Hi! I’ve been diagnosed with T1 a month ago in Ontario (CAN). There, the diabetes educator told me i needed to change the lancet before each prick. Back in Montreal, the diabetes nurses told me I could keep using the same one for 24 hours. I’ve then read on an article that some people threw them out after a month!
How often should I really change them?
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I change the lancet about once every three to four weeks or when it begins to hurt. I used to change it each time, when I was first diagnosed, until I found out -I- really didn’t need to do that. You may be different though.
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Since the lancets are cheap I change mine every few days. It does seem like after a while they get more painful. I assume they are getting dull.
@Tapestry Thanks for replying so quickly ! I’ll keep in mind to change them when they begin to get dull.
Don’t worry about.
If you feel like it.
Some people do. Some people don’t.
You will have many other things to focus on.
Keep asking questions for anything you are unsure of. Lots of experience in these forums.
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You’re most welcome, @AliceDownTheHole. I’m guessing a lot more people will follow with how often they change their lancets too.
It’s really up to you. I was changing lancets each time at first, then I switched to maybe once a week. However I noticed that it was not working very well and my fingers were getting damaged. So now I change them as frequently as possible probably every second or third stick. Except for the one in my car I don’t change that one that much but I don’t use it very often.
I use one touch delica xtra fine which is a lot less painful and I think they dont stay sharp as long. There is also the germ factor, using a lancet for a week is not sterile etc.
I change mine every 4 sticks or so because like @meee I use a very delicate lancet that will get dull quickly and then cause pain but when I used to use the more standard lancets I probably only changed them once a week or so.
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I put a fresh lancet in my lancer every day. I test a lot though, and prefer not to have callus or bruise on my digits. Lancets are cheap. Also, look for 33 guage lancets which is the smallest one available but worth the tiny prick, and extra cost.
@AliceDownTheHole when I change my clock, I change my lancet. Otherwise I forget
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I change mine about once a week.
I went through a period where I changed it once or twice a year. However, I read braille and the callouses created by chnaging so seldom at times got a bit annoying if they were in an area that interfered with reading.
I use a Fastclix lancing device that stores six lancets. So one drum lasts me about six weeks on average. I keep an extra drum in my meter case as well.
I only test 4-6x a day, and if I was still testing as much as I used to before I got a CGM (which was 10-12x many days), I’d likely change my lancet more often.
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I only change when it hurts. I probably go months without changing. However, since I am on Dexcom I only test 2 times per day. Before dexcom I tested 6-8 x’s per day and even then probably changed the lancet once per month!
I’m a proud member of the Twice a Year Club! Or the “whenever I think of it” club. Or the “I carry a couple extras in my kit and change whenever it hurts except then they’re all gone and I forget to put a few more in there and the next thing I know six months have gone by” club.
ETA: forgot to say, Welcome to TUD @AliceDownTheHole! This is actually a perennial topic and as you can see, people can be a little tongue-in-cheek about it. Probably because it’s one of the first places we all experience that disconnect between what the trainers/endos/doctors/pharma companies tell us officially and what we all actually do. And that’s why forums like this are such a great place to visit: we get it. Hope you’ll stick around!
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Yeah…2-3 times a year for me.
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It really comes down to what you can tolerate. If lancets are too expensive for you and you want to stretch it out, then do so.
I also learned that alcohol dries the skin and is NOT needed before pricking. I wipe with a napkin afterwards, but if I don’t have one around, I sometimes lick it. Not enough blood to even notice a taste. Any other lickers out there?
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Not me.
But I keep a folded tissue in my meter case, and use that instead. About once a month, I put in a new tissue.
I had to laugh at this response. Serious or not, it is funny.
@Babs5 glad you enjoyed. 
Sadly it’s true. I have a D-friend who regularly lambastes me to change my lancet
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When first diagnosed, I changed the lancet with every stick. This continued for months, and months until I met a fellow diabetic. They said they used the same lancet over and over and over. Thought that was a GREAT idea and now I change it: . . . . when I think about it, when it feels dull, or about once a month, whatever happens first.
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