Each and every day I make dozens of diabetes decisions. I decide how many carbs I will eat and how much insulin I need to inject to cover those carbs; I decide how much glucose I need to treat a low BGL; I decide if it’s the day to change my pump line (or try to get an extra day out of it); I decide whether or not to eat something before taking a walk. All of these decisions impact on my BGL and my diabetes management.
And I prick my finger up to 10 times a day and based on the number displayed on my little machine I often decide how much of a potentially lethal drug I will inject into me.
That is the reality of life with diabetes. I say it not to be dramatic. It’s just part of what I do.
And I say it because if you ever think that the numbers displayed on that little machine are not important, think again. Close enough is not good enough.
In talks I give, I often say that how our diabetes paraphernalia looks is important and anyone who thinks that we are being shallow or vacuous because we want a pink pump or a pretty meter case doesn’t understand the monotony of life with diabetes. The fact that my meter case is pink and red and has poppies all over it and is from a Finnish design company makes me less pissed off every time I have to reach for it to stab my finger and check my BGL.
BUT! The most important thing of all is that I can trust what the meter and strips housed in that bright case tells me. Because I make regular decisions based on the number on the screen. I treat low BGLs if the number is below 3.5mmol/l; I decide if I’m happy to go to bed and sleep without any carbs if the number is at or around my bedtime target; I decide if I need to eat some carbs before I exercise; I decide if I’m happy to get behind the wheel of my car and start to drive. I decide if I am going to give myself a correction dose of insulin. All of these things have the potential to go wrong if that number isn’t accurate.
I may want my new meters to come with a gorgeous case or to have a light where the strip goes in for ease of use for night-time testing. I like the idea of meters that tell me of daily BGL patterns or those that use cartridges of strips to help avoid the inevitable strip detritus that decorates every room I’ve been in. I like that it takes only 5 seconds to give me a result and that less and less blood is needed on the strips. All of these things are great, but pointless – completely pointless – if I can’t trust the result. Accuracy. THAT’S what’s important. Most important.
Have a look at what’s going on in the USA with the fabulously named Strip Safely campaign.
Diabetogenic 
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October 16, 2013 at 4:36 pm
kerrie
Yes oh so very important for you and everyone else with Type 1 diabetes, the accuracy of the BGL and the accuracy of the added up carb – oh yes and it is a lethal drug you are dealing with – scares me that I have to entrust this with my 12 year old son, its ok when a parent is viewing in the distance or listening to what he has said he has added up and what his level is and you see from across the room what he is going to eat……imagine what all that feels like when you send your child that has Type 1 is sent off to school everyday
The impact of Type 1 Diabetes is huge its about time more people understood just what a huge impact it has on ones life…….
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October 16, 2013 at 5:24 pm
Melissa
Hi, just a note about the strip port light: I was happy to find out when I got mine that the OneTouch Verio IQ has a strip port light for testing in the dark. I like that about mine.
On the point of accuracy, it’s still the case that capillary glucose runs 10 mins behind venous glucose. Absolute accuracy would take a permanent IV because of how the circulatory system works. When it comes to capillary blood, the best we can aim for is all values in zone A of the Clarke Error Grid. I don’t think that’s too much to ask for. Having worked in the blood glucose monitor business in the past I can say from experience that tighter standards mean lower yields per batch and more wasted strips. At some point there will be a new ‘normal’ in terms of strip yields and someone will disrupt the market with a high-yield, super-tight manufacturing process. But until then I hope people are prepared for the possibility of the price of strips increasing with the implementation of tighter standards. An unfortunate effect of higher strip prices for greater accuracy could be that people find themselves forced by payers (insurance companies or government-run health systems) to use cheaper products that may or may not fully comply with the newer standards. Once the price of one brand goes up, a brand that doesn’t change its price becomes even cheaper. It’ll be interesting to see how this all plays out. I do hope it works out well for patients, payers and the companies (without whom we’d still be peeing on Glucostix) alike.
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October 16, 2013 at 5:30 pm
Katherine Cromwell
Very true but… We cannot control our emotions/ hormones and therefore accuracy doesn’t come into it. Finding the right balance and adapting it daily is what is required. Listen and be in tune with your body – my meter predicts a level yet I feel low or high – trust yourself not a gadget!
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October 19, 2013 at 6:30 am
painspeaks
Reblogged this on The Daily Advocate By Painspeaks.
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