02/11 Ethan AMPS 232, +4 205, PMPS 232

Thanks @Angela & Cleo! Its thanks to your help that we were able to get it!

We will try for a mid-cycle today.

He's running out of un-poked real estate along his ear edges...they look irritated and covered with red crustlets :blackeye:. I still have to pick up the coconut oil as Diane Tyler's Mom previously suggested. I might try to put a picture of them into his SS to see if I'm doing something wrong...
 
Thank you @Angela & Cleo!!! This is exactly what we need! We have an aloe plant at home and I was wondering if the gel would be safe to use...but I love that the spray has so many added benefits to promote healing.
 
Thank you @Hendrick Cuddleclaw for the great recommendation! Hoping we can find that spray at one of the local pet supply stores.

Got a mid-cycle in just now...too much blood but got it in one poke. BG still in the yellow. Ethan sometimes (often?) used to nadir before +4 so its possible that we missed it. We're also getting to the end of his first Lantus pen so perhaps its losing some kick now...
 
I wasn't able to find that spray unfortunately, but I found this: Dr. Maggie Skin Care Ointment. It seems to have some good soothing ingredients including coconut oil, hopefully it helps.

I added some pictures in Ethan's SS, including one of his ears. Is this level of irritation normal when starting out testing, or does it look like have I been messing up badly?

There have been one or two times where a poke has gone too deep or he's jerked his head back and gotten a scratch...but as far as I can tell that's not happening every time, and yet his ears still look beat up from only a couple tests a day :blackeye:.

Thank you for your care and concern for Ethan :bighug:
 
Hi Erin, I for one cant really see his ear pic clearly enough to see the irritation you are speaking of. (Cant zoom in or anything) Can you maybe post it right here, as it may be enlarged and easier to see. ?
 
upload_2023-2-11_19-12-17.png


Hopefully this is a bit better? Most of his pokey spots are at the ear tip (the further down the more tickle-y he gets). If its still too small I can try to get a better pic?

I'm going to have to start re-poking the same red crusty spots pretty soon... but they still seem pretty raw/haven't had a chance to heal yet :nailbiting:
 

Attachments

  • upload_2023-2-11_19-12-17.png
    upload_2023-2-11_19-12-17.png
    546.1 KB · Views: 79
Oh yeah Erin, can see what you mean much clearer in this one, poor little ears. Kitkat had them too, and sometimes bruising discoloration. Will he let you hold mild pressure after the test just a little bit longer? It kinda looks like there are small droplets of dried blood over some of the pokies? I'm sure the ointment will help, I use the pure coconut oil, (happened to have some handy). Wondering if a smidge of vaseline petroleum jelly (if you have some) rubbed in might soften them up and speed healing if you havent got the Dr Maggie ointment yet?? Hope he comes better quickly :bighug::bighug:
 
I am just so relieved you didn't say "that looks horrific"!

He's not super impressed with ear fiddling but I will try to do better to hold the wound or at least wipe off more blood.

Tried the ointment on him before PMPS and it feels so soothing I do think it will help things heal up (its like the texture of Vaseline but thicker).

Even then, he didn't let me put ointment on willingly, hubby had to hold him for that :rolleyes:
 
Erin Ethan said:
Even then, he didn't let me put ointment on willingly, hubby had to hold him for that :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Kitkat STILL doesnt like it, or willingly let me either! But I get him anyways! I'm so evil. :mad: lol. sorry now that I never did take any pics of kitkat's ears early on, or I would have sent ya one for comparison, and now he really doesn't mark up or bruise like he used to anymore. Glad you got the oinment.
When Kitkat pulls away or earflicks when I apply pressure, I just grab his ear again and hold, still need to do this 2 or 3 times occasionally, he's getting much more tolerant.
 
huh, Hendrick's ears never got that beat-up looking maybe it was that spray we were using, I never realized it was helping him heal that much

another thing that might help -- it appears from the photos that you tend to poke along the top of the ear, we used a rotation method where we worked around each ear upper, middle, lower pokes and using both sides of each ear to try and minimize repeatedly poking in the same general area
 
OK...I was worried that they looked sore :(.

I am trying not to poke with too much force, but also trying to get a good enough drop so that I don't have to do multiple pokes. Ethan doesn't like it when I apply pressure to the wound after either so it does tend to bleed and crustify too.

I'll try to get to sites further down...had been using the ear tips as they're easier to hold onto with the flicking, but was trying to rotate sites/ears as much as possible...
 
Thanks so much @Hendrick Cuddleclaw for looking that up!

I will try to do more aftercare on the wounds to get the bleeding to stop.

At some point I may take a video to see if there's any more I could do to make the process smoother. The main challenge (other than not realizing about the sides of the strips earlier) - when it comes to getting a consistent poke, rotating lower, and the aftercare- is the amount of movement that's still happening. I can barely hold onto the ear long enough to get a poke in...I am sure there is more I could do to help de-sensitize his ears. I do gently handle his ears outside of pokey-time too...

Unfortunately it doesn't seem like our local Wal-Mart has the spray but I will keep looking for it! Tried two pet supply stores so far but there's still a couple more in the area I can try.
 
Erin Ethan said:
At some point I may take a video to see if there's any more I could do to make the process smoother.
Click to expand...
Thats a good idea, I was thinking of doing the same, a video of how I used to do it, and then now how I do. At first Kitkat was very flicky, and after awhile I noticed I had never paid attention to the 3 fingers below his ears on the hand that held his ear, I was so focused on just thumb and forefinger holding his ear. I paid attention and realized my pinky was kinda deep in his ear canal, and other fingers were tickling his fine ear hairs. The outer edge of ear for poking doesnt have alot of sensory cells, but those fine ear hairs sure do. I will make a video and try and post, you do the same,,,, and when i cant figure out how to post mine, you can tell me how you did it. Deal?
 
Melinda and Kitkat said:
Thats a good idea, I was thinking of doing the same, a video of how I used to do it, and then now how I do. At first Kitkat was very flicky, and after awhile I noticed I had never paid attention to the 3 fingers below his ears on the hand that held his ear, I was so focused on just thumb and forefinger holding his ear. I paid attention and realized my pinky was kinda deep in his ear canal, and other fingers were tickling his fine ear hairs. The outer edge of ear for poking doesnt have alot of sensory cells, but those fine ear hairs sure do.
Click to expand...
That is sooooo true. To this day, Cleo reacts when my fingers slip to far down from the tip.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top