Testing for Blood Sugar

the LPN's here seem to think that when taking a test for b/g the faster you can get the strip out of the blood spot the more accurate it is.  which is contrary to how it actually works.  I had mine tested today as usual and got a reading of 156 with his meter which usually measures 10 to 30 lower than the Prime meter I use.  I came back up and and used the prime and got a 120 or so.  I watched him as usual and he had the strip out very fast and I suspected it was innacurate.  Doctors depend upon these readings to medicate you.  Whata bunch of dunces.

Accuracy in B/G testing

To all you diabetics out there who take so much confidence in the readout of your meter when you test for glucose.  Did you read the fine print where it says it is accurate to 20 percent?  Well, for monitoring your B/G that is next to useless if you can't improve the accuracy.  Let's say your actual B/G is 100.  20 percent of that is down to 80 or up to 120 what your meter can say and still be in it's spec's not much good though for adjusting you B/G.  How you can increase the accuracy to 1 or 2 percent is when you sample the blood with the strip  you keep it exactly where you sampled it so the strip does not move but keeps taking in blood if it needs it. You will not be able to see this if it does need the extra blood.  This will give it the proper amount of blood to give an accurate reading.  I use a Bayer which reads out in 5 seconds and keep it in position for 4 seconds if possible. This works fine on any size drop of blood if the sample into the strip does not reduce the size of the blood sample.  If it does reduce the sample size that means it did not get full.  But if you don't see a reduction in the blood drop you will get an accurate reading because it had it's fill. This works for very small drops. The main problem then is getting the ding and drawing the strip out too soon.  I keep the strip in for several seconds although I am not sure it really needs that long  for accuracy.  Maybe even one second would be ok.  It is easier for me to just keep it in to be sure instead of sticking myself the number of times to figure it out.  Now if you happen to have a reading of 110 and want to bring it down to 90 you can check yourself 15 or 20 minutes later and be fairly sure the reading you get is correct. If you are only sure of 20 percent  it would be useless to adjust with that information.

-- --------Fishing in Alaska ---------nowaytofish.blogspot.com --------- Doyal and I put ours on even though we couldn't live more than 10 or 15 minutes in water like that. Too far to swim and the dinghy wouldn't hold us all.--------------- 4 years in 3rd Inf in WW2 billswar.blogspot.com My less heroic contribution. seniorobserver.blogspot.com KE7PLR Established (born)Aug. 23, 1921

Kay

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Eating problems.  The most recent blood test showed her as being in great condition. Outlive me without a doubt.  Even though her eating habits leave much to be desired.  When I cook her breakfast I would at least like for her to eat it.  So when she gets up and starts eating crackers other things before I get it ready I take a dim view of this.  Sometimes she will eat a small amount of butter,  or dip out a bit of jam, I don't want this of course because if I take the time to make something such as toast and eggs, or cereal I'd like her to eat it.  Usually when I clean up I will find her breakfast plate mostly uneaten. Getting her to take her pills is a hassle too.  She always wants to know what they are for so I have to try to explain even though she comes back the next minute with the same question.  So I may find the pills there later.  It is not all that easy to just tell her to take them and she takes them.  But I do what I can and her blood condition seems great. Oh Well.   The Dr, asked about Kay choking which I knew the reason was that Kay's condition causes people in that condition to choke and get food in their lungs then pneumonia then die. Vi. Campbell died from  this although as far as I know she didn't have dementia. Kay does choke now and then so it is a constant threat. She did it again this morning. But life is uncertain and this could happen any time. No matter what her condition is I want to be with her and enjoy every minute of it.  I have her pictures to remember the good old days. I want to make things as easy for her as I can. Is any thing more important than this?  Have a nice day. 

I've decided to go over and visit with Virginia Sheldon next week. It's boring just looking at these 4 walls all the time. The uncertainty  of not being able to drive is not with me any longer so I might as well take advantage of it and go somewhere.

Take a look at Bills war. Virginia Sheldon created a story of his service with the 39th FA in WW2. Find it at Four years in the 3rd Inf in WW2