What the heck! Now that I'm diabetic, I've been really, really trying hard to exercise more and watch my carbs. I've been pricking my fingers to learn how certain foods affect my glucose. I've taken the Diabetes Workshop at Tripler.
My nurse practitioner had given me a glucose monitor to use a couple of weeks ago. It's called Precision X-tra and made by Abbot. I started pricking and testing which showed that my glucose numbers were pretty high and worrisome. Even at the lowest setting, the needle poked pretty darn deep and was painful.
Then I attended the Diabetes Workshop and they gave me another glucose monitor called Freestyle Freedom Lite. It was a ton better! The needles didn't poke as deeply and didn't hurt as much. It also did not require much blood. Yahoo!
A few days ago Art asked if it wouldn't be interesting to try both meters to see how they compared. That's the scientist in him. I agreed. I set up both monitors with test strips, pricked my finger and applied blood from the same drop to both test strips.
This was 2 hours after eating dinner. Precision X-tra showed 107. Freestyle showed 95. Your reading should be less than 140.
A couple of mornings later I thought I'd test my fasting blood glucose. I did the same procedure. Precision X-tra showed 127 which is bad (Diabetes). Freestyle showed 107 (Pre-diabetes).
A fasting glucose should be between 70-99.
Pre-diabetes is 100-125.
These are huge differences. So which one is accurate? Art said it was like having two watches with different times. How do you know? A 20 point difference is darn significant!
I called Abbot on their Help Line and was shocked to learn that monitors can differ up to 20%! She said the reading differences of 127 vs. 107 fell within those guidelines.
This was very intriguing to Art so he started researching this conundrum. He discovered that it was true. The FDA allows for a 20% difference. They said you can't compare two monitors because they could each fall within 20% of each other.
One way you could tell was going to get your blood tested at a lab, pricking yourself and testing both monitors in the lab and making sure the lab centrifuged your blood within a half hour.
Really? That's all it takes? I have to ask the lab to do that? Uh hunh... riiiiight...
Sigh....
Ah well...
I'm going to go with the Freestyle because frankly, I like their numbers better.
Then I attended the Diabetes Workshop and they gave me another glucose monitor called Freestyle Freedom Lite. It was a ton better! The needles didn't poke as deeply and didn't hurt as much. It also did not require much blood. Yahoo!
A few days ago Art asked if it wouldn't be interesting to try both meters to see how they compared. That's the scientist in him. I agreed. I set up both monitors with test strips, pricked my finger and applied blood from the same drop to both test strips.
This was 2 hours after eating dinner. Precision X-tra showed 107. Freestyle showed 95. Your reading should be less than 140.
A couple of mornings later I thought I'd test my fasting blood glucose. I did the same procedure. Precision X-tra showed 127 which is bad (Diabetes). Freestyle showed 107 (Pre-diabetes).
A fasting glucose should be between 70-99.
Pre-diabetes is 100-125.
These are huge differences. So which one is accurate? Art said it was like having two watches with different times. How do you know? A 20 point difference is darn significant!
I called Abbot on their Help Line and was shocked to learn that monitors can differ up to 20%! She said the reading differences of 127 vs. 107 fell within those guidelines.
This was very intriguing to Art so he started researching this conundrum. He discovered that it was true. The FDA allows for a 20% difference. They said you can't compare two monitors because they could each fall within 20% of each other.
One way you could tell was going to get your blood tested at a lab, pricking yourself and testing both monitors in the lab and making sure the lab centrifuged your blood within a half hour.
Really? That's all it takes? I have to ask the lab to do that? Uh hunh... riiiiight...
Sigh....
Ah well...
I'm going to go with the Freestyle because frankly, I like their numbers better.
I definitely would go with Freestyle and forget there was ever a difference.
ReplyDeleteWhat Granny said! You are definitely on the right track, those numbers are all under 140. Yay! :-)
ReplyDeleteI second the other two comments :-)
ReplyDeleteI sure agree. If I fall back into pre-diabetes, I'll get Freestyle. In the mean time, I failed all last week with the carbs and was sick for three weeks. At least last week, I was in the pool every day.
ReplyDeleteI have raged at my doctor for the things we are not told. When generic synthroid was not controlling my thyroid symptoms, she confessed that generics can vary 10% either way and be acceptable. So, I take name brand synthroid. That fact was good to know a while back, when my blood pressure dropped unacceptable low, and I would come close to passing out when cost forced me to switch from a name brand to generic. I quit that drug altogether, and have decent blood pressure.
ReplyDeleteI now have prehypertension and my research is telling me it can most likely be due to the calcium supplements I am taking for my osteoporosis!! Do I want to have a broken bone or a heart attack?
ReplyDeleteI vote for freestyle-it is a pain literally to have to test your blood sugar but important!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the world of glucose monitors. This is going to drive you and Art crazy. Glucose checking is an exercise in frustration regardless of the monitor you use. I don't use those thingies that automatically prick your finger, they're too harsh. I just use the pricky thing by itself, not so harsh.
ReplyDeleteI'd go with the one that hurts the least so you will be sure to do it. Hey, it might be the correct one anyway. Blood pressure cuffs are also a crap shoot for accuracy. I guess we should just shoot for just being in the ball park.
ReplyDeleteI'm really surprised that you developed diabetes. As for machines that measure glucose...you'd think they could come up with something more accurate than that.
ReplyDeleteThat is disconcerting to say the least! Yep, go with the one that hurts the least.
ReplyDeleteI have used freestyle for more than 10 years, still preDIabetic...highest A1c 6.1. Freestyle uses the least amount of blood from a few sources I read.
ReplyDeleteYou can use control solutions to calibrate your monitor. But it is too complicated for me, an engineer may be able to follow the direction.
At least three times I measured my blood glucose using my own meter, while had the blood report done at the lab. The difference is 2. My conclusion: freestyle is pretty accurate.
I guess you will get to know how to interpret the results by experience and how you feel.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with all of this. Complex!
ReplyDeleteThere are too many options, but that is actually good. More freedom of choice, imo. The main thing is if your numbers are stable or even better, coming down. Assume that you can beat this, and do good things for your body and try to avoid the bad things.
ReplyDeleteIf you can, avoid drugs. Some people trust in their doctors' prescriptions and get on the drug merry-go-round of more drugs to treat side effects from drugs prescribed. I do believe that occasional use of some drugs can help, but life long drugs is not the first option to try.
That sounds reassuring
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting, I will tell my diabetic husband about this. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteyep, the less painful one. Keep up severely limiting the carbs. Long term, it will help TREMENDOUSLY, and might even get you off the med if you can go low enough on the grains and sugar. Keep your carbs to veggies only, and not potatoes.
ReplyDeleteInteresting to know. I would think this would be information about glucose monitors important for diabetics to be told when they're issued by their doctors. Keep at it and everything under control.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that. Mine is the Freestyle
ReplyDeleteWow. This is very interesting. I will have to see what brand my monitor is. I have had several. Since I am pre-diabetic, Medicare will not pay for the test strips unless I go with a certain brand and monitor. My father had damage to his optic nerves because his monitor was malfunctioning and he didn't know it. I can't believe they allow for a 20% difference in the results according to the FDA. I guess those differences are not significant. I have A1C checked every quarter of the year. (I think.). I think the doctors go off of the A1C for diagnosis. I am worried about my next appointment. I hope I don't go over the line into diabetes. I didn't know you'd been diagnosed. Take care.
ReplyDelete