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New to home testing....it's a bloodbath!!

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I am needle phobic so have found testing hard. I go with warming the fingers and a little shake before testing. A dentist friend of mine also told me to exhale out of my mouth when doing the pricking, apparently it stops you tensing up and you feel less pain. I find after several uses I need a new lancet because they seem to hurt more if you use them for too long. (I'm probably just a wimp.) I wash my finger under the cold tap to stop the bleeding. I had trouble at first and still mess the odd test up, so it is just normal and it does get easier. 🙂 It is worth it for the information that it gives you. Good luck.🙂
 
Thanks everyone for the replies. It's sort of reassuring to read that you all found it difficult at first but that it got easier. I've been putting the advice into practice, and although I'm still wasting a few strips and having a bit of difficulty getting blood I am now feeling less ham-fisted about it all. Even managed not to get blood smears on my clothes today (although as I deliberately wore dark clothes I could just be not noticing them). I am surprised how long the punctures bleed for especially when so little comes out at first, they sometimes ooze for a while afterwards even though I've wiped with tissue etc. Been sucking blood on and off this afternoon, lol. I suppose I feel more confident and am happy to let practice make perfect.

My fingers are so bruised though - is this normal? Little purple marks over yesterday's and today's punctures. I will try alternating the hand I use or else test every other day.

Hot water bottle is a good idea, I always have one on the go (I'm a chilly little thing). I did try a hot mug of tea but it went cold too quickly.
 
Ralph-YK said:
Done limited testing so far. I have tissues ready. Don't have plasters, only time I've needed them in over 16 years is when I've been to doctors or hospital.
I put the test strip in before finger pricking. Randomly hit the side of a finger, squeeze, then:
1 swear and try again
2 put on the end of the test strip. Swear, replace strip, try again
3 get anxus waiting for the reading.

On my lancet device there's a setting which can make a different in getting blood. I thinks it's how far it comes out when used.
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@Ralph-YK I laughed at your 1,2.3.:D !!!
 
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@Ginger. For my waking bgl i test before getting out of bed. My hands are warm & the blood flows freely.
For daytime testing I wash my hands in as hot water that I can stand then after drying then i don woolly gloves & place my hands on a hot radiator for a while, which is fine during winter months!
To test using a finger on my left hand:-
1) I sit at the table while I prick my finger (@Northerner i never prick my thumbs or index fingers) & stroke my finger upwards to encourage blood flow.
2) The meter & test strips are to hand.
3) As soon as a good blob of blood appears I insert the test strip into the meter which i hold between my left index finger & thumb.
4) Then i hold the meter with my right hand, with the test strip above the blob of blood on my finger so it sucks the blood up into the strip.
Then I just hold a tissue on my finger afterwards for a minute or two. That does the trick for me.
Are you still with me???!!!

Bruised fingers.
Are you piercing the pads of your fingers? It's best to use the sides of your fingers...and alternate the fingers you test so you're not piercing the same puncture site which could cause bruising. It happened to me when I first began self testing.
If you can you reduce the depth of your lancet device, it might help to reduce bruising.
Good luck.

DX Type 2 April 2016
Metformin withdrawn
Diet and exercise only
 
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DaveB said:
My nurse friend said that nurses will warm the finger before hand to help.
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As a student nurse, I don't and never seen nurses do it either unless a patients hands are freezing or are known to have bad circulation. This is mainly because the disposable, one use lancets that we use on wards only have one depth setting. I test up to 8 times a day yet even I find the hospital lancets extremely painful! I always feel so sorry for patients when we have to do it 5 times a day or more with those lancets!!
 
Oh, bruising. My fingers got bruised on the sides from pricking. I'm on aspirin/dispersaple aspirin, which I believe makes you more likely to.
 
Rosiecarmel said:
As a student nurse, I don't and never seen nurses do it either unless a patients hands are freezing or are known to have bad circulation. This is mainly because the disposable, one use lancets that we use on wards only have one depth setting. I test up to 8 times a day yet even I find the hospital lancets extremely painful! I always feel so sorry for patients when we have to do it 5 times a day or more with those lancets!!
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Hi Rosiecarmel. That sounds awful, poor patients. Why I wonder don't hospitals update, oh that could be a silly question!
By the way, good luck with your nursing studies.
 
Ralph-YK said:
Oh, bruising.
My fingers got bruised on the sides from pricking. I'm on aspirin/dispersaple aspirin, which I believe makes you more likely to.
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@Ralph-YK Lifes a b...h sometimes isn't it 😱
 
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wirralass said:
Are you piercing the pads of your fingers? It's best to use the sides of your fingers...
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I'm not doing the pads of the fingers, more to the side than that but where it's still a bit fleshy. I'll try the very sides next, see if that helps. I did think about reducing the depth of the lancet but thought that might make it even more difficult to get a good size blob, but I'll be trying that too. And testing while warm in bed, I'm going to try it all 🙂 Why don't you test your thumb or index finger - is it just because you use them to push the test strip in? And how do you get around needing to clean hands before testing if you do it in bed?

Ouch about the hospital lancets, would they let people use their own lancet devices I wonder?

I can't blame aspirin as I don't take it, Ralph, I must just be a little bruiser.

I was gearing up for my next round of Prick-Swear-Squeeze, but as I'm having the same meal as last night I think I'll give my poor fingers a rest. Running out of unbruised finger tips anyway. Maybe I could just eat that same meal for the rest of my life and never have to test again?
 
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@Northerner. Please explain why it's best not to use thumbs & index fingers for testing bgls. My memory doesn't serve me right! Thanks in advance.
 
Hi Ginger
I had a blood bath situation when first starting to test, and also started a panic at the diabetes clinic when I rocked up all casual like with three black tipped fingers. They assumed infection, and there was raucous laughter afterwards when they realised it was actually just bruising. Once they'd stopped laughing mercilessly at me they were quite useful 🙂. So much depends on how much flesh you have on your fingers, even more depends on what type of stabber you're using. I use Bayer meters so was using their stabbing device, which I now realise was the problem. The best one is the fastclix or multiclix one in my humble opinion, it has a little drum of needles and it's very efficient at piercing the skin. I got mine with an accucheck meter but I bought a second one in Boots recently because the thought of using the other even as emergency back up made me feel ill! The sides of the fingers are better because the pads of your fingers are full of nerve endings so it will hurt, and you risk damaging the nerves (which is why thumbs are not recommended, although my DSN still stand by her thumbs are fine stance 🙄). The sides are also usually less fleshy so you can use a shallower setting on the stabber, and less dense with blood vessels so you avoid the blood bath. Try the stabber on the mid way setting on the side of the finger, don't squeeze immediately, count to ten and then squeeze gently, if no blood comes out put your arm down by your side so your fingers point to the floor (blood flows with gravity so that apparently encourages blood to the finger tips), leave it a few moments then have another squeeze. That should work, but I'd definitely consider looking at other brands of stabbing devices. If you have more juicy fingers you might need more depth on the stabber but from the description you're giving your hitting a vein it's just taking its time to work its way to the surface.

The skin on the fingers thickens too after lots of stabbing activity so I use a hand scrub once a week to stop build up, mostly that's because I don't want dirty great callouses on my hands, it spoils the look of my carefully applied nail polish 😛, but also because I can't use my right hand to test because of nerve damage so I need to keep lefty on form. Fingers crossed for easier testing 🙂
 
wirralass said:
@Northerner. Please explain why it's best not to use thumbs & index fingers for testing bgls. My memory doesn't serve me right! Thanks in advance.
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Hi, We're not supposed to use the index fingers or thumbs because they are the ones we use the most and could become sore.
Personally mine had to take their fair share just like the others.
 
Ljc said:
Hi, We're not supposed to use the index fingers or thumbs because they are the ones we use the most and could become sore.
Personally mine had to take their fair share just like the others.
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Thank you Ljc. I knew it had something to do with sensitivity but I couldn't recall 🙄
 
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Alvin Nightingale said:
When I test my blood first thing in the morning is always high is there a reason?
I have tested this morning and it's 11.3.
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Hi Alvin...do you eat late night snacks...that contain carbs? I think that might be the reason but I'm not entirely sure!!!

Dx Type 2 April 2016
Metformin withdrawn
Diet and exercise only
 
Alvin Nightingale said:
Yes I do snack.
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Hi Alvin, it's possibly the late night carby snacks raising your levels then .
I don't know what you like to eat , I suggest you try lower carb things. I sometimes get a dreadful urge to eat or rather scoff stuff I shouldn't.
 
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