Weird discrepancies in blood sugar readings.

[NotWorriedAtAll]

I have a One Touch Select Plus monitor.
I am Type 2 and managing my diabetes without meds.
So over the Christmas period I have been testing my blood a lot more than usual because of having 'holiday food' - mostly low carb gluten free toast once a day and I've been trying to make sure nothing startling happens. I've been exercising more - which is not difficult as I hardly exercise so I've been going for walks when my blood sugar goes over 8 and when I get back it is down again around 5.6.

The weird bit is just now.
I made some keto recipe cupcakes which I have regularly as a treat.
I tested my blood sugar two hours later and it said 7.8.
But I wasn't sure it was right because I'd had a bit of a delay getting my blood drop onto the strip so I did it again to make sure.
And this reading said 5.6 - same finger!!

So that flummoxed me and I tried a different finger and this time it said 7.2
And just to reassure myself I wiped my finger on a clean cloth and tested the same finger again and this time it said 5.6 again.

Which is making me wonder if any of the readings I've been getting can be trusted.

Any ideas?

These four readings were within seconds/minutes of each other so I don't think it is possible for my blood sugar levels to seesaw up and down that fast.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I have a One Touch Select Plus monitor.
I am Type 2 and managing my diabetes without meds.
So over the Christmas period I have been testing my blood a lot more than usual because of having 'holiday food' - mostly low carb gluten free toast once a day and I've been trying to make sure nothing startling happens. I've been exercising more - which is not difficult as I hardly exercise so I've been going for walks when my blood sugar goes over 8 and when I get back it is down again around 5.6.

The weird bit is just now.
I made some keto recipe cupcakes which I have regularly as a treat.
I tested my blood sugar two hours later and it said 7.8.
But I wasn't sure it was right because I'd had a bit of a delay getting my blood drop onto the strip so I did it again to make sure.
And this reading said 5.6 - same finger!!

So that flummoxed me and I tried a different finger and this time it said 7.2
And just to reassure myself I wiped my finger on a clean cloth and tested the same finger again and this time it said 5.6 again.

Which is making me wonder if any of the readings I've been getting can be trusted.

Any ideas?

These four readings were within seconds/minutes of each other so I don't think it is possible for my blood sugar levels to seesaw up and down that fast.

I think it’s important to recognise that all home BG meters have a margin of error. There is a legal requirement of 15% +/- from a lab test 95% of the time, which could give some overlap between the upper and lower limits of the results you received. Of course good quality branded meters often perform much better than this minimum standard (especially at the lower end of BG results) and some meters tend to have more strip-to-strip variation than others.

this old thread has more discussion: https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/board...gins-of-error-any-thoughts.29454/#post-373798

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

Thanks for that link and the information.

Taking the new information and washing and drying my hands thoroughly I got the following readings just now (about two hours after my lunch) 17.01 5.6, 17.04 6.5, 17.05 5.8 which is much less of a difference between the readings so from now on I'll just bother about the message part that says 'within range' and not get too bothered about the actual numbers.

I expect the HbA1c test will be the one to take notice of when I get it done next.

 

[bakebeans]

I’ve had similar today. Was naughty and had kfc for tea tonight checked bg 2 hours later and was 6.9 so did some exercise and drank a glass of water 30 mins later was 5.5. Checked again 30 mins after that on 3 different fingers and got 6.9 6.1 and 6.3 so I’m going with 6.3!

30 mins later (so 3 hours after eating) 4.5 and 4.6