Gestational Diabetes

I have the same situation 😔 Only thumb gives more blood 🩸 Its tough to do 4 times a day

@Lahari how do you prick your finger to get enough blood?

Right there with you. Third day of testing. Luckily I don’t struggle to get enough blood. I’m assuming you’ve gotten the right instructions - prick on the side, rub the finger from the knuckle end towards the site to get the blood to come out. That’s what helps me.

@Emilia yeah that is only working for thumb 😅🙈

@Emilia yeah I read the instructions. I honestly struggle pricking myself like my brain wants to stop naturally since it’s hurting. I couldn’t actually poke a needle through my finger this morning to actually draw blood 😖

It’s tricky but becomes manageable over time. You’re right at the finish line!

You’ve got this! I failed 1 hr, passed the 3 hr but MFM suspected something around 27ish weeks, so had to do a 2 week trial run of finger pricks, turns out I had GD 😞 So since 29 weeks I’ve done the 4ish times daily plus started metformin. I order the iHealth glucose from Amazon and it gives options for how deep you want to poke yourself, I do a 3 on my middle and index finger. But honestly I kinda hit the button lightly multiple times so I don’t always know when it will prick me because I hate it lol, my husband just giggles when he sees me checking my sugars. We are almost there! Keep up the good work 😉

@Ashley I actually just got a cheap kit at Walgreens not knowing how long I’ll actually need it and it didn’t come with anything to prick my finger with so I tried a needle and just couldn’t get myself to poke it enough to draw blood so finally after about 20 minutes my husband gave me a razor blade from his razor (sounds horrible I know) but I’m able to do a quick poke with it to get enough blood out

@Katie oh my goodness you poor thing! Just order a lancing device you will be so much better off 😬 I know after I give birth I’ll need to keep checking it so I invested in the iHealth kit for $35ish (primarily because the glucose strips were crazy expensive at the drug store and my insurance for some reason isn’t covering anything diabetic related because it’s GD I guess 🤷🏼‍♀️, I didn’t have time to spare to wait on insurance so I just went with the best OTC option I could find with reasonable strips, lancets, etc)

@Ashley I didn’t even know what that was 🤦🏻‍♀️ I’ll definitely get one because my finger is already sore from just 1 day

If anyone has to take insulin then your insurance should cover a continuous glucose monitor so you never have to prick your finger again and you always know your glucose. My first baby i got GD and it was miserable doing 4tests a day. 2nd baby i Got GD again and diet wouldn’t control fasting glucose numbers so dr prescribed insulin for night only and so insurance sent me continuous glucose monitor when i requested. Now i just install this thing in my arm every 2 weeks no more finger pricks. Honestly the finger pricks hurt more than than the nightly one time insulin injections so it was worth it for me

@Katie I use Lancet..They should have given you along with the other things; Its definitely easier with it but only issue is thin fingers do not give more blood Though i sqeeze my fingers

@Lahari nobody told me anything but go get a glucose test for at home 😅 I went into CVS and grabbed what I thought I needed which only ended up being the device and strips and no one said anything about the lancet device. I didn’t even know what that was until Ashley used the term. I’ve never had GD, my husband has never been around anyone with diabetes, and I only have 1 uncle with diabetes but he doesn’t live near us so I’ve not really seen what he does

@Katie oh i am sorry to know Yeah i can understand; i am also new to this situation but for me my doctor sent a note in the prescription to cvs directly; so when i went for pick up they gave me all the necessary items;thats how i started doing it

@Katie That is awful that dr office did not give you info. Not only did Kaiser give me all materials at office they sent me to Nurse Practitioner after dr visit to demonstrate to me how to use all equipment. Why i always tell people to choose an insurance company that is non profit if it is available.

Hi! Make sure you are pricking on the meatier parts (the sides) of your fingers not right on the tips . And sometimes it helps once you prick to massage your fingers from the base all the way up to the tip right before where you pricked . Also it can be good to rotate fingers so you don’t get one too tender. Best of luck

Get a glucose sensor ( freestyle libre 3 is the one im using)

Thank you everyone for the advise! I’ve got the lancet device and have been pricking the sides and it’s helped a ton! I’ve also gone on a diet and it’s helping regulate my glucose!