Sugar Turned On Me

I’m a big fan of paraphernalia. Not just the word, even though it’s fun to say, but the whole of accessories that go with any hobby or lifestyle. In the case of being diabetic, that’s my blood sugar monitor.

I only have experience with two blood sugar monitors. Were it not for an insurance snafu, I’d have experience with only one. The good thing is I’m not unhappy with the one I use now. It’s called the One Touch Ultra Mini from Lifescan.

The name makes it sound like a brand of tampons, but that aside, it’s worth a look.

First off, the price is right at under $20.00. The basic package includes the monitor, their lancet device, lancets, a spiffy carrying case, some fluid for testing strips and little booklet that discusses how to live as a diabetic. No actual strips though.

One of it’s selling points is that it’s small, about four inches long. With or without the case, it’s convenient to carry. Between this and the price, it makes a good backup monitor for travel. It even comes in four colors, which depending on your opinion of accessorizing medical equipment, could be either a plus or a minus.

It stores your past 50 results. It’s got no other tracking features, but that’s the trade for it’s cost and size. It’s error messages are pretty straight forward. It and the lancet device are also set up for alternate site testing (I’ve only done that once, but the results were satisfactory).

The strips The Ultra strips come for about a dollar a strip before insurance, which seems about typical. The drop of blood required isn’t large, the usual pin head size. They’re coded strips which I’m less fond of, but more on that later.

The Lancet device, pictured above here, is pretty good. Adjusting it for a deeper or shallower poke is easy and the cocking mechanism is straight forward. I use it with bargain lancets and have never had a problem.

I’ve not done any in depth accuracy testing with it, like testing against other monitors, but I’ve been satisfied… mostly. Once, I had a batch of strips that returned a consistently 10-15 point higher result than I was expecting. The batch of strips tested normal, so it could have been coincidence but my readings went back to normal when I bought the next batch. The only other time I’ve gotten a questionable result was when I gave it an almost too small sample and it was 40 points different than when I tested again with a new strip and proper blood dot.

While I use it as my main monitor, I’d recommend it to others as a backup without reservation and a main with only a couple of caveats.

When I started this blog, I had visions of medical companies sending me samples of their wares and reviews like this being a regular thing. Until then, I’m happy with my little informative vampire. But I’m staying away from the lime green version.

I mean… seriously? Lime green?

I collect swords. I’ve taken classes to teach me how to use them. I keep them hanging on my walls, tucked into corners and resting next to my bed. I admire the simple beauty of them, the efficiency of a sharp piece of metal designed to interrupt integrity of the epidermis. I’ve never feared them.

And yet, a needle less than an inch long intimidates me.

Part of being diabetic is sticking yourself, drawing that tiny crimson dot that your digital vampire, i.e. the ever present monitor, requires to let you how your blood sugar is doing that day. It’s one of the simple facts you accept the moment you start dealing with the disease. You will bleed every day, sometimes many times a day, from now until your blood flows no more.

For some, I imagine this is an easy reality to accept. My wife was fascinated by the concept. I’ve spoken with others who say it’s no big deal and feel no pain in the process.

That’s not me. The first time I took my blood took 2 testing strips, 3 lancets, and 30 minutes. I sat there, trying to press the button on the lancet device while the subtle pressure required to trigger it seemed more force than my fingers were capable of producing. I could feel the blood drawing back towards my heart, my body unwilling to co-operate as I performed this unnatural act. I had to insert the strips into the monitor more than once as the device timed out and turned off waiting on me. When I tricked myself into pressing the button, I flinched and just put a tear in my skin that produced little result. I the repeated the process, the anxiety no less the second go round, and at last yielded the desired sample, feeling as if I’d just performed minor surgery.

Knowing that in the long run this wouldn’t do, I asked around. After much trial and error, talking with friends and getting pointers, I’ve worked out the following tips:

1. Before the poking, shake your hand like it was wet and you were trying to fling water off. This will get blood into the fingertips.

2. Use the side of your finger. The pad will be more sensitive and will make typing hurt.

3. Most lancet devices are adjustable, allowing you to make the needle penetrate deeper or shallower. Remember your pinky isn’t going to require as deep a poke as your middle or ring fingers.

4. Change fingers every couple of days. I personally don’t take blood from the same side of the same finger more than 3 days in a row. Take blood from your index finger last as you use it more.

5. If blood doesn’t come out immediately, don’t worry. Just massage the area a bit. If you do that and not much comes out you may be pressing too hard. Stop, let blood come back to the area and massage it a little more.

6. Keep in mind that you’re going to need to dispose of something sharp. Most lancets come with a cap or something to put the needle into after use, but you may want to keep an empty water bottle or something similar to have as a “sharps” container.

I’ve gotten my blood draws down to a quick few moments now. It is something you never think you’ll get used to, but you do. Just load the device, put it to your skin, look away if you have to, and click… it’s done.