[steve86]

I see A1C kits are available OTC now, but it is really difficult to get any blood out of my wife using the usual lancets, and I generally can’t do it. Even with the depth set at nearly the maximum there is only the tiniest trace of a droplet and not even enough for the fancy low requirement meters. I’m afraid the lancet tip is going to hit the bone if it goes any deeper. The forearm is hopeless — no sign of blood whatsoever. What do people do in a case like this? We have tried the usual heating the area, rubbing the area, etc., etc. OTOH, I gush with just a small prick when I have practiced on me. Maybe the answer is to fly up at 12,499 MSL and try for a sample? Perhaps at the bottom of a loop

[Myrddin]

I can sympathize with the difficulty of getting blood samples. I went in for a colonoscopy last week. I hadn't had any food for 36 hours. The only blood vessel the nurse could nail for the IV was on the back of my right hand. The lab sits around 5,000 ft AMSL. Altitude didn't help much either. Doing curls with a large dumb bell seems to provide much better targets, but I haven't had one along when getting blood drawn.

The snow is melting. It's about time for us gray hairs to get the bikes back in service. It's +42F outside right now. Good enough to take the cruiser out for a bit.

[Myrddin]

I'm surprised that you can get an A1C as OTC. Isn't the HbA1C internal to the erythrocytes? Don't you have to spin them down, separate and induce hemolysis to release the Hb?

[Myrddin]

I did a little research. Most of the OTC A1C tests vary widely from "lab" results. Some as much as +/- 1%. That's too inaccurate. A waste of money. Even "lab" results can vary significantly. My lab results came from a lab used by my life insurance company to rate potential customers. Hopefully, they choose their facility carefully.