My New Best Friend (My Glucometer)

Being new to Type 1 Diabetes has its challenges. Number one being how many times a day I have to poke my fingers to check my blood glucose (BG) levels. As of now I check about 6-8 times a day. So, that means I have to carry my new BFF with me EVERYWHERE!

Yes, I named my Glucometer. (I have a thing for English "butler" sounding names). Winston is a

OneTouch Ultra2 Meter. He came in a small black zipper pouch with a container of test strips, a lancet device, and lancets. Fortunately, he is a newer model, which uses Extra Fine lancets (33 gauge). He is super duper fast and gives me a blood sugar reading within 5 seconds! I actually did not
pick him out myself. He was given to me by the hospital diabetes educator. I am pleased with him!

The nurses in the ICU taught me how to properly poke my fingers using my lancet device. First, clean my hands using soap and warm water. Make sure you don't have lotion or use alcohol swabs because they will give an inaccurate reading. Next, warm up your finger to get the blood towards the finger nail area. Apparently all of your nerve endings are on the tip/padded area of your fingers which will cause more pain. They taught me to prick the sides of my fingers where there are less nerve endings. Check out more of my 10 Tips For Reducing Finger Prick Pain blog post.

These test strips are like bobby pins: they are everywhere! I find these little guys in my purse, car, kitchen, and on my desk. I use to go through them very quickly due to my inexperience with pricking my finger and knowing how much blood is needed to fill the strip. It was a frustrating experience, but I'm improving!

It's important for me to have Winston by my side since I am a so new to diabetes. My Endocrinologist relies heavily on my BG Journal in order to make adjustments to my insulin levels. They are measured in units (and are very teeny tiny)! I was amazed at the small amount of insulin I need to take with each meal. Here's what is currently on the menu for me (everyone is different):

Most people (including myself) don't know the average range your blood glucose levels should fall within. Again, everyone is slightly different based off gender, age, weight, etc. Here is the range my doctor gave me:

So, based off these ranges, can you imagine how sick I was when my sugar was at 524 mg/dl while in the Emergency Room?