Have any of the Teeming Millions used one of those home testing devices? I seem to be a borderline diabetes case (horrors!), and am having the damndest time drawing blood to work the trest strip and meter!
Your device should have a ring with little numbers around it, corresponding to how strong a needle prick you need. Try a higher number. And you might still need to squeeze the blood out sometimes.
I think that all of the Diabetic Dopers do have one of these things at home.
Try swinging your arm up and down before you stick yourself. That seems to help me.
Some of us have more than one =) I have um, 4…
[really … those medical supply companies are amazing, they just keep sending stuff trying to get one to use their services!]
How about washing your hands in warm water to open the capillaries, and checking the depth your lancet is going… holding your hand down low and shaking it also can work but I think it is a function of lancet depth.
I use one (diagnosed with Type 1 three weeks after my 36th birthday - yay!*). You need a bead of blood about 2mm across to make it draw into the meter properly. My only guess is that you’re not stabbing yourself deep enough. If you have a device for stabbing then panache is right - put it on a higher number. If you don’t then you just have to grit your teeth and go for it.
You could try a different meter and lancet. Mrs Marcus uses a Freestyle Lite meter from Abbott which has the advantage that it only needs a tiny drop of blood and you can test on the arms and legs, not just the finger tips. Having the other sites means it is less painful and you are less likely to flinch away :dubious:
I have about ten of 'em. I figure why not try 'em all, seeing as they’re free?
Most lancets have a depth setting - try setting it higher.
I seem to have the best luck with my index finger - in the mornings, I always use my index finger because all the others apparently have expelled all their blood sometime in the middle of the night.
And the different meters use different amounts of blood - you might want to try a different meter if yours is one of the higher ones. I had an Accu-Chek Aviva forever, and my biggest beef with it is that it needed a TON of blood. Check around on the various meters websites, they say how much they need. The Freestyle meters get good reviews and use very little blood.
If you’re diabetic, you can get free meters, just call the meter company and tell 'em you are not happy with your current meter and could you please try one of theirs.
I don’t care what the manufacturer says, you’re going to need to get a drop about the size of a letter O in normal print. Try warming your hands (but dry thoroughly so as not to dilute the sample) before poking. Adjust the depth if you have to. Sometimes you find a dry spot and have to repoke elsewhere. Sometimes you get a good spot and you get a good sample easily. Sometimes you gotta squeeze.
I highly recommend the FreeStyle. It needs the least amount of blood and you can easily test on your forearm which is a lot less painful than testing on your fingertips (although finger tip testing is more accurate). It only requires .3 microliters of blood for testing and the lance is very easy to use.
Other people like the OneTouch Ultra. Also requires very little blood, but I found it harder to test with, and the lance was harder to use. However, it is very popular and fast.
When you test, you test on the side of your finger level with the bottom of the nail. Don’t test on the actual finger tip, or you’ll damage your nerves. You need to rotate testing sites from finger to finger (one side then the other).
I normally recommend that you test between 8 to 10 times per day (when you wake up, before meals, after meals, and when you go to sleep). Also test before and after exercise too. The idea is to get a handle on how your body is working. What causes your blood glucose to spike? What does exercising do to your blood glucose? When does your blood glucose go up and down naturally?
Once you get a better handle on your blood glucose levels, you’ll be able to exercise better control. Many people find testing before a meal and after a meal helps them with their diets. Knowing that you’re going to be testing your blood glucose after you eat can keep your appetite reasonable. Others have found that taking it before and after exercise not only encourages them to exercise, but also exercise more vigorously.
If you have excellent control after a few week, you can probably go back down to 2 to 4 times per day just to keep an eye on things.