IBG STAR - reliable readings??

Hi Everyone,
After finishing the DAFNE course earlier this year (2014) I wanted to switch to the iBG STAR BG monitoring system because it worked with my iPhone and meant there was one less thing to always carry around - since I could get rid of my old OneTouch BG metre.
I tried it for about 14 days. Since I was changing meters, I kept track of the readings on the iBG STAR by cross-correlating with my old One Touch machine - taking two readings each time I checked my BG. The BG results as shown by the two machines differed significantly - the iBG STAR always giving higher values with the differential increasing as the BG values rose higher - say a difference of 2 units at normal BG measurements rising to 4 or more units difference at high BG values.
Since my overall balance wasn't bad with the One Touch system - which gave readings that I knew and was used to ('trusted' isn't quite the word! - but I had an idea how many units of QA were needed to counteract a particularly high BG - just from experience) I stopped using the BG STAR and returned to carrying all the clobber - a phone PLUS a BG meter - around with me again.
I was wondering if anyone else has any experiences with the BG STAR being either a system that gives good results (for them) OR like me found the machines to be a bit unreliable. I'd still like to park the old One Touch BG meter - which I'm using again - even if just for efficiency's sake - but I can't trust the iBG STAR system's readings.
Cheers.

Hi, yes I had a big problem with the BG Star, I also thought this meter would be easier to one less thing to carry, I called the makers of this meter and was told that the meter was the most accurate meter on the market. I explained that there was a difference of 2 to 4 of a difference and they said my one touch meter was way out, so I told them if I used there meter I would not take enough or to much insulin they said that wouldn't happen, what a laugh. That was the end of BGStar.
Regards
Mdadds

Hi Mdadds,
Thanks for your post. It pretty much follows my own experience and reactions - although I never got in touch with BG directly - as I knew they would say that - what else could they say?!!
The numbers offered by the iBG system just didn't "feel right" to me as a user - and - as you say would lead to unreliable inputs of QA insulin to treat the given numbers etc.
I'd be interested to hear from anyone who does use the iBG Star mini-meter with their iPhone - there must be plenty of them out there - but who has grown to trust the readings that the machine is giving - and who isn't finding problems of say being late to recognise a hypo and overreacting by shooting too much QA to reverse an overly high reading.
Best regards - gessie

If you google 'blood glucose test strip accuracy' you will find loads on information about this. Although you may be used to a one touch (I use one as well ) you have to understand that ANY blood testing system only has to be accurate to + or - 20% of the true value to be considered compliant with regulations. This means that what appear to be large variations in BG readings can still be considered 'accurate'. You also have to understand what you are seeing is effectively a best guess based on basic chemical reactions in an uncontrolled environment i.e you finger and where ever you happen to be when you do the tests.
I tried out a BG Star and agree its not as good as I thought, of course they have big problems now that apple have changed conenctors and their meters no longer convieniently fit to an iPhone. As for the accuracy it was different to my one touch but who can tell which one is really accurate and which one is not. Its what you are used to that you will tend to believe I guess, you just can't assume necessarily that it is correct, since the results are never truly correct.

I know nothing about smart phones - so you'll have to bear with me on this one. Is there now a smart phone that also functions as a BG mater?

Hi, sort of. The BG star plugged into the bottom of an older iPhone ( the 4 series iPhones) and you installed an app on the phone to access the plugin and act as a meter. The major problem with this is that apple promptly changed the connector on the bottom of the iphone when they released the iPhone 5 which meant you had problems connecting the 'meter'. It was an interesting idea but fatally flawed I believe. That said the accuracy of the meter is independent of how it displays the results i.e via an iPhone app or via its own display.