Hey all,
Type 1 here, just been noticing i’ve been testing way too much in excess of 8 times a day and my fingers are super sore:(
The only way I know of for a type 1 to test less often is to get a CGM, although for some people CGM’s are not totally accurate so it may not save you from multiple daily tests even then. If the cost of a Dexcom is what’s stopping you from getting the top of the line (it’s around $300 for 4 sensors but most people can extend the use of each sensor) then consider getting a Freestyle Libre which costs $42 or less per sensor and the reader is about $80.
Ask your Dr. if he or she has any samples of the Freestyle Libre around so you can try it out to see if it is accurate enough for you to dose off of.
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I find some fingers are always easier than others but I still try to be rigorous about rotating so each one gets nine days off before its turn comes up again. One thing that I often forget is that most of the pokers are adjustable. With some fingers (yay pinkies!) I can get a sample at the lowest setting and hardly feel it. Others (boo forefingers!) I have to crank it all the way up.
And then there’s that whole thing about actually, y’know, changing the lancet! which you’re supposed to do every time but I don’t know if any of us actually do it. Personally, I’m on the 2-lancets-per-year plan. But it actually hurts a lot less–you can use a lower setting even on those tough fingers–when it’s actually sharp.
Years ago, OneTouch (I think it was them) introduced a new system that used a much smaller droplet, and they advertised that you could use other locations besides your fingertips, like the heel of the hand, the forearm, and even the heel of the foot, if memory serves. I never had much luck with those sites, and I don’t know if that’s still a thing. I seem to recall reading that the accuracy isn’t so good from those locations but maybe someone else knows more.
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The Freestyle Libre is a good alternative to reduce finger pokes. If you dose based on a finger poke then you do 1 test per meal. And then you can scan the Libre sensor as many times as you need. Extra scans don’t cost more because you are not using a strip.
I find that a good hand cream - like Eucerin intensive - works well I rub it in before bed. For me it was the toughened skin that caused the pain from fingersticks. I usually do 10-15 a day, or I should say used to do that many. I discovered that the meter covered by my health plan read higher than actual (I have chronic anemia, which is a risk factor for false high readings) , so I was correcting high bg’s I wasn’t experiencing and not paying appropriate attention to low alerts from my Dexcom. Thankful for having access to the meter accuracy research!
“way too much”? Not sure exactly what you mean, other than your fingers hurt. For more than 2 decades i’ve checked, on average, 15+ times per day. Now that I have a dexcom, I’m done to less than 6. Often less than 4. I never prick my thumbs, but my other fingers are targets. 
What kind of lancet device are you using? A lousy one can hurt, because the spring doesn’t retract the lancet swiftly enough to reduce pain to nearly undetectable levels.
For the record, I use a FastClix device. Awesome. As in “best” device I’ve ever used.