My husband was diagnosed type II about two years ago. He tests himself at home three times a day....morning fasting, just before dinner and then two hours after dinner. His morning fasting averages around 128, predinner averages around 100 and two hours post dinner averages around 150. He went to the doctor, had fasting blood sugar done in lab which came back at 171 with an A1C of 8. We are getting extremely frustrated with these readings (this is not the first time this has happened) and see no sense at all in bothering to test at home when the lab results are always so much higher. I know it's not the meter because this is the second meter he's used and they were both in the same range give or take a few points. It's a one touch ultra. Has anyone else had this problem? When he tells the doctor that his at home readings are so much lower he looks at my husband like he's crazy. Anyway, he has to go to the endocrinologist next month who I trust more than this internist, but still it's very very discouraging.:confused:

The problem with testing at the same time every day is that you have no idea how he is doing the rest of the day. Try to switch it around a bit. See what his sugar is 2 hours after breakfast, or 2 hours after lunch. Obviously the dinner time frame is ok, so every few days switch it around and test before and after lunch, or in the afternoon, or after breakfast. You might want to make some adjustments in food intake or excercise.

The other thing I am curious about is if you bothered to check the meter with the lab. Next time your husband goes in for blood work, take the meter along and test just after the blood is taken. Then you will see how accurate that particular meter is.

Good luck.

Cora

I know you folks in america do things differently to us in the UK, but I was told by my diabetes doctor that I dont need to test myself every day. I am type 2 and she tests me every 6 months. No problems so far

I agree you should take in your meter and test right before or after your doctor. That will definatly let you know how accurate it is. Also, like the previous posted stated, your going to get different readings at different times of the day. For instance, did your husband eat right before going to the doctor? If he did that would make it higher than when he normally tests. Just a thought. Good Luck.

i have a one touch ultra. have you done the control testing with the vial that comes with the meter. also make sure you check and recode as neccesary when you change test strip vials.

I agree you should take in your meter and test right before or after your doctor. That will definatly let you know how accurate it is. Also, like the previous posted stated, your going to get different readings at different times of the day. For instance, did your husband eat right before going to the doctor? If he did that would make it higher than when he normally tests. Just a thought. Good Luck.

Don't go by the machine in the doctors office. They don't always check theirs either. It's not necessarily more accurate than yours. Compare it to the blood drawn from the lab.

Cora

Good point, Cora, as was your comment about testing at different times of the day.

Each individual finger-stick is only one snapshot in time of your blood glucose levels. They are constantly changing, literally minute by minute. A good way to see what's going on is to test as follows:

AM fasting: Daily
2 hours after breakfast: two to three times a week
2 hours after lunch: two to three times a week
before dinner: two to three times a week
before bedtime: two to three times a week.

If you scatter these tests around (so that you're not testing after eating exactly the same thing all the time), you'll get a much better picture of how your blood sugar reacts to different foods/meals. This in turn will give you a better idea of what your A1c will be.

Also, it's very important to wash your hands before testing. Any type of substance on your fingers can affect the resulting blood glucose number.

Ruth