I must be stupid but I cant use the SD Codefree machine

[jal16]

Just quickly - Are you putting the blood onto the strip before you put it into the meter, or putting the strip into the meter and waiting for the symbol for the drop of blood appear?

The droplet of blood should be applied to the end of the strip, with the strip in the meter and the droplet symbol showing.

Thanks for your help, sorry I couldn't reply earlier but have been out all day and can't post on my mobile. I'm going to see if I can reset the machine to factory settings as I don't really want it to be as complicated as it is. I'm not bothered about it telling me if it's pre or post meal, but I must have set this by mistake. All I am trying to see is my bg reading as I won't be seeing the nurse for 3 months and I have been feeling so dizzy lately and cant see 12 foot in front some days due to blurred vision.

 

[jal16]

Do you have photographs of the extra bits ?
Also you must wait for the machine to bleep before letting the test strip suck up the blood .. Leave it sucking up the blood until it bleeps again ... Then it should give you your bs reading.
Some strips you do add the blood to by dropping on to the strip ..but not the code free meter ...
Also are you putting the strip in the right way around .. The big gold end is pushed into the sleeping meter ..then it will wake up .. Bleep to say it's ready ..then you hold the meter upright with the strip over the top of your blood .. Let it touch the blood and it will be sucked into the strip ...

Hi Enclave, Ill have another look at them tomorrow and maybe take a photo with my mobile. Its probably been the worst week to try to set it up as been working 6 days, and we have 2 x 6 month old kittens very interested in trying to help me. Ill try again tomorrow in a quiet place

 

[Enclave]

BTW ... you are not stupid ... like all new things they take a little getting used to.
My first problems were not waiting for the machine to bleep .. and trying to drip blood onto the strip .. rather than letting it suck up the blood... you will get there

 

[AndBreathe]

Thanks for your help, sorry I couldn't reply earlier but have been out all day and can't post on my mobile. I'm going to see if I can reset the machine to factory settings as I don't really want it to be as complicated as it is. I'm not bothered about it telling me if it's pre or post meal, but I must have set this by mistake. All I am trying to see is my bg reading as I won't be seeing the nurse for 3 months and I have been feeling so dizzy lately and cant see 12 foot in front some days due to blurred vision.

I think you may be over complicating things here. Keep it simple.

I would say it's useful to have your meter set up, to at least record the date and time correctly. You don't have to use the other functionality, so I wouldn't bother factory resetting it. I use mine in the simplest way possible.

I open the case, take a strip out of the pot. I put the strip into the meter - that turns it on - without displaying the pre/post meal symbol. I wait for the little blood of blood image to appear on the screen. I prick my finger, apply the blood to the strip, then the meter counts down to a result.

If you want to record whether the test is pre or post meal, you just press the right hand arrow once for pre and a second time for post, if I recall correctly.

Once I have my reading, I just remove the strip from the meter and zip up the case. It turns off automatically after a few moments.

I'm obviously the laziest person from LazyLand.

 

[Pinkorchid]

I think you may be over complicating things here. Keep it simple.

I would say it's useful to have your meter set up, to at least record the date and time correctly. You don't have to use the other functionality, so I wouldn't bother factory resetting it. I use mine in the simplest way possible.

I open the case, take a strip out of the pot. I put the strip into the meter - that turns it on - without displaying the pre/post meal symbol. I wait for the little blood of blood image to appear on the screen. I prick my finger, apply the blood to the strip, then the meter counts down to a result.

If you want to record whether the test is pre or post meal, you just press the right hand arrow once for pre and a second time for post, if I recall correctly.

Once I have my reading, I just remove the strip from the meter and zip up the case. It turns off automatically after a few moments.

I'm obviously the laziest person from LazyLand.

I think that's how most of us do it no hassle

 

[seadragon]

Just tip that helped me when i started is to make sure your hand is warm and then after using the lancet wait for a couple of seconds (up to about 5) and then squeeze gently to get a blob of blood out. Keep the hand flat and your finger still and move the strip (which you will have inserted into the meter already to turn it on) to base of blob (a bit like a shovel) and let it suck up the blood. I used to get a lot of error codes for not having enough blood in my blob! But have sussed out how much I need now
I ignored the extra end piece off the lancet device as it's for alternative sites - think I have lost it now but it's not important.

 

[jal16]

I think that's how most of us do it no hassle

As I said before Pinkorchid, if I had known not to follow the instructions I wouldnt have bothered. I would be doing it like the rest of you with no hassle, but I still cannot get any kind of a reading. I am going to take it into a pharmacy. Thanks for your advice.

 

[jal16]

Just tip that helped me when i started is to make sure your hand is warm and then after using the lancet wait for a couple of seconds (up to about 5) and then squeeze gently to get a blob of blood out. Keep the hand flat and your finger still and move the strip (which you will have inserted into the meter already to turn it on) to base of blob (a bit like a shovel) and let it suck up the blood. I used to get a lot of error codes for not having enough blood in my blob! But have sussed out how much I need now
I ignored the extra end piece off the lancet device as it's for alternative sites - think I have lost it now but it's not important.

Thanks Seadragon. I think Ill have to wait until Sunday again when I'm not working. I don't seem to be able to get it right or maybe not getting enough blood out, and I am getting fed up with it as I just want to find out if it is my BG level that is giving me such awful dizzy spells. I tried to do it this morning but only have a short time between running about and maybe my hand wasn't warm enough. I don't seem to get any blood out of my right hand fingers and the nurses can never get blood out of my right arm.

 

[jal16]

Hi @jal16 I did exactly the same when I first set my SD code free up too. I put a drop of blood on end of strip not realising it was actually a little capillary at the end.

To begin with I found the apple and bite out of apple for pre- and post-meal testing was very useful, have to admit that now (many years down the line) I don't bother - just test and make a note of it. But I do find the average reading useful.

Are you getting on with the meter Ok now?

Hi, thanks for the empathy. I've not managed to produce any readings yet, I'm going to practice on someone else I think and see if I'm not getting enough blood out, but I put the setting in the end on 4.5 (started at about 1.5 - coward!!) I'm going to order a box of 50 strips for good measure.

 

[AndBreathe]

Hi, thanks for the empathy. I've not managed to produce any readings yet, I'm going to practice on someone else I think and see if I'm not getting enough blood out, but I put the setting in the end on 4.5 (started at about 1.5 - coward!!) I'm going to order a box of 50 strips for good measure.

So, what happens when you try to get a reading?

Do you put the strip in, apply blood and wait? The what happens on screen? Do you get an error message? If so, what is the error code?

 

[jal16]

So, what happens when you try to get a reading?

Do you put the strip in, apply blood and wait? The what happens on screen? Do you get an error message? If so, what is the error code?

Hi, its not even moving off the blood icon on the screen. I put the strip in, it switches on and the drip of blood is showing and then it doesn't change when I try putting the blood on the end of the strip. I think it may be that Im not using enough blood I also tried putting the strip to the blood this morning after the advice but it didnt "suck any up"

 

[Enclave]

If it takes some blood ..but not enough it will give you an error message ... try a bigger blob of blood .. it should suck it up ..

 

[catherinecherub]

Hi, its not even moving off the blood icon on the screen. I put the strip in, it switches on and the drip of blood is showing and then it doesn't change when I try putting the blood on the end of the strip. I think it may be that Im not using enough blood I also tried putting the strip to the blood this morning after the advice but it didnt "suck any up"

Have you got a friend or neighbour who could help?
Do you think it might be faulty? You could try ringing the supplier, they must have a Customer Care line. You could ask your usual chemist to help.

 

[AndBreathe]

Hi, its not even moving off the blood icon on the screen. I put the strip in, it switches on and the drip of blood is showing and then it doesn't change when I try putting the blood on the end of the strip. I think it may be that Im not using enough blood I also tried putting the strip to the blood this morning after the advice but it didnt "suck any up"

OK, could you check which way around the strip is?

I assume when you put the strip into the meter, the strip is black side up (the other side being white)? The black side ends each differ. One end has a couple of arrows on it, that is the end that goes into the slot, leaving the other end, with what looks like a slot, with a little box at the top of it.

When you prick your finger and make a blob of blood on it, does the blob look like it has a dome shape? If not, what your hands in warm water , then rub them together vigorously, like you would if your hands were very cold, then try to take some blood.

Once you have a dome shaped blob of blood - the blob needs to be about the size of a pin head (maybe 2mm across, and slightly domed) - hold your finger to the edge of the strip, with the end of the strip, with the tiny blood channel touching the blob of blood. Once the channel is in contact with the blood, it should be drawn up the stripe, until it "fills" that little channel.

WHen the channel is filled, you will see the flashing blood blob symbol changes to be a countdown timer, going from 5 to zero (it takes 5 seconds to happen). Then your magic number appears. If there isn't enough blood, the display will say something like "Err-4". I don't remember if it's actually 4 for not enough blood.

Is that what you have been doing? If not, give it a go.

 

[jal16]

OK, could you check which way around the strip is?

I assume when you put the strip into the meter, the strip is black side up (the other side being white)? The black side ends each differ. One end has a couple of arrows on it, that is the end that goes into the slot, leaving the other end, with what looks like a slot, with a little box at the top of it.

When you prick your finger and make a blob of blood on it, does the blob look like it has a dome shape? If not, what your hands in warm water , then rub them together vigorously, like you would if your hands were very cold, then try to take some blood.

Once you have a dome shaped blob of blood - the blob needs to be about the size of a pin head (maybe 2mm across, and slightly domed) - hold your finger to the edge of the strip, with the end of the strip, with the tiny blood channel touching the blob of blood. Once the channel is in contact with the blood, it should be drawn up the stripe, until it "fills" that little channel.

WHen the channel is filled, you will see the flashing blood blob symbol changes to be a countdown timer, going from 5 to zero (it takes 5 seconds to happen). Then your magic number appears. If there isn't enough blood, the display will say something like "Err-4". I don't remember if it's actually 4 for not enough blood.

Is that what you have been doing? If not, give it a go.[

 

[jal16]

Morning everyone, finally managed it!! After 2 error messages this morning I finally got a reading and saw it sucking the blood up for the first time!!!! 12.4 fasting reading. Have put it on the calender and will order some more strips. At least got something to aim for now. Thanks for all your patience and help.

 

[AndBreathe]

Morning everyone, finally managed it!! After 2 error messages this morning I finally got a reading and saw it sucking the blood up for the first time!!!! 12.4 fasting reading. Have put it on the calender and will order some more strips. At least got something to aim for now. Thanks for all your patience and help.

Did you work out what the issue is? I'm not asking you to make any sort of confession, just hoping you know how to avoid lots of wasted strips in the future.

Once you start testing, oyu are likely to get through a fair few strips. I usually order more than one post at a time.

If you order directly from HomeHealth (the UK distributor), they do free 2nd class postage, but more importantly, if you order 5 or 10 pots at a time, you can have quite a decent discount.

The website details are: http://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/blood-glucose-test-strips/

The discount codes are:

5 pots: 264086
10 pots: 975833

The impact of the discount is, roughly, order 5 pots, but pay for 4. It's well worth doing.

I'm really pleased you got there in the end. It's such a powerful tool.

 

[jal16]

Hi, I only had a few minutes this morning to write the quick post that I had managed to take my reading!! Back from work now and have more time to explain. Basically, I think I had been trying to put a spot of blood onto the strip, and not letting it suck it up from the end. I did get 2x error messages before the reading that there wasn't enough blood, but then I managed to get the reading. Tried tonight 3x when I got in to see what my evening reading was but I cant get enough blood. I have the lancet thing on number 5, (the highest) and have tried washing hands in warm water, shaking them holding downwards etc but have given up as only have 2 strips left until the next order arrives. Thanks everyone for all your help and suggestions, I wouldn't have even been able to get one reading without them, the instructions certainly aren't clear in the box about it "sucking" the blood up from the end. Incidentally, does anyone know if it says there isn't enough blood and you try to squeeze a bit more out if you have to use a new strip? I tried to just let it suck more up into the same strip after trying to squeeze a bit more blood out but it just kept flashing the error message and had to throw each strip away and start again.

 

[JohnEGreen]

I had similar problems when I started testing but luckily my son who had worked as a diabetic link worker in a hospital showed me how to do it. I also had been taking finger to test strip instead of test strip to finger not allowing the capillary action to take place he also suggested that as I was having a little difficulty getting enough blood to sort of milk the finger I was testing that is to rub the finger with a finger of the other from base or middle knuckle of finger toward the tip of the finger this moves blood into the end of the finger making sure you get sufficient blood to test.

John

 

[just_undiscovered_]

@AndBreathe I wish I had known previously about the discount codes, as I've just ordered and received today 3 pots for £20.97! I am getting through quite a lot of these strips per day, I really am hoping that I can reduce the amount once I know what's foods affect me. @jal16 for the life of me, I too couldn't figure out how to set it up. I could get blood and test etc, but I wanted the entire Apple(pre meal) bitten Apple(post meal) symbols.. I went by almost an entire month, until I eventually figured it out by toggling with the battery a bit and presto it worked. I've even got the cable that sends reports to my PC, I mean to get these sugars down