Which blood sugar reading is accurate & acceptable? Reading we get from Lab test or glucometer reading.

[Durgapur]

As there are reading difference 15% to 20% between Lab & Glucometer. Glucometer company told me that there meter reading is accurate and 20% difference in reading is clinically acceptable. Should I change my meter or Lab

[Hidden]

For clinical purposes,depend on lab reports.Reliability of glucometers varies and so those readings are helpful only to establish the trends and not for making a clinical decisions.

[Durgapur in reply to Hidden]

thanks for your reply

[Durgapur]

thanks Mr. Bhandari.

[Sukumaran]

You could not take any of them for good, take test in two labs and twice on our meter may give you average, but yet not accurate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[JOSCO in reply to Sukumaran]

it is really very true. don"t depend one lab report completely.

[wrongan in reply to Sukumaran]

absoltutely .If you take readings in the lab attached to a diabetic clinic the values will be on the higher side.Within minutes If you test in a seperate lab only like fortys or lister the values will be much lower.Not to blame any one But it is my experience and that of my fello diabetics.We trust the Doctor

[rsridhar220962]

Take 1 lit of water add to it 1 gram of Glucose. Take this solution for testing glucose level using Glucometer. It should read 100. Then Glucometer is right.

[Hidden in reply to rsridhar220962]

Thanks for the Info.

[geokutt in reply to rsridhar220962]

What should one do with the glucose solution, drink it before testing blood or put it on the testing strip?

[Hidden in reply to rsridhar220962]

human body has about 5 litres blood. If you take 1 teaspoon sugar which s abouyt 5 gm as the suga converts into glucose in yr body, yr sugar could spike upto 100 mg/dl. Imagine what happens when u drink a can of coke or a pack of Fruitty. Self control is better than self pity.

[rsridhar220962 in reply to Hidden]

If anyone is tempted by sugar, and not consuming sugar/sweet, his/her body would have undergone metabolic changes as though he / she had consumed sugar/sweet. (even-if sugar/sweet not really consumed) So the best way for eliminating T2DM is through mind which will be contented with small amount of sugar and not longing for sugar/ sweet. To control our mind, the right way is through right food; food which our body can identify.

[Durgapur in reply to rsridhar220962]

Thanks

[rsridhar220962]

Please use the glucose solution as blood; and try to calibrate glucometer.

[ranj in reply to rsridhar220962]

I have horizon glucometer. For calibration they send a solution to check the meter reading on focus basis. I think this is practice is followed by all company.

[rsridhar220962]

Normally Glucose is measured as mg/dL; 1 gram =1000 mg similarly 1lit=10dL; for 1dL will contain 100 mg glucose; the solution will show 100 mg/dL value

[rsridhar220962]

Our aim is not confronting with manufacturer, rather correct / know right reading at our end. So I proposed a calibration method; by this test if value differ too much from standard, we may be forced to reject the glucometer.

In many lab analysts use only glucometer.

Secondly, if you are a regular visitor to a particular lab then invariably you may find glucose values remain unchanged; may analyst just copy-pastes the previous value. One more suggestion is kindly keep changing the lab where glucose is being tested. Of course there is a limitation of in village /town as there would be only a few labs available.

[Hidden]

You have neither told us which brand of test strips and which brand used for Lab test. Neither the location. Unfortuantely we are not able to read yr mind.You should go to another lab next time and repeat. The test diff comes only +/_ 1%. May be the lab solutions were low quality or yr test strips stored at high temp. ( this is why it is better to communicate well or you are lijkely to be misled due to poor quality input.

[Hidden]

I always test my blood with my glucometer just when i give my sample and find they are nearly same. Or I would have changed model/lab.

[rajeevpandey100]

The blood that one uses in the meter is whole blood sample while used in the lab, it is usually plasma samples. There is normally a variation of about 5-7% %. The lab results would show about that much higher. But 20% variation is ruled out completely. Besides, all the meters use the similar sensors and technology & strip reagents are also almost similar. Only differentiator in most cases are just then brands, like generic drugs. So if you doubt any meter, then it is also casting aspersion at one, you are doing the same to others as well. Lab results would also vary to some extent from lab to lab from the same samples for other environmental/ handling and skill factors. These specific markers at best is your map that tells you the road direction but to drive safely on it would be your skills so that you do not collide with someone. Your best marker is HBA1C, get it done once every three months, if possible.

[harishchandra]

lab is better but costly & inconvenient

[Hidden in reply to harishchandra]

Costly, yes. Inconvenient, not necessarily. I get mine done at home. The guy comes over to my house at 7am & draws blood. By 6pm, I am e-mailed a copy of the detailed results. The next day, the hard copy arrives by courier. The lab is Metropolis. The courier is Vichare. I live in Bombay.

[essarr in reply to Hidden]

agree , its costly but not inconvenient, I also rcv the report in my mailbox same evening in kolkata

[klrao1948]

reading differences depends on several factors. In the lab thy take the blood from you wain and at home you prick the finger and the blood from the surface is contaminated with sweat, water etc. your reading using the glucomenter is taken at home or after returning from the lab at not at the same time. So dont worry about the differences. However when you take the reading at home make sure that you have washed your hand and dried it using a clean towel. Dont scrape the blood using the strip, just make sure that you just touch the droplet of blood with the strip, it sucks it.

[ranj]

This may be done by a small lab but not being practiced by big chain like Thyrocare Lalpath Srl......

[Nane]

The standard test solutuon also has a wide range. If yoy are using the same glucometer, over a period, the trend averages out. Somewhere u hv to believe in sonething for peace of mind.

[Durgapur]

thanks for the information

[avrs]

If u take right hand reading and then left hand reading there is a huge difference is'nt it?

[Hidden in reply to avrs]

Amazing, Never tried it.

Is it really so ?

[bhandari]

As per doctor they accept lab reports.dont lnow the reason.

[venkyb]

Glucometer reading is like reading the time from the Sun dial in Jantar Mantar! It will give you the range but not the exact value. Lab tests are more accurate. In fact I have tested several times from 2 different glucometer brands immediately followed lab by tests and have found difference up to 40 units. Also the blood from the vein and from finger tips are not exactly of the same composition. It is better to test from a reputed lab always so that comparisons are more meaningful. Instrumentation errors get automatically eliminated.

[Hidden]

I find this to be relatively more accurate. Plus or minus 15% is standard.

[sweet_sugar]

yes right answer , iam also experiencing huge diiference in lab test and glucometer test.

[babulak]

my personal experience is readings between lab & glucometer varying from machine to machine. As indicated by others, when I was checking with earlier glucometers ( say Acucheck / one touch etc ) , the readings were 15 to 20% more than lab readings. But recently , when I started taking readings from the machine of lifespan ( supplying strips @ Rs11 per strip , cheaper when compared to other brands ), the readings are coming 20 to 25% less than lab readings. So , it is always better to compare readings with less time gap in taking sample between glucometer & at lab and variation has to be established. Other wise, better to calibrate glucometer frequently with standard solutions( of known values ) , if provided by the manufacturer of glucometer.