I have both the Accu-chek softclick pen and the one that came with my
Freestyle.  The Freestyle one is much less painful and the meter uses
such a tiny amount of blood that I never have to try twice.  I’d use
only the Freestyle except I’m in a study that uses the Accu-chek, so I
check twice a day with the Accu-chek softclick (AM and 2 hours after
lunch) and all other times with the Freestyle.

–pc

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

In article <u2ktg0l47bejm73f1dshqk7f1tpjs72…@4ax.com> you wrote:
> On Mon, 2 Aug 2004 19:01:46 +0000, Alan Mackenzie <a…@muc.de> wrote:
> <snipped for brevity>
>>Well, I hope I’ve answered that:  Basically concern for the wellbeing of
>>the OP.  Apologies to Jeniffer and the group if I went over the top.
>>But there is another little point.  It’s not a big secret on this
>>newsgroup that I don’t stab my fingers.  So when somebody writes "But
>>there is good news.  You will get used to it.  Everyone does.  I
>>promise." that is disparaging me.  It is like saying I am a nobody, a
>>person of no account.  It’s also a bit like being kicked in the shins
>>by the school bully, then being told "hey, that doesn’t _really_ hurt".
>>You can hardly blame me for taking slight exception to it.
>>Anyhow, there’s no bad feeling about this on my side, and I hope there
>>isn’t with you, or Jennifer, or anybody else.
> Hullo Alan
> I read your other posts on your problems twenty years ago and your need
> for undamaged fingers as a harpist.

As a matter of interest, I’ve only been playing the harp for three years.

> I think those qualifications have coloured your thinking here.

I doubt it.  My feelings about the matter haven’t noticeably changed,
these past three years.

> I did re-read the OP’s post:
> "I recently was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes and I would like to
> start monitoring my blood sugar level. I would like to know which
> glucose monitor system is the least painful (I don’t like to prick my
> finger, especially multiple time a day). Thanks."
> You have concentrated exclusively on the final sentence; Jennifer
> answered with her standard response to the first sentence. Where we
> differ here is that I can easily see ways to answer her fears on
> finger-sticking without attacking Jennifer’s response.

Yes, I read your latest post directly addressing the OP’s concerns, and
it was excellent.  :-)

But coming back to Jennifer’s post, The OP was seeking specific
information on a single specific topic.  On that topic, J’s answer was
factually wrong and, to my eyes at least, overbearing.  I think criticism
of it was entirely called for.

> I make no secret of my support for Jennifer’s advice to ALL new Type 2 –
> whether or not they fear the "pain" of testing.

"Pain" in quotes?

> You have a unique situation as a harpist;

Well thanks ;-(.  Presumably all the other millions of people who avoid
finger stabbing likewise have unique situations.

> …. even then, the advances in technology in lancets over the past
> twenty years, such as the soft-clix properly used, may pleasantly
> surprise you.

Possibly.  I’d be most interested in seeing a properly refereed report in
a reputable medical journal about such, complete with double-blind
testing (if such is possible here).  Otherwise, logically regarded, how
do such advances differ from advances in the preparation of Noni juice,
or whatever?

> I don’t want to continue an argument with someone I respect, but I was
> disappointed with that response.

I was likewise disappointed with yours.  You silently snipped the points
I made in my last post instead of addressing them.

Thanks for the responses anyway.

> Alan

–
Alan Mackenzie (Munich, Germany)
Email: a…@muuc.dee; to decode, wherever there is a repeated letter
(like "aa"), remove half of them (leaving, say, "a").

<snipped for brevity>

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

>Well, I hope I’ve answered that:  Basically concern for the wellbeing of
>the OP.  Apologies to Jeniffer and the group if I went over the top.

>But there is another little point.  It’s not a big secret on this
>newsgroup that I don’t stab my fingers.  So when somebody writes "But
>there is good news.  You will get used to it.  Everyone does.  I
>promise." that is disparaging me.  It is like saying I am a nobody, a
>person of no account.  It’s also a bit like being kicked in the shins by
>the school bully, then being told "hey, that doesn’t _really_ hurt".  You
>can hardly blame me for taking slight exception to it.

>Anyhow, there’s no bad feeling about this on my side, and I hope there
>isn’t with you, or Jennifer, or anybody else.

>–
>Alan Mackenzie (Munich, Germany)

Hullo Alan

I read your other posts on your problems twenty years ago and your need
for undamaged fingers as a harpist.

I think those qualifications have coloured your thinking here. I did
re-read the OP’s post:

"I recently was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes and I would like to
start monitoring my blood sugar level. I would like to know which
glucose monitor system is the least painful (I don’t like to prick my
finger, especially multiple time a day). Thanks."

You have concentrated exclusively on the final sentence; Jennifer
answered with her standard response to the first sentence. Where we
differ here is that I can easily see ways to answer her fears on
finger-sticking without attacking Jennifer’s response.

I make no secret of my support for Jennifer’s advice to ALL new Type 2 –
whether or not they fear the "pain" of testing.

You have a unique situation as a harpist; even then, the advances in
technology in lancets over the past twenty years, such as the soft-clix
properly used, may pleasantly surprise you.

I don’t want to continue an argument with someone I respect, but I was
disappointed with that response.

Cheers, Alan
—

>I recently was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes and I would like to
>start monitoring my blood sugar level. I would like to know which
>glucose monitor system is the least painful (I don’t like to prick my
>finger, especially multiple time a day). Thanks.

Hi Mz Tong

By now you’ll have noticed that we don’t all agree on everything here
all the time:-)

However, I’ll try a little advice that might help with multiple daily
testing. Others advise alternatives to fingers; I don’t do that, but if
you use your fingers I hope this will help.

Okay. Here’s my version of testing 101:

You will find, as time goes on and you get experienced, you’ll get blase
and drop some of this.

Take a deep breath, calm down and try to relax.  

The only way to face this fear is to tackle it head on until it becomes
a routine.

I know it’s hard to believe, but once you learn how to do it properly,
you will find it becomes routine and usually painless. At least I have.

Practice at home the first few times.

Wash your hands in warm water first, and shake them to get the
circulation going. Check your lancet – that’s the thing that pricks your
finger – it should be adjustable. I don’t know what is available to you
in your country, but I recommend the Accu-chek Soft-clix, made by Roche.

Start with the second lowest setting (1 or 1.5), hold it firmly against
your skin on the side of a finger near the tip. Don’t flinch when you
release the button. The button releases a spring-loaded tiny needle
which makes a tiny hole in your skin and instantly retracts.
Incidentally, using the sides has two advantages – there are less
nerve-ends than on the pads, and it doubles the number of test-points so
you can rotate through the positions.

Massage gently (milking a cow) until a drop of blood forms sufficient to
put on the test strip.  If this setting doesn’t provide an adequate
quantity, move the lancet setting up one notch for the next one. If you
got a large sample and it hurt a little, go to the lower setting.

And that’s all there is to it. Sometimes it helps to shake your hands a
little more, or warm them up if it’s cold. The manufacturers advise
changing the lancet needle every time; I change mine when I remember or
if it gets a bit blunt – that’s about once a month or every 150 tests:-)
You do what you are comfortable with.

Good luck.  Come back after the first time and tell us what happened.

As to how often to test, and what to do with the results, read again the
advice you received from Jennifer.

I know you can do it.

Cheers Alan, T2, Australia.
Remove weight and carbs to email.
—
dx May 2002 , A1C 8.2=>5.9, wt 117kg=>95kg,
Diet and not enough exercise.
I have no medical qualifications beyond my own experience.
Choose your advisers carefully, because experience can be
an expensive teacher.

Everything in Moderation – Except Laughter.

Anja Länge <anja.lae…@gmx.de> wrote on Mon, 02 Aug 2004 02:05:34 +0200:

> Alan Mackenzie schrieb:
>> Then don’t prick your fingers!  Use your forearm instead.  There are
>> prickers around specifically intended for forearm use, so get one.
> It also requires a meter capable of alternative site testing.

"Capable"?  Are there any blood sugar meters INcapable of testing on
"alternative" sites?  Or do you really mean "approved for" rather than
"capable of"?

> Anja

–
Alan Mackenzie (Munich, Germany)
Email: a…@muuc.dee; to decode, wherever there is a repeated letter
(like "aa"), remove half of them (leaving, say, "a").

> On Sun, 1 Aug 2004 14:51:19 +0000, Alan Mackenzie <a…@muc.de> wrote:
>>Again, wrong.
> I won’t nit-pick every nit-pick there Alan.
> What brought that on? Have you felt this way about Jennifer’s advice
> for a while?

Because for the OP, this advice is about the most dispiriting and
unhelpful she(?) could have got.

> You were one of the first posters I read and respected when I arrived
> here; Jennifer was another. You both helped me a lot, but following the
> advice you just attacked was the single most important thing that helped
> me develop a plan to control my type 2. And "attacked" is definitely the
> correct word.

At least you recognise that it was the advice I was attacking, not its
writer.  Yes, that advice is helpful to a lot of people.  But not to Mz.
Tong.

> Whatever your feelings about the way it is presented, or differences of
> opinion on where to test, that advice it has proven to be highly
> effective for newby T2s – or for old ones who need to improve control.

I don’t doubt it.  But for the OP it was worse than useless.  She was
specifically looking for alternatives to finger stabbing.  Jennifer told
her there aren’t any alternatives (which is untrue), a few more untruths
besides, and, in the context of the original post, was more than a little
overbearing.  Now in a more general context, these inaccuracies can be
taken as artistic licence, a bit of exaggeration, and do no harm.  But
for somebody asking the specific question of the OP, they’re cruel lies
indeed.

I’m not suggesting there was any ill will in Jeniffer in her post.  In
fact, I’m pretty sure there wasn’t – merely thoughtlessness.  Rather than
reading Mz.’s post and answering it sensitively, there seemed to be an
automatic trigger "Newby T2 => post standard text."

> So before I come back stronger, I’m asking again, hopefully as a friend,
> what the hell brought that on?

Well, I hope I’ve answered that:  Basically concern for the wellbeing of
the OP.  Apologies to Jeniffer and the group if I went over the top.

But there is another little point.  It’s not a big secret on this
newsgroup that I don’t stab my fingers.  So when somebody writes "But
there is good news.  You will get used to it.  Everyone does.  I
promise." that is disparaging me.  It is like saying I am a nobody, a
person of no account.  It’s also a bit like being kicked in the shins by
the school bully, then being told "hey, that doesn’t _really_ hurt".  You
can hardly blame me for taking slight exception to it.

Anyhow, there’s no bad feeling about this on my side, and I hope there
isn’t with you, or Jennifer, or anybody else.

> Alan

–
Alan Mackenzie (Munich, Germany)
Email: a…@muuc.dee; to decode, wherever there is a repeated letter
(like "aa"), remove half of them (leaving, say, "a").

> On Sun, 1 Aug 2004 15:36:22 +0000, Alan Mackenzie wrote:
>> this group, for example, Beav barely feels it.  To me finger stabbing is
>> barely speakable agony.  I still have nightmarish memories of the
> You’ve got me wondering about this – I fall fairly close to the "barely
> feels it" end of the spectrum (My problems were more psychological wrt
> lancing my fingers rather than any significant degree of pain involved)
> Now Beav, as I recall, is a "mechanical fiddler" as in engines/bikes
> etc – which I am to a large extent as well …. and most people who
> mess with mechanical things are used to getting small jabs and scrapes
> on their hands.

I used to be more of a mechanic than I am.  And yes, every now and then
I’d put something sharp, like the torn thread of a screw, into a thumb
and teach the neighbourhood kids some new words.  I’d wash the wound, and
in a few days it’d be back to normal.  But that is very different from
deliberately causing similar (if smaller) wounds several times a day.

> It might be vaguely interesting to correlate lancet pain experienced vs
> the uses people put their hands to ….  

Indeed.

–
Alan Mackenzie (Munich, Germany)
Email: a…@muuc.dee; to decode, wherever there is a repeated letter
(like "aa"), remove half of them (leaving, say, "a").

> > "Alan Mackenzie" <a…@muc.de> wrote in message

news:ml2jec.67.ln@acm.acm…

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

> >> Mz. Tong <actionaler…@yahoo.com> wrote on 31 Jul 2004 21:06:36 -0700:

> >> Then don’t prick your fingers!  Use your forearm instead.  There are
> >> prickers around specifically intended for forearm use, so get one.

> >> People’s sensitivity to pain cause by stabbing fingers varies widely.
On
> >> this group, for example, Beav barely feels it.  To me finger stabbing
is
> >> barely speakable agony.  I still have nightmarish memories of the
> >> fortnight, a little less than twenty years ago, when I first tried out
> >> finger stabbing.  It was a fortnight envelopped in a haze of continual
> >> pain, with steadily increasing apprehension and dread as the appointed
> >> stabbing times approached.  At the end of the fortnight I told my doc
"no
> >> way".

> > Have you tried using your fingers recently?

> No.

> > I am not trying to be obnoxious here.

>

> > The point is that you are discussing an incident from many years ago,
> > and the technology has changed.

> Indeed it has.  But by how much?

> > I was only recently diagnosed as Type 2, and one of my first questions
> > related to the pain of finger-sticking because I also remembered the
> > intense discomfort/pain …..

> Hey, we don’t need nurses’ euphemisms here.  ;-)

> > ….. when technicians would take blood from my finger tips.  I always
> > much preferred to have blood drawn from the arm — but I was also
> > remembering how it was done years ago.  Much to my relief, I found that
> > the lancet I am using has settings for depth of needle entry.  I have
> > it set on 1 (the least invasive), and I was also told to use the sides
> > of my fingers — not the fingertips.  I have not had any difficulty at
> > all doing this.  (I also don’t give my fingers any type of rigorous
> > workout, unless typing on the computer counts.  I might have difficulty
> > with that if I used the fingertips instead of the sides, but I haven’t
> > noticed anything at all so far.)

> Fair enough.  You were diagnosed "recently" – A month ago?  A year ago?
> Do you have no concerns what your fingers will be like after ten or
> twenty years?  I play the harp, and I’m trying to imagine what the twinge
> of pain would be like on plucking the strings, even if I "only" stabbed
> the sides of my fingers.  I’m also wondering whether, had I been stabbing
> fingers for ten years, my firm sweet round tone quality would have been
> degraded to a nasty raspy noise due to my fingers being coarsely
> calloused.  We’re talking blood and guts here, and I far prefer the
> latter on my fingers.

> The manufacturers of prickers aren’t exactly rushing to do clinical
> trials.  As I said, I’m thankful BS devices didn’t exist when I was a
> young boy.

> > MaryL

> —
> Alan Mackenzie (Munich, Germany)
> Email: a…@muuc.dee; to decode, wherever there is a repeated letter
> (like "aa"), remove half of them (leaving, say, "a").

For my own money, my fingers are in such a state from fixing pcs, installing
car radios and generally being hands on that the small prick of those
testers barely even registers, even the softclick one i need to set on the
highest setting to even draw blood  If anything my fingers seem to be
doing better for being "bled" on a regular basis.
—
Patrick / Fester
Type 1 Diabetic. Dx’d 1993.
On 26u Lantus and whatever Novorapid my meter says i need.

news:576af579.0407312006.662d20b0@posting.google.com…

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

> I recently was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes and I would like to
> start monitoring my blood sugar level. I would like to know which
> glucose monitor system is the least painful (I don’t like to prick my
> finger, especially multiple time a day). Thanks.

> Then don’t prick your fingers!  Use your forearm instead.  There are
> prickers around specifically intended for forearm use, so get one.

It also requires a meter capable of alternative site testing.

Anja