in real life:
https://diatribe.org/are-blood-glucose-meters-accurate-new-data-18-meters
Click to expand...
Thanks Mike for taking the time, will try to get onto them later. Not easy from here 🙂
 
Vince_UK said:
Thanks Mike for taking the time, will try to get onto them later. Not easy from here 🙂
Click to expand...

From the second, more recent link:

Technology Society’s Blood Glucose Meter Surveillance Program identifies only six out of 18 meters that passed. Did yours make the cut?

The Diabetes Technology Society (DTS) recently revealed long-awaited results from its Blood Glucose Monitor System (BGMS) Surveillance Program. The rigorous study tested the accuracy of 18 popular blood glucose meters (BGM) used in the US. These FDA-cleared meters were purchased through retail outlets and tested rigorously at three study sites in over 1,000 people (including 840 people with diabetes). The results were troubling: only six out of the 18 devices met the DTS passing standard for meter accuracy – within 15% or 15 mg/dl of the laboratory value in over 95% of trials.

The devices that passed were:

The devices that failed were:

Click to expand...
 
@everydayupsanddowns
Couldn't open the links but the extract you sent me is mind boggling
33% pass rate conversely and 66% failure rate
A little disconcerting
Thanks Mike
Appreciate that
 
Good grief! :( the GlucoRx meter is really inaccurate! I just read some articles about GlucoRx now being the 2nd. largest surpliers in the UK of meters & is saving the NHS millions of pounds a year!

My prescription was suddenly changed, without notification back in Feb. 2017, just when I was having a series of hypos that needed my insulin doses almost halved, & I bought a GlucoRx meter. I DID find it very inaccurate in that the readings were sometimes about 0.5 higher than Freestyle meters. But, inexplicably, sometimes by 1.0 to 2.0 higher! I couldn’t continue using it with any confidence!

Thanks to @Northerner’s advice, I rang the practice & explained. My prescription for Freestyle lite strips was restored. But, I was told that everybody has been changed over to the GlucoRx strips & meters!

If the articles I read are true, is the NHS REALLY saving money in the long run with such inaccurate meters & strups? :(
 
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