Struggling with testing

[Seasnskies]

Hello all!
I am a little ashamed to admit that I have procrastinated on getting a handle on monitoring my cat Chloe's blood glucose.
She had an incident on Friday, acting strange, panting, tongue out, so we took her to the animal hospital and $1,200 later, she stayed overnight, and they kept on eye on her, but not much else was determined. They thought it might be possible that she was going into remission, because her BG stayed fairly normal the entire time she was there, but it did creep up again by late the next day.
I have been trying to check it, but I am having a really hard time with it. I've tried just with the needle, and with a lancing device, and she is getting really fed up with me. I just can't seem to get her to hold still for long enough, and it's traumatizing for both of us.
Oddly enough her regular vet clinic said to just leave it alone for the next week or two, and give her the insulin at the normal times but that seems really strange advice to me. They said after a week or two they could do a blood curve.
I can't help but wonder why we would wait a week or two? Why would I want to continue to give her insulin, if we don't know if that is what she needs? I would just like to monitor it myself, but as I said, I'm really struggling. Chloe just gets so upset.
Any advice?

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

/After suffering a possible hypo incident that cost you $1200.00 I would most definitely start learning to home test.
Giving the insulin without finding out what the BG is first is taking a big risk every time, especially after a hypo.
Here is a link to HOMETESTING LINKS AND TIPS
If you follow the tips, I’m sure it will get much easier. Are you using size 26 or 28 gauge lancets?
What type of meter are you using?
Test the BG before every dose to see it is safe to give the dose.
How much Prozinc are you giving at the moment?
Did you reduce the dose after the hypo episode?

I would also think about setting up a SPREADSHEET LINK. Click on blue type to see link to spreadsheet.
Are you feeding a low carb diets.?
Are you giving snacks during the first half of all the cycles?
Do you have a hypo kit set up?
Please read this link about HYPOS and print it off and put on your fridge for future reference.
I am going to tag @FrostD and @JanetNJ asa they used Prozinc.

 

[JanetNJ]

I would start testing today and if you do give insulin, greatly reduce the amount. He obviously needs a reduction, plus they can be very insulin sensitive after a hypo. I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat CC at home.

 

[FrostD]

It's hard to say without test data, but like Janet said you need to reduce. They can be very sensitive to insulin after a hypo. If she's at 2.2U, something like 1U perhaps, at least for a few days. Home testing would help greatly to get her to a safe dose

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up

6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand
I find it better to see where I'm aiming

VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar
Here is a video one of our members did

 

[Lando demando]

Hello all!
I am a little ashamed to admit that I have procrastinated on getting a handle on monitoring my cat Chloe's blood glucose.
She had an incident on Friday, acting strange, panting, tongue out, so we took her to the animal hospital and $1,200 later, she stayed overnight, and they kept on eye on her, but not much else was determined. They thought it might be possible that she was going into remission, because her BG stayed fairly normal the entire time she was there, but it did creep up again by late the next day.
I have been trying to check it, but I am having a really hard time with it. I've tried just with the needle, and with a lancing device, and she is getting really fed up with me. I just can't seem to get her to hold still for long enough, and it's traumatizing for both of us.
Oddly enough her regular vet clinic said to just leave it alone for the next week or two, and give her the insulin at the normal times but that seems really strange advice to me. They said after a week or two they could do a blood curve.
I can't help but wonder why we would wait a week or two? Why would I want to continue to give her insulin, if we don't know if that is what she needs? I would just like to monitor it myself, but as I said, I'm really struggling. Chloe just gets so upset.
Any advice?

I hope the above advice has helped you and chloe! It all gets so much better and easier the more you do it. I felt many of the feelings you are voicing and i sympathize! I would like to add that having a light attached to reading glasses helped me find the sweet spot, and sitting and petting for a few minutes before also helped BOTH CAT AND HUMAN! Good luck!