{"id":37993,"date":"2015-07-14T07:00:33","date_gmt":"2015-07-14T11:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?post_type=feature&p=37993"},"modified":"2016-01-12T04:17:24","modified_gmt":"2016-01-12T09:17:24","slug":"do-you-use-control-solution-to-test-your-glucometer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=37993","title":{"rendered":"Do You Use Control Solution to Test Your Glucometer?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n

While recently cleaning out one of my son\u2019s old diabetes kits\u2014a soft, camouflage-printed lunchbox we used when he was first diagnosed three years ago\u2014I came across a bottle of glucose control solution. It was expired, of course. When we were still in the hospital just after my son\u2019s diagnosis, our diabetes educator had taught us how to use the solution to ensure the accuracy of a new batch of strips. We used it once or twice, and honestly, that\u2019s the last time we used the stuff.<\/p>\n

Looking back, I think we were so overwhelmed by everything we had to do to keep our son healthy that the control solution seemed like a step we could skip. In those early days we were just trying to get through breakfast, lunch, dinner and all the places in between as we took our son\u2019s blood sugar, scribbled that number into a hefty binder provided by the children\u2019s hospital, counted the carbs, did the carb ratio math\u2014and, if necessary, the formula for a correction\u2014prepared the syringe, then injected the insulin. It all seemed monumental.<\/p>\n

With time, we got used to the routine, developed our own way of doing things, switched to an insulin pump and got hooked up to a continuous glucose monitor.<\/p>\n

So after finding that little bullet of a bottle, I started thinking about it. I see our pediatric endocrinology team as a pack of superstars, who constantly save the day and know what\u2019s best. So I called one of the educators there. \u201cWe don\u2019t use the control solution,\u201d I confided to her. \u201cShould we?\u201d<\/p>\n

She explained that, while there are no good studies to indicate its effectiveness, her team \u201cteaches it\u201d as a way to see if test strips are working. It\u2019s a safety measure; after all, she said, \u201cyou\u2019re injecting a potent drug.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then I asked her if she\u2014a type 1 diabetic herself\u2014used it. She laughed. Sometimes, she said, as a way to troubleshoot, particularly if her numbers seemed off. I asked her if she thought most people used it. She said, \u201cA lot are, most not, more people should.\u201d (The Joslin Diabetes Center\u2019s webpage, under \u201cHow to Avoid an Inaccurate Blood Glucose Reading,\u201d says, \u201cBefore using the meter for the first time and then again every few weeks, check your meter using the control solution \u2026 Control solution is only good for three months once opened.\u201d)<\/p>\n

A forum on ChildrenWithDiabetes.com<\/a> addressed this same issue. The thread was picked up by about a dozen of parents with kids with type 1 diabetes, and many admitted they didn\u2019t use the control solution. Though there were a few who did. One wrote, \u201cI use the control solutions fairly often \u2026 [they] are the only invariable in the whole meter mess.\u201d Others said it they used it rarely, and in the words of one parent, \u201cOnly if we think something funky is going on.\u201d Another parent added, \u201cWe were told by the nurses at the hospital to do that. But I think they were just reading what the manufactures [sic] directions say.\u201d Along the same lines, someone wrote, \u201cAnd of course the manufacturer would recommend this only to avoid lawsuits and also the more you use the more you need and that is all good for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Out of curiosity, I contacted a d-mom I know, whose child was diagnosed a year ago. \u201cNo, we don\u2019t use it,\u201d she answered, \u201cdo you?\u201d<\/p>\n

And then I reached out to another d-mom friend, whose child was diagnosed more than a decade ago. \u201cNo,\u201d she said, \u201cwe stopped doing that, like, nine years ago!\u201d<\/p>\n

She brought up another reason to skip it: wasting strips. Those are a diabetic\u2019s gold, particularly when you\u2019re running low and especially when you\u2019re paying out of pocket. And then there\u2019s the cost of the glucose control solution, which the experts say needs to be replaced\u2014once opened\u2014every three months.<\/p>\n

Finally, I shot a message to a friend who has had type 1 diabetes for more than six decades<\/a>. (Of course, glucometers weren\u2019t available until about 25 years ago, he reminded me.) He\u2019s a guy who does things by the book, who\u2019s fastidious about his care. I expected him to say yes.<\/p>\n

He did. But after a year of using the control to test his strips\u2014in his case, the first strip in every third or fourth vial\u2014he stopped. \u201cI never noticed a difference,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

So, all of you out there \u2026 do you use control solution?<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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