I have two testers, one I have had for about 4 years, and one that I have had for about 6 months. They are different brands. When I test on one, the numbers are higher than when I test with the other from the same blood draw. Example: 169 on one and 139 on the other. I'm about to give up on testing at all since I'm not sure these things really work. Any suggestions?

Hi Justine. Welcome to BellaOnline.

I would speak with a pharmacist about this tester difference issue. They often are very helpful. I have only used the one I have, so have never compared it to another. You might also give your doctor a call and see what he/she thinks - because this seems very unusual for the two testers to show that much difference in the count.

Justine, a good pharmacist is a blessing! I agree with Phyllis.

Sometimes if you take your tester with you for your lab appointment, you can take your blood with it, then have your lab done. That way, you can sort of calibrate it.

Also, many testers have solutions that you can use instead of blood, to check your strips and meter.

Another clue as to which meter is correct might be which one correlates most closely with your A1C numbers.

Hope this helps!