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freestyle glucose tester

My son is going for a a1c tomorrow and while we were at the doctors my machine read 109 the doctors read 205. Tonight my husband said lets try something he did my sons left arm the reading was 60 the right arm the reading was 117 we then gave him a piece of gum and 60 seconds later it was 129. Can anyone tell me why that is? Or is it normal for one arm to give a completely different reading than the other arm. OR sis i purchase a broken machine? Also if on Friday they give me the bad news can anyone tell me in your own PERSONAL experience what machine works the best or do you find to be most accurate for at home testing.... Thanks a million.
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Avatar universal
Hi Devinsmom,
Readings can vary from moment to moment, and from one body part to another. My daughter's endocrinologist says the readings from your fingertips are the most recent, while ones from the arm (which my daughter prefers because they are less painful) are "older." So if you're feeling low, you're supposed to test your finger, because that will be more accurate for that moment.

My daughter uses the One Touch Ultra, and she has had no problems with it. When she goes in for her quarterly exams, the numbers in her meter seem consistent with the A1C numbers.

Does anyone else out there have advice on meters?
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Avatar universal
One more question how fast can a piece of gum affect you readings?


Thanks
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Avatar universal
One last thing does anyone know of a chat I can go to. I wont know anything for sure until 1:30 ish tomorrow afternoon and it seems like a lifetime away time is dragging by very slowly, I am not sure what I should be letting him eat. How often I should test what do I do if my meter says it is high how high is to high. His fasting test this morning was 141 by my meter. I also want to thank everyone here, if I didnt read so many time change drs and insist on test, I may have believed I was over reacting and it was just the flu. Now tomorrow we will see. So thank you just reading all the encouragement here has touched me and may have helped my son. Although I am still not sure if I should be extremely concerned because who knows maybe his body is just different so it gets a little high then goes a little lower than what is considered normal, or maybe I bought a broken machine. Who knows but in any event I think what you do here is absolutely fantastic and I am sure it helps hundreds of people who may never post.
So on behalf of everyone who has a question thank you for your answers.

Cheryl
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172023 tn?1334672284
Contact customer service for Freestyle and ask them about the inconsistency.  Did you do the controls when you got the machine?  You should do a control now if you didn't when you got the machine, and I think you have to get the control solution from Freestyle.


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Avatar universal
Great suggestions so far, in my opinion. The numbers don't seem to be so far "off" in either direction to be too frightening, so I would doubt that the food you give him the next few days until you see the doctor will be that important. Just aim for a healthy diet, perhaps low in high-glycemic foods such as simple sugars. That's healthiest for EVERYBODY and certainly for a child who is having troubles regulating his glucose. As for the inconsistency in the readings, I, too, have read that glucose drops from fingertips are the most accurate. Other liquids are in the body, and if that particular "poke" caused a mixture of blood and other tissue liquids, your numbers could be slightly different from what his real glucose levels are. I test from fingertips and have had many types of glucometers in my 37 years with type 1 diabetes, and have never found them to be inaccurate.
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Avatar universal
One more thing... I have read that when a person SQUEEZES to get enough blood for a test, other fluids can mix with the blood drop and the reading can be inaccurate. So if you have to squeeze much, this may be something to be aware of. Obviously some squeezing is necessary.
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Avatar universal
I have been a type 1 diabetic for 2 years.. and i and an extreme athlet. i have been through dozains of meters, and i found the freestyle mini to give incosicten results, normaly on the lower than the realy value. I had three freestyle meters, befor I swiched to bd, then yo another the another... the best machine ifound is the the accucheck by roche. The accuceck compact plus has drums of strips wich work great, and the results are always bang on!
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Avatar universal
I would definitely get a new machine if I were you!  Those variations are unacceptable, as far as I'm concerned.  The difference between 109 and 205 for me is 2 units of insulin!  The difference between 60 and 117 for me is 6 oz of orange juice!  Those differences are crucial.  I have a OneTouch Ultra and I have never had varying results from it, but I also have only ever tested off my fingers.

Also, I'm sorry, but that gum probably made very little difference.  At the VERY MOST, that gum had, like 7 grams of carbs (that's the HIGHEST it could have had, it probably had less) and it would take at least 15 minutes for it to ever hit your blood stream.  The blood sugar difference you saw is not very likely to have had anything to do with the gum.
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