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Best blood sugar testers

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simonrudd

simonrudd

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
I have a Ariva Nano to test my blood - the nurse told me i have to test twice a day to record a blood sugar diary but i have the hardest job getting blood out - i just tried to test and i pricked my finger 5 times and didnt even manage to get a drop out - this is quite normal for me, if i do get blood its usually not enough to measure :( anyone know of a blood sugar tester that uses smaller amounts of blood i could ask my DBN about :(
 
What depth setting are you using?

The Abbot freestyle range use tiny amount of blood, so do may other as well...
 
Before you change your pricker / meter, you might find that adjusting your technique might get enough blood.
Eg make sure fingers are warm, hang downwards, wiggle hands etc; squeeze / "milk" finger only before puncturing, not afterwards; use right depth of lancet (assuming your pricker device has depth adjustment); use side of finger, so you are less likely to flinch and pull away meaning a shallower puncture hole.
Good luck!
 
Sounds like the lancet isn't getting deep enough if you are struggling to get blood out the finger. When I got my first meter I struggled to get blood from my fingers, turned out I was using the tips and not the sides🙄
 
i've been struggling with this for 2 years now - i've just been through all the alternate testing sites using all the different depths and nada :( fingers are just as bad, tried settings from 1 to 5 and still not a drop :( i wonder if my finger pricker is faulty :( now i've been told to test at least twice a day and i'm having no luck.
 
Hi SImon. Could you ask your nurse for some sterile needles to get a greater depth. It sounds like either your technique is lacking in something, you have very thick skin or your circulation is very poor.

After 2 years, you need to be looking for an alternative to the normal lancets. Years ago the nurses would just get a hypodermic needle and quickly jab it in your finger. It never failed to draw blood !😱

Might be worth a try.🙂

Rob
 
The abbot freestyle lite uses a very small amount of blood, would recommend. Only one setting on the lancet device which is really harsh but the meter is good. You really need to talk to your nurse or doctor about the drawing blood issue, squeezing your finger a lot can affect the blood test result because you are increasing the amount of plasma in the sample. Best way to encourage bleeding is through wriggling the fingers and hand and holding down to get blood to the fingers. Obviously you have tried these sorts of things so you need some more advice on what else you could try.
 
Natalie123 said:
The abbot freestyle lite uses a very small amount of blood, would recommend. Only one setting on the lancet device which is really harsh but the meter is good. You really need to talk to your nurse or doctor about the drawing blood issue, squeezing your finger a lot can affect the blood test result because you are increasing the amount of plasma in the sample. Best way to encourage bleeding is through wriggling the fingers and hand and holding down to get blood to the fingers. Obviously you have tried these sorts of things so you need some more advice on what else you could try.
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Hi, I'm fairly new to all this and I've often wondered about squeezing my finger to get some blood out. I always do this (squeezing) using a lancet setting of 2. My circulation seems fine but my readings are often shocking (usually between 7 and 14). I'm now thinking, based on what you said, that if there is more plasma in the blood due to squeezing then my readings could be distorted lower than they actually should be (?).
 
I usually squeeze gently but the problem comes when you squeeze hard very close to where you pricked. I only found out about this recently but it was from a research nurse and a her clinal lead - a fairly reliable sorce I'd say! Plasma also contains sugar so I wouldn't know if it would push the readings higher or lower.
 
Natalie123 said:
I usually squeeze gently but the problem comes when you squeeze hard very close to where you pricked. I only found out about this recently but it was from a research nurse and a her clinal lead - a fairly reliable sorce I'd say! Plasma also contains sugar so I wouldn't know if it would push the readings higher or lower.
Click to expand...
Well that's very interesting, when I first got diagnosed my doctor used a lancet on my finger as a second check with a small meter. While he was struggling to get the meter working I started squeezing it as no blood was coming out. He said "no don't squeeze it!" and I never really thought any more of it. I always squeeze it hard right near to the puncture (oops) so I think I'll do some tests to find out if it makes any difference to the levels, squeezed and non squeezed.

I don't know how to do that bit at the bottom of my post where you give a sort of potted history but I got diagnosed 2010, type 2, 2000mg Glucophage, simavstatin, HBa1c 6.9 (but I did have some flapjack a couple of weeks before the test).

Very worried in general about it, already blind in one eye through accident so need to look after the other.
 
Natalie123 said:
I usually squeeze gently but the problem comes when you squeeze hard very close to where you pricked. I only found out about this recently but it was from a research nurse and a her clinal lead - a fairly reliable sorce I'd say! Plasma also contains sugar so I wouldn't know if it would push the readings higher or lower.
Click to expand...

I#'ve heard the same problem with squeezing Natalie, but it was interstitial fluid that was mentioned - the stuff that CGMs use which contains glucose, but not necessarily at the same level as BG. I wonder if that's the same thing by a different name?
 
Natalie123 said:
I usually squeeze gently but the problem comes when you squeeze hard very close to where you pricked. I only found out about this recently but it was from a research nurse and a her clinal lead - a fairly reliable sorce I'd say! Plasma also contains sugar so I wouldn't know if it would push the readings higher or lower.
Click to expand...


Never heard this before, wouldn't it be more widely known if it were true?
 
I've both heard it on here and was told about it by my DSN Toby. It does make sense to me too.

Simon, re meters. I know it's not widely used but I use the True Result meter. It works with the tiniest drop of blood. Much smaller ammount than the Acucheck Compact I was using before. XXXXX
 
I only heard about it a couple of years ago but not sure how much difference it makes.

It probably didn't matter on the old meters. But the newer ones are probably more sensitive (more reliable?) so it matters.

I do sometimes 'milk' out of habit but try to avoid it. I'm quite a good bleeder most of the time but also a good clotter.:D

Rob
 
Blythespirit said:
I've both heard it on here and was told about it by my DSN Toby. It does make sense to me too.

Simon, re meters. I know it's not widely used but I use the True Result meter. It works with the tiniest drop of blood. Much smaller ammount than the Acucheck Compact I was using before. XXXXX
Click to expand...




Thanks, just surprised it's not in the literature that comes with the meter and finger prickers or taught on the diabetes eduction courses. I've been told not to squeeze the finger hard before but this was to protect the fingers from nerve damage and there was no mention of it effecting bg readings. We learn something new all the time🙂
 
I think the problem is that new understandings aren't passed on. So only newly diagnosed patients get to know the latest thoughts on things like this. I'd never been told how to test til I was started on Byetta this year, so it was as though I was newly diagnosed and I got the latest info. Had I been taught when I was first diagnosed I might not have known about it either. XXXXX
 
Blythespirit said:
I think the problem is that new understandings aren't passed on. So only newly diagnosed patients get to know the latest thoughts on things like this. I'd never been told how to test til I was started on Byetta this year, so it was as though I was newly diagnosed and I got the latest info. Had I been taught when I was first diagnosed I might not have known about it either. XXXXX
Click to expand...




Good point🙂
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
I#'ve heard the same problem with squeezing Natalie, but it was interstitial fluid that was mentioned - the stuff that CGMs use which contains glucose, but not necessarily at the same level as BG. I wonder if that's the same thing by a different name?
Click to expand...
Yep, same thing Mike! Your's is a fancier way of saying it
 
Wow, that's very useful information about squeezing - I think a change of technique is needed for me too 😱

@itsallgood: click on "UserCP" in the menu bar near the top of the page and then "Edit Signature" (the first option) to enter your strapline.
 
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