My Favorite Lancing Device

Type 1 & LADA
1

I’m certain all of you out there have done finger sticking at one point or another :rofl: but have you gone on to experiment with different ones? I know that the objective purpose is to get some blood out from under your skin so that you may place it on your test strip, and I know that most of us use those same “universal” lancets that come in a box of (way too many/unessessary) about 100 or so, but have you ever considered that there may be another device that is better than another?

well, each time I’ve gotten a new meter or a new pump, or a new cgm,(or whatever D related thingy gizmo it might be), you have gotten a “free” lancing device along in the package. they all do the same thing, of course, but they vary in many ways. some are long, some are compact, some have different depths dials you may rotate, most have a button that you push to “inject” the lancet into your skin…you get the point.

well, recently my decades old favorite device got busted. I’ve been using it for about 15 years, so I think I got my $$$'s worth. I wanted desperately to replace it, so I went into my “all-things-D” closet, digging through countless boxes of D-equiptement (that I never use) looking with hope that I would find another new one to my satisfaction.I spent hours on my knees digging through a mess of disorganized products to no avail.

well, don’t feel sorry for me…I contacted our beloved, all-things-diabetic-Eric and told him of my plight. Oy Vay, what a disaster!!! well of course, as Eric is known to do, he raced into action and asked me tons of questions: "what did you like about your former device? Can you text me a photo of your old device? Can you send me pictures of the ones which you do not like? " etc…Then he began trying to explain to me one device which he uses specifically for his running and the sheer simplicity and ease of it. Would I be interested in something like this? “Sure, certainly,” I answered. I would definitely give it a whirl.

Well, in about 24 hours, I received a notice that I had a package waiting for me downstairs with my doorman. What had just happened? I swear, I had just hung up the phone with the guru, gone to sleep,eaten breakfast, and then “RING, RING…Ms Daisy, can you come down and pick up a package?” OMG, those Amazonians are really quick. they’re quicker than a Chinese delivery boy (my experience with Chinese food deliveries is notoriously insane: you call in your order, and as soon as you hang up the phone, your food has arrived)

So here is what it is: a lancing device with which has the ease of spreading soft butter on toast. Even a “new-be” could use this baby. And in all of my years relying on some form of lancing device, I have never ever laid my eyes on ANYTHING like this one. Its positively off the charts. So, for all of you looking to improve your lancing experience, here is the link (just go to Amazon, and it will be delivered to you in about the time it takers you to place your order :wink: )

(currently in the process of posting the Amazon link. please be patient :heart:)

9 Likes
2

Here is the Amazon link:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CZCQE3I

The great thing about this :arrow_up: device is that you don’t need to pull back the spring each time to cock it. You just click the button. Most every other lancing device I have seen requires you to either pull back a plunger each time, or uses cartridges.

The problem with the cartridge type is that on some of them, if you accidentally advance past the last lancet in the drum, and you don’t have another drum with you, you are screwed. That happened to me one time, and I was done with that type forever.

Also the cartridge types use proprietary lancets.

So this one is super easy, and is less prone to possible mistakes, and any standard lancet fits in it.

DM, when am I getting my Chinese food from NYC? I can’t wait until I can visit again! Getting hungry just thinking about it! :yum:

6 Likes
3

I can’t wait for u to visit again too!!! I’ve never witnessed, much less been part of, such a food feast as the one we shared. Absolutely NO ONE can put away food the way that Eric did during our four hour long visit! I’ve never witnessed ANYTHING like it, nor do I ever expect to again…well, at least until he visits again. :hamburger: :fries: :pie: :pizza: :popcorn: :fortune_cookie: :tea: :beer:… :heart:

(I doubt that eating could ever be as much fun without him!)

5 Likes
4

It looks like a pen! what do the replacement needles look like?

2 Likes
5

The lancets are the standard ones that you would put into your “regular” device. you just pull the “cap” off and change out your lancet as you normally do.

the only difference between this device and all others is that you don’t have to cock anything or pull back any spring-like set-up device. you simply click the button. thats it; over and over as many times as you’d like. just click. no manual dexterity needed :grin:

2 Likes
6

What is this “advance” thing you mention?

1 Like
7

I don’t remember which brand it was, but it was similar to this one. It has a drum with 6 lancets. I got to the last lancet and accidentally advanced past it. And that meant I could not use it until I replaced the drum cartridge.

image

8

My son uses that exact lancet, I didn’t know the slide and back functionality exists :wink:

One barrel seems to have worked for the last few years just fine. Perhaps we haven’t got to number 6 yet.

1 Like
9

:open_mouth:

OMG! Splurge man! Let the kid use a new lancet once a year or so!

3 Likes
10

As DM said, any of the standard types will fit. The ones like this:

image
image923×576 87.4 KB

1 Like
11

Ditto. I use multiclix and haven’t changed cartridge for at least a year.

1 Like
12

This looks comparable to Softclix.

2 Likes
13

I use the Fastclix device, which has the lancet drum. There have been several versions of this over the years. I don’t think I’m on the newest one, but neither am I on the oldest. I have several of them in each of my meter kits. The devices I have will not let you advance once you reach the last lancet. If you push the lever to advance, it just won’t let you, and the remaining lancet remains usable. This is a good feature for me, because I can’t see the little number in the display in the display unless I put it right up to my eye, so I don’t bother looking most of the time.

I sure do love my Fastclix, though. It has the single-motion lancing like you said the other device has. And I love that it holds six lancets. I change lancets about once a week, because callouses on my fingers really irritate me. I’ve been using it for at least five years, probably longer, and won’t be replacing it any time soon.

3 Likes
14

Yeah, I am not sure of the one I was trying. It was several years ago.

The lancet drum seemed like a good idea. But once I got to the last one and hit advance, it left me unable to use it at all, until I replaced the drum. That was a deal-breaker for me.

It kind of reminds me of the BG meter with the strip cartridge. It seemed like a cool idea. But if you had only 2 strips left in the cartridge, and you were leaving the house, you had to bring an entirely new cartridge, because you could not fill the cartridge back up. So for me, in practice it was not useful when leaving the house.

15

I got the Dex meter as a teenager. At the time, I thought it was the coolest thing. Not only did it have the strip cartridge, but it also was the first meter I had that sucked up blood (instead of having to get a hanging drop and fill a little dot on the strip), and I thought the meter looked a bit like a space ship and the lancing device a bit like a phaser (yeah, I am/was a sci-fi fan, ha). I think the cartridge held ten strips, which was several days’ worth for me back then.

I wonder if Accu-Chek changed the design of the lancing device, if you used the same one as me. The one I have definitely stops and stays on the last lancet once the last spot is reached.

16

That’s what I like so much about the Fastclix. No hassle with pulling back the spring and the device wearing out after three months.

1 Like
17

What I’ve found practical for myself is being able to have the option of when I chose to change the lancet. at this point, I have boxes and boxes of collected lancets, bc I so rarely change mine. of course, my finger tips are completely calloused and I have to use the “deepest” setting on my lancing device just to get out a tiny drop of blood. since I got this new device from Eric, I put a new lancet in it. its amazing how easy its been to get loads (over-kill) of blood despite using the lowest pricking selection! :joy:

5 Likes
18

My favorite is this one : Softclix . It works well and is compact, only about 4 inches long. Unfortunately takes special lancets though.

1 Like
19

I actually carry a Softclix, some lancets, a Precision Neo meter, and some ketone and glucose strips in my backup pump kit. I’ve forgotten my meter once or twice, and once ran out of test strips while I was travelling when my CGM died, so I’ve found a backup meter to be helpful. I also like having the ability to test for ketones at times. The good thing about this lancing device and the lancets is that, like the Neo meter and strips, it’s all very flat and fits nicely in a backup kit without taking up a lot of space. :slight_smile:

3 Likes
20

@mike_g, if you are handy and like to make things, check this out.

Strips AND lancing device, and it’s less than 3 inches. I don’t mind manual lancing, so this is what I use when I leave the house.

image
image769×534 145 KB

Here is the thread on how to make it.

2 Likes