Hi guys, I need some advice. Is there any place other than the fingers you can test? My sweet little girl fingers looks like a dart board, and it is going to get worse, as Monday is our first day on the pump and I know we will be testing more often.
Any tips or advice will be greatly appreciated as she has the rest of her life to poke her fingers :-(
she is tooo cute, good luck pumping! my son hasnt tried anything other than fingers, alternate site use isnt suggested by our endo. have you tried using a scrub to help her fingers like sugar and olive oil or apricot facial scrub it helps a bit. i think there are other products out there too, also jacobs fingers get better in the summer with swimming in the pool. not much real help offered but just wanted to send some support and well wishes with your little cutie! amy
I test on my ring and middle fingers, only those, and only the sides, not the pads. I've got caluses now so doesn't hurt really. There is "alternate site testing" on forearms and such, but that's only if you do not suspect a low. As I can never rule out a low, I never do that. It may be harder to get blood from those areas, you have to rub the skin first sometimes. Just did a quick google search on alternate site testing, there's a lot there, e.g., http://www.onetouch.com/articles/alternate-site-blood-glucose-testing.
My son started pumping a year ago and our endo only recommends the fingers. Was told its not as accurate
Hi Nic, how old is your daughter? She's adorable! My daughter is 4. Only had T1D for 14 months and I can see the prick marks in her little fingertips - it breaks my heart! I, too, would love something to make the marks go away. What pump is she going on? Mine's on the pod.
Nic. You daughter is adorable. I remember feeling sick about my daughter’s fingers. Ugh
… apots for alternate site testing… pads of hands, forearms using a clear top to the sticker. My daughter refused. Our solution… meter:freestyle as it only uses a tiny drop. Sticker: accuchek multiclix… amazing. Finally we got the Dexcom G4 and finger pricks have dropped by 1/2. Some pumps use specific meters… we had the ping and the meter required one touch. We didn’t care, we used the freestyle and just entered her BG into the remote or pump and that worked fine. Now she is on the pod and loves it. The meter for omnipod is freestyle. Good luck to you. Janet
We do use our sons toes. In our experience, the numbers from his toes and fingers have not been too different. Of course clean toes are more accurate. Our endo is fine with this practice. It is especially helpful when he is sleeping and all curled up under the covers. His foot is usually sticking out of the bed and I don't have to disturb/uncover him to check his sugar. He uses his fingers at school and we use his toes in the evening.
Ask your endo if you can test on the toes. My friend's daughter was diagnosed as an infant and she used to use the toes to test. I do not know if this would be appropriate for your daughter. If you are starting the pump Monday, I guess you will see the endo or nurse educator that day so you could ask. I agree with Type1Mom whose daughter uses the Accuchek Multiclix. My 2 boys use that lancing device as well. I think it is the best one too. Good luck!
Hey guys thank you for your advise, I did ask my endo about the toes and she was OK with it, but the toes require a lot of prep to clean, so I just reach for the fingers. I like the idea of just using one or two fingers only, so we won't damage all and I will try the scrubs and olive oil. Thanks guys :-)
Hey, my daughter is 6 now (that was an old pic) she was diagnosed last July. We are going on the Omnipod also, she is so excited she has been counting down the days like what she does for christmas. Any tips you have for the pod will be appreciated. How do you keep the pod on? That is my biggest fear that it will fall off or dislodge and she does not get insulin.
Hi Janet thanks for the advise. When I get the hang of the pump I plan to get the Dexcom. We are going on the omnipod Monday and we are excited. I will love to get tips about the pod.
let us know how the omnipod goes, there are alot of links on here about new starts with the pod,jacob has been using the pod for two years there have been some up and downs but mostly good. once she is more aware of having it on her issues of the pod bumping off will be very rare. if you have specific questions ask away, check out kylesmoms post here she asked alot of qood questions and is one or two weeks in going well!