Re: Experiment on meter accuracy

On Mon, 29 May 2006 20:51:40 -0500, Wizzzer wrote:

Hi Peter,

Your numbers are very interesting. Being a long
timeTech, Programmer, WAN/LAN Administrator, Systems
Engineer, etc, the numbers bother me, too. After reading
your post, I was looking at my data, 104 days, since Dx Feb
14th. The more days, the more data, the screwier the
numbers get. My FBG average is 139 for the full 104 days.
The highest reading is 180, the lowest is 104. The number
spread is 48 above average, 54 below and 4 right on the
money. The high and average may be thrown off by 2
readings, 180 and 177, the next highest is 169, when seen in
context, they are obviously bad. The numbers have gradually
decreased over the period. It would appear that the best
numbers seem to come from averaging one week at a time.
That way, the weeklies, plus a running average of the
dailies, plot a nice picture of progress. I had written a
program using monthly and total averages and have decided to
change that accordingly. I also have to find a way to
smooth, toss out or disregard numbers stepping too far away
from the progression.

The 8 pages of technical mumbo jumbo (labelled
specifications) in my manual are beyond belief. There is
nothing in there that would give you any idea of just how
accurate or reliable that meter is. Nor is there any
warning to ignore or re-test if you encouter suspicious
data. Or, even what may be considered bad or skewed data.
As one poster said, it's better than nothing. Or is it?
It's not like we're dealing with an aging outdoor
thermometer... it can be off by 10 degrees and not kill
you. There is no warning on that box, manual or unit to
indicate "This unit is just a toy, don't bet your life on
it's accuracy". It would seem much more reasonable than the
decal on my mower that says "Do not place feet under mower
when blade is engaged". Just my opinion, but what the hell
do I know. I'm still a rookie, but very interested in
making some sense out of these goofy numbers.

Cheers, Wizzzer T-2 (and counting)

I got some pretty consistent and believable numbers from my meter for the
first 6-8 months, but it's all over the place now - looking at getting a
new meter to see if that's the problem. My numbers over the last month or
two do not correlate with the lowering values shown by my A1C profile.
FWIW, I believe the A1C tests (home and lab) are quite accurate. I think
that meters which use a larger sample and take a little longer to complete
may be more accurate though I've not really been able to verify that. The
dearth of information concerning accuracy and durability is very
distrubing - meanwhile the manufacturers tout smaller sample size and
quick results.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Experiment on meter accuracy
    ... Being a long timeTech, Programmer, ... After reading your post, I was looking at my data, 104 days, since Dx Feb ... warning to ignore or re-test if you encouter suspicious data. ... than the decal on my mower that says "Do not place feet under mower when ...
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  • Re: Experiment on meter accuracy
    ... timeTech, Programmer, WAN/LAN Administrator, Systems ... The highest reading is 180, ... There is no warning on that box, ... decal on my mower that says "Do not place feet under mower ...
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