I am a 50 year old female who has had diabetes for about seven years, and recently I have had difficulty getting blood with a lancet device. I have reset the depth of the lancet, switched devices, and tried it with no device, still no blood. Any suggestions?

Your problem getting blood must be frustrating, to say the least. Here are a few suggestions to try, some you’ve probably already done:

Wash your hands in warm water and rub the fingertip areas to bring new blood to them.
Using your other hand, hold you finger tightly around the end for blood to pool and the finger tip to get bright pink before lancing. You can even use a small rubber band placed loosely around the finger to get this effect. The small rubber band from tooth braces is a perfect size and light on the finger.
Call your meter company and request a new lancing device. Perhaps yours has lost its “punch”.
Visit a diabetes educator or a pharmacist experienced with diabetes equipment to problem solve with you.

Blood testing should be as easy and painfree as possible since those numbers are the only way you know how things are going day-to-day.

KS