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Cathie05

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Type 2
Went for my yearly check up for type 2. Weight gain plus. blood glucose 68. weight gain i can work on but would like to monitor the blood glucose without pricking my fingers (I have peripheral neuropathy from chemo 17yrs ago) Someone told me that you can get a watch which monitors blood glucose, While i accept it may not be totally accurate it would provide a guide line.. Does anyone have one that they would recommend.
 
Hi @Cathie05 and welcome to the forum. There has been a lot of media hype about such devices and some are being marketed but if you ignore that and take a hard look at what is being claimed for those that are marketed you come to the conclusion that they have no value not even producing a guide line. None of them are sold by mainstream manufacturers, they value their reputation too highly.

I know that assessment does not help you much but if it avoids you wasting money then it will be of value.

Is finger pricking impossible for you? You don't need to be banging away at your fingers to get a idea how you are doing and whether you are making progress.
 
Can other parts of the body be pricked to get a drop of blood?

I get Raynauds in winter and my fingers can go white. It's very obvious that if I prick at Raynauded white finger absolutely NO blood comes out! If I squeeze and palp the finger then I might get a tiny, tiny droplet (inadequate for the monitor strip). (Ironically, the no-blood-drop really proves how cut off from circulation Raynauds causes!)
 
Callista said:
Can other parts of the body be pricked to get a drop of blood?

I get Raynauds in winter and my fingers can go white. It's very obvious that if I prick at Raynauded white finger absolutely NO blood comes out! If I squeeze and palp the finger then I might get a tiny, tiny droplet (inadequate for the monitor strip). (Ironically, the no-blood-drop really proves how cut off from circulation Raynauds causes!)
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You can use an ear lobe but a bit hard to do on yourself. Some lancing devices give adaptors for alternative sites.
 
what about toes? (if they are accessible - they 'recede' as we get older I'm finding!!!!!)
 
Welcome to the forum @Cathie05

Alas there aren’t currently any non-invasive devices that have gathered convincing clinical trial data.

There are glucose sensors which can relay information to a smartwatch, but those sensors need replacing every 10-14 days (and cost £50ish each 😱 )

Do things like hanging your arms by your side or washing your hands in warm water bring any relief from the symptoms of Reynauds?
 
For me, the Raynaud's goes once I've warmed my hands up,, eg, as you say, washign in warm water - or, in winter, hugging my hot water bottle.

I was simply startled, I suppose, to realise just how much the blood supply does shrink - it's visible (ie, white!), but not being able to squeeze a drop of blood for a glucose test really brought it home!

Must be frustrating for vampires if they mistakenly go for my white fingers to feed on! Or mozzies too, I suppose (though I only get Reynaud's in mozzie-free winters!)
 
Hi @Cathie05 and welcome to the forum.

Would a Freestyle Libre sensor on your arm be possible for you? - I don't think you'd be able to get one on the NHS as a type 2 (someone may correct me if I'm wrong there!) and they are expensive, but you wouldn't need one all the time, so if you could afford to get one now and again it would help by showing you which foods are spiking your blood sugar and which you can safely eat.

More info here if you haven't come across the Libre before - https://www.freestyle.abbott/uk-en/home.html

It does involve a tiny teflon probe going into your arm, which is inserted by an appliator with a spike in it, but it would be spiking your arm once every now and again and getting a graph of how your blood sugar is for a fortnight rather than spiking your fingers several times a day and only seeing what your blood sugar is doing at that moment. It's not as accurate as finger prick tests, but it's useful to see when your BG is spiking (and how fast it's spiking) and when it's level.
 
@Callista I too have Reynaud's. I keep a hand warmer close by in winter to alleviate the problem in winter
However, as Reynaud's is triggered by stress, a hypo can bring it on in summer too even though my hands are warm
Hanging arms be my side or even "windmilling" does not help. Treating the unconfirmed hypo has been the only resolution in those circumstances.
At least I have another symptom to add to my hypo awareness armoury.
 
Oh, what's a handwarmer (other than a hotwater bottle - my best friend all winter, and not just for my fingers!)?

Sorry to hear the hypos cause them too, and that then you have to treat the hypo rather than the Reynaud's.

I find I need to 'head it off at the pass' when I feel it coming on (fingers numbing) - easier to prevent than 'cure' in that sense.

Rapid clenching and unclenching can help improve circulation in the hands, but only by a bit I've found.
 
I have USB charged hand warmers from Amazon. There are a few to choose from although they are pretty much the same. They are shapee like a large pebble that you can carry in your pocket and become warm if you press a button for a few minutes.
Mine are a few years old 8but still going strong) so the exact make and model is no longer available.
 
Ah, OK - Hot Pebble - sounds a good idea. Glad they are rechargeable. I wonder if I could use an ordinary pebble left in hot water? Have to check it's not too hot and I burn of course!( and I probably wouldn't feel it through frozen fingers, but the flesh would still scorch alas!!!!!)
 
Callista said:
what about toes? (if they are accessible - they 'recede' as we get older I'm finding!!!!!)
Click to expand...
I reported a one off test on a toe and got effectively the same result as my finger. On that rather tenuous basis, toes look a possibility.
 
Callista said:
Ah, OK - Hot Pebble - sounds a good idea. Glad they are rechargeable. I wonder if I could use an ordinary pebble left in hot water? Have to check it's not too hot and I burn of course!( and I probably wouldn't feel it through frozen fingers, but the flesh would still scorch alas!!!!!)
Click to expand...
The thing is with the ones I use, the heat is instant. I don't have to boil a kettle and leave the pebble in it and then wait for it to cool down. Mine have three different heat options so I can warm my hands quickly when needed but not so fast I scorch them (unknowingly because of the Reynaud's) or get chill blains.
Now I am back home (I was at the gym with no circulation problems), I can access Amazon (you can probably get them elsewhere too). Here is the sort of thing I am talking about. www.amazon.co.uk/OCOOPA-Rechargeable-Electric-Arthritic-Sufferers/dp/B07H3NFJRR/
 
Cathie05 said:
Went for my yearly check up for type 2. Weight gain plus. blood glucose 68. weight gain i can work on but would like to monitor the blood glucose without pricking my fingers (I have peripheral neuropathy from chemo 17yrs ago) Someone told me that you can get a watch which monitors blood glucose, While i accept it may not be totally accurate it would provide a guide line.. Does anyone have one that they would recommend.
Click to expand...
Hi and welcome @Cathie05

If you read the leaflet with the blood glucose meter you have it may have advice on AST -Alternate Site Testing- where a blood sample for a fingerstick test can be taken from a different part of the body eg upper forearm, palm and other places with fewer nerve endings than finger tips, it will also advise when it is appropriate to use a different site. Not all meters offer this advice and attachment but if they do there will be a small clear plastic attachment for the end of the lancing device you would normally use on fingers. Check with whoever provides your diabetes care to see if it appropriate if you do decide to try it.
 
helli said:
The thing is with the ones I use, the heat is instant. I don't have to boil a kettle and leave the pebble in it and then wait for it to cool down. Mine have three different heat options so I can warm my hands quickly when needed but not so fast I scorch them (unknowingly because of the Reynaud's) or get chill blains.
Now I am back home (I was at the gym with no circulation problems), I can access Amazon (you can probably get them elsewhere too). Here is the sort of thing I am talking about. www.amazon.co.uk/OCOOPA-Rechargeable-Electric-Arthritic-Sufferers/dp/B07H3NFJRR/
Click to expand...
Thank you - I will check it out. Now that winter is ebbing it's loads easier to forget how numb they go!!!
 
Oh gosh, yes. Hadn't realised that. I was just thinking of a place that was an 'analogue' of fingers really.
 
Thank you everyone. defo not my toes. they are worse than my fingers. will have a talk with my diabetic nurse see what she suggests.
 
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