Why can't I get enough blood when I prick my fingers?!

I think it's build up of scar tissue. I've noticed that if I exfoliate once a day (mainly finger tips) I can get more blood on 2 or 3, and not have to go up any.

Your body is sensing the trauma being done to your fingertips. The skin is getting tougher and thicker. This is normal for a type 1 diabetic that has been checking sugars for many years. You need to rotate fingers and the area on the finger that you sample from. The same holds true for the injection site of your insulin. Rotation is key. I have had patients that poke the side of their finger and forearms. This is also why you see the TV ads for new monitors that can use less blood when sampling. This is a common problem. Good luck and I hope this helped a little.

RJ

18 yrs of ICU,ER and operating room nursing.

Capillary retraction in the fingertips of type 1 diabetics is very common. My whole family is diabetic and I have witnessed this myself. Also I have read it many times. I'm not sure if it is the puncturing that does it, or if it is something akin to neuropathy, but I have seen it happen quite a lot.

You are building up a callous. I am sure your trying to get blood from the same spot many times. This thickens the skin and make it harder.

You know if you use the sides of your fingers and not the tips where the finger prints are, it is less pain full because there are less nerve cells.

Old enough to know

alcohol swabs toughen the skin!
continuous testing in the same places builds calluses.

I am a quilter and cannot test on thumbs or index fingers! Too much callus on these fingers on both hands as I am ambidexterous.