Ok, so I've been frustrated with my monitor at times. I asked my doctor about it, and well, got the same answer everyone elese gives me - they're all basically the same, and FreeStyle's data is pretty good, so...I stuck with it. I still had a bunch of test strips, after all.
Freestyle has these new test strips now, with a butterfly on them, and I like them. They take less blood, they register more quickly, etc. But I noticed since I switched, my sugars have been a little lower. Coincidence?
This morning, my fasting sugar was 73. Hmm...I felt a little low, I guess, but nothing major. (Not that 73 is super major, but eating is definitely warranted at that point.) I still had one pack of old test strips left, and I mean 'old' as in 'filled last month' not 'old' as in 'past expiration date'. So I tested with that, and it said 85.
So..maybe the old test strips really did run a little high. Who knows?
In other news, I will be headed to Utah in a couple of weeks for another Mixed Meal Tolerance Test to see if I'm still making insulin. My fasting sugar has to be above 80. Maybe I'll bring my old strips, just in case. :)
MORE: Pre lunch: OLD: 98. NEW:80. Ummm.....
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I just learned this-your monitor is supposed to be calibrated weekly. Use the little bottle of drops that came with it just to make sure it is where it is supposed to be. It would be an interesting test to see what the comparison would be between the old and new test strips. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteOoh - I had to go test it right away. Old - 110. New - 94. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteBut my control solution is expired (6/2010) so I'll call and order some more.
From their website- "The FreeStyle Lite meter and FreeStyle Freedom Lite meter have been programmed with calibration specifications that are compatible only with the FreeStyle Lite test strip to provide clinically accurate results."
So I don't think I have to do something to calibrate it - at least I'm not seeing anything. How do you calibrate a monitor? I've never done it.
Ok, so I just called and ordered some more control solution, and asked them about calibration, and they said this monitor doesn't need calibrating. They also said something to the effect of "the new test strips are more accurate, not to say that the old ones weren't accurate, but the new ones are accurate." Erm...ok.
ReplyDeleteThe meter help lines are contradictory at times. One time when I was having problems with a meter the help line guy asked where I kept my test strips. I told him in a cupboard in my kitchen. He then told me that the humidity in the kitchen could compromise the accuracy of the test strips. I then told him that I lived in the second dryest state in the U.S. I also asked him what he would tell someone living in Florida or Georgia or New York. He ended up sending me a new meter just so I would stop asking him nosey questions. That meter company was soon out of business (BD).
ReplyDeleteThat's totally funny.
ReplyDeleteI emailed them too, to ask if they had other people concerned about accuracy. The response was to 'call them'. Been there, done that. I was also told that if I didn't use an alcohol swab every time, that could be a problem. Yeah, that's going to happen.