Recently I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. I was sent to the Diabetic Nurse for our Naval Clinic and was given a "kit" so that I could start tracking my blood sugar levels. I wanted to cry! I knew what that meant, especially when I saw that the monitor I was being given was a fingertip type. I remembered the days when I was pregnant with my son and the trips to WIC and the doctor where they would take my finger and jab me with a lancet and hope that they made me bleed the first time. I thought I was going to throw up!

Part of my kit included the Accu-Chek Soft Touch Blood Glucose Lancet Device. I originally thought that it was just an ink pen that I was being given to keep track on my levels in the little diary they also gave me. As she showed me how to use the items, however, I quickly learned that it was NOT an ink pen.

The diabetic nurse wanted me to check my sugar right then, and showed me how to use the items she had laid out for me. She picked up a lancet, which was also different than I remembered, and the Accu-Chek Soft Touch Blood Glucose Lancet Device first.

The Accu-Chek Soft Touch Blood Glucose Lancet Device is just shy of 5" long and is a little more than 1/2" thick, in it's widest area, which is the middle. You unscrew the top 1/3 of the device to open it up for a lancet. You have to make sure that you're holding the trigger part firmly or you'll twist until the cows come home, but it won't open.

Once you get the top off, gently lift the middle up, which gives a fraction more room for the lancet to slide inside. When you let go, and it snaps back down, it holds the lancet so that it won't fall out. It's kind of flimsy, so use a little care when pulling up in the middle piece.

Once the lancet is in place, you twist off the cap of the lancet (the type I use has a small, plastic cap so you don't get poked accidentally) and screw the top of the device back on. It is now ready to be used.

The Accu-Chek Soft Touch Blood Glucose Lancet Device has five settings. I use 1, which is the lowest. I have soft hands, no calluses, so that level is fine for me. For people who work outside, or use their hands a lot in their job that toughens the skin up, they might need to adjust up a notch until they find one that punctures the skin but that doesn't gouge them. The nurse told me that level 5 is good for farmers and such that usually have rough hands with callouses. They need the extra depth and strength from the device to puncture them.

To actually use the Accu-Chek Soft Touch Blood Glucose Lancet Device you need to "cock" it. You do this by holding the release button part in one hand and using the other to pull down on the handle. You are now ready to go! If you accidentally jump the gun, pushing the release button (which is just above 1/2 up the device) to soon, or you didn't draw blood, you can re-cock it and use it again.

The one thing that I don't really care for is that there is no cap. If your child accidentally gets a hold of the device and cocks it, they could easily poke themselves or someone else. Or you can accidentally coke yourself, as well. I'd just feel safer having a cap to help prevent accidents. I don't leave my kit where my son can get to it, and never cock it until just before I use it, but accidents can happen.

I have to say that I was more than a little relieved when the nurse gave me the Accu-Chek Soft Touch Blood Glucose Lancet Device as part of my kit. I knew I would never be able to jab myself with just the lancet like I had seen done before. This way the pain in next to nothing and it gives me just enough of a poke to get out the little amount of blood that I need.

One helpful piece of advice that I was given. Alternate fingers because after a while they WILL get sore. Also, you can use the side of your fingertip rather than the fingerprint part. It generally doesn't hurt as much and if your fingers DO get sore, it's on the side and not the print part, which is what you generally use the most.

The Accu-Chek Soft Touch Blood Glucose Lancet Device has made my blood sugar checking a lot easier on me. It's simple to load and use, as well as it has a small OUCH factor, which is good for weenies like me.

From the information packet:

"Roche Diagnostics warrants the Accu-Check Soft Touch Lancet Device against defects in material and workmanship for a period of 5 years from the date of purchase. The liability of Roche Diagnostics under this warranty is limited to the repair or replacement, at Roche Diagnostics' option, of all parts or materials proven to be defective. This warranty does not cover repair or replacement of Accu-Check Soft Touch Devices which have been subjected to alteration, misuse, tampering or abuse."

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Recommended: Yes