Soon to be home testing-looking for pointers and advice.

[Heart Of The Sunrise]

My insurance has approved a Coaguchek XS meter.
The paperwork is soon to be complete.
So, I am looking forward to not having to go to Quest Diagnostics once or twice a month.
I believe they are covering everything including a consistent supply of test strips and someone paying a visit to my home for training.
I am lucky to have such good insurance!

Any advice?

:thumbup:

 

[pellicle]

Hi

Any advice?

Yep
Take your time, don't be rushed and don't allow anyone to be distracting you. The first few times seems that time speeds up when in fact it hasn't.

Have a tissue handy to speck the blood onto as you will grab things and get blood onto stuff (annoying)

There are some Roche YouTube clips watch them a few times first

First time you will probably feel anxious which causes your extremities blood vessels to constrict: meaning you may not get blood from the pinprick. I have a video which I put together to show how I always get enough blood.
[ link ]


The most important things are

1. get enough blood for a sample to work (or there is an error code and you have just wasted a strip)
2. get the blood onto the sample spot within 15 seconds of lancing. time 15 seconds so you are not streching time due to anxiety and what you thought was 15 seconds was 5)
3. get the whole lot done before the 180 second timeout for the strip

Note that in my video above it is actually 15 seconds from when I apply (gently) the rubber band and application to the strip. I am quite confident that this technique does not cause any issues which some phlebotomists may comment on.

Note also that you can not re use strips so if you fluff it you've wasted a strip.

The secret to consistent and good readings is a consistent approach. Always follow a pattern and you will get consistency

 

[Protimenow]

Part of the challenge is just getting enough blood from the finger. I've used Unistik 3 Extra, and just recently rediscovered Tenderlette on eBay. The Tenderlette is designed for use with ITC's ProTime meters (which I've used in the past), but the lancing device does a pretty good job of making the incision. (Right now, there's a vendor on eBay who is selling them). I just did a test, using the Tenderlette to make the incision and although the incision wasn't particularly deep, I got a LOT of blood.

For many beginners, getting a good drop is one of the biggest challenges.

(I do my testing on a cutting board in the kitchen, with a paper towel on the board for drops and another paper towel at hand for any extra bleeding and for putting pressure against the incision. And, yes, I disinfect the cutting board after use. I find that standing up while I do the testing, rather than sitting down, raises my blood pressure slightly and improves the probability of getting a good drop of blood)

You'll enjoy the freedom that self-testing provides.

 

[T in YVR]

A couple other things that I found helped me:

1. Make sure you put the Coaguchek XS in just the right position for you so that you can easily come into the strip with your blood drop. I put mine right at the edge of my counter ledge so that my finger comes in at the same height as the machine/strip a bit more easily (just a personal preference). I don't like to come "down" to the strip at any angle because the blood drop has a greater chance of running. You want the blood drop to form a big upright drop and stay still and not suddenly spread.

2. Make sure you poke your finger hard enough (but not too unnecessarily hard!) - I had my lancet set at 3.5, then 4 and the drop just wasn't quite big enough. I found that for me personally it works best at 4.5. Do a trial poke or two without a strip.

3. This might seem like an obvious one but make sure you find the best spot on your finger that works for you. If its too far back on the side of the finger, its harder to get the drop on the strip (in my experience). If its too close to the tip, it hurts more (and its probably harder to keep the blood drop steady). I poke my finger right on the side just before it begins to round out to the tip.

4. Go to the lab a few times just before or after you home test (as close in time as possible) - its interesting to see how your unit reads compared to the lab where you have been having it done. Me and my Coaguchek are typically either the same or 0.1 less than the lab.

I unfortunately have no insurance that covers this, but I love having it. Its just too quick and easy to do.
T