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A Stylish Approach to Non-Invasive Glucose Testing
legolas writes "ABC News has a story on a new blood sugar monitoring tool being developed for diabetics by the University of Pittsburgh. Using special "photonic crystals" (materials that change colours in the presence of specific chemicals), Dr. Asher's group is developing contact lenses that change colour in response to the blood sugar level in the diabetic's tears. Instead of needles, the diabetic need only a mirror." Maybe the insulin can be stored there too.
Doesn't hurt? Ever? This could be bad. If you're lucky, your nerve endings aren't that dense, and thus it doesn't hurt, and/or maybe you're testing somewhere other than the tip of your finger (the commonly-advised place to do it by ignorant doctors & nurses).
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If you're _not_ lucky (and since you have Diabetes, you clearly are not) then you may have some degree of peripheral neuropathy (loss of feeling). If you haven't already, you should get yourself checked out by a real honest-to-gnu endocrinologist, not just a regular doctor. Back when I had insurance, I was able to make my endocrinologist my primary care provider, which worked out great.
Back to the subject of testing pain, for those of you testing on the tip of your finger - cut that out! That's where some of the most dense collections of nerves live. Try it on the side of your finger (last segment) - works _much_ better in avoiding pain, but it's still luck of the draw - sometimes you'll hit a nerve, and there's nothing you can do about it. If you _never_ feel any pain when doing this, you may very well have a problem and should get it checked out ASAP.
I'm also Diabetic, and have lost my father and best friend to Diabetes. I took a really great Diabetes management class right after I diagnosed myself (and had it confirmed by a doctor) at the Seattle branch of the Joslin Diabetes clinic. It was a 4 day class that my insurance company paid for. I learned things about Diabetes that my father never knew after 35 years of Diabetes, and several of my classmates were old people who had had it for even longer and didn't know this stuff. Extremely valuable information, and anyone who has Diabetes, even if you think you know what's what, should find out if a local hospital or clinic has such a program. It would have been more than worth it even if I had had to pay for it myself.
It's not enough just to test your blood sugar now and then throughout the day, as it can rise and dip throughout the day between testing times, and you wouldn't know it if you only test during the same times of the day. What you need is an HbA1C test which will give you a sort of 'average'. Talk to your local endocrinologist. My local grocery store's drugstore actually offers HbA1C tests, now - weird. Also, test during different times of day, and vary measuring before and/or after meals, too. Find out what your body's doing! Think of it as a "level 3 diagnostic" if it makes you feel geekier. Plus carrying around another gadget to monitor your blood sugar makes you even geekier, yet. Too bad they don't make cool noises, but maybe a new 'case mod' craze can get started here. Overclock that glucose meter - instead of 20 seconds for a reading, you can do it in 10, w00t!
Also note, some people react differently to some foods than others do, so just because some food has a low # of carbohydrates doesn't necessary mean it's great for you, and vice-versa. Find out what YOUR body reacts well and badly to, and don't forget that eating JUST to keep your blood sugar low isn't enough - that would mean lots of meat which could adversely affect your health in other ways. I really pity vegetarian & Asian Diabetics. The poor Asian guy in my management class was so sad when he found out how awful rice is for Diabetics. He was completely flabbergasted.
Okay, that's enough for now. You may return to your regularly-scheduled surfing.
Try the dysetronic freestyle meter. It allows you to get the blood from your lower arm (and other places) to you can spare your finger.
This is possible because it need very little blood, and has a special 'pricker' that lets you put pressure on those spots so that a little blood comes out, even with shallow wounds.
For me it's much more comfortable.