Little Black Dots

Do you ever see the black dots?  I see black dots on Ally's fingertips.  Those are scabs from finger pricks.  Ally uses a lancing device to draw a drop of blood for checking her blood sugar an average of 8-10 times each day.  That is 63 times per week.  270 times each month.  3285 finger pricks per year!  She only has 10 fingers.  She doesn't like to use her thumbs or her index fingers.  That means that the remaining 8 fingers have to sustain 410 finger sticks each in one year!

It's no wonder that a certain commercial caught Ally's attention today.  She was watching tv and called me over, "Mom, you've got to come see this commercial!"  She rattled off a million miles a minute the message of the advertisement.  I couldn't follow what she was saying, but knew that she wanted me to see it.  Thanks to modern technology, she was able to pause the tv and rewind the commercial for me to see it.  I did not write down the exact words of the advertisement, but this was the gist of the message....

Are you tired of stabbing your fingertips to check your blood glucose?

Ally's eyes lit up!  "See Mom!  Did you see what I was talking about?"

Some other quotes from the commercial...

Easier to use and less painful.  This method really hurts less.

As it turns out, this was an ad geared toward Medicare patients with Diabetes.  But it did remind me that although Ally checks her blood sugar many many times a day and only complains occassionally, she does not like the finger pricks!  A while back she complained a lot about her fingers hurting.  Sometimes she would have to prick her finger more than one time because she was not drawing a big enough drop of blood.  We tried rotating fingers, preparing before the finger stick by washing her hands with warm water, squeezing her fingertip, shaking her hand below the waist.  Nothing seemed to be helping.  We were even changing the lancet with every finger stick. 

That is when we discovered and switched to the OneTouch Delica lancing device and we really love it!  It seems to be a little gentler on her fingers.  We also learned to test on the side of her fingers rather than the pad of the fingertip.  Since the fingertips have so many nerve endings, it is less sensitive on the sides of your finger.

I also learned something about alternate site testing.  The commercial that I refer to above shared a link to the Diabetes Care Club website where I not only found a picture of fellow DOCer Scott Johnson!, but also this very helpful information on alternate site testing.

Alternate testing sites can be less painful to prick because they have fewer nerve endings. Your lancing device should have a clear cap to use with alternate sites.  Some alternate testing sites include upper arm, forearm, thigh, or base of your thumb (the soft part of your palm).  There are a couple of things to note if you decide to use an alternate testing site.  Remember to check your meter's instructions because some glucose meteres may not be able to use blood from alternate sites.  Also, avoid using alternate sites when glucose levels are quickly changing, such as after a meal or workout, after taking insulin, or when you're sick or stressed.  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration suggests drawing blood from a fingertip rather than an alternate site if you think your blood glucose is low, you don't regularly have symptoms when your blood glucose is low, or how you feel doesn't match the results from the alternate site.

We have not tried an alternate site yet.  I'm curious, have you?