Can too much blood throw off a reading?

Type 2
1

When my mother tests, she squeezes her finger and then sticks her finger to the test strip and scrapes her finger with the test strip.

When she does that, there’s still blood moving around on the strip.

Is that okay or will that throw off the test?

Like this morning she tested and it was 178 ( I think due to what we ate for dinner last night)

I said " here use these sani wipes and wipe your fingers with them and then use this dish cloth to dry your fingers"

She did that, stuck herself again and then repeated what I said above and it was 186!!!

So could too much blood on the strip and not washing her hands cause these roller coaster readings lately, or is it Gastroparesis?

October Mornings: --, – , --, --, --, 181, 172, 174, 151, 150, 143, 197, 203, 139, 136, 120, --, 163, 103, 116, 117, 117, 93, 121, 132 107, 100

October Nights: --, --, --, --, --, 142, 209, 124, --, 200, 126, 181, 137, 151, --, 139, 151, 109, 116, 117, 137, 166, 141, 58, 161, 98, 113, 127

November Mornings: 92, 121, 92, --, 143, 121, 122, 124, 126, --, 125, 139, 108, 132, 134, 104, 105, 99, 110, 127, 129, 136, 112, 124, 128, 104, 110, 130, 110, 99

November Nights: 170, 95, 199, 121, 173, 90, 82, 168, 114, 114, 163, 164, 149, 160, 108, 171, 134, --, 145, 98, --, 126, 145, 184, 115, --, 193, 232* / 226, 95, –

December Mornings: 161, 125, 124, 124, 117, 113, 129, 157, 120, 152, 128, 128, 127, 156, 131, 131, 118, 131, 132, --, 111, 178* / 186,

December Nights: 134, 149, 221, 140, 138, --, --, 243, 148, 243, 170, 123, 156, 175, 104, 98, 151, 141* / 142, 244, 145, 192

  • = retested hence the 000* / 000

Thanks!

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2

When I check my glucose with a fingerstick, I contact the small bubble of blood on my fingertip with the test strip, but do not touch the test strip with my finger. I let the test strip pull in the amount of blood it wants with osmotic action. You can visibly see when there’s enough blood pulled in and the meter will often chirp to let you know it has enough.

The blood sugar numbers you list are pretty much all elevated. I only see a few numbers under 100 mg/dL. That is not normal.

While gastroparesis may be adding to the problem, a diet high in processed carbohydrates combined with high fat is the more likely reason. The timing and size of insulin doses can also lead to the numbers you observe. Eating dinner or evening snacking within three hours of your head hitting the pillow can lead to high waking numbers.

Like most difficult problems, there are likely several contributors givng your mother these symptoms. It would be nice if her fingerstick testing techniques were to blame but I think that’s a long-shot. Food quantity, quality, timing as well as insulin quantity and timing are much more likely to be at the root of these symptoms. That means, if true, the solution will be more involved and take more effort and time to fix than simply mending a poor glucose testing technique.

3

I don’t think the sugars are high because of too much blood on the test strip. It’s either too much carbs or too little medication. (Or too little exercise, I suppose).
However, depending on age and other medical complications, these numbers might be considered acceptable.

Need to review with diabetes team!

4

Sticky dirty fingers can raise fingerstick readings. If recently washed, damp not completely dry fingers can dilute the blood and lower the fingerstick reading.

But in your mom’s case, she tested before cleaning and got 178, then after cleaning she had 186. Those are FOR ALL PURPOSES the same number.

I’m not sure why you describe the multiple months of numbers as “roller coaster”. bg numbers for diabetics by definition bounce around. And the movement in your mom’s numbers are all very typical for a diabetic and not at all extreme. Your mom’s morning numbers are all slightly elevated. The evening numbers tend to be more variable, with some higher highs. This is not unusual for a diabetic.

It looks to me like 100% of your mom’s morning numbers are below 180. And the vast majority of her evening numbers are below 180. That in itself is a success story. There’s room for improvement (for all of us there is room for improvement!) but I don’t see why you’d be saying gastroparesis is causing a problem unless there are other non-bg-related symptoms of gastroparesis. And then I would focus on those symptoms when talking with a doc.

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5

I agree with the consensus. Let me add a little. Clean fingers are crucial but the chemicals in wipes can interfere with the test.

The too much blood issue is not an issue because the strip will suck up only a predetermined amount of blood and then it stops.

Thirdly, finger stick meters are not so accurate that you would get the same reading twice in a row.

There isn’t too much difference in the two numbers you stated.

Sounds like maybe she needs some tweaking of her meds tho cause she runs in the higher ranges of normal.

I’m glad you are keeping an eye on it. It takes a lot to maintain records and keep up with the issues

6

I have done 2 bg strips, using same drop of blood and get different numbers, but close. Meters and strips are not as precise as you think. But much better than urine testing in the old days…

Some meters/strips are more accurate, but in general all are “good enough”. Give your mom a break!!

7

Thats the thing though… We bake, grill, broil, boil, or use a air fryer to cook.

We hardly eat bread.

We’ve made a pact to cut out sugary things come 12/25!

8

I apologize for speculating about what you eat in your household. What people eat is a big influence on health and no one really wants to change how they eat.

I applaud your intention and wish you luck with your efforts. I encourage you and your mother, however, to pair that intention with a tactic called “eat to your meter.” You start by eating what you normally eat but record your meter glucose values before and after eating. If your after-meal glucose values are too high for certain foods, it suggests that your health would benefit by minimizing or eliminating those foods.

Conversely, you may discover that some foods do not spike your blood sugar as you might have suspected. In that case, you may continue to enjoy those foods. People’s metabolisms are unique and do not always respond the same way to the same foods.

If you falter in your ability to go cold-turkey with some sweets, enjoy that treat but always do the before and after glucose check. That way you’ll get concrete and immediate feedback on what that treat cost you. You might even find some treats that are acceptable. By keeping it real, you eliminate denying that those foods which spike your blood sugar are “not really that bad.”

If you persist in using this tactic, your habit will be reinforced with glucose numbers that trend in a favorable direction. Once your brain is sold on the idea that you’re doing something that works, you’ve gained a critical ally in your fight to improve your health.

9

To answer the OP’s question:

Unless you can’t find the strip or read the meter because of the mess, there’s no amount of blood that is too much for a test strip. Labs use droppers to apply samples to slides and strips.

If you have trouble expressing a good size drop then either you are doing it wrong or you are dehydrated. The former causes callus formation, needless pain and bruising. The latter can throw off capillary test results.

There are folks that believe that since stick readings can be off 15% or more from BP venous lab values, that technique doesn’t matter. That’s blaming a tool for it’s weaknesses instead of using it as effectively as possible.

The amount of blood required for a strip is so small compared to what a person has that it makes no sense to skimp. The costs of too much skimping is sample rejected by the BG meter, or one contaminated by material not completely removed from the skin.

For an accurate reading you MUST wash your hands with soap and water and dry them by shaking them off or using a CLEAN towel, immediately before taking a sample. Using warm water and massaging it rubbing will improve capillary circulation and make the sample closer to venous level.

Alcohol, hand sanitizer and licking the finger do not clean the skin effectively. Handing almost anything can recontaminate the fingers.

The towel your kid just used isn’t clean enough to use. Kids are notorious for not properly washing their hands and wiping the soil into the towels. Adults also do the same. To observer this use a brown colored soap like Pears and a white towel. The towel will quickly develop a brown soap stain. I use a fresh clean wash cloth and then place it where someone can use it later for it’s normal purpose. Paper towels are another option.

10

I would not be surprised if something in the wipes is adding to the higher BS. Try just using soap and warm water to clean her hands.

11

As far as testing goes:
Touch a generous drop of blood to the test strip. Don’t add more blood to the test strip after the first drop is applied. Too much blood does change results. (Mayo Clinic). Nancy 50

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