From my blog Don't Fear Diabetes
One of the advantages of having my endo (besides the fact that he’s a wonderful doctor who I can really talk to about my diabetes and whose interests run well beyond my lab numbers) is that he is very popular with medical/pharmaceutical companies, and, as such, gets samples of lots of products.
Now, I don’t have too many needs in that regard. I don’t have very many meters (or a desire for very many meters), and I try to limit my consumption of diabetic products to stuff I really use. One of the things I use a lot is a lancing device. Don’t we all? Yes, yes we do, but I don’t think many people give them that much thought.
I use the lancing device I do by pure chance. When I was first diagniosed, the GP whose office took my fasting BG happened to have a sample box of an Accu-Chek Aviva. So that’s what I got. It came with the the Accu-Chek Multiclix lancing device. So that’s what I used. Since then, I have had occasion to use other lancers, such as when I switched to a Freestyle Flash (and soon, a Lite) meter. Wow, what a difference! I’ve learned that the Multiclix has a very devoted following, and I can see why. It is world’s better than the “standard” lancing device (I also used one that came w/ a One Touch Ultra Mini and it was much the same as the Abbott Freestyle device. Not good, in other words).
Anyway, at my last appointment, my doctor mentioned that he’d gotten in a few One Touch Delicas. I expressed some interest in trying one out- I’d never gotten a lancing device on its own, and, knowing how big a difference there was between the Multiclix and everything else I’d tried, I figured there was room for exploration. He said he’d leave one at his other office (he has several) and I could pick it up whenever I had a chance.
So I just got it, and gave it a test drive.
First of all, it’s WAY smaller than the Multiclix, in fact, it’s even smaller than the little ones that come with the Freestyle meters (Lite or Flash). Here are some photos for comparison:
Just under 3" long
a bit shorter and much narrower/more ergonomic than the "standard" lancing device, such as this Abbott from the Freestyle kit
WAY smaller than the multiclix
OK, so that covers size. What about use?
Well, I took a few samples using the Delica, and I could not feel it. Could. Not. Feel. It. But, on the other hand, it sometimes took 3-4 tries before I got a sample. On my beloved Multiclix, I have the depth set at 1.5 (out of 5.5) and on the Delica, I needed to use 3 (out of 7) to reliably get a sample. On the “standard” lancer, I usually use setting 1, and it still hurts.
I can’t compare the lancet size with the Multiclix, because the Multiclix uses a drum/cartridge that hides the actual lancets, but I did compare it to the Abbott. As you can see, it is MUCH thinner.
I think the photos speak for themselves.
So, it must be the greatest lancing device ever, right? Small and painless, what else do you want?
Well, yes and no. I am still somewhat partial to my Multiclix, because I HATE changing my lancets. If it weren’t for the drum of 6 lancets in the Multiclix, I might never change. But that’s a small complaint. Overall, this lancet is very impressive, and if I were ever to have to pay for such a device (lowest I could find it online was $16.99 at Hocks.com) this would probably be it. Would I spring for it to replace what I have now? If all I had was the “standard” style lancing device, I think absolutely. If you test more than once a day, you will get your money’s worth before the week’s over. If you currently have a Multiclix, then I think you can afford to wait until you need to replace it. This is better, but only because of it’s size.
Here’s the pitch from the box:
