Pricking our fingers multiple times a day isn’t exactly something most of us get excited about, but I’ve discovered that some folks out there do get excited about the lancing device they use. While most of us use the lancer that came for free with our meter (i.e. we don’t give it much thought), there are a couple of brand-name models that really seem to get people talking. They are the ACCU-CHEK Mutliclix from Roche — which I see all the time at diabetes conferences — and the new OneTouch Delica, which Lifescan just released this past June.
To have a closer look at these, I thought it would be fun to recruit a couple of “fans” to share their thoughts on why they like their respective device… who knows, maybe we’ll get a couple of converts?
Photo: Christopher of “Don’t Fear Diabetes”
Team Multiclix
Sara Knicks, blogger at Diabetes Daily:
Photo: Sara Knicks of DiabetesDaily.com
“The Multiclix truly is the best lancing device ever created. First of all, the lancing devices that came with my other meters (e.g. the UltraSoft) used 28 gauge lancets. The MultiClix comes with 30 gauge lancets. Higher number means smaller lancet, which means less pain. There are 11 depth settings on the Multiclix compared to the 5 depths on the other devices I was using. My Multiclix is currently set at .5 – the lowest setting possible, and I have no trouble getting an adequate size sample.
I think, by far, the best part of the Multiclix technology and what sets it apart from the rest of the lancing devices is the use of a drum of preloaded lancets. With the other models (although the Delica offers some improvements in this area) there is nothing holding the lancet in place after you hit the trigger. The spring that triggers the lancet wobbles side-to-side as it moves toward your finger. Obviously, any movement as it enters your skin causes unnecessary pain. The drum of the Multiclix holds the lancet in place, and in combination with the raised edge that provides a guide for the location of the test, it guarantees me an almost-always painless poke.”
Christopher, blogger at Don’t Fear Diabetes:
“There are three things that really set the Multiclix lancet apart from the competition for me:
- Feel. The Multiclix just feels solid in your hand. It feels like it was well-constructed, and everything moves deliberately. The collar for selecting the lancing depth, which has 11 settings, turns easily and stays securely in place. The button for operating the lancing mechanism is sturdy, and even after years of daily use feels the same as it did when it was new.
- Ease-of-use. One of the great things about the Multiclix that I never thought about until I started experimenting with other lancing devices is that you can use it one-handed without any difficulty. You can easily depress the lancing button with your thumb, and then, still using one hand, change your grip so you can press it against your finger or whichever site you want to test from, without any need to use the other hand for anything other than holding the meter and supplying the blood.
- The cartridges. Having six lancets preloaded in the cartridge extends the useful life of the lancing device considerably, and reduces the amount of supplies that I have to carry. The lancets also seem to be especially durable. While I know this is not at all recommended, and is not something I’m advocating, I’ve had the same cartridge in my Lancet for all of 2010, and have yet to notice any real difference in performance.”
Team Delica
Tina Shaye, blogger at ACT1 Diabetes:
“The claim is that the Delica goes into your finger straight without the vibration of other lancers. They call it the Advanced Glide™ Control System. So you get a puncture as opposed to a tear in the skin. You can imagine my surprise when I said to a friend ‘it’s PAINLESS.’
The first time I used it I thought it wasn’t set deep enough because I felt nothing. However, when I looked at my finger I noticed it was bleeding. I thought it was cool how small and thin the lancets themselves are. I found out they are the smallest lancet on the market at 33 gauge! That’s 40% smaller than industry standards! Another feature is the 7 different depth settings. My pinkies definitely don’t need a stick as deep as my thumbs do. Big plus in my book. It is small, so it fits in any case and it really can claim ‘painless’ 8 times out of 10. It’s also quiet. My brother thought my Delica was broken when he didn’t hear the usual loud click the other devices make.
Like all products it has a down side. I notice that I need to change the lancet more. Understand, I test about 12-14 times a day and I usually change the lancet once a month. Now I am changing the lancet every 4 to 5 days. However, I strongly recommend you try this product. The Delica makes waiting for the cure for diabetes a little less painful.”
Nicole, blogger at WeCARAlot:
“The first difference I noticed was the design. It is lighter, thinner and has a really neat shape. With bigger sized buttons placed perfectly on the Delica I find it more comfortable and less awkward to handle then my last poker. The tip of the Delica is curved, not flat like our old OneTouch poker. This allows better accuracy in knowing where the lancet will hit, which I love especially on tiny little finger tips.
My very favorite design feature on the Delica is the location of the ‘dial up’ depth gauge for the 33G needle, located in the back of the Delica. Since it is not integrated into the head of the Delica like our old OneTouch poker it makes it hard to change the setting by mistake. I don’t know if it is the soft gliding action or the wonderful super-fine, super-thin 33G needles that you use in the Delica, but it has been about a month with the Delica and the proof is in the fingers tips… NO MORE FRECKLES!”
While lancing your finger will never be exactly fun, today’s models sure beat the heck out of the old stuff — like this thing, Yowch!
Anyone out there on Team Multiclix or Team Delica feeling passionate about their poker today?
I always use whatever lancing device comes with my meter.
But I was NOT a fan of the old school lancing devices! I remember when Elizabeth Arnold posted that photo last year and I was all “ouch!” More like torture devices, those things:
http://sixuntilme.com/blog2/2009/11/diabetes_torture_devices.html
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I have to say, I’m a multiclix fan. I’ve tried devices from BD, Bayer, Target, OneTouch, Freestyle and the Renew and always go back to the multiclix. I agree with pretty much everything said about it. The thing that struck me when I first got one was that it was a device that looked like people actually sat down, thought about it and designed it around functionality and made it solidly. The other devices, except the Renew, seem like they are all after thoughts and thrown together at the last minute with very little thought other than “will it make them bleed?”
I have two multiclix, my original one is 3.5 years old and still works fine. The drum is a great idea, it’s easy to replace, easy to change lancets, easy to prime and easy to use. The one handed use mentioned is also huge, you don’t know what a huge difference it makes until you need to use a standard one! I also use the same lancet for months at a time and haven’t had any problems or decline in performance. The only thing that could be improved a little is the size. It is on the larger size and although it does fit into most cases as a replacement for the original meter, it is tight in some. I use mine in a OneTouch UltraSmart case and it’s fine but when I use the Bayer USB or UltraMini it is a very tight fit.
They’ll have to come up with something special for me to give up my multiclix!
We use the lancing device that comes with the FreeStyle. It’s very simple and Q can use it herself.
Our insurance company gave us a MultiClix but I haven’t really used it yet (they only gave us one cartridge which isn’t enough to make a decision!). The off center hole was awkward for me, but I am sure I would get used to this. Plus I couldn’t remember if you were supposed to advance it before or after you use it. (We are dedicated change-your-lancet-every-time people.)
The Delica is also something I would like to try out. The small size is very appealing. I hate that the FreeStyle lancing device is way too easy to accidentally change the setting.
Since Q is now doing all her own finger checks, I would need one that she could easily operate.
Was there ever a real name for “The Worst Lancing Device Ever”? It was basically a harpoon. I remember using that thing a few times in the early ’90s for some reason that escapes me.
I’m a happy member of Team Multiclix.
However, that picture of the dreaded Autolet gave me the chills. I was so happy to get rid of that thing back in the late 80s. Amazingly, I see one every once in a while at blood donation events. I can’t believe anyone or organization is still using such a painful device.
Delica!
Team Multiclix
Multiclix all the way, baby! Granted, that’s what we were given when my daughter was diagnosed at 12 months old and we’ve never used anything else. But I love the fact that my daughter could use it to check her own BG at the tender age of 2 1/2.
I have a Delica in my supply drawer, just not sure if I’m going to use it or not.
Team Multiclix! I think Accu-chek makes the best lancing devices. I used my Softclix device from my time of diagnosis 11 years ago until I dropped it one too many times and finally broke it last year. For a few days, I used a spare OneTouch device on the lowest setting and had all these bruises and sore fingers. So then I asked my doc if he happened to have another Softclix in his office that I could use– he didn’t, but he had a Multiclix, which uses the same technology (less side-to-side movement) but has the 6-lancet drum. It’s great!
I could never be passionate about ANY fingerstick device!! But I use the Multiclix, because that’s what came with my meter, and I have no complaints. Sometimes it’s painful and sometimes not, but I figure that’s just part of the game. I do like the fact that with the little raised circle, you know exactlly where you’re going to prick, and I like being able to vary the depth. I remember the old pokers that had no adjustment, and THEY were painful!
If they gave me a Delica for free, along with sufficient lancets to try it out, I probably would, but at the moment, I see no need to change.
If they
I used that old thing, it was horrible because you could SEE the lancet heading for your finger. Yuk. Currently I’m on the Multiclix, but I have a Delica in my closet that I’m waiting to review.
I have them both, and use them both. I still can’t decide which I like better. They’re both within reach when I test so I grab whichever I see first. The obvious answer would be the strength and solidity and drum lancets of the Multi-clix and the thinner gauge needle of the Delica. C’mon, Accu-chek, make a 33 gauge needle for the Multiclix!
multiclix and kids make sense… never a sharpe for school nurses or caregivers to worry about… and since i personally ise a lancet until it bounces off my bfinger, it is almost a 6 month supply in ONE DRUM!!
Multiclix! Although I appreciate hearing about the Delica (first I’ve heard of it).
We love the Multiclix for all the reasons stated above. I have 3 children with type 1, so being able to advance the lancet quickly and easily is very helpful. I also like not ever having any exposed lancets. I like that the used drums can’t be mistaken for new and used again (they won’t go back in the multiclix once they are taken out).
I think the Multiclix is the best lancing device yet created! Too bad I don’t use that company’s meter…..I love our Freestyle Lites, but I always throw out the lancing devices that come with those.
try the new accu-chek nano – you and your kids will
love it
@Lori, you may want to try the TiniBoy lancets, I’ve been using these for a while with some of my meters and they’re fairly painless. See my review here: http://www.diabetesdaily.com/farrell/2010/08/review-tiniboy-lancets.php
I got a Delica a few months ago when the device that came with my meter broke. Nicole says it’s “lighter and thinner”, but to me it feels very flimsy and cheaply made. That’s exactly what it proved to be too. I hadn’t had it for two weeks before it broke, and even months after the fact, I’m disgusted I spent money on that stupid thing and an entire box of lancets that I suppose I’ll have to throw away or recycle into thumbtacks. The button worked intermittently, so I’d have to fiddle with it and press it over and over again until the mechanism decided to work. When it did work, I didn’t think it was any different from other devices except for the finer gauge lancet which meant I had to milk my finger to get blood. This is the worst device I’ve ever used in the almost 30 years I’ve been doing BG checks. As much as I hated the device in the last image, at least it worked.
After complaining about what a POS the Delica is on FB, several people recommended Multi-Clix. I LOVE it.
I am currently on Team Multiclix and I seriously have about 6 of them at home including their newer black one! I bought and tried the Delica when it first came out but for some reason I prefer the Multiclix. I can’t exactly put my finger on what it is, but it works best for me. Even with the preloaded drum of lancets, I still don’t “turn” it as much as I should and it works just fine
Oh and I remember that horrible looking device from way back when!! Thank goodness they have come a long way since then … otherwise we’d have no skin left on our poor fingers!
I called my endo and I’ll be getting the delica tomorrow. Our insurance suppies one touch, so it is better than nothing I suppose. I think, since I don’t have to pay to try it, it will be worth a shot for my boys. Especially the two younger ones with the most sensitive fingers. I wonder if my older son, who is 13 years into type 1, will have a hard time with it because his fingers are so callused. I’ll let you know our take on it after we have used it awhile.
OMG! When I saw the ancient ‘auto-lancer’ my heart jumped…felt the EXACT same fear that I did whenever my brought that monster out when I was 8 years old!!! Thank God for improvements! Any of them are better than THAT one!
MultiClix!!! I have used many devices and have to say that the MultiClix is the BEST!!! I always reuse and have had no problems with pain.
Just rec’d a Delica from my Endo and LOVE IT! Could not believe a lancet device could produce enough blood for a BG test and I did not even feel the stick. I want to buy another for my purse but it was $20 at Walgreen’s so I will check to see if I can find a less expensive one elsewhere. Definitely an improvement!
My problem is not the prickers it’s me. I like both of these devices the issue is the spring action used in these devices. I have a block now and only check bg when someone else can prick my finger. What can I do about that spring thing it feels like I am shooting my finger off with a gun. Any help would be appreciated.
Delica is very flimsy and doesn’t work every time.
The Multiclix is sturdy and is more comfortable for me.
Delica still uses a spring which makes the needle
move in the skin and tears the tissue. Multiclix uses
a unique drive of the needle without the pain.
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Multi Clix is by far the BEST! I heard Roche was going to phase out Multi for the Fast Clix. Do we need to write to someone to make sure we can all keep Multi-Clix? I tried Fast Clix and I am not a fan! I like the idea that Delica is small and higher grade needle but I have yet to try. I’d like to see Roche come out with an improved Multi Clix: the same barrel size, higher gauge needle and shorter handle, same button. Until then I stick with Multi Clix. Fast Clix is a little too tricky for me to hold with one hand, hurts the fingers way too much, I was getting infections because my fingers were not healing fast enough even on lowest gauge, and the needle MUST be changed every use which who wants more to carry?