[Diabetes-Talk] blood sugar question

Fri May 1 16:54:22 UTC 2020

Hello,
This is the most frustrating part about testing your blood when you are blind. I have been a type 1 diabetic for 40 years. For 18 years of that I have been blind. Making sure you have enough blood on your finger and then getting it to the strip is really frustrating. I still struggle with it at times. What makes it even a little harder is if your sugar is high you don’t bleed all that well. Running warm water on your fingers before testing is a good way to help get the blood flowing. Also when you are milking your finger make sure your finger is below heart level. This can sometimes help.

Greg Wocher

> On May 1, 2020, at 12:35 PM, Veronica Elsea via Diabetes-Talk <diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Diabetes education classes did absolutely nothing to help with this problem.
> My finger doesn't spit out the same exact amount of blood every time. Heck,
> the stabbers are so cheap that I've figured out they're not even all the
> same length or at the same angle. The only thing a diabetes educator ever
> said to me was, take an aspirin and you'll bleed more. Now there's great
> advice. Not! 
> I think our best defense is to use all the techniques we know like the warm
> water, milking etc. Beyond that, know that you have lots of company, whether
> they admit it or not. <grin>
> 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
> Milton via Diabetes-Talk
> Sent: Friday, May 01, 2020 9:13 AM
> To: 'Diabetes Talk for the Blind'
> Cc: Milton
> Subject: Re: [Diabetes-Talk] blood sugar question
> 
> Hello Lisa,
> 
> Are you able to meet with a Diabetes Educator or a Nurse via a virtual
> meeting to help you figure out and help you check to see if you have enough
> blood to draw or even a sighted family member.
> 
> Even using Be My Eyes or Aira might also be of help until you get a good
> idea about how much blood is coming out. I must say that testing for a blind
> person can sometimes be guess work.
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Diabetes-Talk <diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Lisa
> Belville via Diabetes-Talk
> Sent: Friday, May 1, 2020 9:33 AM
> To: Michael Barber via Diabetes-Talk <diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Lisa Belville <missktlab1217 at frontier.com>
> Subject: Re: [Diabetes-Talk] blood sugar question
> 
> Just a nutritionist back in January before the Covid made an appearance.  I
> would need more hands on assistance, and I'm not sure how that could be done
> unless the person had the right PPE. This is a rural area, so we don't have
> great access to resources right now.
> 
> 
> I've only gotten conflicting results once, but I sometimes have issues
> getting enough blood.  It doesn't happen often, but it bothers me because
> there's a strip wasted.
> 
> 
> Lisa
> 
> Lisa Belville
> missktlab1217 at frontier.com
> 
> On 5/1/2020 7:57 AM, Michael Barber via Diabetes-Talk wrote:
>> May I ask if you've beem to a diabetes education class as yet?  Your
> insurance should pay for it and I found it was a pretty good experience.
> You might do a one on one eith your diabetic educator when it comes to  a
> finger poke and see if they can help.  It's a real pain to start with, but
> eventually you get used to it.
>> 
>> Good luck.
>> 
>> Michael
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Diabetes-Talk <diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of 
>> Lisa Belville via Diabetes-Talk
>> Sent: Friday, May 1, 2020 6:29 AM
>> To: Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter via Diabetes-Talk 
>> <diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Lisa Belville <missktlab1217 at frontier.com>
>> Subject: Re: [Diabetes-Talk] blood sugar question
>> 
>> You've had years of practice.  <grin>  The hardest thing for us Newbies is
> to know if we have enough blood in the first place.  It can be frustrating,
> especially if I'm running low on strips.
>> 
>> Lisa Belville
>> missktlab1217 at frontier.com
>> 
>> On 4/30/2020 2:39 PM, Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter via Diabetes-Talk wrote:
>>> In my experience, if it takes more than a second for the strip to accept
> my blood, it's going to error. I take it out even before the meter reads it
> and start again.
>>> 
>>> Bridgit
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Diabetes-Talk <diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of 
>>> Lisa Belville via Diabetes-Talk
>>> Sent: Thursday, April 30, 2020 2:30 PM
>>> To: Louise Peyton via Diabetes-Talk <diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>> Cc: Lisa Belville <missktlab1217 at frontier.com>
>>> Subject: Re: [Diabetes-Talk] blood sugar question
>>> 
>>> This has happened to me once.  I think it was something funky with the
> meter.  It was early in the morning before I'd eaten and I could tell my
> sugar was     getting low.  The test said it was 155, so I purposely took it
> again from a different finger and the reading was 94, which is more
> consistent with my morning readings.  It didn't take long between testing of
> the first finger, hearing the reading, removing a new strip and doing
> another test, probably less than three minutes.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> If it kept happening I'd think there was something wrong with the meter
> or the strips since it can't test if there's not enough blood so that
> couldn't be what's causing the discrepancy.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Lisa Belville
>>> missktlab1217 at frontier.com
>>> 
>>> On 4/30/2020 2:03 PM, Louise Peyton via Diabetes-Talk wrote:
>>>> Hello:
>>>> Does anyone know why you can have two different blood sugar readings
> from different fingers after a few seconds of finger pricks that are within
> a minute of each other?
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