While they have come a long way in terms of technological advancement, your diabetes monitor still cant automate everything for you. Calibrating your meter with your test strips is one of them. While calibrating or coding your blood glucose monitor can be quite a hassle, it remains a necessary step in ensuring an accurate reading of your blood glucose levels. Without proper calibration, glucose meter readings can be highly inaccurate, which in turn might lead to incorrect insulin dosage or the wrong dietary plans.
Because calibration can be a confusing task for many, some diabetes monitor manufacturers like Johnson & Johnson have made their meters calibrate themselves. However, a majority of the meters sold on the market today still require manual calibration. And quite often, most of the manufacturers offer little help in terms of calibrating their products. One blood glucose monitor manufacturer, for instance, wrote a disclaimer that should the meter and test strip codes fail to match, the test results are already considered to be inaccurate and should be used as the basis of any diabetes care and management decisions.
To calibrate a diabetes monitor manually, first you have to turn on your meter. If you do not know whether your monitor is manually or automatically calibrated, check whether it requires you to insert one strip at a time. If so, then it is most likely to be calibrated manually. Insert the test strip onto its designated slot in the meter, and be careful not to push it too hard as to bend the strip.
Once the strip is inserted, keep a look out for the code numbers. Typically once a diabetes meter turns on and lights up the display, the coding number will appear. However, if the monitor has not been used before, dashes will appear on the screen instead of the code number. In such cases you will have to enter the code yourself.
The code number of the test strip is usually found in bold letters at the label of the vial. Enter the number on meter, and click the OK or a similar button. If done correctly the meter should be calibrated for the test strips. If the number does not show up on the monitor, repeat the process again.
If your blood glucose monitor is automatically calibrated, you may still have to initiate the calibration process. To start the calibration, turn on the diabetes monitor and open it for access to the disc area. Glucose monitors with automatic calibration often use 10-test discs where the calibration settings are stored. Place the appropriate disc into the monitor and close the lid. The meter should already be calibrated with the disc you have inserted, along with instructions on how to take your blood sugar.
If the code number is not accepted by your diabetes monitor or it displays inaccurate results, check the expiration date of your test strips. Expired strips do not give out accurate sugar readings, and must be disposed of and replaced with a new batch immediately. In addition, you should also keep your monitor and test strips in a cool, dry place to maintain them in good working condition. Also, if one of the test strips has become bent or damaged, do not use it to test for blood glucose at it will most likely be inaccurate.
If possible, you can also check whether your monitor is truly calibrated correctly, you can test for blood sugar alongside a laboratory blood test. Ask your doctor if it is possible for you to test with your meter when you are to take a lab test. If the reading of your blood glucose monitor is within 20% of the readings taken with the laboratory, your diabetes monitor is considered to be accurate.
If you have difficulty using electronic devices, you may want to choose a diabetes meter with an automatic calibration function. However, the meter price of such monitors tend to be a tad more expensive than their counterparts that have to be calibrated manually, and may not be covered by insurance or patient assistance programs. Make sure to inquire with your insurance provider to check whether they will accept coverage for that particular model. Also, if you have the time you can also try visiting the websites of diabetes monitor manufacturers such as Johnson & Johnson, as they occasionally give away their monitors for free or at a discounted price. You can also go to diabetes websites to find out more about freebies for diabetic testing and insulin pump supplies.