Blood glucose meter readings...??

[Pretty Butterfly]

Had my app today at the Diabetics clinic.... and it wasn't too bad.... I told her I want NO interference excepy monitoring, and she said at 36 wks anyway, thats fine!!!

So I have the little machine, and supposed to do it 4 times a day....
She said to practice for a bit, then start writing them down....

So I did.. I done all 4 fingers in succession, and got 4 very different readings, ranging from 7.4 to 8.1

I wasn't due to take it for halfa, so waited, had nothing to eat or drink in that halfa, and then got 8.4!!!

Is this normal? Its VERY confusing.... 7.4 GOOD... 8.4... not so much

[Trillian]

One thing is to make sure that you give your hands a very good wash with soap to get any residue off your fingers and then don't touch anything with the finger you are going to use for the test. When I had to do it for the 2wks it made a huge difference to your reading if your hands were super clean, because the blood comes in contact with whatever is on your skin.

[briggsy's girl]

if you were due to test half hour later, i would think the initial readings were as your levels were climbing. i'm guessing you were testing just after a meal (half hour after maybe) - the level you had to take at one hour after a meal is the one that is most significant as that is when your BSL's will peak. (hope that makes sense). if you tested over 10minutes for the other tests, it's likely you were actually watching your BSL's climb

as trillian said, make sure your hands are clean and dry when you test as things like water/sweat on your hands can change the reading.

[Pretty Butterfly]

I'm to test 2 hrs after each meal, so was playing at 1.5 hrs after lunch, then did the 2 hr *true* test....

The levels I did was all at once, so within 2 mins, all on different fingers...

In order:
8.1
7.5
7.9
7.4
then half hour later, 8.4!!!

Had clean hands, the lady stressed that... when she checked at the clinic, I had sticky sweet hands from feeding Kane strawberries, bananas, grapes and choc coated sultanas!!! Got an 8.3

Its just confusing.....

[Megan]

If I test mine like that I get different readings as well. It was starting to do my head in, so now I just do it at 2hours and write that level down.
It is possible that your levels were still climbing 2 hours after eating. When I played around with mine a bit in the beginning, I found mine would peak about an hour after but the nurse did say that my levels seem to come down quickly and a lot of people will peak at 2 hours. There will always be some variation unfortunately because of the way the testing is done. Just don't let it frustrate you or stress you out because that can increase BSL's even more.

[Pretty Butterfly]

Just don't let it frustrate you or stress you out because that can increase BSL's even more.

Thats prob why I got 8.4!!!

Gonna go check Ad's levels!!!

[Alan]

The test you are doing is not 100% accurate. It is only a guide to the level of glucose in your blood. However this test is far less expensive and less complex than the more accurate blood test that they would do at the pathology. It is very important to wash your hands before the test as anything on your finger could alter the test result. It would also be a good idea to wipe away the first drop of blood then squeeze out another drop and use this second drop for the test.

Just for your info
To do the more accurate test they take blood from your vein and send this off for testing. You would also need to fast for between 8 – 12 hours depending on the lab they use.

[briggsy's girl]

i'm not sure - maybe contact the clinic and see what they say. it sounds like the 8.4 is the reading you need to take - maybe just say you did four at once to test on each finger

i had diabetic friend who would only test on the meatier fingers (pointer, middle) - not sure if it was to do with accuracy or not though

[Pretty Butterfly]

It would also be a good idea to wipe away the first drop of blood then squeeze out another drop and use this second drop for the test.

.

Ooohh, will try that!!!

Have had the fasting one, and the blood test was 8.3, hence now the little machine thingy. Not too impressed on how different the readings can be though!!!

[Inanna]

It sounds confusing PurpleMama...

I was glad to read that you were testing 2 hours post meal - that's right. 2hours post food lets us see how your body is utilising that glucose... Ensure that your hands are clean - the jury is out on soap/no soap. However when using soap (I would!) ensure that your hands are rinsed thoroughly.

This gives an indication of your BSL - it is as accurate as is needed to rate your blood glucose level - so don't stress over the differences - but stop *****ing all of those fingers or you will get sore!

Good luck my love...

[Pretty Butterfly]

- but stop *****ing all of those fingers or you will get sore!

Good luck my love...

I know, Ad cracked up when I told him...

Fingers are ok for now, but my pinkie is a little sore...

[Pretty Butterfly]

Its been an hour and a half since afternoon tea, and Ad got 6.4, I got 6.1!!!!!

[myson]

also dont just stress about one high reading. My doc looks at the average, not the occasional extremes. And also its not just about the reading but what it was before you ate. So if before eating you were say 6.0 and two hrs after eating you were 8.4 then they would start to look at what you ate and how much you exercise. But if you were more like 7.4 before the meal and 8.4 2 hrs later then that meal was ok even though the level is a bit high. A good GD meal shouldnt raise you more than about 2. But even a good meal and eating too much of it can take your level up too high.

Hope that makes sense. My brain is fried today...

how many times a day have they asked you to test?

[Pretty Butterfly]

4 times... at wake up, and 2 hrs after breaky, lunch and dinner...

I wondered about checking before meals to see how it relates to afterwards...

I think my meals and snacks are good, even the dietician said it was pretty right, just keep monitoring...

[Michelle71]

I have the same checking regime so I think that is fine. It is looking for more of a pattern rather than the odd elevated level. I find my fasting level is worse if my night has been sleep disrupted due to the little person and some foods trigger off a higher level too, even though my overall diet is fine. You will find your own pattern and the small things that may need to be changed - even just the addition of some extra exercise (like we have the time to fit that in too )

[myson]

If morning levels when waking are higher than the last reading the night before, that can also be hormonal too. Not much you can do about it, perhaps try a bit of yoghurt or nuts right before bed, but that doesnt always help.

[aussienic]

I was told more then 3 over 7 in one week would mean I needed reviewing.. but at 36 weeks you would be finding you will get more over 7 due to stage of pregnancy and the GD.. Well thats what I was told by my GD lady...

I had to test when I woke.. then 2 hours after every meal plus insulin twice a day then test again before I went to bed..

[melbel]

ouch...even as a diabetic of 30 years experience I still don't use the pinky finger!! I would be avoiding that one it is a bit hurties the old pinky.
You will find it less painful and also easier to get a good drop of blood from the sides of the tops of your fimgers instead of the actual tips...the very tips are heaps full of nerve endings (hence how we feel things with or finger so can tend to hurt a bit more, also the capillaries are at there smallest at the tips and can sometimes be harder to find)

With you blood glucose meter try not to over analyse too much.....at the end of the day they are just a machine and their accuracy although pretty good is not perfect. If you were to take two drops of blood from the same finger rpick and test them both on the same machine at the same time (if this were possibe) you could resonably expect the machine to read up to 1.5 mmols difference either way...this is what they call standard variance...I can understand how it would be frustrating for you but in all honesty it is easier on your sanity if you do the one test and go with that. The four tests you did could just have easily gone up from the initial reading by the same amount...the fact that they went down is more likely coincidence than anything else. The only time I would question a meter reading would be if say you got a ridiculously high one like say 13 or even higher...the I would probably go wash your hands rinse and dry thm thoroughly and test again...cos if they are that high you may have sugar on your fingers!! I rememebr many times testing at over 20 and going "Holy Cow...But I feel fine" washing my hands and retesting at 5 or 6 and then going "Oh, it must have been that donut I ate,etc.."

Honestly you are doing fine..try not to stress too much as that also tends to send the sugars in an upwards direction...
Chin UP....Not long to go now!!