Sticking fingers...

[tcpandi]

Hi...
I've been testing now for about 6 weeks or so... and I have to say... my fingers are starting to hurt. I can even see "prick" marks on some of my fingers.

My meter said to stick myself on the side of the finger and not the finger tip... but when I do that, I barely get any blood and certainly not enough for the test strip...I think its because my fingers are callused on the sides... I have very tough cuticles....

Anyway... What does everyone else do?? Can you stick in other places? I mean, a blood drop is a blood drop no matter where its from right??
If not, how do you guys stand it - stick after stick after stick? Even if I use a different finger each time, I'm still going to have some fingers with multiple sticks in a day....

Thanks...
Traci

[lgvincent]

Unfortunately, blood sugar will not be the same from other places as it is in a finger. I may be wrong but I believe blood taken from an arm will give you a reading similar to what your blood sugar was about 20 minutes ago (I think) while that taken from a finger will give you more current levels. While taking blood from a finger is fine under most circumstances, if you believe you may be in insulin shock you'll need to take it from a finger.

I've tried pricking my earlobes and the base of the thumb but haven't been able to get enough blood from those places to be of any use. I have a lot of holes in my fingers, too, over 20 on a finger at times, but they'll usually clear up after a while.

[right2fight]

I have heard you can use your toes.


Margaret

[am1977]

Traci,

Try warming up your hands a bit- rub them together or run them under warm water. Sometimes that helps get the blood flowing.

I know it's a pain to deal with this (no pun intended), but as we all know, testing is important.

[sydneya]

I've been pricking fingers for over twenty years now. I've tried forearms with the gizmos that come with the One Touch, but I just can't enough blood. And my fingers do get tender once in awhile, but it's not too bad as long as I change my lancet often enough. Yes, I have some pricks in my fingers that are still around, but as Vincent says, they do go away after awhile. Vainness and diabetes don't go together. :cool: You should see the little red pokes in my tummy from the insulin syringes.

[someone]

Try using thinner lancets. I have always used the BD 33 gauge lancets, and have never had pain in my fingers since I had to use the horrible lancing devices that they make you use in the hospital.

[wiseguy]

I use OneTouch and do testing on my forearms almost exclusively. It is totally painless. It's true that blood taken from the forearm does not show changes as quickly as blood taken from the fingers. This is why it is not recommended for those who need accurate readings to adjust insulin doses. For type 2's who do not use insulin, the forearm method should be sufficient.

[BriOnH]

Getting used to the pricks is difficult. I remember how much each prick used to hurt for a few minutes after each time. Unfortunatly you and your fingers will get used to it ;) .

[Funnygrl]

I still hate finger sticks, but trying to rotate what finger I was using and trying other lancing devices helped. I find the multiclix, from Accu-chek, easiest to deal with. I also use the Flash that requires very little blood. Most meters require small samples now though. And like Bri said, you get used to it.

[rocky]

I remember when I was in the hospital after being diagnosed and making them put a band-aid on my fingers after each prick.. until all my fingers were covered in band-aid's.

[nneighbour]

Traci,

I have this problem too. I have found it helps to use BD UltraFine lancets, to use the side of the finger pad rather than closer to the cuticle, and to go a bit deeper to get a nice drop of blood. But I'm still a newbie at this too.

[Stuboy]

My DE told me, that when you prick your finger, the capilary's naturally contract by reaction, so if you wait a few seconds after pricking, they should relax and you may find you can get blood out then rather than trying straight away.

if you want to try AST, try at the base of your thumb, it's closer to your freshest blood supply (finger tips) than your forearm so will more likely give a more accurate result compared to the forearm.

I prick the tips of my fingers all the time, and I dont have a problem fortunatly. I do have prick marks though.

You could also try the "one finger a day" approach. Each new day use a different finger... effectively giving each finger a 9, or 7 day rest.

[princesslinda]

Hi Traci: I feel your pain. You will get used to it though. I am a transcriptionist and at first it was really hard to type due to sensitive fingers from all the sticks, but now, 6 months in, it doesn't bother me near as much. I stick the fingers on one hand one day, and the fingers on the other hand the next. I do have "favorite" fingers that I stick more than once. I find my pinky bleeds really well, so it gets used a lot.

As someone mentioned before, the alternate sites can give quite a different reading....you might want to try sticking you forearm and finger at the same time to see the difference in results for your own use.

Also, at first, I found washing my hands in warm water just prior to sticking helped a lot. Now, sticking has become 2nd nature to me and I don't think about it much (unless I hit the same place twice, then OUCH!). Hang in there!

Linda

[blacklightmike]

I think much has already been said in support of working through the pain. I'll add that before I test, I drop my arm straight down and jiggle it a bit to get the blood flowing down to my hand.

I've been experimenting with another dose change in my insulin, and have been testing six or seven times a day lately; my fingertips are getting hard and calloused faster than normal, and it's affected my sculpting, where I'm used to more felling in my fingers. Gotta do what ya gotta do.

[Larry H.]

Hi All,

I am still new but already know this is a common question.. I too have fingers that seem very reluctant to giving much blood without squeezing and pushing and kneeding... Once in a while I hit a place, usually nearer the tip on the side where the finger will produce a larger bit of blood. I wasted a lot of strips because there wasn't enough to make it go..
I started with a True Track monitor, wasn't happy and went to the One Touch. I must say that after a month and a half or more of sore fingers, I have returned to the lancet that the True Track uses. From the start thought it was an easiser to use and change lancets in plus not seeming to hurt quite so much as the one touch.
I have quite poor circulation because I am always told I have very cold hands.. That seems to make it harder also.

[Chris Graham]

When I was first dx, my DE told me I could test on my palm. It hurts a lot less and my meter averages are always really close to my HA1C. I test on the fleshy part, in the lower corner, opposite my thumb. I have a nice callous now, and it is a lot less noticable than calloused fingers. I like that.