Home Testing Tips from Newbie to Newbie

Just a few tips and suggestions of things I've learned and have helped me. These are truly from a newbie so take it all with a grain of salt, but these are some things that now work for me.

Watch Home Testing Videos: As many as you can. There great links on the site and many more on you tube.

Set up a spread sheet: Easy to do with the template in google docs. Keep it updated. You'll find this site is replete with guardian angels whom will look over you. I tear over just thinking how much they have have helped me and Duke.

Make a rice sock: These things work. Make one right now and use it. A baby sock filled with uncooked rice. I used a cable tie to seal it off. Mine is 30 sec in microwave on high and hold until suitable temperature. I get blood with two short pokes now. Before it was really tough on Duke and us. I was just warming the ear with my hands with dismal results. I wish I would have made one sooner. Thank you to everyone who encouraged me to do this.

Lancets: BD Ultra-Fine 31 gauge lancets are great. They are very sharp and thin. I'm sure there are other good ones out there, but these are great. Do not use the Walgreens brand. I have poked myself with both brands (and the Walmart brand that came with the meter - more like the Walgreens). The Walgreens lancets hurt. The BD don't even when I just jab one all the way into my finger to test the meter.

Lancet Pens: I comfortable using a lancet and manually poking the ear. With the rice sock this works very well for me (did I say make a rice sock?). Duke quickly learned to associate the noise of setting the pen with the impending poke. He would then flinch as soon as the pen popped. This may or not work for you. I just throw it up as an option. In conjunction with the rice sock, this now works for me very well.

And, all joking aside, make and use a rice sock.