Very frustrating experience lately

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whiskeysmom

whiskeysmom

Member Since 2016
So, I've been off the forum because I hadn't even been able to get numbers on Whiskey..I had to order brand new lancets..I finally figured out that lower gauge lancets are better able to penetrate thick skin...I had rite-aid generic lancets, and I would poke and poke, and NOTHING. I poked SO freaking hard but still couldn't get blood..then one time I got blood, it wasn't enough for the stupid meter. I am tossing the Freestyle meter as soon as I get the strips for my Relion (I had to order them through a Diabetic care site, because Walmart first screwed up my order--THEN i ordered them again and was told they were out of stock!) I have the Micro btw so I ordered the OTHER brand of strips that work with it. Can't recall the name. Starts with an A I think.

Whiskey spent a good part of last week under the bed because he was sick of all my poking.

Finally, last night I was able to get a reading. He was at 69 right around the time I was supposed to give him insulin, and I figured that was too low, so I did not inject him last night.

I'm gonna try testing him again this morning, before giving him his morning dose. The few times I have been able to test in the morning, he was right around 350. The 1 day I was able to test him for half a day, he's start around 350 in the morning, then go down to 150 in the afternoon.

As soon as I get the new lancets I am hoping those will work better on him and I can do a curve.

Oh and I ALSO dropped the d*** bottle of ProZinc and it broke. So I had to run out to the vet and shell out $125 for a new bottle. Does anyone know where I can get ProZinc cheaper??? Is that possible if I get the script from my vet?

The nurse advised me to bubble wrap the bottle in case it drops again, so I did that. That stuff is like gold, I can't believe I dropped it! The entire bottom SHATTERED and insulin went all over my floor!! :( :( :(
 
Since I've been putting my poor buddy through all this trauma, I've been giving him lots and lots of cuddles and love. Been trying to explain to him how important all this is and I'm not doing this to try to torture him :(
 
Ok I just can't understand why I warm up his ear, and try to poke the "sweet spot", i put tons of pressure on it, and it still doesn't puncture!!!! It HAS to be the lancet right? I'm still using the 30 gauge lancets until my new supply arrives.

This morning I have tried 4 times and the last time, he cried out!!! I could not stand it so I've given up for the moment. Because his BG was 69 last night I do not want to just blindly inject him--I don't know what to do.

And btw I tried the footpad prick once, and couldn't get any blood there either. And he just instantly KICKED his foot.

I mean, I'm doing everything everyone says to do. Warm the ear..go in at an angle..put pressure on it, I'm freehanding the lancet because the stupid devices are even worse. He must have incredibly thick ears.
 
And btw I tried one of these stupid lancets on my OWN FINGER, just to see. I could barely get enough blood. And of course it wasn't enough blood for the meter to measure so..wasted yet another strip.
 
Has anyone ever tried using their insulin injection needles to get a blood sample? I'm wondering if I should try that instead
 
I'm sorry you've been having so much trouble getting blood from Whiskey's ear. You're right that lower gauge (thicker) lancets will help - 25 -28 gauge is recommended. You could probably find them at the Walmart pharmacy if you don't want to wait for your order. They might be marked "for alternate site use". I know you've tossed your Freestyle meter. It must not have been a Freestyle Lite because the strips for that meter require only an extremely tiny drop to give a reading. Meter strips that need a very tiny drop of blood will save your sanity.

When I learned how to test and shoot at my vet clinic, I was given 25 gauge hypodermic needles to use - big suckers they are! Maybe you could ask your vet if you can buy some. I don't use them though because I find them hard to hold. I freehand the lancet but put it into the holder for better grip.

Technique and other issues:
You shouldn't need a lot of pressure to break the skin on Whiskey's ear. If you hit the vein near the sweet spot it should bleed like a stuck pig. His ears will get easier to bleed over time as you're able to do more testing. If you look closely at the lancet needle you'll see that it's beveled. Try putting it flat (bevel) side up and then hold it at a slight angle to the ear. Most of us will occasionally poke right through the ear because the tissue is thin - not a problem as far as testing goes and it heals well. I really don't know why Whiskey's seems so tough. You said you warm his ear and that's good.

To my knowledge, ProZinc is always expensive. It's a veterinary product so I doubt you can get it from a human pharmacy. Maybe call around to different vet clinics for their pricing?
 
If memory serves (maybe I'm confused) but I think someone said they got ProZinc at Costco so that might be worth checking into. As Kris says, it's a veterinary product and therefore usually are only available through specialty (pet) pharmacies or the vet and definitely more expensive because they are specialty products..
 
The $125 is a good price. My vet would charge about $150.
You can get ProZinc on-line and it may be cheaper but you have to add overnight shipping to the published price.
I have placed my insulin in a rubber crutch tip. I have had to wrap some tape around the vial to get a good fit in the crutch tip
 
His a suggestion for not breaking bottle. Keep the vial in a plastic cup. Make a little well in the cup with bubble wrap or paper towels. Pick up one of those dish drying mats. They are a padded mat. When you take the cup out of fridge. Place on mat and prepare syringe over mat. So if you drop it, it's on a cushioned mat.
 
I keep the vial in it's box and keep the box in a small cup. I also order the Province online. My vet doesn't carry it. I guess I could try calling one of the 2 other vets in town. If the other vets don't carry it, I would have to get whatever insulin my vet had on hand until the online pharmacy shipped it to me overnight.
 
Some Walmarts actually carry Prozinc, they do pet meds as well as human, but I have no idea what the cost is.
 
Kris & Teasel said:
I'm sorry you've been having so much trouble getting blood from Whiskey's ear. You're right that lower gauge (thicker) lancets will help - 25 -28 gauge is recommended. You could probably find them at the Walmart pharmacy if you don't want to wait for your order. They might be marked "for alternate site use". I know you've tossed your Freestyle meter. It must not have been a Freestyle Lite because the strips for that meter require only an extremely tiny drop to give a reading. Meter strips that need a very tiny drop of blood will save your sanity.

When I learned how to test and shoot at my vet clinic, I was given 25 gauge hypodermic needles to use - big suckers they are! Maybe you could ask your vet if you can buy some. I don't use them though because I find them hard to hold. I freehand the lancet but put it into the holder for better grip.

Technique and other issues:
You shouldn't need a lot of pressure to break the skin on Whiskey's ear. If you hit the vein near the sweet spot it should bleed like a stuck pig. His ears will get easier to bleed over time as you're able to do more testing. If you look closely at the lancet needle you'll see that it's beveled. Try putting it flat (bevel) side up and then hold it at a slight angle to the ear. Most of us will occasionally poke right through the ear because the tissue is thin - not a problem as far as testing goes and it heals well. I really don't know why Whiskey's seems so tough. You said you warm his ear and that's good.

To my knowledge, ProZinc is always expensive. It's a veterinary product so I doubt you can get it from a human pharmacy. Maybe call around to different vet clinics for their pricing?
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Thanks for the tip..my eyes are so bad..lol

I can't tell where the beveled part is..

I was though, able to get blood this afternoon. His level was 319 so I gave him insulin.

I'm gonna try again tonight to get blood and see what it's at. Maybe he will only need once a day, rather than twice a day??
 
Woodsywife said:
His a suggestion for not breaking bottle. Keep the vial in a plastic cup. Make a little well in the cup with bubble wrap or paper towels. Pick up one of those dish drying mats. They are a padded mat. When you take the cup out of fridge. Place on mat and prepare syringe over mat. So if you drop it, it's on a cushioned mat.
Click to expand...
What I did was, cut out part of a package wrap that had bubble wrap in it! And tape this to the bottle :p
 
As they suggested you should check how thick is the lancet you are using, a very thin lancet ( for example 31 gauge ) does hurt less but very little blood comes out and you end having to poke him more than once ( I tried it ) which is worse.

I'm not very experienced I still struggle a lot myself but I think the spot where you poke is more important than how hard you do it and also make sure his ear is warm cold ears = no blood

Just hang in there actually the first time I finally got it I think it was out of desperation, I had shooted him and he started acting a little weird , it turned out he was just playing me his levels were ok but I got very very scared and decided I had to get bood some how and I actually went through his ear, I thought I was going to need to buy him an earing to wear on the hole, but his ear healed ok
 
whiskeysmom said:
Thanks for the tip..my eyes are so bad..lol

I can't tell where the beveled part is..

I was though, able to get blood this afternoon. His level was 319 so I gave him insulin.

I'm gonna try again tonight to get blood and see what it's at. Maybe he will only need once a day, rather than twice a day??
Click to expand...
Kitties need insulin twice a day because they metabolize it quickly.
 
whiskeysmom said:
If his BG is low, like it was last night..I don't thikn I should be giving him insulin, tho
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If you get Pre-shots that are too low to shoot, that's an indication that the dose needs to be lowered (so if for example, 1 unit twice a day gives you PS's that are too low, you'd go to .75 twice a day)

Without having a spreadsheet going to keep track of his numbers, it's impossible to give you much in the way of useful advice though
 
I just managed to do a test now. It was 266. So I'll give him his dose at 11p..that would be 12 hours since the last dose.
 
whiskeysmom said:
Yeah well, like I said, up til now I haven't had much luck trying to get blood out of him
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Hang in there....the more you poke (even if you don't get blood every time) the easier it'll be! The body reacts to "insult" by adding more capillaries which makes it get easier!

I've tested China so much that I think I could just look at her ears and they'd bleed at this point....LOL
 
Chris & China said:
Hang in there....the more you poke (even if you don't get blood every time) the easier it'll be! The body reacts to "insult" by adding more capillaries which makes it get easier!

I've tested China so much that I think I could just look at her ears and they'd bleed at this point....LOL
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OMG that would be nice if I could just look a certain way and get a blood sample lol
 
His poor little ear was GUSHING blood on that last one, I must have pushed so hard. I always mop it up with a cotton ball with Vetricyn (which is like neosporin spray for cats) right afterwards.
 
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