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Best Blood Sugar Monitor for a total Wimp!

Lindy1706

Well-Known Member
Messages
282
Location
Kent
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I was diagnosed yesterday and have been told not to self test but to go to the surgery every three months so they can test.

My inner control freak is saying "Nah" to that. And I want to start keeping a daily record so I have something to discuss when I do go back in June after 3 months of lifestyle change"

I have looked at blood sugar monitors online and it looks to be a total minefield with hug price variants.....so

What do you all recommend?

Also lancets I am a total and utter wimp who hates any of needles and frankly the thought of inflicting multiple deep pricks to my finger a day is filling me with total dread but it has to be done so, easiest least pain full options please.

Thanks folks

Lindy
 
Accu-Chek Mobile is the meter I have recently switched to, the lancet tool is pretty much painless (fastclix its called) and it the strips are carried on a cassette rather than individual strips.
 
Hi @Lindy1706 , most of the Type 2s on here use the SD Codefree meter as the strips are reasonably cheap at £6.99 for 50. You might want to see about getting hold of the Accu-Chek FastClix lancing device. Many of us have found it to be not very painful.
 
A lot of people here (me included) use the SD Codefree Meter available from Home Health UK (either from their website or their eBay shop as well as I think amazon). Not because it is an especially amazing meter but because the test strips (which are usually where the costs mount up) are reasonably priced. As you will be testing quite a lot at the start of your journey then this is a major reason to get this one. Like you I have a nice spreadsheet with weight, blood pressure and blood glucose stats on it and a few funky graphs.
I measure when I get up in the morning then just before and 2 hours after eating to see what the food has done to my blood sugar levels. For me that's 5 tests a day (don't eat breakfast). When I'm fasting then I randomly test during the day again on getting up and then 2 or 3 times maybe lunchtime dinner time and before bed.
There are also discount codes available for the SD Codefree strips which I am sure someone will put up here.
No I don't work for them...
 
By the way the pricks aren't that deep and don't really hurt.. they really are just a little prick..hmm I'll leave it there I think...
 
@Lindy1706 I didn't like the idea of testing either, I have a needle phobia. But after my 3 month retest I thought I had to test as I wouldn't be getting another HbA1c test for 12 months, and I needed to know how I was doing.
After reading reviews on Amazon I bought an Accu Chek Mobile as reviewers seemed to agree that this was the easiest and least painful to use. The pricking device (Fastclix) has a cartridge of lancets. So you don't see the needle. Just put it against your finger and click, you only feel a little prick (stop sniggering at the back!).
It is a bit more expensive for the tests - works out about 40p each, but I only test once a day so that's ok for me. I did waste quite a few tests at first by not drawing enough blood or not centring the blob on the strip, but once I got the hang of it I am not wasting them now.
You can buy the Accu Chek Mobile on Amazon for about £21. ASDA do it n their pharmacies, and it was £17 there a few weeks back.
 
According to Dr Bernstein, the most painful place to do a finger stick is the actual 'pad' of fat at the finger tip. The prick will need to be deeper there. I always use the side of my finger or even the back, fewer nerve endings, much less painful. You may get away with a very small prick (the depth is adjustable on the lancet). Start with the next but smallest depth, and you may get enough blood. Only a tiny amount is needed, it travels up the strip by capillary action.
 
Little off topic but years ago I was being prepped for a surgical procedure and as I was about to be wheeled into theatre the anaesthetist said " little prick". I was just about to reply when ....
I fell asleep.




SD Codefree all the way.
 
Hey, Lindy. My 3 daughter is newly diagnosed (less than a year) and we were also having an issue with lancing her little fingers. My wife and I picked up the new Diabetes Forecast magazine and came across a lancing device that claimed to be painless. Our little Sophie used to cry and cry every time she needed to be tested. (about 3-4 times a day). We just couldn't bear to see her like that... The lancing device is called the Genteel, and at first we were taken aback by the price.... The Genteel is $129, but after watching the vidoes of the little kids being tested and not feeling it we had to try it. We haven't looked back since! We ordered her the Princess Pink Genteel and it came with a sticker sheet so she could decorate it! There is also a 120 day money back guarantee, so if you aren't satisfied you can get a full refund, however we're sure you'll love it! It worked just as promised and she doesn't feel it one bit.
 

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I don't use the SD Codefree but would recommend it on the basis of the low cost of the test strips.

I'm also a user of the AccuCheck Fastclix - the lancets are in a little 6 piece drum which is inserted into the Fastclix body, so you never see any pricky bits - seeing the actual needles were my major wimpy issue!! You can select the lancet depth (which I believe you can also do with some other devices), to suit your finger sensitivity and the toughness of your skin. Unlike the general advice to use the side of your finger I generally find my finger pad is most comfortable for me. I got my first Fastclix with a very cheap Amazon offer on an Accuchek Nano meter, but you can also find them sold individually on line.

Robbity
 
Here's a hunk of data (and how I decided on the AccuCheck FastClix).

I re-use my lancets, so the cost is really low. One drum of 6 lancets lasts me about a month (at 4 tests/day) - and I can buy 17 drums for around US $12 (10 .73 Eur). Cost info included, since it sounds like you may have to fund your own testing supplies. Fortunately, my insurance company believes that an investment in testing will save them money in the long run - so mine are free
 
Thanks everyone I went with the Accu-check mobile in the end with the fast clix lancet.

I started off eyes closed finger out shouting at my husband "just bloody do it quickly" (God know what the neighbours thought was going on 5 times a day)......but am now happily pricking myself with abandon.

I am loving the monitor and have only had a few missed tests due to the ominous "blood not properly applied" message.
 
Well done you! The reality's not so bad as the anticipation, is it!!

Robbity
 
I test a lot throughout the day so developed a system that works best for me.

In my testing kit, I added a brightly colored card to one of the pockets. I wrote "right" on one side, "left" on the other. Each morning, I flip the card so I know which hand I'm testing that day.

I also learned from Bernstein to prick the sides of my finger tips, not the pad, which works well.

I found however that I don't like to test my thumb or index finger, so I start with the pinky finger and work my way toward the thumb as the day progresses. I have no callouses.

On those days when my blood glucose is higher than normal, I test more, so sometimes have to prick my index finger or thumb, but not too often.
 
I went to the doctors yesterday and was given a blood sugar monitor and can also now get strips on perscription from my diabetic doctor if this helps
 
Lindy1706 said:
I am loving the monitor and have only had a few missed tests due to the ominous "blood not properly applied" message.
Click to expand...
It took me 2 cassettes, and probably 20-25% wasted tests before I got the hang of doing it. I make sure I have a big enough blob before opening the cover on the meter - sometimes the meter switches off if you waste time trying to get the blood after switching on. Then carefully move the blob towards the centre of the testing strip until it only just touches, the strip will absorb the blood, you don't need to press the finger against the strip. Move finger away as soon as the meter bleeps and shows 'test in progress'.
I am on my 3rd cassette now, and so far haven't wasted any tests.
 
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