Which is the best finger prick kit to use?

[michael4479]

Good morning, my doctors surgery doesn’t supply blood testing kits, so I have two different machines that I have privately purchased over time, a Accu-chek Aviva & a sinocare safe-Accu2. The problem is when carrying out two tests within about 30 seconds of each other the readings differ greatly I.e. this morning reading were 5.3 on one & 6.4 on the other. Does anyone know of a make that is universally accepted by diabetesUK & the National health service. I thank you for any replies in advance. Michael.

 

[pawprint91]

When I was diagnosed I was given an Accucheck meter (they don’t have my exact one on Amazon, but there are a few of the same make on there) - I know different NHS regions will give out different makes, but this is the one I was given by the hospital.

Also, remember a monitor won’t be 100% accurate - I can get two different readings from 2 different fingers! However, there does seem to be a big discrepancy between the 2 you mention above, so I can see why you would want to check!

 

[michael4479]

When I was diagnosed I was given an Accucheck meter (they don’t have my exact one on Amazon, but there are a few of the same make on there) - I know different NHS regions will give out different makes, but this is the one I was given by the hospital.

Also, remember a monitor won’t be 100% accurate - I can get two different readings from 2 different fingers! However, there does seem to be a big discrepancy between the 2 you mention above, so I can see why you would want to check!

Thank you.

 

[Martin.A]

Good morning, my doctors surgery doesn’t supply blood testing kits, so I have two different machines that I have privately purchased over time, a Accu-chek Aviva & a sinocare safe-Accu2. The problem is when carrying out two tests within about 30 seconds of each other the readings differ greatly I.e. this morning reading were 5.3 on one & 6.4 on the other. Does anyone know of a make that is universally accepted by diabetesUK & the National health service. I thank you for any replies in advance. Michael.

My surgery issued me with a GlucoRx Q meter, which I'm still using four years or so down the line. As @pawprint91 says no meter is 100% accurate and you could test on all six fingers, one after the other, and get six different readings.

 

[helli]

You have to remember that Meyers have a 15% accuracy tolerance.
Taking this 9nto consideration, both meters are within 15% of 6.0.
It is best to stick with 9ne meter and accept diabetes management is not an accurate science with so many things that affect our blood sugars.

 

[Martin.A]

It is best to stick with one meter and accept diabetes management is not an accurate science with so many things that affect our blood sugars.

Agree. I'm more interested in the trend line on my graph rather than the individual readings.

 

[michael4479]

My surgery issued me with a GlucoRx Q meter, which I'm still using four years or so down the line. As @pawprint91 says no meter is 100% accurate and you could test on all six fingers, one after the other, and get six different readings.

Life’s definitely confusing as a diabetic thank you.

 

[RBZ5416]

If you Google, there are a few tests of meter accuracy but many are American & include brands unavailable here. Accuchek usually come out near the top. Also worth noting that they only have to meet the +/-15% target 95% of the time. So theoretically, 1 in 20 readings could be wildly out & the meter still meets the "standard". So if you ever receive an unexpectedly high or low reading, test again.

I get variations using the same sample, never mind different fingers!

 

[Inka]

Good morning, my doctors surgery doesn’t supply blood testing kits, so I have two different machines that I have privately purchased over time, a Accu-chek Aviva & a sinocare safe-Accu2. The problem is when carrying out two tests within about 30 seconds of each other the readings differ greatly I.e. this morning reading were 5.3 on one & 6.4 on the other. Does anyone know of a make that is universally accepted by diabetesUK & the National health service. I thank you for any replies in advance. Michael.

I wouldn’t say those readings are wildly different. As said above, it’s perfectly normal to get different readings from different fingers or multiple tests. Of your two meters, I’d definitely go with the AccuChek one. I’ve had their meters for years and have found them very reliable.

Home blood glucose meters aren’t supposed to give you a pinpoint accurate reading. It’s an idea of the area your blood sugar is in.

 

[Deb_l]

5.3 and 6.4 aren't massively different, they are both within normal range pre-food. If it was 5.3 and 16.4 then I would suspect something was wrong with one of the meters.

My GP gave me a Coutour Plus Blue, which I notice is sold on this website. It is easy to use and I would definitely recommend it.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

This can be a very confusing thing @michael4479 - especially where BG meters offer their results with seeming decimal point precision!

Legally meters have to have been able to show that they meet ISO accuracy requirements 95% of the time (though 5% of results can be further out). Forum member experience suggests that some make more use of the allowable variation than others.

Forum members have found that the meters which offer a good compromise between affordability and reliability are the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Tee2 - which both have test strips at around £10 for 50. There are ‘premium brand’ meters which perform very well in bench tests (Accu Chek and Ascensia Next XT often score highly), but their strips can cost 3x as much.

This table (from the Useful Links thread) shows what the allowable variation looks like in practice

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.

 

[michael4479]

This can be a very confusing thing @michael4479 - especially where BG meters offer their results with seeming decimal point precision!

Legally meters have to have been able to show that they meet ISO accuracy requirements 95% of the time (though 5% of results can be further out). Forum member experience suggests that some make more use of the allowable variation than others.

Forum members have found that the meters which offer a good compromise between affordability and reliability are the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Tee2 - which both have test strips at around £10 for 50. There are ‘premium brand’ meters which perform very well in bench tests (Accu Chek and Ascensia Next XT often score highly), but their strips can cost 3x as much.

This table (from the Useful Links thread) shows what the allowable variation looks like in practice

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.

Many thanks

 

[Berksps]

Reading this with interest. Really stupid question at last Blood test i was 107. How do these numbers here compare with that.

 

[Leadinglights]

Reading this with interest. Really stupid question at last Blood test i was 107. How do these numbers here compare with that.

Your blood test would have been an HbA1C which is given in mmol/mol and is an average over the previous 3 monnths.
The test from a finger prick is a moment in time and is in mmol/l
The two cannot be directly converted as they measure different thing but the higher the fingerprick readings the more likely your HbA1C is to be higher and vicaversa.

 

[Berksps]

Can i ask then what is a good result using this and what is too high,

 

[Leadinglights]

Can i ask then what is a good result using this and what is too high,

Finger prick reading you are aiming at (though with an HbA1C which is high you may not be anywhere near yet) would be
4-7mmol/l fasting and before meals
no more than 8-8.5 mmol/l 2 hours after meals
In the early days when testing the effect of meals then the rule of thumb is no more than an 2-3mmol increase 2 hours post meal

 

[Martin.A]

Can i ask then what is a good result using this and what is too high,

The recommended range for a finger-prick test is between 4 and 7 fasting and pre-meal, and less than 8.5 two hours after a meal and no more than 2 or 3 higher than the pre-meal reading. When I was diagnosed my DN told me that at the very least I needed to try and stay in single figures.

This conversion chart is a rough guide to the relationship between the different measurement systems.

 

[michael4479]

Your blood test would have been an HbA1C which is given in mmol/mol and is an average over the previous 3 monnths.
The test from a finger prick is a moment in time and is in mmol/l
The two cannot be directly converted as they measure different thing but the higher the fingerprick readings the more likely your HbA1C is to be higher and vicaversa.

Thank you, I also was not aware of the difference

 

[Berksps]

Going to ask a daft question now. Tried to do the fingerprick myself today for first time and failed badly. Tried it all at the highest setting no blood. Warmed hands etc no joy. Any tips for a rank beginner.

 

[RBZ5416]

Sanity check, is there a lancet installed?

Are you priming the lancing device?

What exactly have you bought?