GD-Different numbers from different fingers?

nic84

A couple of times that my blood sugar has seemed higher than they should have been, I retested with another finger and have gotten a lower number. Has anyone else had this happen? If so, does anyone know why this happens? I don't want to waste my strips every time and test on multiple fingers.

themizz

I've been having the same problem! Yesterday I checked my blood sugar and it was 128, and I didn't think that was right, so I checked it again within 30 seconds, and it was 107.  I've had a few other experiences like this too, so I'm constantly second-guessing what my sugar really is, but like you said I really don't want to keep wasting test strips.

I ended up googling the accuracy of at home glucose meters and found some pretty surprising stuff--mainly that meters only have to be accurate within 20%!!!!! So if my blood sugar is 100, anything between 80-120 is considered "accurate".  However, normally glucose meters are most accurate in the "normal" range, and are less accurate in the extreme high and low ranges.

I definitely plan on asking my doctor about it at my appointment tommorow.

nic84

themizz:

I've been having the same problem! Yesterday I checked my blood sugar and it was 128, and I didn't think that was right, so I checked it again within 30 seconds, and it was 107.  I've had a few other experiences like this too, so I'm constantly second-guessing what my sugar really is, but like you said I really don't want to keep wasting test strips.

I ended up googling the accuracy of at home glucose meters and found some pretty surprising stuff--mainly that meters only have to be accurate within 20%!!!!! So if my blood sugar is 100, anything between 80-120 is considered "accurate".  However, normally glucose meters are most accurate in the "normal" range, and are less accurate in the extreme high and low ranges.

I definitely plan on asking my doctor about it at my appointment tommorow.

Wow, that is really interesting. Kind of makes me wonder how accurate any of my numbers have really been. Well, thanks for the reassurance that I am not the only one this is happening to! I too will ask my doctor, hopefully they will have some answers!

misthang_1

I had that problem too.  I would be out of range on one finger and well within range on another (usually the other hand).  I talked to my GD counselor and was told that what she was looking for are trends.  One or two numbers out of range didn't excite her.  I was also told that there is a 10-20% differential with the monitors as mentioned by PP.  FWIW, if I got a number that was out of range, I would check another finger for my own piece of mind and found that 9 times out of 10 I was within range.  All that being said, I think it is worth mentioning the variation to your doctor so that he/she is aware.

Brewtowngrl

Make sure your hands are clean.  Don't use hand sanitizer.  If you use alcohol pads make sure it is dry when you prick.  Any of those things will throw your numbers off. 

EmjayTheHunted

My doc says don't bother testing more than once.  You'll only wonder about the results because they are almost never the same.  Other than a laboratory work up, you can't get a dead on number from a finger prick.  I also have tested this by squeezing out a large drop and doing two tests on the EXACT same drop, and getting different numbers. 

And don't even bother using two different machines.  I wasted about 15 strips one night playing with the tests.  

They're never the same.  

In the hospital when we do finger sticks, we always wipe off the first drop with a gauze or whatever and take the second drop, so if there was any alcohol or anything, it's not on the second drop.  

nic84

EmjayTheHunted:

My doc says don't bother testing more than once.  You'll only wonder about the results because they are almost never the same.  Other than a laboratory work up, you can't get a dead on number from a finger prick.  I also have tested this by squeezing out a large drop and doing two tests on the EXACT same drop, and getting different numbers. 

And don't even bother using two different machines.  I wasted about 15 strips one night playing with the tests.  

They're never the same.  

In the hospital when we do finger sticks, we always wipe off the first drop with a gauze or whatever and take the second drop, so if there was any alcohol or anything, it's not on the second drop.  

Wow! That is crazy..Thanks for the replies everyone. I will definitely mention it to my doctor though, even though it seems like a common occurrence!

AirplaneBride

This exact same thing has happened to me three different times now.  My doctor didn't have an answer.  I'm really frustrated by it!

EmjayTheHunted

The only solution is test once, and trust the results. 

I didn't like the variations either, but when you use the same drop of blood, strips from the same bottle lot#, and the same machine, and get different results... it's not us.  It's just what happens. 

The doc will probably say to test only once.  

lsugirljen

EmjayTheHunted:

The only solution is test once, and trust the results. 

I didn't like the variations either, but when you use the same drop of blood, strips from the same bottle lot#, and the same machine, and get different results... it's not us.  It's just what happens. 

The doc will probably say to test only once.  

I've always been told(by doctors) that readings can be +/- 20. 

MrsPBNJ0220

My counselor has told me not to test more that once.  She said the only instance to test again is if my monitor give me a "LO" reading meaning it's saying I'm under 50.  I have gotten totally different results with two different machines and that's why she said test once and only once.  I was told it isn't a perfect science and it's not something I can expect will be perfect so to go by the first number.  I would suggest you ask but my guess is they will probably tell you something similar to that.  Good Luck!

kiley&matt

This happens to me all the time, and since my doctor is really strict about my numbers, my nutritionist told me to retest if it was higher than I expected and write down the lowest number to avoid having to go on insulin.  I have tested and gotten a 149 and then tested again a second later on another finger and gotten a 103.  That's a pretty big difference, so I usually do test again, just to make sure.  If they're both high, then I write down what I ate and try never to eat that again.

kiley&matt

This happens to me all the time, and since my doctor is really strict about my numbers, my nutritionist told me to retest if it was higher than I expected and write down the lowest number to avoid having to go on insulin.  I have tested and gotten a 149 and then tested again a second later on another finger and gotten a 103.  That's a pretty big difference, so I usually do test again if it's that high, just to make sure.  If they're both high, then I write down what I ate and try never to eat that again.  At first it bothered me to waste so many test strips, but I figure insulin is even more expensive, so for me it's worth it.  GL