Here I am again looking for some answers I feel like a pest now with all these questions that I should problably know the answers to lol!!. I prick my fingers 10-14 times a day I do have a cgm and is always almost very accurate, but I can't stop and wont stop checking my glucose and my poor fingertips cant take anymore pricking (I have been type 1 for 21yrs) I started checking my BS this much 7yrs ago before that it was like 4 x's a day. I want to start trying diferent sites for pricking but I am a chicken when it comes to trying new things that are D related so I'm wondering where I can check my BS other than my fingertips I have heard about the forearm, but I feel that it may be painful if you have tried it is it? other than the forearm what other areas are ok for BS testing?
Alternate site testing never worked for me. The few times I tried it I thought it hurt worse than my fingers, was difficult to get a drop of blood and was sometimes difficult to get the blood on the strip. I hope it works better for you than it does for me because I know what your fingers look like.
Here is a link of sites that I have heard to consider for Alternate Site Testing. Some of these sites look more like barbaric torture than modern medicine (ear lobe). I think some manuafacturers have a different tip to the lancer to help promote getting a drop of blood as well.
I've been type1 44 years and I test a lot too. in the four years I've been a member here, we've had numerous "polls" and discussions on the best lancet device, and I blieve the Accu-chek Multiclixwins hands down.. a lot of times I can't even feel anything. I used to have little black dots on my fingertips, not any more. it also uses drums, so there's never any sharps to handle.
I share your same thing about not wanting to try new things D related.
ooh yay no need to try other sites thanks so much :) I feel like im the only one that is scared of trying new things when I 1st got trained for the navigator cgm (that I only used for very little) I actually almost fainted after inserting it I was so embarrased I thought surely I'm the only one who has ever been so scared to the point where they almost fainted lol!!!
I don't think the device matters so much as the lancet. I test a lot. I use the 33 gauge lancets and change mine daily. The thumb is my favorite for testing. I over used my pinky and it is off limits right now. I don't use my finger tips, I use the sides.
Compared to the amount of testing you do, I'm small fry. I am type 2. I used to check 20 times daily when I first started nearly ten years ago, but that dropped quickly to 8-10 and nowadays I vary from none to half a dozen depending on whether I'm experimenting with foods.
But this made me wonder:
my poor fingertips cant take anymore pricking
At the risk of telling you things you already know very well, please forgive me in that case, have you adjusted your lancet device to the minimum acceptable setting? Read this to see what I mean: Painless Pricks
Cheers, Alan, T2, Australia Everything in Moderation - Except Laughter
lol!! I know its quite a lot but I excercise twice a day I need to know what my sugars are constantly I dont want to go high and I dont want to go to low so gotta keep checking :) the cgm tends to lag during or after working out so cant rely on it..
hahaha I dont mean to laugh at you falling, but that happened to me today just a few hrs ago I went on a bike ride it wasnt as bad I just got a few scrapes on my knees but now I feel like my left knee is swelling.. I didnt get any bad cuts to where I could check my sugar..
Only a diabetic would think about checking their sugar after an accident that includes bleeding lol!!!
I use the sides as well I dont use my thumb at all but will start to.. You say you change your lancets daily I dont I feel as if it hurts more when the lancet is new.. Truth is I dont know how often I change the lancet I can probably go a good 2-3 months till I change it... Thanks for your help :)
The one touch Delica is really good too for finger sticking. I've played around with alternative testing sites and have just found that I don't bleed as well, and it makes it ackward getting a drop of blood. PLUS fingertip sites are much more accurate. Alternative sites basically test blood that is mixed with interstial fluid...think CGM here. Thats why they advise if you are having a rapid change in your BG you should AlWAYS then test on your finger tips. That is capillary blood you are testing there, and is there for more accurate to where you BG is at that actual moment. If you are testing a lot because of frequent exercising, something that may produce rapid changing levels..skip the alternative site testing, and perhaps as other have suggested experiment with some different lancet devices. Also definately use the lowest setting you can to produce an adequate amount of blood. I know they say dont test on fingertips...but even with the deepest settings, I have never been able to produce a good drop of blood from the sides of my fingers. So yeah my fingertips take a beating LOL. But I don't know for me personally it doesn't hurt there, I've always thought testing on my sides hurt worse cause someone would have to squeeze my finger soooo hard and I'd have to use a deep setting.
I've always hated the few times I've had to be in the hospital after dx...the nurses there ALL wanting to stick on the sides of my fingers..and of course the hospitals all use some cheapy disposable single use device...and Im telling them you WONT get blood there...and yeah after two or three sticks and the fustration growing on their faces, AND wasted test strips not to mention the now 15 min it is taking them versus the less than a min had they done it the way I TOLD them to do it, they will give up and stick my finger tips, hahah they will get a HUGE drop of blood.
Since I've become a nurse I have always made it a point to ask a patient when doing a finger stick where do YOU normally test at.
I completely understand. Does your CGM have a "Predict Alert" or something similar in the sensor settings menu? I don't use mine, but for people like you, it will alarm you if it begins to see a pattern--moving up or down steadily or very quickly. That lets you know you may be headed into trouble before you get low or high enough for it to alarm.
I so agree. When I do use the sides of my fingers it is very painful and I always bruise. I stick to the pads of my fingers. Get a good adjustment on the lancet device. Nowadays you only need a very small bit of blood, so adjust it as lightly as possible.
