I've been self-testing for more than a decade. I usually test using the same (or nearly the same) spot on the same finger. Recently, I noticed that it's getting increasingly difficult to get a good, large drop of blood from that part of the finger.
I know that frequent blood draws damage veins, making it difficult or impossible to get a good blood draw from the vein, and making it so the phlebotomist has to find a different spot on the body for the blood draw. Does this happen with capillaries, too?
Am I trying to take a small drop of blood from a spot on the finger that is so damaged (or scarred) that I can no longer get a good droplet?
Have any of you run into this problem?
Yes, I have seven fingers and two thumbs left, and if I figure that it'll take 10 years until that side of each finger gets unusable, I've got 70 years of available surface for drawing my blood -- and if I factor in the fact that the OTHER side of all ten digits are still usable, it looks like I may have 170 years of spots for taking my blood - but I'm still curious about whether or not any of you have exhausted the ability to get blood from a specific digit.
I know that frequent blood draws damage veins, making it difficult or impossible to get a good blood draw from the vein, and making it so the phlebotomist has to find a different spot on the body for the blood draw. Does this happen with capillaries, too?
Am I trying to take a small drop of blood from a spot on the finger that is so damaged (or scarred) that I can no longer get a good droplet?
Have any of you run into this problem?
Yes, I have seven fingers and two thumbs left, and if I figure that it'll take 10 years until that side of each finger gets unusable, I've got 70 years of available surface for drawing my blood -- and if I factor in the fact that the OTHER side of all ten digits are still usable, it looks like I may have 170 years of spots for taking my blood - but I'm still curious about whether or not any of you have exhausted the ability to get blood from a specific digit.