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Testing

chris66

chris66

Well-Known Member
Messages
161
Location
Harlow Essex
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Still new to this, Yesterday i bought myself a blood glucose meter and today intended to start testing, have tried three times so far today and failed to get a reading every time! have the lancet set to max but still not getting very much blood any advice greatfully received.
 
chris66 said:
Still new to this, Yesterday i bought myself a blood glucose meter and today intended to start testing, have tried three times so far today and failed to get a reading every time! have the lancet set to max but still not getting very much blood any advice greatfully received.
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Hey, make sure you have warm fingers when testing as if not the blood won’t come out properly!

Sometimes I sit on my hand for a few second before so that they warm up. Or if not I wiggle my fingers to get the blood going!

Good luck testing!
 
Maybe watch a few you tube vids on how to do it.. you need to get a "globe" of blood on the finger and then scoop it up with the strip.. once you get it you'll see what I mean but it can be a bit hard at first to get the technique right.
 
chris66 said:
Still new to this, Yesterday i bought myself a blood glucose meter and today intended to start testing, have tried three times so far today and failed to get a reading every time! have the lancet set to max but still not getting very much blood any advice greatfully received.
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Forgot to ask which meter do you have?
 
SB.25 said:
Hey, make sure you have warm fingers when testing as if not the blood won’t come out properly!

Sometimes I sit on my hand for a few second before so that they warm up. Or if not I wiggle my fingers to get the blood going!

Good luck testing!
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Thanks, i have been rubbing my hands vigorously to warm them up, think i will put back starting till the morning now and make sure hands are warm before starting.
 
chris66 said:
Thanks, i have been rubbing my hands vigorously to warm them up, think i will put back starting till the morning now and make sure hands are warm before starting.
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Just wash and soak your hands in warm to hot water, rinse under warm to hot water, rub dry with a clean towel, and if necessary play windmills with your arms. Time of day has nothing to do with it. Have another go.
 
chris66 said:
Thanks for the tips, its a True Metrix 60, have to be honest it was marked down so was fairly reasonably priced compaired to others on show.
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Did you check on the cost of the test strips. That is what is important because you need many thousands of them, but you only need one meter.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Just wash and soak your hands in warm to hot water, rinse under warm to hot water, rub dry with a clean towel, and if necessary play windmills with your arms. Time of day has nothing to do with it. Have another go.
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Thanks will give it a try but trying to go sparingly with the strips till i can get to chemist monday lol
 
chris66 said:
Thanks, i have been rubbing my hands vigorously to warm them up, think i will put back starting till the morning now and make sure hands are warm before starting.
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I should also mention, I do it on the side of my finger tip rather than on the finger tip itself as I find that then I don’t end up with sore finger tips :).

I have to type all day at work so it’s not good to have sore finger tips!

You will get there :)
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Did you check on the cost of the test strips. That is what is important because you need many thousands of them, but you only need one meter.
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Have to admit i didnt think of that assumed it would be a case of one size fits all type of thing.
 
SB.25 said:
I should also mention, I do it on the side of my finger tip rather than on the finger tip itself as I find that then I don’t end up with sore finger tips :).

I have to type all day at work so it’s not good to have sore finger tips!

You will get there :)
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Yes was the side of finger thinking on always a struggle to get blood from me when i go for testing if that matters.
 
Update plenty of blood this morning but reading came back E-O starting to get disheartened now!
 
Hooray!!! at last ive sussed it........helps if you do it properly! all i need to know now is 6.2 mmol good or bad?
 
We would need more information, was it a fasting test? before food or 2 hours after?

One random home test does not tell much but generally it is within normal range for someone without diabetes
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Yay!! Well done. It's easy when you know how. ;)

As for the 6.2 I have no idea if it is good or bad. Was it before you ate, 2 hours after you ate, or just any old random time?
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Probably about three hours after eating so more a case of any old random time more than anything
 
Alison Campbell said:
We would need more information, was it a fasting test? before food or 2 hours after?

One random home test does not tell much but generally it is within normal range for someone without diabetes
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More random than anything else, as three hours after last eating as id been struggling to get any form of reading spent the afternoon reading through instructions and tried again, but ive also got to thinking, when i had blood test for different reason but was diagnosed diabetic from that test, it was approx 9.am and not long after i had drunk two large mugs of hot sweet tea which i used to drink a lot, would this have influenced the test? sorry to go off track
 
chris66 said:
Probably about three hours after eating so more a case of any old random time more than anything
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Personally I would ignore this particular test and start testing in a structured way - before you eat and 2 hours after first bite. The most important thing at this stage is to look to see by how much you rise from before to after. Any rise should be under 2mmol/l maximum and preferably a lot less than that. If the rise is too great, there were too many carbs in that meal for your body to process, giving you the chance to change some of it. This is where keeping a food diary becomes important. You can then look for trends and patterns.

Having said that, 6.2 is not at all horrendous.
 
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