Newly joined

[grovesy]

Well I have been testing 16+ years, and I use my I use my Acku-check fast clix on the lowest setting.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

One question that arises from reading the attached thread- does anyone know why the advice to ‘not flinch’ when using the lancet makes a difference?

Probably because the thing's designed to penetrate to the specified depth and if you flinch that'll mess it up, quite likely not producing any blood at all (or producing blood which then gets flicked off your finger).

Like @grovesy I use an Accu-chek fast clix (and have done for years), and I have to say it's wonderful. (I've been testing for about 35 years, and what we have now is so much easier and reliable than trying to get blood from pointy bits of metal which works fine when it's someone else doing it but I found really hard to do to myself.)

 

[Ralph-YK]

There was a smiley face after the comment about squirrels! I’ve realised they don’t show on the message, which somewhat alters the tone!

You can use smiles. The ones on an android "keyboard" don't work. There's an icon on at the top of the edit window to access them.

 

[Ralph-YK]

Some you can also type as text, and they'll get converted. If you use a colon for eyes and brackets for the mouth.
: & ( gets you - : & ) = 🙂
Semi colon: ; & ) = 😉 - : & o = 😱

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Thank you. Definitely no point in testing if I don’t then review and adjust! One question that arises from reading the attached thread- does anyone know why the advice to ‘not flinch’ when using the lancet makes a difference? Is it because any slight movement will affect the sensation/pain likelihood? Also does anyone have any experience to whether it’s better to have the lancet depth set lower but pressing more firmly on the finger, or whether to set the lancet depth higher but just test gently on the finger? At work, where I regularly have to test patients CBG levels with a device that does not have an adjustable lancet, I have found that the key to reducing pain is not to press the lancet into the side of the finger, but just rest it lightly, without pressure. I don’t think the ‘skewering nurse’ had discovered this!

like you I go ‘light pressure’, except where my leathery fingers need a little sterner approach, but I still don’t find it painful until the lancet is several weeks (months?!) old.

My guess about the flinching would be the tension, and therefore extra pain. Modern lancing devices, especially Roche forum-fave ’multiclix’ (or whatever they are called this month) barely ever notice.

the most painful I had were the ones where I was just given a lancet and had to jab it in my finger manually. Ouch!

 

[Trish Bellringer]

like you I go ‘light pressure’, except where my leathery fingers need a little sterner approach, but I still don’t find it painful until the lancet is several weeks (months?!) old.

My guess about the flinching would be the tension, and therefore extra pain. Modern lancing devices, especially Roche forum-fave ’multiclix’ (or whatever they are called this month) barely ever notice.

the most painful I had were the ones where I was just given a lancet and had to jab it in my finger manually. Ouch!

 

[Trish Bellringer]

That sounds barbaric!

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

That sounds barbaric!

Reminds me of that photo of the ‘auto let’ that does the rounds every so often. Every bit as comfortable and pain free as it looks