CoaguChek XS Errors

[big_L]

I'm getting very frustrated with this. I must tell you that my wife is a Med Tech with years of experience, so we should be able to handle this.

I'm using maybe 3 strips each time to get a single reading. This is getting expensive. It's the Error 5 each time.

I hold my hand under warm water for a few minutes to warm it. Then we put the strip in the meter and let it start heating. Then we wipe with an alcohol wipe, dry with a cotton pad. Then she sticks me and we try to get a decent drop on the strip. We're squeezing the heck out of the finger.

I'm suspecting the lancets that we bought at the drugstore. They're 30 ga. and we just don't get much of a blood drop. We bought these at the local drugstore in the diabetes testing aisle.

I'm going to look for larger lancets. Any other suggestions?

 

[pellicle]

Hi

I'm getting very frustrated with this. I must tell you that my wife is a Med Tech with years of experience, so we should be able to handle this.

agreed

I'm using maybe 3 strips each time to get a single reading. This is getting expensive. It's the Error 5 each time.

which means insufficient blood was applied ... err ... have you read the manual?

a large drop is suggested.

I hold my hand under warm water for a few minutes to warm it. Then we put the strip in the meter and let it start heating. Then we wipe with an alcohol wipe, dry with a cotton pad. Then she sticks me and we try to get a decent drop on the strip. We're squeezing the heck out of the finger.

never worked for me either

Then we wipe with an alcohol wipe, dry with a cotton pad. Then she sticks me and we try to get a decent drop on the strip. We're squeezing the heck out of the finger.

1) don't squeze ... 2) why is she sticking you?

well, anyway, try my torniquet method

- insert strip, start the warmup
- at about 20 seconds, firmly wrap some cotton thread / dental floss around the second knukle up from the finger you are about to lance.
- as you can see the blood forming up in the finger tip, lance the side of the finger.

- now as you bring your finger to the machine the lightest of squeeze of the finger above the lance site, but below the torniquet and you will get a decent drop of blood delivered.

also, try appling the drop to the edge of the stip (as it says in the manual) rather than on the top. I have found that the capilary attraction there is better.

do not apply the drop to the strip till there is a decent sized drop, if you do it too early (as blood is filling the drop) you will get the error 5 again.

I'm suspecting the lancets that we bought at the drugstore. They're 30 ga. and we just don't get much of a blood drop. We bought these at the local drugstore in the diabetes testing aisle.

quite likely the culprit, as after all the diabetics need far less blood ... I've never tied to use the wrong tool for the job, so I can't comment. But with the above torniquet method you may be right.

try it without a strip, if you don't get a "FULL HANGING DROP" as the manual suggests, then it'll likely mean you'll get the error 5 again.

I'm going to look for larger lancets. Any other suggestions?

get your stips online, save a bundle. Some buy from eBay as there seems to be dammaged package ones for a good price. But typically I pay about $140 for 24 stips.

you did read that manual didn't you ...

a worthy thread to read
http://www.valvereplacement.org/forums/showthread.php?41136-the-15-second-rule

using my torniquet method I seldom need more than 10 seconds to get a blood drop. No longer need the hot water dance either

Hope that helps

 

[Freddie]

I feel your frustration but I see two problems.

The purpose of washing your hands is not only to warm the hands but also to make your skin soft. After I washing/warming my hands I dry my hands with paper towel and keep the damp towel around my fingers for about 10 minutes until my fingers almost look like prunes, 'poking' warm soft skin will give you a good sample......a little massage of the finger helps too.

Also, using lancets that are to be used for diabetes will not give you a good sample of blood as you have noticed. I use the yellow 21 gauge lancet for the past 7 years.

When I was trained/shown on how to use the CoaguChek XS I was told not use alcohol, that soap and water is all you need and to make sure you dry the hands well. No need for extra supplies.

You now have two ways of getting a sample. Take a deep breath and relax and try again once you have the proper lancet.

 

[dick0236]

I'm suspecting the lancets that we bought at the drugstore. They're 30 ga. and we just don't get much of a blood drop. We bought these at the local drugstore in the diabetes testing aisle.

I'm going to look for larger lancets. Any other suggestions?

The diabetic lancets are designed for a much smaller blood sample. I use "Unistik 2 Extra" (orange tab) and have no trouble in getting a sample. Try a medical supply store rather than a drugstore or go to ebay(that's where I get mine).

 

[AgilityDog]

21 gauge lancets.
I ordered a box of 200 from CVS. Cost $10 for a multiple year supply.

 

[Freddie]

I forgot to mention to check what number your lancing device is on. "3" or "3.5" should give you a good "poke" once you have the proper lancets.

 

[Ola Thoresen]

Had the same problem the first month or so. After a bit of practice I'm now able to get a decent drop every time, and have not seen error 5 the last 20 or so times I have done the testing.

 

[pellicle]

Hi again

thought I should mention that 1) the error 5 drove me spakko in the first months and 2) I had trouble getting the drop to form in the 15 seconds

also ... I should fess up that the documentation is bloody annoying to plough through

 

[Protimenow]

The problem is the lancets. A 30 gauge will not give you an adequate drop. No question about it.

I have boxes of 21 gauge lancets -- but right now, I use Unistik 3 Extra lancets - and they get an adequate incision for an adequate drop. For about $25 a hundred, it is a whole lot less expensive than a bunch of wasted strips.

(I see that you ordered 21 gauge lancets -- you'll be pleased with the results. The CoaguChek XS is probably the easiest meter to get that blood drop onto).

 

[Bina]

Going to echo the other suggestions.

1) Order and Use the 21g Lancets
2) Set your lancing device on at least 3.5
3) Wash your hands in very warm water and dry well. NO alcohol swab.
4) Get that blood drop very full and hanging, then touch the side of your test strip and it will draw the drop into the monitor.
5) Relax, soon enough this will totally simple.

 

[big_L]

The local drug store ordered a box of 21 gauge lancets for me. They'll be in today.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[big_L]

The drug store ordered us the Monolet Original Lancet. There's no gauge anywhere on the box, but they are visually larger.

Worked great - we got a good drop of blood and an INR result the first time!

 

[Bina]

The drug store ordered us the Monolet Original Lancet. There's no gauge anywhere on the box, but they are visually larger.

Worked great - we got a good drop of blood and an INR result the first time!

Great ! It is always best to use the right tool for the right job

 

[Protimenow]

I got my first '5' error with the CoaguChek XS on Thursday -- but I think that it was meant to be.

On Wednesday night, I lost a filling. I called the dentist and, somewhat surprisingly, got an appointment for 9 AM Thursday morning. Before I left the house, I wanted to get an INR (I try to always test my INR before a dental appointment, just in case).

Rather hurriedly, I warmed my hand under warm water, squeezed my finger in order to draw the blood to the fingertip, then started the meter. When the meter was ready for blood, I made my incision. I couldn't get a good drop of blood. The little bit I DID get was only enough to produce the '5' error.

The dentist gave me a choice of having a root canal in the damaged wisdom tooth, or an extraction. Without a recent INR result, he wouldn't risk pulling the tooth. So - because I couldn't get the drop, my choice was clear and simple -- root canal and crown. IT may cost more than just pulling the tooth, but that area won't be seeping for hours (or longer), and my bite won't change.

To me, this was no mere accident.

 

[pellicle]

Rather hurriedly, I warmed my hand under warm water, squeezed my finger in order to draw the blood to the fingertip, then started the meter. When the meter was ready for blood, I made my incision. I couldn't get a good drop of blood. The little bit I DID get was only enough to produce the '5' error.

still swear by my torniquet method ...

To me, this was no mere accident.

"This was no ordinary boating accident" (quote from two movies same actor)

 

[big_L]

Well, I actually got it to work yesterday in the first try! Hooray! I didn't waste any strips!

Rubber band around finger, washed not alcohol-wiped. I lean the meter on the test strip tube, then I can place the blood drop on the left side of the strip. The larger lancets are really helping.

 

[pellicle]

Well, I actually got it to work yesterday in the first try! Hooray! I didn't waste any strips!

and the crowd goes wild \o/


glad to hear it.

Rubber band around finger,

Just make sure you don't leave the blood pooling too long with that method ... just in case it has "some effect" on the readings.

FWIW I have seen results from a person who took a vein sample and used that on a test stip (which is supposed to be different to capillary blood samples). The vein sample had been set aside for some minutes when applied to the strip. Both results from here were identical. This supports that the differences may be 'minor'.

I lean the meter on the test strip tube, then I can place the blood drop on the left side of the strip.

yeah, I try to do mine on the edge too ...

glad to hear you're out of the woods (so to speak)

 

[Protimenow]

Venous blood IS supposed to be different. The only meter that is supposed to work equally well with venous blood and the 'second' drop is the ProTime meter. The others are designed to use the first drop - which also has some clotting factors that are in the skin - in order to get an accurate result.

I second Pellicle's warning about the rubber band (or the 'tourniquet', for that matter) being on the finger for too long -- interstitial fluids might dilute or somehow otherwise change the blood that is delivered to the meter.

Also -- I've had no problems getting blood from my finger for many months -- until last Thursday. The 'tourniquet' method, used for testing last night, worked just fine - I got an adequate drop for both meters that I currently test with.

I'm glad to see that Big_L has resolved the issues with the XS.

 

[Bina]

Well, I actually got it to work yesterday in the first try! Hooray! I didn't waste any strips!

Rubber band around finger, washed not alcohol-wiped. I lean the meter on the test strip tube, then I can place the blood drop on the left side of the strip. The larger lancets are really helping.

Excellent Home testing is really no big deal at all

 

[Protimenow]

No, it's really not a big deal. It's too bad that many medical professionals are stuck thinking that all their patients are too damned stupid to do their own testing, or that it's okay to test once a month. (Sure, there are some patients who are unable, for one reason or another, to self-test, but I suspect that a majority of those taking warfarin ARE able to - and if they aren't that they may have a family member or friend who can do the test on them).