[Diabetes-talk] New Member To The List, and alternate site testing

Thu Feb 25 00:56:23 UTC 2016

When I think of those early talking meters, wow! They needed a hanging drop
of blood. So companies made these gadgets with names like "sure drop" to
place on top of the meter. We'd prick our fingers and when there was enough
blood on this gadget, in theory, the drop of blood would slide down this
tephlan and land in the hole in the strip. The worst part for me was that in
talking with LifeScan, if the engineers had made a square hole instead of a
round one, we would have been able to just put the blood in without all the
extra nonsense. Anybody remember the old One Touch Profile? I just can't
help remembering a quote from Ed Bryant about that meter. He said, by the
time you've gotten enough blood to satisfy the Profile, you've given enough
for a complete profile!  
For me, I think my record is 17 finger sticks for one single test. Multiply
that to six times a day and it got really rough for those first ten years.
My callouses from playing instruments aren't anything like these. Sometimes
now, the problem is that the callouses, lumps are so big that it's hard to
get the lancing device down in there to aim for another spot on my finger.
I've been pretty successful when I really pay attention but now there's just
so little space left. Boy do I wish they'd been telling the truth about
those "coming soon" non-invasive meters back in the nineties! 
Okay, back to work! Thanks again.
Veronica

"Guide Dogs, First Hand", Veronica Elsea's classic album is now available on
iTunes, along with other music from her and from the Guide Dog Glee Club. 
To learn more, visit:
http://www.laurelcreekmusic.com
                Veronica Elsea, Owner
Laurel Creek Music Designs
Santa Cruz, California
Phone: 831-429-6407

-----Original Message-----
From: Diabetes-talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter via Diabetes-talk
Sent: Wednesday, February 24, 2016 4:45 PM
To: 'Diabetes Talk for the Blind'
Cc: Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Subject: Re: [Diabetes-talk] New Member To The List, and alternate site
testing

Since becoming blind, I have not found I often need to prick my fingers more
than once each time I test, though I do test 6 to 8 times a day. I will
develop calluses, but I moisturize often and avoid those spots until the
callus is gone. Same if I have a spot that is sore. Guitar players develop
similar calluses. For some, they are not that bad, others, they are more
pronounced.

For me, I have not had problems with the Prodigy Voice. I don't often get an
error reading, maybe a handful times a month, and my A1-C's coincide with
the readings I'm getting on the meter. But just like when sighted, some
meters work better for different types of people. We all have differing
experiences with the same technology, and that's okay.

I've been blind for about 12 years now, and I continue to be confounded by
the fact that diabetes is a leading cause of blindness, yet so few companies
feel it necessary to cater to this growing population. While everyone else
gets to have revolutionary technology, we get to stand by and watch. As you
and I both know, when the hell will they get it that pumps should be
completely accessible? Sheesh!

Keep going, sister, smile.

Bridgit

-----Original Message-----
From: Diabetes-talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Veronica Elsea via Diabetes-talk
Sent: Wednesday, February 24, 2016 4:32 PM
To: 'Diabetes Talk for the Blind' <diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Veronica Elsea <veronica at laurelcreekmusic.com>
Subject: Re: [Diabetes-talk] New Member To The List, and alternate site
testing

Wow! You're lucky Bridgit. I've been diabetic for almost 28 years now and my
fingers are a mess. I have been blind the entire time so have done way more
sticks requiring more blood than I would have sighted. But for whatever
reason, my fingers have these giant callouses on the sides that are now
really interfering with my ability to test as often as I'd like. This is one
of the reason I'd really like getting the CGM so I could at least watch
patterns and have some idea. I just haven't yet made the time to sit down
and lie, making up a fake log for a month. 
And I did get crazy readings going both directions with the Prodigy. Most of
the time I do know if I'm really high or low, but not always. Heck, given
the current state of my fingers, if I thought I always knew my reading by
intuition, I wouldn't even think of using a meter. Alas, that's not the
case. What I really dislike about all meters that do a test and then say, oh
wait, not enough blood is that you now have spurious readings in that log
for good. I've had a couple of endos who just never seemed to grasp that
they were really not enough blood and kept wanting to adjust my insulin
dosages based on those way low readings, for instance. That's why I stay
with the FreeStyle Lite even though it's a bit of a pain to connect it with
a computer to read it. It doesn't start the test until it verifies that the
strip is full. So while the final reading has the same 20 per cent variation
that all meters have, at least I don't fill up the memory with junk
readings. One would think more companies would be working like this in 2016.

Veronica

"Guide Dogs, First Hand", Veronica Elsea's classic album is now available on
iTunes, along with other music from her and from the Guide Dog Glee Club. 
To learn more, visit:
http://www.laurelcreekmusic.com
                Veronica Elsea, Owner
Laurel Creek Music Designs
Santa Cruz, California
Phone: 831-429-6407

-----Original Message-----
From: Diabetes-talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter via Diabetes-talk
Sent: Wednesday, February 24, 2016 6:33 AM
To: 'Diabetes Talk for the Blind'
Cc: Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Subject: Re: [Diabetes-talk] New Member To The List, and alternate site
testing

A few years ago, my doctor suggested I consider alternate site testing just
because I've been pricking my fingers for so long. Actually, my fingers are
good. No loss of sensitivity because of poking, and no permanent calluses,
(I moisturize frequently and alternate between all fingers and all over the
fingers) but nonetheless, they thought it worth considering. When I was a
kid and sighted, they made the same suggestion so I could alternate where I
test, similar to how you alternate where you inject insulin, but I never
liked it. I currently use a Prodigy Voice, and my nurse educator, who has
been amazing and has become a family friend in the last 13 years since I've
known her, said alternate testing should work fine. I just don't like the
idea of testing elsewhere than my fingers. The best I have done is start
testing with my thumbs in the last 8 years or so. I've been diabetic for 30
years now, and my fingers are still going strong, grin.

Bridgit

-----Original Message-----
From: Diabetes-talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Paul Magill via Diabetes-talk
Sent: Tuesday, February 23, 2016 7:31 PM
To: 'Diabetes Talk for the Blind' <diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Paul Magill <magills at bigpond.com>
Subject: Re: [Diabetes-talk] New Member To The List, and alternate site
testing

Hi Daniel,

The manual I sent has a brief section on alternate testing, and to me at
least, it suggests that this is not practical for a blind person.

Most glucose meters don't have this feature anyway.

Regards,
Paul from Australia

-----Original Message-----
From: Diabetes-talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Mike Freeman via Diabetes-talk

Right. I once encountered a certified diabetes educator who swore blind
persons could do alternate site testing. But I've never met one. The very
thing which makes some folks like alternate site testing -- they can't feel
the stick -- is the very thing that throws blind persons for a loop. Also,
the readings aren't quite as up-to-date as fingerstick readings.

Mike

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