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Sore fingers!

T

Thesootyshow

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Has anyone tried these “no needle” thingys which supposedly read blood glucose levels without the need for blood? Not the Dexcom patch things, this is a gadget that you put your finger in and it uses rays or whatever…I think it may be a scam, but my poor sister hates the lancets and her fingers are so sore.
 
Hi @Thesootyshow, the device you're mentioning, and those which work in a similar way to this one, have not been through robust testing in people with diabetes and therefore there's a lack of evidence in the accuracy of these devices.

As @Pollyanna mentioned, there are some things your sister can do. For example, making sure her hands are warm so it’s easier to get blood and this will help the prick to not hurt as much. Washing her hands under warm water for a couple of minutes beforehand could help, and also wriggling her fingers whilst they are down by her side to allow gravity to do its thing. Your sister can also avoid pricking near the nailbed.

Has your sister tried adjusting the
lancets device as they come in different sizes and thicknesses (or gauges)? A higher-gauge lancet is thinner so is normally less painful, but it might not always give enough blood. Using a lancet once is best otherwise they get blunt and are painful to use.
 
@Thesootyshow I googled the thing you saw and found this...

malwaretips.com

Bikenda Non-Invasive Blood Glucose Meter Scam Explained

For people with diabetes, regularly monitoring blood glucose levels is crucial for maintaining health. Recently, ads for a new device called the Bikenda
malwaretips.com malwaretips.com

There is no method (as yet) for measuring blood glucose without taking a blood sample. You will see lots of things about claiming that they can but none of them provide readings that are of any use.
 
Steer well clear @Thesootyshow

Maybe try some of the tips here instead
Painless Pricks, by Alan S

It might also be worth considering upgrading the finger-pricking device. Some of them are a bit more brutal, and less adjustable, than others. The Accu-Chek FastClix (with drum of 6 lancets) is my bodger of choice.
 
The Accu-chek FastClix also gets my vote. Excellent range of depth selections and one drum of 6 lancets lasts a long time for me; I don't need to use a new lancet each time. Another big advantage is no fussing around with changing lancets - put the very small drum in the clicker and reuse as many times as you want (need) until the drum is finished. Then a very simple drum change to discard the sealed used drum. About £15 from Boots for the clicker.
 
Also remember to go for the side of the fingers not directly on the pad (i.e. where the fingerprint is), and try to avoid hitting the same spot too often.

P.S. Fastclix for me too, which also means I change lancets more often (until I get to the last one in the magazine and then need to find the box 😉)
 
@Docb I too have found that article and it is good to see someone out there is watching the backs of diabetics. Interestingly the Trustpilot review has 98% 1 star reviews and calls out all the issues people have with the company.

However, I did find an article that talks about a German device that is supposed to be able to use a laser to heat up the blood glucose in the skin and then use a sensor to detect the heat changes. However, that device is table top not the size of a mobile phone and a check on their website shows that their device, the D-Pocket is still in development as is the sensor they are working on with Samsung to go in smart watches.

I think there is also a UK company working on the smart watch sensor approach, again however there is no current product available.
 
Docb said:
@Thesootyshow I googled the thing you saw and found this...

malwaretips.com

Bikenda Non-Invasive Blood Glucose Meter Scam Explained

For people with diabetes, regularly monitoring blood glucose levels is crucial for maintaining health. Recently, ads for a new device called the Bikenda
malwaretips.com malwaretips.com

There is no method (as yet) for measuring blood glucose without taking a blood sample. You will see lots of things about claiming that they can but none of them provide readings that are of any use.
Click to expand...
Tim Cook was seen using one a year or two ago (causing lots of speculation). Not sure whether that prototype was ever for sale or whether it worked well enough to be useful, and I forget the company involved. I think it clipped on the skin between fingers and measured light going through that thin bit of skin. (Not continuously, but you could get a spot measurement like that.)
 

Glucowatch

I found a glucowatch which promises to monitor bg in a non-invasive man er by just wearing the watch. Looks a bit like an ali-express item to me but has anyone tried it by chance? I also read something on Apple having a technology ready for non jnvasive monitoring, which could be introduced in...
www.diabetes.co.uk www.diabetes.co.uk

There's a link in my post (linked above) to an interesting "book" by a chap who was involved in research into non-intrusive BG measurement over rather a long period of time.
 
mashedupmatt said:
I used to hate doing finger pricks until I heard about the Accu-Chek FastClix system on here - I would also highly recommend it:

View attachment 34159
Click to expand...
everydayupsanddowns said:
Steer well clear @Thesootyshow

Maybe try some of the tips here instead
Painless Pricks, by Alan S

It might also be worth considering upgrading the finger-pricking device. Some of them are a bit more brutal, and less adjustable, than others. The Accu-Chek FastClix (with drum of 6 lancets) is my bodger of choice.
Click to expand...
I'm newly diagnosed type 1 and was given one of these with the matching test meter. Im very badly dehydrated and the hospital struggled to get any blood with the single use lancets but with this they managed ok. Been using one now for 1 week and would definitely recommend it
 
I'm a vintage Type 1 (classed as vintage by myself since I was born in 1950) and been fingerprick testing several sometimes multiple) times a day since the later 1970s. I started using that lancet device 20-ish? years ago and reading "Painless Pricks" plus the Multiclix - still only need the depth setting at 0.5 now !
 
David Wraith said:
I'm newly diagnosed type 1 and was given one of these with the matching test meter. Im very badly dehydrated and the hospital struggled to get any blood with the single use lancets but with this they managed ok. Been using one now for 1 week and would definitely recommend it
Click to expand...
This is what I was given as part of the test meter kit, I have to agree that now I've settled down about this is far better than the single use ones
 
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