Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Philosophy for Blood Sugar Control (What finger to poke).

    This one is really not a big deal I guess but it is something that I think about often. We were told at the beginning of his diabetes diagnosis (about five years ago) that William's fingers would become calloused over time due to his finger pokes. The warned us to stay away from the tips of his fingers so that he could have feeling there. I have to admit that I think about this every time I poke his finger. I have questions like: Did I do this one the last time? Which finger have I not poked in a while? How can I make this better for William for the long term.

    One thing that I try to do is poke his finger on the side. I know that he tells me that it hurts more sometimes but it also give him the best chance of having feeling in his finger tips when he get older. William will always present his thumb when you ask for his finger to poke. He learned early on that his thumb bleeds more than the other fingers so it is less likely that you would have to poke him twice to get enough blood to check his numbers. He can be smart about things like that. Pain has a way of teaching you what is not good for you.

    William's new lancets are very small and his new meter and strips take a lot less blood then the first one that we had. If you do not get enough blood the first time it also lets you add more blood before just having an error. When this happens the test strip is useless and you have to start over. These little things cost a lot of money.

    I guess it is good that things are getting better, Less pokes, smaller needles, more accurate systems. I hope one day William can live like the rest of us and not have to worry about pokes, eating, or sleeping through the night.

You are amazing,

Your Loving Dad

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