Testing...1,2,3...

I just wasted 2 test strips – in both cases because I didn’t get enough blood on the strip. “Err 5,” my meter shouted at me – twice! – and it makes me SO MAD when I waste strips, because the strips are what cost money – about 33 cents a strip on a monthly prescription, which (if I test 3 times a day as directed) is $1 a day, $7 a week, $28 a month, $354 a year. I do get a small break by using mail order for my strips – brings it down to about 23 cents apiece – but still, the strips are where they “getcha,” pocketbook-wise. Meters are free from the doctor or from the company, and lancets – well, they are the same copay as strips, but you can reuse them. I use the same lancet for about a month, so they end up costing almost nothing. (sidenote: I realize that the meter companies tell you to always use a fresh lancet, but um, no way am I doing that! It’s my body, my blood; no one else uses it or touches it, so I just switch out when it starts getting blunt.) If test strips could be reused, believe me, I would do that too. I further complicate things by testing more than 3 times a day (average 4.7 times according to my spreadsheet), because I like to keep really close tabs on my blood sugar, but my insurance won’t pay for more than 3 a day, so once in awhile I buy a vial of strips out of pocket. They are $1 apiece if you buy them that way – yikes! I can’t wait until I can get myself one of these. They still aren’t available for purchase, but should be soon! Once I have one, I can check my blood sugar anytime I want – with no needles.

Anyway. I never thought I would be able to test my blood sugar at all. I have a history of being seriously needle phobic. I am much better now, but I can remember as a child being held down by multiple adults for a vaccination. This year for the very first time I got a flu shot, and it not only took me days to talk myself into it, I was so keyed up on the day of the shot I am amazed I showed up for it at all. So the prospect of sticking my own fingers? Not a happy one. Interestingly, like most of life’s inconveniences, having to stab yourself 3 or more times a day does get easier over time. I don’t mind testing my sugar at all now, and most of the time it does not hurt, although there are those times when you shoot right into those nerves and WOWZA! you feel that for awhile. Usually, though, it is painless.

You would think after 5 years of doing this I would be able to eyeball how much blood is needed to make the strip happy. But I still screw it up a few times a month.

You know how Wilford Brimley comes on TV and says “Check your blood sugar. Check it often.” That always amazes me: that people need to be reminded, because I WANT to know what my blood sugar is. It is hard for me to imagine being diabetic and not wanting to know, unless you are in denial or seriously rebellious. Being rebellious as a diabetic is exactly the same thing as being self-destructive, by the way, because ignoring this condition is exactly the same as slitting your wrists, except it takes longer and is a lot more painful! Having experienced denial, however, I do get that by not checking your blood sugar, you can pretend that you did not just eat that package of Oreos. Or by waiting long enough after eating the Oreos to check, you can fool yourself into believing there was not a significant effect on your blood sugar. In fact, it is possible, by strategic testing, to fool yourself into believing that your blood sugar is under simply excellent control.

Thank heavens for the Hemoglobin A1c test! It’s hard to fool that test, so make sure your doctor is checking your A1c every 3 months, if you are diabetic. What the A1c does is look at your blood cells and “count” how many sugar molecules are stuck to them. Sugar is sticky stuff, and one of the things it loves to stick to is red blood cells. When you are diabetic and your blood has too much sugar, all that sugar floating around in your bloodstream tends to stick to the red blood cells. Now, a red blood cell only lives for about 3 months, so if you take some blood (ouch!), count all the sugar molecules attached to the cells, and average that number, it gives you the average blood sugar for the previous 3 months. Brilliant, yes? Even if you behaved for the month before your doctor’s appointment, the two previous months will still cause the test to read higher. This is a GOOD THING, because finger sticking is such an imperfect way to keep track, even if you aren’t rebellious or in denial! Here’s an A1c table. My most recent A1c was 5.9, which made me very happy, and I expect my next one will be even lower.

And check this out: Studies show that every time you reduce your A1c by just 1 point (i.e. from 7 to 6), you decrease the risk of damage to your heart and blood vessels by 10%! So even if you have a really high A1c right now, like 12, reducing it to 8 would give you a 40% improvement in the risk department for your ticker! That is pretty motivating.

Who knows, Technology like the Glucoband might eventually eliminate the need for the A1c test, and anything that eliminates needles I am very much in favor of!