Can you tell your blood is low by looking at it?

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Question:

That’s interesting, because I just went to a Blood Glucose Awareness Training class on Friday, and we are supposed to keep a diary this week of what we *think* our bG is when it’s either high or low, then testing it. We have to make our guess before we even prick our finger. Our instructor told us that some people could tell what it would be due to the color. But leave it to me to go against the grain. I used to correlate thin and orangey red with *high* blood sugars. I also found that it was not always the case, but the first time I ever noticed a difference in color, it was this way. So I gave up guessing based on color. Other than normal variation from person to person, it’s interesting that I found the exact opposite to be true. — ~ Mookie ~ T1 since 10/80

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi all, I was testing my blood last night, not feeling particularly abnormal, and I noticed it was a bright, bright red. A little thinner than normal, too. Low and behold (sorry for the pun), the test was 55 mg/dL. I’ve been T1 and blood testing for 20 years and I’ve noticed this before – bright, thinner blood when sugar level is low, thicker, and darker blood when sugar level is higher. Has anyone else ever noticed this? Can anyone offer an explanation? I wash my hands before testing and use a tissue to blot after I’m done, and I rarely change my method, so I’m sure that’s not it. Anyway, I thought it was curious. Comment and let me know if you’ve ever noticed this, or if I’m "imagining" things. Thanks, Sue, T1 * Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet’s Discussion Network * The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet – Free!

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi all, I was testing my blood last night, not feeling particularly abnormal, and I noticed it was a bright, bright red. A little thinner than normal, too. Low and behold (sorry for the pun), the test was 55 mg/dL. I’ve been T1 and blood testing for 20 years and I’ve noticed this before – bright, thinner blood when sugar level is low, thicker, and darker blood when sugar level is higher. Has anyone else ever noticed this? Can anyone offer an explanation? I wash my hands before testing and use a tissue to blot after I’m done, and I rarely change my method, so I’m sure that’s not it. Anyway, I thought it was curious. Comment and let me know if you’ve ever noticed this, or if I’m "imagining" things. Thanks, Sue, T1 YES! I notice the same thing, Sue! High/higher bg: dark cherry red (does look "thicker"), Low/lower bg: color of a lighter red tomato (does look "thinner"). It probably looks darker because there’s more sugar in it, and lighter when there’s less.

I can always tell how the meter is going to call it by the looks of the blood. Jennifer Type 1, dx’d at 12 in 1978.

Response:

Hi Sue hi Jenny, When I just have been for a walk or just having some dumb other phys…..eh er welll, I ALWAYS get easier bloodflow and thinner and lightredder bloodcolour and it dont say anything about hi or lo just about movin…….hey you may just have found out an alternative for your testing material….just by looking at the colour…maybe it has something to do with more oxygen, the colour??Or had you just been exercising and is your bg lo always because of that? Maya.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi all, I was testing my blood last night, not feeling particularly abnormal, and I noticed it was a bright, bright red. A little thinner than normal, too. Low and behold (sorry for the pun), the test was 55 mg/dL. I’ve been T1 and blood testing for 20 years and I’ve noticed this before – bright, thinner blood when sugar level is low, thicker, and darker blood when sugar level is higher. Has anyone else ever noticed this? Can anyone offer an explanation? I wash my hands before testing and use a tissue to blot after I’m done, and I rarely change my method, so I’m sure that’s not it. Anyway, I thought it was curious. Comment and let me know if you’ve ever noticed this, or if I’m "imagining" things. Thanks, Sue, T1 YES! I notice the same thing, Sue! High/higher bg: dark cherry red (does

look "thicker"), Low/lower bg: color of a lighter red tomato (does look "thinner"). It probably looks darker because there’s more sugar in it, and lighter when there’s less. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I can always tell how the meter is going to call it by the looks of the blood. Jennifer Type 1, dx’d at 12 in 1978.

Response:

I’m rather interested too, because I’ve really started watching it and I seem to have that thin blood quite often lately! I thought it was because my hands were still damp, so I dried my hands and tried another finger, and same thing. I’m relieved when the blood is thick enough to get it to the strip! I was thinking of making a note next to my readings to show if it was thin or thick or dark or light. (Yeah I have nothing better to do while I’m waiting for the AccuCheck to finish counting its 45 seconds) I do remember thinking a while back that "thin = high bG" and then being surprised when I had a reading that was either on the low side or normal, because from looking at it, I really expected a high reading. So apparently no pattern for me, either, but who knows! — ~ Mookie ~ T1 since 10/80

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Well, I noticed several years ago that the colour and thickness of my blood changed quite often. It wasn’t untill about three months ago that I started to look at it to see if I could tell whether my BG was high or low just by looking at it. I found that (with mine at least) there is no patern, one day if I’m high, it will be thick and maroon and if I’m low it will be thin and light/transparent (okay, so I’m slightly exagerating the colours, but you know what I mean.), the next day it would be vice versa (yeh, you’ve guesses that my control isn’t too good!). I think it could maybe have something to do with several factors; * BG level * Temperature * How much blood you have (like depending on what time of the month it is, for women obv.) * How deep/big the hole to get the blood out of is Please note, these are only my suggestions, not facts. I AM NOT A DOCTOR. Hope this helps, I’d like to find out more about this, you’ve got me interested now! — / ____/__ ____ ___ ____ ___ ____ _ / /_/ / __/ / / / / / / / / / / /_/ /

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – P.S. Sorry that the wrapwidth is too long, but it says it’s set to 80 characters, so I don’t know whats wrong!

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Not for me. Since my whopping 561 yesterday morning, I didn’t get a thick drop of blood (actually the blood wasn’t even thick enough to form a drop) ’til I fell below 200. — ~ Mookie ~ T1 since 10/80 I’ve been T1 and blood testing for 20 years and I’ve noticed this before – bright, thinner blood when sugar level is low, thicker, and darker blood when sugar level is higher. Has anyone else ever noticed this? Can anyone offer an explanation? I’ve noticed this too, but I assumed it was random, and I was just only remembering how the blood looked when the numbers were low. I’ve noticed it’s hard to tell the density of blood because it appears thinner when you get a good hit with the lancet, and thicker when you get a bad hit. BUT…glucose DOES make the blood actually thicker…I just don’t know whether it changes enough so you could tell visually…I have noticed (on my Advantage meter) that some small drops will sit nicely on the strip, and some LARGE drops seem to get sucked right into the strip! Darryl Share what you know. Learn what you don’t.

Well, I noticed several years ago that the colour and thickness of my blood changed quite often. It wasn’t untill about three months ago that I started to look at it to see if I could tell whether my BG was high or low just by looking at it. I found that (with mine at least) there is no patern, one day if I’m high, it will be thick and maroon and if I’m low it will be thin and light/transparent (okay, so I’m slightly exagerating the colours, but you know what I mean.), the next day it would be vice versa (yeh, you’ve guesses that my control isn’t too good!). I think it could maybe have something to do with several factors; * BG level * Temperature * How much blood you have (like depending on what time of the month it is, for women obv.) * How deep/big the hole to get the blood out of is Please note, these are only my suggestions, not facts. I AM NOT A DOCTOR. Hope this helps, I’d like to find out more about this, you’ve got me interested now! — / ____/__ ____ ___ ____ ___ ____ _ / /_/ / __/ / / / / / / / / / / /_/ / P.S. Sorry that the wrapwidth is too long, but it says it’s set to 80 characters, so I don’t know whats wrong!

Response:

I’ve been T1 and blood testing for 20 years and I’ve noticed this before – bright, thinner blood when sugar level is low, thicker, and darker blood when sugar level is higher. Has anyone else ever noticed this? Can anyone offer an explanation?

I’ve noticed this too, but I assumed it was random, and I was just only remembering how the blood looked when the numbers were low. I’ve noticed it’s hard to tell the density of blood because it appears thinner when you get a good hit with the lancet, and thicker when you get a bad hit. BUT…glucose DOES make the blood actually thicker…I just don’t know whether it changes enough so you could tell visually…I have noticed (on my Advantage meter) that some small drops will sit nicely on the strip, and some LARGE drops seem to get sucked right into the strip! Darryl Share what you know. Learn what you don’t.

Response:

Not for me. Since my whopping 561 yesterday morning, I didn’t get a thick drop of blood (actually the blood wasn’t even thick enough to form a drop) ’til I fell below 200. — ~ Mookie ~ T1 since 10/80

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’ve been T1 and blood testing for 20 years and I’ve noticed this before – bright, thinner blood when sugar level is low, thicker, and darker blood when sugar level is higher. Has anyone else ever noticed this? Can anyone offer an explanation? I’ve noticed this too, but I assumed it was random, and I was just only remembering how the blood looked when the numbers were low. I’ve noticed it’s hard to tell the density of blood because it appears thinner when you get a good hit with the lancet, and thicker when you get a bad hit. BUT…glucose DOES make the blood actually thicker…I just don’t know whether it changes enough so you could tell visually…I have noticed (on my Advantage meter) that some small drops will sit nicely on the strip, and some LARGE drops seem to get sucked right into the strip! Darryl Share what you know. Learn what you don’t.

Response:

I just had to add today’s observation to this thread. My bG was dangerously high this morning, so I did quite a shot of Humalog in an effort to bring it down AND cover my breakfast (which I couldn’t eat for two hours). I just checked it now to make sure I didn’t overdo the Humalog, and it was thin and bright (orangey) red. I thought "hmm, maybe it is low this time" but lo (low?) and behold…it was 197. Of course, that’s quite a drop from where I started. However, last night my blood was so watery I could barely get a drop to the edge of the Comfort Curve strip. I’d get some out of my finger and try to put the bleeding edge against the strip, but it just ran down my finger all over the place. I finally had to turn the meter sideways to have the strip suck the blood in right from the puncture site. For the record, my bG was 99, assuming no error in technique due to the uncooperative blood flow. — ~ Mookie ~ T1 since 10/80

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Hi all, I was testing my blood last night, not feeling particularly abnormal, and I noticed it was a bright, bright red. A little thinner than normal, too. Low and behold (sorry for the pun), the test was 55 mg/dL. I’ve been T1 and blood testing for 20 years and I’ve noticed this before – bright, thinner blood when sugar level is low, thicker, and darker blood when sugar level is higher. Has anyone else ever noticed this? Can anyone offer an explanation? I wash my hands before testing and use a tissue to blot after I’m done, and I rarely change my method, so I’m sure that’s not it. Anyway, I thought it was curious. Comment and let me know if you’ve ever noticed this, or if I’m "imagining" things.

If all that youn were varying was bg then I would say that the visual properties would correlate very well. *But* other things vary to; salt content, are you ok on fluids or dehydrated, how much exercise you’ve had, what the weather is like. These things would make it hard to track bg’s by sight alone.

Response:

Hi Marilyn, I think the purpose is to get to the bottom of teststrips-using—if you KNOW how it feels to have a certain bg you dont have to test anymore (HUHHUH, hollow laughter). You know I am fighting the ins. co. for getting refund strips,,,,,,,,wellll waddya guessss : they came up with an offer to pay 1/2 of a course (workshop) bloodglucoselevel-guessing….yeah great huh……now you know I am guessing my bg’s for over 12 years and boyoboy am I wrong a lotta times……wouldnt it just be great if we were able to be right every guess? We wouldnt have to use as many strips then now wouldnt we….Yeah everlasting fight,,,,They seem to think its all FUN…..masochistic bunch of people huh those diabs….today I found out that there had been contact between my doc and the ins. co. without my knowledge…..sheesh….and not to my advantage…..doc had stated I was a little bit insecure by co. must have had a big laugh, they dont deal with nutcases trying to monitor their diabetes the right way…..THANK YOUOU doc. great help…..trying to figure this one out, thinking about another doc. or maybe a diabspecialist which HE surely is not but the guy I got recommended livesalongaway from here and quite frankly I’m gettin sooo tired of all this hassle. Well, loose a battle dont mean loose a war cause thatswattitis WAR…Am I still going strong…dzzzzzzz…getting weaker BUT what really pisses me off is : thats just what THEY want : me giving up….huhuh they not ready with me yet…..Maya. (being cynical getting paranoid)

Response:

Bingo,Ginny! We are supposed to see how we interpret our internal and external cues. For example, today I thought for sure it was just shy of 70, because I was really hot and my stomach was rumbling, plus it was close to my snacktime. I guessed about 69, but with great hesitation because I know that it was also really hot in our plant today. And voila…I was 105. So the purpose is not only to see how aware we are of our symptoms, but which symptoms are the ones that are ambiguous and which ones are dead giveaways. I’ve also had symptoms that I’d swear were low and found out that I was actually rather high. I actually am not testing any more often than I was before the homework assignment, because I am aware that I am still not always good at guessing my bG levels, so if I think I am high or low I check – which is what we are supposed to do in this class. In other words, I started checking much more often before I even enrolled in the class. My supply of strips will be just as depleted! <G The only times I am absolutely sure I am low is when I am teetering on that edge of barely getting the soda from the fridge to my mouth! (I know Marilyn knows what I’m talking about here!) Everyone in my class is T1, and from the introductions in class I see quite a few with hypoglycemic unawareness…something that I either have or had. — ~ Mookie ~ T1 since 10/80

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – That’s interesting, because I just went to a Blood Glucose Awareness Training class on Friday, and we are supposed to keep a diary this week of what we *think* our bG is when it’s either high or low, then testing it. We have to make our guess before we even prick our finger. And Marilyn responded: <What is the purpose of this exercise? Just guessing here, but I’d say it’s to see how aware you are of your own high/low symptoms. After 10 yrs (and fairly decent control) I still seldom can tell the difference: dry eyes, shaky, irritable, palpatations, either way. If I’ve delayed a meal it’s likely low; too many carbs, probably high, but there’s such a subtle difference in symptoms, testing’s the only accurate way for me to know. Ginny J

Response:

That’s interesting, because I just went to a Blood Glucose Awareness Training class on Friday, and we are supposed to keep a diary this week of what we *think* our bG is when it’s either high or low, then testing it. We have to make our guess before we even prick our finger. And Marilyn responded: <What is the purpose of this exercise? Just guessing here, but I’d say it’s to see how aware you are of your own high/low symptoms. After 10 yrs (and fairly decent control) I still seldom can tell the difference: dry eyes, shaky, irritable, palpatations, either way. If I’ve delayed a meal it’s likely low; too many carbs, probably high, but there’s such a subtle difference in symptoms, testing’s the only accurate way for me to know. Ginny J

Response:

What is the purpose of this exercise? Marilyn T1 for 33 years, pumping for the last 11

Response:

Hi all, I was testing my blood last night, not feeling particularly abnormal, and I noticed it was a bright, bright red. A little thinner than normal, too. Low and behold (sorry for the pun), the test was 55 mg/dL. I’ve been T1 and blood testing for 20 years and I’ve noticed this before – bright, thinner blood when sugar level is low, thicker, and darker blood when sugar level is higher. Has anyone else ever noticed this? Can anyone offer an explanation? I wash my hands before testing and use a tissue to blot after I’m done, and I rarely change my method, so I’m sure that’s not it. Anyway, I thought it was curious. Comment and let me know if you’ve ever noticed this, or if I’m "imagining" things. Thanks, Sue, T1 * Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet’s Discussion Network * The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet – Free!

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