11/23 Blue AMPS HIGH

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Patty and Blue said:
Yes, it's frustrating but I think I've got it. Do you measure on the plastic ring or above?
Also, my next question...I read this on the sticky and do not understand what this means:

  • If you are using BD syringes, you will use the outside edges of the small arms measure the dose
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It says this because of the protruding ring at the top of the syringe. The ring prevents the large arms of the calipers from being held right up against the syringe barrel. The small arms fit under that ring. I have to use a 10x eye loup to see clearly what I am doing.
 
tiffmaxee said:
I didn’t use BD. Why dint you try using them as set and since it will be consistent not worry about where you measure. Either that or ask who uses calipers and BD. I know Susanne uses calipers but don’t know which syringes. @JaxBenji
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@Patty and Blue I use SureComfort syringes and Harbor Freight 6in calipers. To get my caliper measurements, I used the caliper post and picked four syringes with "good" lines. I measured 1u on all of them and took the average. Then just did math to get other doses. I measure my doses pretty much how they show in the post (the pictures there are awesome...my syringes look more like the Terumo ones in the post as there's some plastic in the barrel...I always start my top caliper at the bottom of the plastic).

For me, it was important to understand that my 1u may be different from your 1u but what I give my kitty every single dose is the same dose. If you use the calipers, I'd just ignore the lines on the syringes all together.

@Butters & Lyla is making want to upgrade my magnifying :p but I use 3.5x glasses from amazon - I love having my hands free - here's a link.
 
I personally found the small arms too difficult to use, so I picked a different spot on the syringe barrel to measure from. I always measure from that same spot. I chose the bottom of the little plastic piece inside the barrel: what the black part of the plunger (the stopper???) sits in when it is pushed up to the top. It looks like a little hat. I can get the large arms close enough to measure accurately with 10x magnification. You choose your own spot, though. As I think Elise said above, pick your spot where you will measure from, and then always measure from there. Your doses will be consistent for Blue and that's what matters.

As long as you are being consistent, the dose should sort itself out relatively soon since you do TR. The lines on the BD syringes (Canadian ones anyways) that mark the units are sometimes off by over .25u, meaning if I were measuring using the lines, sometimes Butters would be getting over .25u more insulin than her dose.:eek: If it is the same for the US ones, then be prepared that Blue might be getting a little less insulin when you start using the syringes, and may need an increase. You do TR so at least you don't have to wait too long if Blue's numbers do go up.

Calipers dosing can be a bit of a challenge to get the hang of in the beginning. It took me a few weeks to get really comfortable and for it to not take like ten minutes to draw up a dose. Keep at it, though. It is the only way to know for sure that you are giving a consistent dose.
 
JaxBenji said:
@Patty and Blue I use SureComfort syringes and Harbor Freight 6in calipers. To get my caliper measurements, I used the caliper post and picked four syringes with "good" lines. I measured 1u on all of them and took the average. Then just did math to get other doses. I measure my doses pretty much how they show in the post (the pictures there are awesome...my syringes look more like the Terumo ones in the post as there's some plastic in the barrel...I always start my top caliper at the bottom of the plastic).

For me, it was important to understand that my 1u may be different from your 1u but what I give my kitty every single dose is the same dose. If you use the calipers, I'd just ignore the lines on the syringes all together.

@Butters & Lyla is making want to upgrade my magnifying :p but I use 3.5x glasses from amazon - I love having my hands free - here's a link.
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A 10x eye loup is amazing. You can see everything, and I mean EVERYTHING....every speck of dust and tiny hair. Not sure you want that.:) I started with glasses but once I got the loup I never went back to them.
 
Butters & Lyla said:
I chose the bottom of the little plastic piece inside the barrel:
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I do this too and noticed that on my syringes this little plastic portion inside the barrel can vary :confused: When I first started measuring with calipers, i was resting my top caliper on the lip of my syringe...until I noticed the little plastic portion inside the barrel was different sizes on different syringes.

And like Lyla said, it can take a bit to get used to the calipers and then moving your syringe millimeters o_O BUT as with most things FD, it gets easier with practice.

Butters & Lyla said:
EVERYTHING....every speck of dust and tiny hair. Not sure you want that.:)
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lol. I already think the 3.5x shows too much I don't want to see on my counter :joyful:
 
Patty and Blue said:
How do you even use the small arms? Yikes, I wondered what they were there for.
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You have to measure from the outside of the two small arms, not the inside like you would with the large arms. Does this make sense? Like, when you open the arms, you would measure based on the space in between the large arms. But with the small arms, you have to start your measurement from the OUTSIDE or the top of the first small arm and measure to the outside of the lower small arm...rather than measuring in between the two arms. They are incredibly difficult to use at smaller doses. That's why I came up with a way that I can use the large arms, in spite of that ring.
 
Patty, I found this for you. Check out the photo attached to this post: https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/thr...g-calipers-w-bd-syringes.233377/#post-2608465
Ignore the info on the mm measurements...we are talking about the Canadian syringes. The important part is the photo from Lyane, another Canadian who uses BD syringes. See how she has pressed the "outside" of the small caliper arm against the ring of the syringe, and then she measures from there to the top of the plunger. And again notice how the outside of the small arm lines up with the top of the plunger. I hope this photo helps explain how small arms are used.
 
Butters & Lyla said:
I haven't found that, yet. Maybe our syringes are different? I checked 20 syringes from different boxes and bags, and the plastic piece I measure from seems to consistently be in the same spot. Unlike the printed lines on the barrel. :facepalm:
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Yes I have SureComfort and I noticed awhile back but now that I measure at the bottom, it doesn't matter. I guess the point is to just have a spot that doesn't change due to manufacture inconsistencies and you'll be good!
 
The picture was great but I don't understand a couple of things...
The small arms overlap so I'm not sure how I would use them.
The other thing is I read in another thread that .5 dose is .81 on the caliper but I see you using .75 on the caliper for the .5 dose. Which is correct?
 
Your .50 will not be the same as someone else’s. Don’t worry about that. Just start with as close to what you are now giving as possible. That will become your .50. If you reduce you will do so by half of that. If you increase by half of that. You may find you are giving more ir less than you thought and need to increase or decrease a little. I hope this makes sense and I’m not confusing you.
 
I hope I helped you and didn’t confuse you more. :bighug: IJust read on another condo that the bd measurements are different in the US than Canada and she needs help with New Zealand.
 
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