Self-testing

   I was scheduled to a self-test INR this morning so after breakfast I brought all my stuff...the meter,

lancets and test strips... to the kitchen table so Jeff could watch me screw up the test.  For some reason I have a very difficult time of it.  I've been trained twice...the last time was 2 weeks ago by my nurse at the Clinic...but I never seem to be able to get enough blood in the space on the test strip in time.  This morning I massaged my fingers under hot water then used one of the new disposable lancets to stick my finger.  Time was ticking but still I wasn't getting much blood.  I envisioned another series of failure as it just drippled on to the test strip!  I grabbed my finger and started to squeeze the finger between the knuckle and the next joint up for a couple of seconds and suddenly I found my 'ON' switch! SWISH!  I had blood bubbling down my finger tip and onto the test strip just as time expired.   And this time, when the meter beeped,  it said '3.7' instead of  'ERROR', my usual reading.  I called Alere, the self-testing company, to report my results and then the Clinic in Herkimer to cancel my appointment for this morning(my insurance incase I couldn't get a usable results).  I'll hear from my nurse later in the day when she calls to tell me if I have to adjust my Warfarin dose because the 3.7 is a little high for me...but I did it!.   I guess I just needed an audience to do the test.