First test a fail

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Sundance2023

Member Since 2023
I tried to test for the first time today. I think I used a lance that was to big as I got plenty of blood, it was a 21g lance. I know several have said I think 26 was ideal so this was a bit big I guess. Was very hard since I am by myself. He wasn't resistive as such he just kept raising his head thinking I was petting him. And then I get the blood on the test strip, the meter counts down ....error. I have no problem with the injections but I don't know if I can do the testing. Upset, pissed and frustrated.
 
Try a 26 or 28 gauge lancet. Just keep at it ,a lot of members had difficulty in the beginning.
Are you poking where the sweet spot is. You could have hit a vein by accident

If you can put the test strip in the meter but not all the way in and as soon as you get the blood push the test strip in all the way

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
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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 not the lancing device
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
Look at the lancet under a light and you will see one side is curved upward, that's the side you want to poke with
 
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His ears feel warm to the touch so I'm not sure warming is needed. Also he has a lot of fur on the ear which makes it hard to see the veins and where to lance and where to not lance.
I know some have said shine a light behind the ear but I can only do so much with one set of hands, cotton round, lance and holding him still is about all I can handle by myself. I have some 30g lance's
I will give a try tomorrow with one of those and see if I can find some 26g or 28g lances. I should maybe take up juggling once I get this down.
 
Sundance2023 said:
I tried to test for the first time today. I think I used a lance that was to big as I got plenty of blood, it was a 21g lance. I know several have said I think 26 was ideal so this was a bit big I guess. Was very hard since I am by myself. He wasn't resistive as such he just kept raising his head thinking I was petting him. And then I get the blood on the test strip, the meter counts down ....error. I have no problem with the injections but I don't know if I can do the testing. Upset, pissed and frustrated.
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The testing is very stressful at first. It feels like you’re torturing your cat, and then if it goes wrong it’s even worse because now you’re torturing your cat for no reason! But, it gets easier every time you try it and soon enough you and your cat are total pros.

Very few people get the testing down on the first try. If you got blood on the first try, you’re doing really well.

Which meter are you using? Some are more finicky than others.

One really great tip I found in a video is to use the side of the lancet handle to scoop up the blood once you get a good drop. There are ridges on the side of the handle, and they’re really great for picking up the blood. Once you do that, as long as you have enough blood you can use multiple test strips if needed.
 
I used to hold a small flashlight in my mouth because yes, only so many hands. Some folks use a hiking head light so it’s on your forehead. Too little blood and too much blood will give you an error. If you get too much blood on the strip it won’t work. It’s best to scoop up the blood into a clean nail and bring the strip to it so it can “suck up“ the right amount of bloom
 
Jacques and Pumpkin said:
The testing is very stressful at first. It feels like you’re torturing your cat, and then if it goes wrong it’s even worse because now you’re torturing your cat for no reason!
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You hit the nail on the head. The cat didn't really seem to mind but I felt bad for him.

It's virtually impossible to not go completely through the ear so I guess that is OK?
 
Sundance2023 said:
You hit the nail on the head. The cat didn't really seem to mind but I felt bad for him.

It's virtually impossible to not go completely through the ear so I guess that is OK?
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First of all, I am super impressed that you even got a blood droplet on your first try!! Omg I don't think I got blood for my first 10 tries. So frustrating. I thought I would never figure this crap out.

Also, when we were first learning how to do home BG testing, yes we would sometimes accidentally go all the way through the ear -- but believe me once you get the hang of this you won't be doing that anymore except maybe on the rare occasion when it happens by accident.

A really great tip someone gave me once was to make sure that you approach the ear with the lancet at a 45 degree angle, and rotate the tip of the lancet so that the angled edge is pointed down. Then you can hit the capillary bed and get a blood droplet by just barely breaking the surface. Also, as you do more and more testing the ears will grow more capillaries and it actually becomes easier to get blood because of this.
 
You’ll start to get the hang of how much pressure to put on with the needle so it doesn’t go through the ear. I pricked my finger a few times so I could see how little pressure you need to create a hole and get blood. Yes, you feel bad for the cat but that’s why you give a treat and I’d also verbally say things like, you did so good, you’re such a good girl, good job and tons of pets and kisses followed too. I used to also sing a lullaby to calm us both and it helped me a lot probably more than her lol!
 
Ale & Minnie (GA) said:
You’ll start to get the hang of how much pressure to put on with the needle so it doesn’t go through the ear. I pricked my finger a few times so I could see how little pressure you need to create a hole and get blood. Yes, you feel bad for the cat but that’s why you give a treat and I’d also verbally say things like, you did so good, you’re such a good girl, good job and tons of pets and kisses followed too. I used to also sing a lullaby to calm us both and it helped me a lot probably more than her lol!
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I think he would get upset if I sang :-)
 
Second try I got error 4 which is not enough blood. I guess I need to let him bleed a little more. Will try a little later so I don't stress him but I'm sure I am far more stressed then he is.
 
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Are you looking at the strip as it pulls the blood in? You can visually see when the chip is full. There are some meters that actually beep when it had pulled enough blood
 
The meter I am using is the Relion Premier Classic. I put in the strip but not far enough to turn it on. I lance and get some blood to pool (I never see a defined droplet as it
defuses into the fur on the ear). Once I think there is enough blood I push in the test strip turning on the meter and get the icon indicating to get the blood sample. I get the sample
and it starts counting down and goes to error, no glucose reading, the last time ER4, don't remember if it was the same the other time. I'll look at the strip next time and see if it fills the cavity at the end
of the test strip.
 
Sundance2023 said:
The meter I am using is the Relion Premier Classic. I put in the strip but not far enough to turn it on. I lance and get some blood to pool (I never see a defined droplet as it
defuses into the fur on the ear). Once I think there is enough blood I push in the test strip turning on the meter and get the icon indicating to get the blood sample. I get the sample
and it starts counting down and goes to error, no glucose reading, the last time ER4, don't remember if it was the same the other time. I'll look at the strip next time and see if it fills the cavity at the end
of the test strip.
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it should look like this when it sucks up the blood droplet (skip to 30 second mark):

 
The test strips I purchased that SAY they are for the Relion Premier Classic do not look at all like the ones in the
video. This is what I have. Also why would the meter start the count down if there wasn't enough blood (unless the people that designed this
meter are idiots)? Just tried AGAIN and got er4. Does this look like enough blood? As I previously said I can't get a droplet as the fur on his ear defuses the blood. I am getting very frustrated because I am sticking him over and over and not getting any results. I would return the meter but I'm sure as with most of the blood products it, non-returnable.

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I guess I will try it on myself and see if it works. Also does anyone here use the control solution to
test the meter? If so I don't see Relion brand at Walmart or Amazon, does brand matter?
 
Sundance2023 said:
The test strips I purchased that SAY they are for the Relion Premier Classic do not look at all like the ones in the
video. This is what I have. Also why would the meter start the count down if there wasn't enough blood (unless the people that designed this
meter are idiots)? Just tried AGAIN and got er4. Does this look like enough blood? As I previously said I can't get a droplet as the fur on his ear defuses the blood. I am getting very frustrated because I am sticking him over and over and not getting any results. I would return the meter but I'm sure as with most of the blood products it, non-returnable.

View attachment 66591
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That looks like the right kind of test strip for the Relion Premier Classic.

You don't have enough blood. If you had enough, there would be some red showing in the window. I'll upload a video if I can after Pumpkin's next test.

The reason the meter starts counting immediately is because there's actually a chemical in the test strip that reacts with the blood. So as soon as some of the chemical starts interacting with the blood, the test has to complete one way or another. Either with a successful reading, or with an error. You can read a bit more about it here if you're interested: http://technologyinscience.blogspot.com/2015/01/how-does-glucometer-or-glucose.html

Some people get lucky and their cats easily produce enough blood. It sounds like you're going to have to try some different things with Oscar to get what you need. A few thoughts:
  • Like other members mentioned, try warming the ear with a rice-filled sock you warmed in the microwave. Even if the ears feel warm, see if the rice sock helps. With Pumpkin, it just freaked her out, but most cats tolerate it just fine.
  • After poking, try squeezing the edge of the ear gently a few times to get a larger drop to come out (not right in the place where you did the poke, but right next)
  • You could also try applying a bit of vaseline or neosporin to the ear before poking to help the blood pool

Above all, just keep trying. I didn't believe it when people told me, but their ears really do learn to bleed. My first attempts, I would finally corral Pumpkin to be able to do the poke, and then I would get barely anything, followed by the dreaded Err4. Now she produces an absolute gusher nearly every time, and I'm not poking through her vein.

If you're really stuck, you could try the Abbott Freestyle Lite. It requires an even smaller drop of blood. I don't like the meter because the test strips are very expensive ($0.50 online, $1 in pharmacies), and I think it reads lower than other meters (I'm working on a small study to turn this into less of a hunch). But, it's better than no tests. If it really does read low, it's at least erring on the safe side for keeping your cat out of the hypo range.
 
Sundance2023 said:
I guess I will try it on myself and see if it works. Also does anyone here use the control solution to
test the meter? If so I don't see Relion brand at Walmart or Amazon, does brand matter?
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I don't use the control solution, and I don't think most people do either. The brand shouldn't matter since it's just a well-calibrated amount of glucose suspended in a liquid.
 
Sundance2023 said:
The test strips I purchased that SAY they are for the Relion Premier Classic do not look at all like the ones in the
video. This is what I have. Also why would the meter start the count down if there wasn't enough blood (unless the people that designed this
meter are idiots)? Just tried AGAIN and got er4. Does this look like enough blood? As I previously said I can't get a droplet as the fur on his ear defuses the blood. I am getting very frustrated because I am sticking him over and over and not getting any results. I would return the meter but I'm sure as with most of the blood products it, non-returnable.

View attachment 66591
Click to expand...

Here's a video showing how the tests work: https://imgur.com/a/KgNHAg5

You can see the little window turn red. Sometimes it turns partly red, not all the way red like you see here. My experience is that when that happens a re-test will show a pretty different result. So if you see a result you're not expecting, take a look to see if it got a full sample.

You don't need a drop of blood nearly as big as I got. Like I said, Pumpkin is a gusher now. She wasn't when I started. This sample was taken from the very edge of her ear, so there's no way I nicked her vein. Every cat is different, of course, but for most cats you'll find the blood drops aren't as tiny after a week or two of testing.

By the way, has Oscar been able to move inside yet now that he has something for the diarrhea?
 
Sundance2023 said:
The test strips I purchased that SAY they are for the Relion Premier Classic do not look at all like the ones in the
video.
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THe meter and strips in the video are for the Relion Prime and the words "Prime" appear on the meter in the video. The Prime was the previous version of the Relion line of meters. Prime strips will not work in a Premier mer and vice versa
 
Jacques and Pumpkin said:
Here's a video showing how the tests work: https://imgur.com/a/KgNHAg5

You can see the little window turn red. Sometimes it turns partly red, not all the way red like you see here. My experience is that when that happens a re-test will show a pretty different result. So if you see a result you're not expecting, take a look to see if it got a full sample.

You don't need a drop of blood nearly as big as I got. Like I said, Pumpkin is a gusher now. She wasn't when I started. This sample was taken from the very edge of her ear, so there's no way I nicked her vein. Every cat is different, of course, but for most cats you'll find the blood drops aren't as tiny after a week or two of testing.

By the way, has Oscar been able to move inside yet now that he has something for the diarrhea?
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OK, cool. I didn't know about the window, I was just trying to get the very tip covered with blood. I never get a droplet but I did have success this time and got a reading (260). Now that I know about the little window and about how much blood I need hopefully most of my tests will be successful. I also got some 26g lances. BTW check your Walmart if you are in the US. I got 100 26g for $1.67, they are 5-7 dollar most other places including Amazon. 260 is a bit high but lower than the 497 the vet got and before I started giving insulin. So I hope he on the road to good health. He does have one other problem the vet didn't address after he saw his glucose so hi. I have a vet app the 6th so hopefully I can what is causing the other problem.

Thanks for the video,
Steve
 
Hey Steve how are things going. Sorry if my video threw you off a little, glad Larry and the others were able to help show you what it should look like with your type of meter.

You could always try returning that one and switching to a meter that can take a smaller drop of blood. Or as others have said, try milking the ear a little more before you stick the test strip up there.
 
Jacques and Pumpkin said:
Here's a video showing how the tests work: https://imgur.com/a/KgNHAg5

You can see the little window turn red. Sometimes it turns partly red, not all the way red like you see here. My experience is that when that happens a re-test will show a pretty different result. So if you see a result you're not expecting, take a look to see if it got a full sample.

You don't need a drop of blood nearly as big as I got. Like I said, Pumpkin is a gusher now. She wasn't when I started. This sample was taken from the very edge of her ear, so there's no way I nicked her vein. Every cat is different, of course, but for most cats you'll find the blood drops aren't as tiny after a week or two of testing.

By the way, has Oscar been able to move inside yet now that he has something for the diarrhea?
Click to expand...

thank you so much for this, I never used the relion meters so did not know I was showing him a meter with a different type of strip in it. D'oh

That's a great little clip, very good demo
 
Hendrick Cuddleclaw said:
Hey Steve how are things going. Sorry if my video threw you off a little, glad Larry and the others were able to help show you what it should look like with your type of meter.

You could always try returning that one and switching to a meter that can take a smaller drop of blood. Or as others have said, try milking the ear a little more before you stick the test strip up there.
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I think I got it now, just needed more blood and once I knew the little window was an indicator it went OK. Tested twice yesterday.
 
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