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.

[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...

[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