Diabetics I have a question?
By marciascott
@marciascott (25529)
United States
5 responses
@JoyfulOne (6231)
• United States
16 May 08
No, they are NOT always correct. My Dad was a very touchy diabetic, just a little would throw him off so badly. When we suspected the monitor might be off, we took the monitor with us to his next Dr's visit so it could be rechecked there against the Dr's monitor. If you think it's wrong, then it very well might be. What we did too was to get the old fashioned test strips and keep them on hand for times like those. People relied on the test strips for years before monitors came out. I know the monitor's easier, but things like dying batteries, and if it got dropped, etc, can and do make a difference in the results.
1 person likes this
@marciascott (25529)
• United States
16 May 08
Thanks Joy that make a whole lot of sense. So they can be wrong? I am glad you told me that! I will half to tell my friend what you said. Have a good day!
1 person likes this
@JoyfulOne (6231)
• United States
16 May 08
Oh yes, they sure can go wrong sometimes. My Dad almost went into a diabetic coma because his wasn't giving the right reading so he could inject the correct dosage! Have her check at her pharmacy for the test strips, and maybe talk to the pharmacist. Not sure but maybe he can check it somehow to see if it's reading true.
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@Hatley (163772)
• Garden Grove, California
17 May 08
with any meter setup you will get some vials of contol solution
that you should use everylittle while to check the
accuracy of test strips and meters.on each carton of
strips a value is given and when you check wiht the control
solution your answer should read between those on the carton if it says 90 to 140 for example then your meter should read from say
94 to 104 anything between those parameters. If it is lower than 90 or higher than 140 then something is off. usually though most meters are pretty accurate and do not vary that often. but just for common sense sake after you have had a meter for several years it would not hurt to get a new one and a lot of companies
will send you a new meter for free. just ask them.
1 person likes this
@tammyr (5945)
• Etowah, Tennessee
17 May 08
Very good answer.
My mother checked hers like this once a week. She also took her machine to the Dr with her each time she went and checked her sugar at the same time as the Dr does to see if they read the same.
She had a back up as well. She kept one in her car and one in the house. That way if she was out and felt like she was dropping she could check her sugar.
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@marciascott (25529)
• United States
17 May 08
Thank you, that was good information you gave. I am going to print out this discussion and show it to my Friend. and I want to thank Tammyr for her input too. She won't see this unless she comes back to this discussion. Have a great day!
@marciascott (25529)
• United States
17 May 08
Well, I thought that the Monitor was always right!
1 person likes this
@Rozie37 (15499)
• Turkmenistan
17 May 08
A lot of thing can contribute to the reading being off. But you can test your blood twice in a row and booth times get a totally different reading. I know that they are more accurate now than they use to be when I used them on my patients, but still there is no way to count totally on the acurracy of any machine.
The smallest things like too much or too little blood, low batteries, too much sunlight, can cause it to malfunction.
1 person likes this
@newzealtralian (3930)
• Australia
9 Jun 08
It is recommended every so often to have your machine calibrated. That is, take it in to your pharmacy so that they can test the accuracy of the results you get.
Here in Australia, I think it is supposed to be done every 12 months, and I don't think it costs anything to have it done.
@miracleman2008 (173)
• United States
17 May 08
when you get your test strips their should be a calabrater strip with it. and a paper telling how to do it.
@marciascott (25529)
• United States
17 May 08
I know you get test strips with it. But It wasn't accurate.
