Finger versus arm - Results

[doctordun]

Hello,
Been away for a while. I recently got a new meter and lancing device that I can use on fingers or arm.
I've been comparing results and no matter when I test, the result from my arm is always lower than my finger. My tests are within 30 seconds of each other. My last double test was my morning test after about a 12 hour fast.
Intellectually, I believe the results should be the same as long as it isn't too close to the last meal since the finger blood shows changes quicker.
Could the fatty layer in my arm be causing an issue? Do I need to slap my arm a bit to make sure the blood is "current"?
I much prefer the arm since I can't even feel the stab. Should I be using a different site?

[Evermont]

I've long been using a meter that allows arm/thigh alternate site testing (Freestyle Freedom). Actually I have two identical meters so I don't have to carry one to work. I'm very happy with this meter, and my blood sugar is pretty darn predictable so I can often guess my level within 5 or 10 points. Early on I tried a couple double tests with forearm vs. finger and found the arm readings so far off that I gave up and do finger tests only.

Arms do seem to hurt a little less. Yeah, sometimes you hit a nerve in the finger tip and it stings. My solution: just learn to like pain. :D Life is better when you like pain.

[miscreant]

It's most likely interstitial fluid influencing your arm numbers - this fluid "holds" a more level number.

IMHO, alternate site testing is for people who test only routinely and only to make sure they aren't really high or having issues. For day to day control, fingers are the best - YMMV.

[doctordun]

It's most likely interstitial fluid influencing your arm numbers - this fluid "holds" a more level number.

IMHO, alternate site testing is for people who test only routinely and only to make sure they aren't really high or having issues. For day to day control, fingers are the best - YMMV.

Well I'm type 2 and mostly just test to make sure I'm not too high.
I test 3 times a day at various times. This morning, the forearm test was 15 points less than my finger.

[fgummett]

It's just my impression, but I see alternate site testing along the same lines as oral or inhaled insulin... so many people (often non-diabetics or newly diagnosed diabetics) make a big deal about how awful it is to have to stick yourself with a lancet or a needle multiple times a day so they look around for different ways to accomplish the same thing... trouble is that these other ways just don't seem to work as well... meanwhile testing fingers and/or injecting insulin are really not that bad for so many of us... certainly better than poor BG control or long-term complications. With that said I appreciate that some have success with alternate site testing and my hat is off to them :)

[Moonglo]

I have read that the arm is about 15 minutes behind the fingertips on bg readings, but not sure if the info was reliable though.

[doctordun]

It's just my impression, but I see alternate site testing along the same lines as oral or inhaled insulin... so many people (often non-diabetics or newly diagnosed diabetics) make a big deal about how awful it is to have to stick yourself with a lancet or a needle multiple times a day so they look around for different ways to accomplish the same thing... trouble is that these other ways just don't seem to work as well... meanwhile testing fingers and/or injecting insulin are really not that bad for so many of us... certainly better than poor BG control or long-term complications. With that said I appreciate that some have success with alternate site testing and my hat is off to them :)

I generally don't have that much discomfort using my fingers, but sometimes the lancet hits a nerve right on and that does hurt. I've got about an 18 month testing history since I was diagnosed. Sometimes I find myself skipping a test, because it's a crapshoot on whether I hit a nerve and when I don't, I breath a sigh of relief.

[enigmalady777]

I have tried using my forearms for blood testing but found I had a lot of difficulty in obtaining enough blood for the tests. I ended up pricking myself multiple times to no avail, then just gave up and used fingers again.

I eventually just went back to using my fingers exclusively. I test very often (upon rising in the am, before and after meals, and bedtime) so my fingers have lovely little "specks" of dried blood all over them, but I'm so used to it now I don't even give it a second thought.

[doctordun]

What helped me was the new softclix lancing device, the one that uses single lances. It's the first one I've tried that has a larger cup on the tip allowing for more area to apply pressure and thereby get a decent drop of blood. I also have the cartridge lancing device and though it is very comfortable to use on the fingers, the head that comes with it for alternate sites, has a very small cup area and the drop of blood is much smaller. I've tried with exact same settings and a much deeper setting on the cartridge device and still the single one gets a bigger drop of blood. I use the AccuChek Aviva.

[Grunch]

I used the Microlet before and it hurt quite often but now with the accu-check multiclix I never feel anything.