Hey Tara, actually, poking your finger is not too bad at all, although it odes take a bit of getting used to. Yes you should be monitoring your blood sugars. It is really important for you to gain a better understanding of your diabetes and to see what is working for you! You may look at alternate sites for testing, I know that some people use their arm but really the best way is to use your finger. Believe it or not, it becomes second nature and it does get easier. BTW, please keep track of your numbers for your caregivers. This is a great place for any questions that you may have and if you want, my group runs a site for diabetics to help them monitor their blood glucose readings and then to share them with their doctors and whoever else needs their numbers. You can visit our site at http://www.pcmdr.ca I am a Type II diabetic who was not monitoring myself or taking proper care of myself and it led to the partial amputation of my left foot. So, I tend to be a bit preachy on the whole aspect of monitoring yourself. We are a free site and we are dedicated to helping you. Besides, you have a lot to be healthy for now that you have your children back with you. You will do just fine hun.

regards,

lary

they do have the machines you can prick your arm with ask your dr.

pricking the very top part of your pad as you bend your finger is less painful to me. I am scared to death of it as well (lol)

Tara, believe it or not, you will get used to sticking your finger. I remember when I started I would flinch each time! LOL. Sadly no, diabetes will not go away. It is a common fantasy for people who have diabetes, in fact I tell my wife weekly that I am sure I have been cured, and she just laughs at me. This is a great place to get information on how to deal with your diabetes and I would encourage you to educate yourself on diabetes as much as you can. The more you know, the better you will be equipped to deal with your diabetes.

Good luck on your new way to live!

Paul

Well mine is in remission....i am not so crazy as to not know it is there in the wing waiting to have its turn again.

Notice i am still on the group site.

It s always something to keep your eye half opened to at all times and not let it slip back in when you do get everything into complete control.

Lots of patience and hard work gets you in check. (SOMETIMES)

As the others have said, you will adjust to having to prick your fingers if that's where you end up doing your testing. Look for the smallest gauge lancet (needle) you can get and still get a decent sample. I use a 30 gauge or 31 gauge lancet. There is an even thinner one I found that is 33 gauge, but my old fingers are too tough for it. There are certain areas on your fingers that are less sensitive too. usually the pads of your fingers just off center will not hurt as much.

Hey Liz1961,
What brand of lancet do you use that you can find different gauges? I use the one that came with my Freestyle Lite, and I don't think I can get different gauges. It sounds like a great idea, and I'd like to know more.

I agree with the others: I know I was freaked out about sticking my fingers, and I was an EMT!!! So being nervous about poking yourself I think is pretty normal. Now, ten years later, sticking my fingers is no big deal. You really will get used to taking care of your diabetes.

Annie

Phedrick, my lancing device is one that came with my True Track meter. Walgreens sells one just like it. The lancets fit several different devices. I get a box of 100 lancets for 4.88 at my local Walmart. ReliOn brand.

Here's a link to show you the device.

http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-lancing-device/ID=prod354703-product

And a link to show you what the lancets look like.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Relion-Ultra-Thin-Plus-Lancets-100-ct/11047094

Thank you all for your wonderful and infomative comments, it feels good to speak with others who have this because I have no friends with diabetes I often feel so alone and I've always been so healthy never guessing I'd inherit something from my grandmother's side of the family

Often it skips A generation actually. I hear it is usually in the males though ,. I am female so it did the same to me. -bummer-

I think you will also find that once someone sees your little black bag with your tool inside that you you will discover more new friends that are diabetic. We are out there everywhere i am afraid.

I hated the idea of needles of any kind and I started out testing on my arm, but then I had bruises which does not look good...set the device at the lowest setting and try that, if nothing then move up one notch, doesn't need a whole lot of blood with most meters. I actually test myself on the tops of my fingers, towards the sides a bit under the nail to first knuckle and of course rotate fingers, after a while it becomes so natural and you don't even think about it

it took me about 5 minutes to press that button for the first time...but it's been only a few days and already it's easier. I still hesitate though. LOL.

Hey folks, I know this is probably a very late response in 2022, but for what it's worth hopefully my post can help.

First off, I am not a diabetic. However, I had to take a fingerprick blood test for a food sensitivity / allergy test for my gastrointestinal (GI) system.

The doctor sent me some stuff for at-home tests I could do to mail back to other doctors and labs, etc. When he mentioned I also had to do a fingerprick blood test, just the thought of that already had me cringing while on the phone with the doctor, but I brushed it off and got on with my day.

When the testing kits finally came home and I knew I had to get them done, that's when I pulled out the lancing device, knew that a very sharp needle was in there, and that's when it really hit me like a cold, heavy bag of ice cubes.
I'm a 38 year old man, I didn't think much really scared me, and I even mistakenly thought I was brave at most times. But even trying to position the lancing device up to my finger just absolutely terrified me. I would try to psyche myself and force up the courage to do it, but when the lancing device touched my finger, I would break into a cold sweat and even my fingers would get moist and sweaty. I started this in the morning, and I almost every time I would position the lancing device with the needle inside next to my finger, I would stop and sweat and even get nauseous. This went on for hours until the afternoon. I then really forced myself to be courage and just kept inching the lancing device closer and closer against my finger, just practicing the motions and making the pushing motion harder and harder, until it accidentally went off.

F**k I was shocked... the pain was so sharp and shocking that I had gasped. I couldn't really see the stab point on my finger in that split second since the lancing device was a rectangle containe, but immediately I knew what had happened, and immediately when I set aside the lancing device, bright red blood had started dripping from my finger. In the immediate seconds, I was so relieved. But, almost as soon as I had accomplished my set goal, I don't know whether my blood is so thick or I heal so quicky, but my finger began to stop bleeding and I couldn't soak up enough blood sample to fill the required amounts of blood sample on the sample card (it was a card with 5 circles, which had to be filled with drops of blood). After I realized that I would probably have to do another finger prick to complete the samples........ I was terrified.

So terrified, in fact, that I stopped the process and decided to wait a whole day to continue and attempt another fingerprick again.

Now realizing that most diabetics have to go through this unpleasant experience daily, almost brought tears to my eyes, and even though I am not a diabetic, I feel that you people, as a whole group, are now near and dear to my heart.

Here, the following is my gift to you all:
The next day, I was thinking up ways of how I could get another blood sample with the lancet. I searched for almost everything I could search for, that was related to fingerprick blood tests and if it was somehow possible to read blood glucose levels for diabetics without actually first having to draw blood. At this point in time ( I know I'm typing this up in 2022, but this experience happened last month in 2021), in the year 2021, I was extremely surprised that there was no practical way of doing it without drawing blood. Blood still has to be drawn, and a fingerprick still has to be done.
After hours of trying to prick my finger and gasping and hyperventilating each time I got the lancing device close to my finger for another fingerprick attempt, I thought of AN IDEA. And at least in my opinion, IT WAS BRILLIANT.
I reverse engineered the lancing device, managed to disassemble it, and was able to retrieve the needle in a way that I was able to expose it and then put it back on the lancing device (now I should say that I'm only describing what I did here, I actually would recommend you not to disassemble or reverse engineer any lancing devices, and just go out and buy regular lancet needles by themselves at your local health store, it's better that way). NOW with exposed needled in hand, I engineered a method that actually works, and dare I say, is MUCH MUCH MUCH less painful than using a lancet device (for me at least). The method I used and inadvertently engineered is this:

*****Get the sharp tip of the need close to your finger, then let it gently touch your finger, and then, slowly pull it away, then next let it gently touch your finger again, but this time with a little more force, do this repeatedly as much as you can, and in time, you will see the an indentation develop a crater on your finger, do it again with more and more incremental force, and then almost like magic, that crater will finally release blood!!!!!*****

In my experience, this was my method to get over my terrifying phobia of finger pricks, and I can say, for me at least, it was the least painful and best way to draw blood from a finger prick!

For anyone who has a phobia of painful fingerpricks, and especially to all diabetics out there, I hope my method helps you emerge victorious!

Love you all
- The Seemingly Tough But Actually Maybe Not As Tough, Normal Handsome Guy (Who Was Terrified of FingerPricks).

they now have a thing called Freestyle Libra and others that use a mediallion stuck to the arm or tummy or thigh to measure your blood sugar without any sticks of fingers or arm...it has a sensor that touches your arm (I use freestyle libra) and it is then read by a device that is electronic (mine uses my Iphone) and it monitors continuously unless the signal is lost....it will alert you thru your device (my Iphone) that I am high glucose or low glucose and it plots it on a graph on my phone for me.....pretty cool...no more jabbing my fingers....the medallion lasts 2 weeks attached to my arm with strong sticky tape...and can be worn in shower or a shallow pool