A post about finger-sticks, finger-stickers, necessary amounts of blood, and "not sufficient sample" errors for new diabetics.
No, finger-sticks aren't painless no matter what anyone says, and not always simple and straightforward. Many of us are always on the hunt for better-functioning, less painful devices, and they're out there.
Generally, the cheap lancing devices found in basic "kits" are the least desirable, just because they're cheaply made and there's no attention to detail or any real attempt to make them less painful. Look at One Touch Delica, Accu-Chek Softclix and Owen Mumford Autolet Impression, for examples of companies who have used various technologies to lessen the oww. They are more expensive but probably worth it. The Autolet is less than $10 on Amazon, the other two are between $15-20.
For the One Touch Delica and the Softclix you need to buy your lancets (needles) from the same company, not just any will do. This is no biggie, all lancets are cheap. The Autolet takes anything but "flat" lancets I believe. It doesn't matter if your meter "matches."
Meters & test strips need to match, and devices & lancets sometimes need to match, sometimes not. If you look on Amazon, the "people buy this WITH..." feature is helpful if you're in any doubt.
There are different gauge needles, and different amounts of both pressure (spring-loaded) and depth of needle to consider. Most lancing devices have 5 pressure/depth settings, some have as many as 10. The idea is to stick yourself to get "enough" blood but not so deep it hurts more than it needs to. You experiment to find your ideal.
This is a great blog article on needle gauges and lancets & has lots of general info:
https://www.gracehealthcare.net/blogs/news/55715461-how-to-determine-which-gauge-to-use-for-your-dia...
My fingers have thick, almost calloused in a way, skin because I have spent many years typing & working with paper all my working life and I don't often use lotion. I need a #30 gauge needle; often the #33 gauge doesn't get me enough blood. If you test a LOT, have normal to thin skin, the #33 is probably okay for you. Going any bigger is asking for unnecessary owwies. I usually start with a depth setting of 3; some people might be okay at 2 but I'd say often not.
Sides of fingertips better (hurts less). Top of fingertip will get you sore pretty quick if you test a lot and type :-( You can stick yourself other places than your finger, but I won't go into that - a Type 1 could give better info than me on that.
To squeeze (after sticking) or not to squeeze? I was taught no; nowadays even doctors I go to squeeze, so I do too - but you shouldn't have to squeeze a lot - if you always need to squeeze a lot you need more depth or a larger (#28) needle.
Squeeze or no squeeze, you will be able to tell by looking when your blood drop is "enough" after testing awhile. There is a tiny bit of practice involved in getting the blood to go where it needs to on the strip, and if you don't have enough you'll have to stick yourself again AND waste a test strip. PIT*.
I'm sure everyone does it differently, but I get out a strip, and then I stick myself, wait to determine if I have enough blood, and then put the strip in the meter; I hate it when meters Time Out on me when I put the strip in before I start.
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