Advice from the experienced finger prickers please.

[Muddy Cyclist]

All the gear, some idea but advise please from you experienced blood testers.

I have Type 2 HbA1c 48 blood reading at the time of test 6.6 and although the Doc says don't take bloods all on the forums seem to think I need to in order to monitor which food effects my blood sugar. I am using diet and exercise to attempt to reach normal by August, already lost 12 Kilo and eat between 40 and 50 grams of carbs a day.

I have read all I can about doing my blood tests but any ideas or lessons learnt would be most welcome, I plan to do the following but have questions…..

1 Take a reading first thing each morning, is this necessary every day?
2 Two hours after breakfast. But if I always have the same food and know it does not
Spike my sugars do I need to do it every day?
3 Before evening meal.
4 Two hours after evening meal.
5 Before and After Aerobic exercise. Problem here is I usually get straight out and do
Three hours Mountain Biking after breakfast, so short of doing test during ride which
With mud, dust and sweat may not be hygienic, will this test prove beneficial? Or do
I wait until back home which may be 4 hours after breakfast once I have cleaned up?
6 Once I have an understanding of what foods I can or cannot eat can I stop testing?

Then what is the best method to use? I have the Accu Chek FastClix finger pricker.

1 What is generally the best setting for depth 1 to 5?
2 Any hints on best place to prick? The least painful please.
3 There are 6 lances in each cartridge do they get used once each or can they be used
A few times before selecting the next one?

Finally, any important information I may have missed please make me aware of.

I am doing this to get a picture of what is going on inside, I admit I am a reluctant finger pricker and only intend doing if for a short period, cowardice and cost. I do realise to maintain weigh later I may have to start doing it again.

 

[LittleGreyCat]

Taking just a few questions.
At first, test a lot. Once you have consistent results you can cut back on the testing but do check occasionally.
Finger pricking. Everyone is different so you have to experiment. The aim is to use the lowest setting which produces enough blood. This in turn depends on the brand of meter.
I prick the sides of the tips of my fingers because that hurts less than the ball of the finger. I tend to use fingers 2 and 3 (not index or little finger).
Mainly, don't panic. It will take a while to get the hang of it all.

 

[Bluetit1802]

All the gear, some idea but advise please from you experienced blood testers.

I have Type 2 HbA1c 48 blood reading at the time of test 6.6 and although the Doc says don't take bloods all on the forums seem to think I need to in order to monitor which food effects my blood sugar. I am using diet and exercise to attempt to reach normal by August, already lost 12 Kilo and eat between 40 and 50 grams of carbs a day.

I have read all I can about doing my blood tests but any ideas or lessons learnt would be most welcome, I plan to do the following but have questions…..

1 Take a reading first thing each morning, is this necessary every day?
2 Two hours after breakfast. But if I always have the same food and know it does not
Spike my sugars do I need to do it every day?
3 Before evening meal.
4 Two hours after evening meal.
5 Before and After Aerobic exercise. Problem here is I usually get straight out and do
Three hours Mountain Biking after breakfast, so short of doing test during ride which
With mud, dust and sweat may not be hygienic, will this test prove beneficial? Or do
I wait until back home which may be 4 hours after breakfast once I have cleaned up?
6 Once I have an understanding of what foods I can or cannot eat can I stop testing?

Then what is the best method to use? I have the Accu Chek FastClix finger pricker.

1 What is generally the best setting for depth 1 to 5?
2 Any hints on best place to prick? The least painful please.
3 There are 6 lances in each cartridge do they get used once each or can they be used
A few times before selecting the next one?

Finally, any important information I may have missed please make me aware of.

I am doing this to get a picture of what is going on inside, I admit I am a reluctant finger pricker and only intend doing if for a short period, cowardice and cost. I do realise to maintain weigh later I may have to start doing it again.

1. It is not necessary to take a reading every morning first thing. The aim of testing is to learn. You learn very little from this test at the beginning of your journey.

2, 3 and 4.. Before eating and 2 hours after first bite is the way to go, on all meals (but not necessarily every day - if you hate the pricking, you could do breakfast one day, lunch the next etc. You do need to keep a food diary that includes portion sizes and record your levels alongside. Look at the difference from before to after and at all times attempt to keep this under 2mmol/l (maximum) and preferably a lot less. Look for patterns, and even after testing the same meal once, you need to repeat that meal several times before you can be sure it is OK for you.

5. Exercise I know nothing about, except that it raises my levels.

6. Not completely. You can relax your meal time testing and maybe concentrate on the morning fasting levels, and also the before evening meal can be very useful as this is often the lowest reading of the day. Then if you eat something new it needs testing out before you have it again. Stopping testing completely is a well known reason for falling off the wagon.

I also use the Fastclix.
You should start with a lowish setting, and work upwards if that doesn't produce a drop of blood. It all depends on your fingers and skin. I have thick skin (or deep capillaries) so I need a high setting.

The advice is to change the lancet every test. Most of us ignore that, and we all have different routines. Personally I change mine every 50 tests (when I change the cartridge in my meter) but only if I remember. I also change it when it gets blunt and starts to hurt or refuses to produce blood.

I will also point out that foods do not create a peak at the same time. It depends what is eaten and the fat content. The 2 hours is only a guideline, although you need to be consistent with your timing. Most people peak before the 2 hours, so it is often very useful to test at 1 hour, 90 minutes, 2 hours, and 3 hours if you are still high at 2 hours. This sounds like a lot of testing, but doesn't need to be a regular thing. It just gives an indication of your peaks.

 

[TriciaWs]

As others have also said, I tested a lot at first.
I did do a fasting test, but only 3 times a week, now down to once a week.
I tested before and 2hrs after all meals at first, then when eating a food I'd not tested before. If a particular meal spiked my blood sugar I would retest.
Once I was settled on lowcarb and my blood sugars were dropping, I cut back to two tests a week unless I thought I might have eaten more carbs (ie when out) or was introducing another food.
I have a different meter but need it set fairly high, I use my middle two fingers and mostly on my left hand. I found it difficult to get enough blood from the sides so use the pad.
It was very helpful to find out which foods cause more problems, eg I find a similar quantity of strawberries made my BS spike but raspberries didn't, and also that I could eat a slice of lowcarb bread but not two.

I still test weekly even though I'm in remission as it is too easy to let my carbs intake increase over time.

 

[ianf0ster]

I am also a new and reluctant finger pricker.
I found the first 2 days to be the worst since I had to experiment to get the right amount of blood to tst.
One mistake I made was to try with cold hands - I went all the way up the scale on that one, getting error after error on the Meter. Boy did my fingers hurt!

 

[Member496333]

First and foremost actively ignore any and all diabetes finger pricking advice from someone who doesn’t have diabetes. Especially doctors.

Other than that, just get curious and get stuck in. Pun intended. The more you test, the more you’ll learn. After a while you’ll know when you want to test and when you don’t. Might be once a week or once an hour, doesn’t really matter what anyone else thinks. You’re testing for you, not us, and definitely not for a doctor who will have forgotten about you ten minutes after casually dishing out bad advice.

 

[HSSS]

Testing shouldn’t hurt, but occasionally it does a bit.

Wash hands with warm water (warmth helps get the blood flowing too) and dry well. This ensures an contamination free sample. Set the tester depth to the minimum needed to draw enough blood. Experience teaches you what this is. Start shallow and work up. Different fingers can need different depths. I use all except my thumbs. Not sure why I don’t use them. Press it firmly against your skin and fire it off aiming towards the sides of the pad. Not the very tip or the centre. Wait a second or two for the blood. If none flows then gently from the base of the finger up towards the tip massage the finger. Not a vicious squeeze near the tip. I generally don’t activate the meter til after I’ve got the drop. That way I don’t feel rushed and can let it flow naturally. This lessens the sting that can occasionally happen after. (Bit like pricking yourself with a sewing needle)

Some fingers are easier flowing than others. Warmth helps. Windmilling your arm around before hand can also help. Being well hydrated definitely makes it easier. Rotate which finger you use. Either a different one each test or a different one each day. Whatever works for you. Many of us reuse lancets (sometimes for a long time) although the recommendation is a fresh one each time. A blunt one does hurt more. How long it takes to get blunt is a personal question.

Some tests I don’t even feel. Most it’s a tiny fleeting sensation. Every now and then there’s one that makes me jump a little and I can feel for a short while (hours at worse) when I press on it but not actually painful.

 

[Muddy Cyclist]

Thank you all very much for the encouragement and information. I hope I have taken all your advice on board, I certainly now know more of what to expect, what to record and look out for. I plan making a start Friday morning breakfast, here's hoping the blood flows with the slightest prick and my mmol/l stays low.