Lancet challenges!!

[meganne]

Hi, I am new to testing. I bought a SD Codefree meter, and I have had so much trouble using the lancet. I set the finger pricker to 3 and I felt the needle but no blood. I set it to the highest setting and felt the pain, but still no blood! The only way I can get a drop of blood is if I put on the clear top which is designed for areas other than the finger and push my finger into the larger hole and then press the button. I bruised my finger trying! I thought that maybe the device was faulty so I bought an AccuChek Aviva Nano with the fastclix pen, which is supposed to be one of the easiest to use. I set it to 3 and it would not penetrate the skin. I set it to the highest setting and really pressed it against the finger and at the third attempt just about got enough blood to do the test!

The funny thing is I feel the sting every time, and my fingers are quite sore. Anybody experienced this challenge, or do I just have very hard skin? :crazy:

 

[St0ker]

I use an Accu Chek Multiclix lancet. I was diagnosed the day before I went on holiday, and I was shown how to inject the insulin but had to figure the lancet out myself, so I feel your pain (literally)! It was months before I realised you leave the cap on the lance while using it!

I have it on 0.5 (lowest setting) and have it pressed firmly against the underside of a finger, quite near the tip. I get no pain this way and get an easy drop of blood most of the time.

That first week, I was doing it so wrong, and found it so painful that it took me 10 minutes of psyching myself up for each lancing! If I had known about this forum I could have probably saved myself that trauma!

Good luck with yours, I hope someone with experience of your lancet can help out.

St0ker.

 

[noblehead]

The funny thing is I feel the sting every time, and my fingers are quite sore. Anybody experienced this challenge, or do I just have very hard skin? :crazy:

Are you using the side of the finger rather than the tips?

A good tip is to warm the fingers up first by washing your hands under warm water (which you should do anyways) then towel dry, it makes the drawing of blood so much easier.

 

[meganne]

Hi, Thanks for your comments. I am using the tips as that is the easiest part of the finger to push into the hole on the lancet, should I try the sides, I guess they are less fleshy?

I do wash my hands or use babywipes prior to testing, but the water isn't always warm. I think I will rub the hands together after washing or using babywipes to warm them up a bit more!

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[catza]

Definitely try to use the sides of your fingers and see if you have more success meganne. The skin seems a tad thinner there and the blood seems to be more accessible. Warming the finger, as noblehead has already said, is also another good tip and a thing I have to do. I can't promise you won't feel anything but once you have been successful and are less apprehensive it does get a lot easier.

 

[gaz1971]

I find that using the inside of my little finger is best. Ive got a codefree and the lancet is a bit brutal, so I use the old one from my Accu Chek. You dont need much blood with the codefree, the old Accu Chek I had needed you to tap an artery :lol:

 

[meganne]

Thanks for that gaz. I will try the inside of my little finger. I have tried my palms and that hurt a lot. I must say though that I am getting used to it now. I still look away sometimes as I press the dreaded button! :lol:

 

[Paul_c]

I use the pads of my fingers rather than the tips and sides... the skin is thinner on the pads and I get blood with far less hassle...

 

[meganne]

Thanks paul. I continue to test on all parts of my fingers! I think my main problem is that my hands are so flipping cold all the time! I have invested in some hand warmers. Can't wait for them to arrive now

 

[mattr]

Found it only became easier when I became relaxed about it and my hand was less tense.

Having also experimented with several different lancers to find the best for me.

I threw the lancer with the Codefree out, it wasn't even worth keeping as a spare.

Definitely recommend testing a few others out before resorting to lancing the pads of your finger tips.

 

[GraceK]

I have an Accu-check and then bought a Codefree - I also threw the Codefree lancer out, it seemed too fiddly to us. The Accu lancer is very simple and I find some of my fingers bleed more easily than others. My little fingers and ring fingers are the easiest to draw blood from. The others are probably more hardened because I think we use them more.

 

[hophead]

What works for me..
Shake your arm downwards
Squeeze the tip of the finger
Press the lancing device into the flesh slightly

 

[Neicy0412]

Warm hands definitely help, also "milk" your finger by firmly stroking from the base to the tip.

 

[etmsreec]

I use the Accu Chek Aviva Nano meter and the finger pricker that came with it. I use the side of my fingers, mainly because it doesn't hurt as much because there are fewer nerve endings there than there are in either the pad or the tip of the finger.
Washing your hands in warm water can help too, as others have commented.

 

[Indy51]

This link might help - it's a 'how to' guide:

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/19774432.php

And another:

http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com.au/20 ... ricks.html