First time using blood glucose meter

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janw

janw

Much Missed Member.
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
I did it, finally, after 3 failed attempts, then watching a really informative video on YouTube, followed by a 4th attempt, I got my first reading at 9.10am. Jumping for joy that it is 6.8 - I have not eaten yet, but will be soon.
Just one question - what do you do with your sharps and used strips when you are away from home? I "think" we still have a sharps box here from my son's after-op injections, but that is too big to carry on days out. I have plenty of sealable containers I could use if one of those would be suitable? I go away on Monday for the week, and hadn't thought about the sharps/test strips issue until today.
I will appreciate any advice you could give me. Many thanks
 
Test strips go on the bin. I guess most of us are very rubbish and very rarely change the lancets on our finger pricker, so not really an issue for a few days away. I guess if I changed it every time, I might take a small container to put them in until I got back.
 
Used test strips can just go in the ordinary household rubbish. As regards lancets, many of us are naughty and don't change the lancet every time and in fact we have a standing joke that we change our lancets once a year on St Swithin's Day. I usually change mine twice a year, St Swithin's and New Year's Day because I am a swot!
Not advocating this type of slovenly behaviour to newbies . Certainly no reason why you can't store the sharps in a little pot and decant into your SharpSafe when you get home. I would mark the pot as Sharps with a permanent marker just i case it gets misplaced.
 
lol well I did use the same one twice on my 3rd (failed) attempt, didn't think it had broken the skin, but then found two "beads" - once I saw HOW the meter reads the blood all was good. I did think it a bit of a waste using the lancet only once tbh, but being new I follow the rules. I did put the test strip under the tap once removed, so it was no longer "contaminated" and could go in the bin. I was an emergency aider for the last 18 years of my working life, so I am a bit iffy when it comes to blood, I'd rather err on the side of caution, but that's me.
Thank you for your tips, all are appreciated.
 
Yeah, I don’t have the problem of storing lancets on days out either :D If I do have to change one, I just put it in the meter case/bag with its little lid on.
 
janw said:
lol well I did use the same one twice on my 3rd (failed) attempt, didn't think it had broken the skin, but then found two "beads" - once I saw HOW the meter reads the blood all was good. I did think it a bit of a waste using the lancet only once tbh, but being new I follow the rules. I did put the test strip under the tap once removed, so it was no longer "contaminated" and could go in the bin. I was an emergency aider for the last 18 years of my working life, so I am a bit iffy when it comes to blood, I'd rather err on the side of caution, but that's me.
Thank you for your tips, all are appreciated.
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If you think about it logically, there is far more blood on a tissue from a nose bleed or menstrual bleeding and those go into the normal waste bin without any thought. And of course meat wrapping is contaminated with animal blood. There are far worse things that go into household waste. I do think sharps are another matter though and should be disposed of safely.
 
Keep one of the pots your strips come in and take it with you when you're away for a few days or longer to put used lancets in, then click the lid down on the pot and sling it in the bin when you get home again.
 
trophywench said:
Keep one of the pots your strips come in and take it with you when you're away for a few days or longer to put used lancets in, then click the lid down on the pot and sling it in the bin when you get home again.
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This is exactly what my OH did when we went away recently. He put a little sharps sticker on it too just in case it got misplaced. Worked perfectly.
 
Whenever I go away for a week or so, i use a small water bottle for my sharps and decant it into the sharps container when I get home.
As for test strips, this definitely go in the landfill rubbish with no concern.
in my mind, they can’t go in the sharps box because they are not sharp. Sharps bins cost money either for the NHS or ourselves and they cost money to collect as well as being non recyclable plastic and the resources/pollution to manufacture and transport. So minimising usage of the sharps bin seems to me to be the right thing to do.
My sharps bin contains lancets, needles and my partner’s razorblades.

I can’t use the pots my strips come in because they don’t come in pots.
 
Great idea! I only have the one pot as the other 50 are in a little box, but that pot will be enough for when I'm away - the case has various pockets so I can keep fresh supplies in one of those. Thank you all
Edited to add - opened the little box to find another pot inside, so all is well. Oh and the old sharps box went back to the chemist so I'll have to order one on script after the holiday.
Other readings today (so far) - after breakfast was 9.7 after 1 hour, 8.3 after 2 hours. First check an hour after lunch said 6.8 so not doing the second as under 7. Now to decide what to have for dinner, got my leftover cauli-cheesy-mash to finish with "whatever" 🙂
Oh and got my appointment through for my diabetes eye screening at the hospital, end of the month. I was on the Learning Zone last night and covered that topic, so I now know what delights to expect... hmmm
 
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I put the test strips in the bin. I don’t really change lancet but for needles I just leave the used ones in the case with meter and pen then empty it when I’m home. For a longer holiday I’d take a sandwich bag of Tupperware tub of needles.
 
Congrats on your first result @janw

Now you are off and running you’ll find it much easier next time. Setting the depth properly, and learning how firmly (or not!) the lancing device needs to be held against the finger soon becomes automatic.

Soon enough you’ll be able to do it in the dark just by feel :D
 
When away for a while, I used to buy a small Pringles tube (normal size if that was all I could find), cut an X in the plastic top and use that. On some occasions, have printed "Sharps" labels to stick around the tubes and packed those.

I do put test strips in the sharps bin at home as they have blood and others might think were contaminated.
 
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