[Diabetes-talk] testing difficulty

[Mike Freeman]

Have a sighted person show you exactly where the slit on the strip is.

Mike


-----Original Message-----
From: diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org
[mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jude DaShiell
Sent: Saturday, April 16, 2011 4:52 AM
To: Diabetes Talk for the Blind
Subject: Re: [Diabetes-talk] testing difficulty

The little slit on the strip, the strips I have have a slightly rough side 
with edges on sides that feel raised.  I could try getting the blood to 
connect very near one of those edges.  My test strips have Code F9 on them 
if that's any help and their kill date is April 2012.  Thanks all for 
helping with this problem.  In my younger years my hands ended up in lots 
of trauma.  Invariably the locations ended up looking like murder scenes 
with the blood loss then.  On Fri, 15 Apr 2011, Mike Freeman wrote:

> 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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