[Diabetes-talk] testing difficulty

[Mike Freeman]

Jude:

Hang in there.  I'd bet there isn't one of us who hasn't gone through the
same finger-sticking frustrations when we were first diagnosed.  This list
is replete with posts like yours below from many who are now old hands at
it.  Be assured that you will get the hang of it.

It sounds like you're doing a lot of the right things; it's a matter of
technique and practice.  It sounds as though you end up smearing the drop of
blood; this is not uncommon for blind people.  What you want is for the
blood to stay in a bead so that the little slit in the strip will suck the
bead up by capillary action.  Each person has his/her own method of ensuring
that the blood doesn't smear but I prefer to hold the finger steady with the
place you poked facing up and bring the meter/strip to the finger and blood
and sort of gingerly maneuvering the slit in the strip so it runs into the
bead of blood.  Holding the finger steady keeps me from smearing the blood
most of the time.

I know one certified diabetes educator who disagrees with me but I maintain
that, in general, alternate site testing is nigh on impossible for the blind
to accomplish with precision for the precise reason that people like it --
you can't feel where you stuck yourself.  Besides, especially if yur blood
glucose level is changing rapidly, finger-testing is more accurate.

I don't use my index fingers either although I think I could.  If you're
lucky, you'll get the consistency of the skin where you poke yourself so
it's like that of a harpist -- supple and tough but not calassed.

If you go on the NFB site and put "finger-sticking" in the search box,
you'll get several articles about finger-sticking techniques.  There's also
a version of the article in our "Bridging the Gap" booklet which is
available on the NFB site in both text and audio versions.  If you can't
find it, I can send you a Word version.

It truly does get easier.

Mike Freeman


-----Original Message-----
From: diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org
[mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jude DaShiell
Sent: Friday, April 15, 2011 3:21 PM
To: diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Diabetes-talk] testing difficulty

Very often I'm having difficulty just getting enough blood on the test 
strip to even get a reading.  Earlier today I had my hands under warm 
water to try and prevent the capilaries from constricting; work place and 
my apartment are air-conditioned and that didn't even work.  The strips 
usually end up sticky by the time the meter shuts off too.  I'm using the 
sides of some of my fingers, but not the index fingers since I intend to 
be able to continue reading braile for the rest of my life.  The meter I 
have can do alternate site testing but I haven't yet learned the good 
places to do that yet.  It's all very frustating!



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