After a couple days of allowing myself some goodies (not extreme) I tested my bgl first thing this morning - it read 188. I was so shocked that I immediately re-tested and it read 158. Then I took a shower, dressed and made the bed. I drank a little water but didn't eat anything before I re-tested again and it read 86. This was less than 1 hour after first two tests.

Do I need a new meter? Has anyone experienced such extremes?
Karen

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I once tested with what I thought were clean hands and got a 256. I nearly had a stroke just looking at the number. LOL! Then I remembered that I had opened a packet of splenda a little while before testing. One little speck of maltodextrin is what probably did it for me. After wash/dry and retest, I was 92.

One possibility is that you were having a "dawn effect", from having restored your glycogen reserves over the last couple of days. If you were prone to dawn effect prior to starting this way of eating, that's a possibility.

As far as a meter malfunction: in my experience, things to check out:

1. That your hands were washed & dried before each test.

2. That your batteries are fresh. (My accu-chek gives me a signal if the batteries are low, but they don't all do that.)

3. That your strips are fresh. (Check the expiration date.)

4. You can get testing liquid for highs and lows, but in my experience, these are pricey and not worth it - especially when meters are often free/cheap when bought in a package with some test strips.

5. You can always bring your meter to the Dr.'s & ask them to do a quick test on you. Bring your meter and do yourself at the same time. That's a good way to see if you're in calibration.

HTH some.

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Thanks Maggie
I believe that I washed my hands both times - could have touched something setting up though - didn't thoroughly finish the dishes last night. I tested in lower ranges of pre-d when starting this woe and don't test daily so I have no knowledge of prior "dawn effect" - I have heard of it but don't really understand it. I tested yesterday morning and it was 107 - had eaten some sweets Christmas Eve - that was highest morning # I have ever tested and it bothered me. Normally mornings, when I do test, are in the 90s - so you can imagine my shock with this mornings numbers.

Strips are fresh, just bought them couple weeks ago. Battery goes one with line at top of symbol and I've only had the meter a few months - don't use it daily - believe it is ok but will double check. Since I don't have anything scheduled w/ doc soon and no insurance I think I'll check the next few mornings and see what happens. If eradic I can check my against a friend's meter - cheaper than doc visit at this point.

Thanks for your input.
Karen

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Oh, I forgot this part - guess I was so shocked by the numbers this morning.

Anyway, last night after Christmas dinner (prime rib w/wasabi - ran out of horseradish, cauliflower & spag. squash) I had about 12 oz hot eggnog - the sugar kind. An hour later I decided to test to see what that did to my bgl (oh yeah, I also had eggnog several hours earlier w/ snack of lc artichoke dip and few crackers -3 net carbs each). Bgl said 61 - that seemed wrong to me since I had about 35 gms sugar an hour before so I tested again immediately and it said 59. Then an hour later I tested and it said 102. ????

Faulty meter? or can blood sugar be that erratic and I need to be much more cautious???
Karen

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Karen,

Ok, I'm thinking (with your last post) that this IS a faulty meter! It is highly unlikely that your bg was 61 only an hour after eggnog! I would follow Maggie's suggestions for testing your meter...
By the way, how old is your meter anyway? If it is more than a couple of years old, you can call the manufacturer and they will more than likely send you a new one for free. They make their money on the test strips, not the meters. They have done this for me.
Also, make sure your strips are not expired, and/or have not been exposed to air for long periods of time (the lid needs to go back on the vial IMMEDIATELY after you remove a strip for testing). Has your meter been dropped or been exposed to extreme hot or cold? They are very touchy.
Finally, are you new at testing bgs or an old pro? It sounds like you know what you are doing.
Just some thoughts...
I'm thinking: faulty meter.
HTH,

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Summer

Karen, I'm beginning to suspect your meter, too. The readings from the night before are definitely whacko. Checking against a friends glucometer isn't a bad idea. If there's a big discrepancy, you know something's off.

As Summer said, the companies make their money from selling the strips so it's not usually a huge hassle to get a free meter. The last time mine started acting erratic, I just got a new meter.

Checking around, I see that hocks.com has accu-chek active meters for 18.99 at the moment and several package and/or rebate deals on other meters as well. I've found this place to be prompt and reasonable for test strips as well. (This is not an ad or endorsement for either meters or supplier, just an observation based on the products I use, so you can use this info to compare against others. You may find cheaper.)

I'm pre-D also. I am convinced that I'll stay that way, too, and move no further along that continuum as long as I keep eating the way I do. I don't think the insulin resistance etc. can be "cured" - such that one can "return" to a high carb lifestyle "someday" and suddenly go back to having a "normal" metabolism, but I do think one can stop the progression. JMHO.

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I'm pretty new at this. I just started testing the past few months. Meter is new too - but I bought a really cheap one - no drops or temp extremes - probably just too cheap. I'll have to check to see if I have the receipt - got it at Longs - maybe they'll replace or contribute to an upgrade.

Actually I feel really quite relieved, I was beginning to wonder if something was really wrong with me. When I tested 61 & 59 last night I didn't feel particularly tired, hungry, anxious, so it didn't line up with my body feelings. And this morning I didn't feel unusual yet the readings were soooo high.

thank you, thank you... I feel much better now.
Karen

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Your meter isn't a Freestyle by chance is it? When I tested my diabetic cat, I used to do cross checks between the Freestyle, Bayer Elite (aka Ascensia), and a One Touch Ultra. The Freestyle seemed to have real accuracy problems. I'm aware of others who also did meter face-offs and had the same funny results with the Freestyle.

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~~~Teelbee
Back to GOAL!!!
start weight: 176/goal range: 137-134/now: 138
Reached goal in Aug. 2003 - 4rd year of maintenance.

Now I'm wondering if it really is my meter. Its a Prestige - got it at Longs. Anyway, today I did early morning and tested 90 (yesterday was a reasonably lc day so 90 is good), then I tested before lunch to check my response to 100 gms of a fresh orange. Before meal - 80, 1 hr 100, 2 hr 89 - these all seem like correct responses. These are whole blood numbers. It says to add 12% to get plasma numbers.

BTW, lunch was tuna salad and the orange - numbers seem ok - but a little much of a rise in bgl - but I definately was somewhat hungry and wanted to eat 1-1/2 hrs after lunch. Had zero hunger after breakfast - 4-1/2 hours till lunch time and still wasn't all that hungry (2 eggs w/ cheese and 1 lc bran muffin). So orange wedges are out for now except in very small portions.

Could it have been an eradit response to the sugar I was consuming? My body is certainly not used to sugar now. Since today's tests seem normal I am thinking it may be possible. I will have to contact a friend later this week and check my meter against hers.
Karen

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Hi, I'm new to the forum, but I thought I'd post my two cents since I'm diabetic and have used just about every meter on the market in the last year. I currently have two freestyle flash meters (my current favorite), two Ultrasmart one touch's, a one touch ultra, an accuchek active and two different meters from precision (softac & Xtra). I have tested all these meters against each other and aside from the fact that the precision meters are always about 5-10 points higher, they all average within a few points. Now as I see it you could have two possible explianations: first the meter is messed up/or you have coded it wrong. Most meters can be tested with test solution from the manufacturer. If you call them they will send it to you. In any event there are several online retailers that practically give the meters away with the purchase of strips or you can find offers from the manufacture or try ebay. Most of the meters I have were purchased at discounts or free (thats one of the reasons I have so many).

Second, when my sugar is under control, it can swing 40 or 50 points over a period of several hours. Sometimes my sugar will seem to get out of control and when that happens it jumps up and down with greater swings and shorter times. This can be cause by stress, diet, and/or sickness for me. When it gets out of whack, it sometimes takes me a few days to get it back in control so to speak. Maybe your coming down with a cold or something.

Oh and the dawn effect is when your liver releases stored glucose when your body thinks the glucose levels are going too low, usually because you haven't eaten soon enough (like at dawn). The big problem with it is the liver doesn't regulate the amount very well as normally insulin will regulate it. In diabetics insulin doesn't work well or has to be injected hence the high BG readings. I hope this helps and good luck

just a note after reading thru the thread... Doves u said u were using a new pack of strips... did u change the code number from your strips on the machine?
that happened to me before.. i forgot to change the code # and was getting crazy readings...