Glucose meters

[Windbreaker]

I heard that the meters we use at home to test our blood read anywhere from 10-20% high.  Does anyone know if this is correct?  Thanks,  Jerry

[JDRF Volunteer WAK]

I am also not a physician, but I have done research on this and checked with several meter companies.  Like the person above me stated venous blood will give you a different reading.  Each meter brand and each vial of strips has a

[JDRF-Team-LRS]

I'm not a physician, but a long-time diabetic.  Do verify our info with your doctor, too.

Our home meters that test blood we take from capillaries are expected to be a good basis by which to treat our diabetes on a daily basis.  A good way to see if yours is within normal variance is to bring along your meter when you go for a blood draw (from a vein).  Within 5-10 minutes of them drawing blood, do your own blood test and save the results.  Compare them with what the doc tells you your number was.  Your result should be within 15% of the doc's result.

What's important here is to know how you feel & how you function when your BG is at different numbers.  Of course, 100 isn't much different from 115 (we likely feel good). And 300 isn't much different from 345 (we likely feel lousy).  However, 70 might feel quite different from 60, so if I'm feeling low and my meter says 70, I treat it like a low and get on with my life.

[JDRF-Team-BL]

Dear Jerry,
    Again i'm no doctor but when i do get a blood test done i also do a reading on my meter and though they may be off it isn't 10% to 20%. And when i compare my note with my endocrinologist, she says that is well within the lab specs for a test. But i'm usually high in my meter test. Hope other may shed more light on this. Being a little off is within the parameters of lab type tests. bret