Let the testing begin...

I went for my first Diabetes education appointment a couple of weeks ago. Now the fun begins.

I have been testing my blood sugar for the last week or so. What a horror show at the beginning. I had the hardest time getting blood. I tried my arms because I really didn't want to test on my fingers because I play guitar regularly. I must have poked myself 15 times before I got any blood out of my arm. What a pain, literally!

I have since, after some trial and error, become rather proficient with the lancet and get a good drop usually on the first try. A friend of mine and fellow guitarist has diabetes, and has passed a great method of rotation on to me. I hit any given finger once every four days. No testing on the actual fingertips either. I do either side of the finger. It hurts less and I get plenty of blood. Also, running the test finger under hot water usually brings the blood to the surface and almost guarentees a good drop for the test strip.

On the up side, my blood sugar is right in the range that the doctor wanted it to be, and I have lost 25 pounds since January. Nice and steady weight loss. That's the key.