06/02/2022 - Whiskey AMPS=241

[stannarp]

Previous thread:

3 Feb 2022

OK, so the story is that testing anything other than the ears is a no go area.

Tried paws, all 4 are a big no. She squirms too much (and growls), they don't give a big enough sample for testing, and only 2 hands are not enough to hold, squeeze, grab Glucometer and test.

The ears are healing, but I don't want to set her off scratching them again at this point, in retrospect she had almost shredded them. Also she is 100% more resistant to ear pokes than before.

Didn't take her in for ear cleaning on Friday, as I feel that a couple more days of healing would make all the difference, so I asked if I could bring her in so we could assess whether another cleaning was needed tm am.

A Libre isn't an option for me, they are beyond my budget right now (in SA they are quite a price) and with all the vet visits with the ears, fitting one isn't affordable for me now even if I could get one.

But...her BG is climbing, and her dose needs to go up to 0.25, but I can't monitor her more than 2 x a day depending on the level of agitation (sometimes 1 x) at the moment, and am therefore worried about safety.

Advice???

 

[Wendy&Neko]

I'd keep holding her dose. It wasn't that long ago she went below 50 on 0.25 units. Plus with no other tests it's hard to say if the tests you are getting are the results of bounces due to lower numbers at another time, or too little insulin.

One other thought is to measure the number of drops in the 0.25 unit dose and the 0.1 units, and see what the difference is. To measure how many drops, fill to the dose, then try twisting the plunger slowly to get out a drop. Practice until you get uniform consistent size drops. You can try coloured liquid in an old syringe first for practice. Once you've got a consistent size, then count the number of drops in the two doses. Would be interesting to see what the difference is between the two, and whether there might be a dose in between.

 

[stannarp]

I'd keep holding her dose. It wasn't that long ago she went below 50 on 0.25 units. Plus with no other tests it's hard to say if the tests you are getting are the results of bounces due to lower numbers at another time, or too little insulin.

One other thought is to measure the number of drops in the 0.25 unit dose and the 0.1 units, and see what the difference is. To measure how many drops, fill to the dose, then try twisting the plunger slowly to get out a drop. Practice until you get uniform consistent size drops. You can try coloured liquid in an old syringe first for practice. Once you've got a consistent size, then count the number of drops in the two doses. Would be interesting to see what the difference is between the two, and whether there might be a dose in between.

Thanks so much.

Yes, the dipping below 50 on 0.25 is worrying me too.

The drops in the syringe idea is a good one, thanks, have also been trying to figure out an intermediate dose.

I'll try with some rooibos or chamomile tea, they are light enough to read the syringe and colorful enough to see drops! Thanks

 

[stannarp]

I'd keep holding her dose. It wasn't that long ago she went below 50 on 0.25 units. Plus with no other tests it's hard to say if the tests you are getting are the results of bounces due to lower numbers at another time, or too little insulin.

One other thought is to measure the number of drops in the 0.25 unit dose and the 0.1 units, and see what the difference is. To measure how many drops, fill to the dose, then try twisting the plunger slowly to get out a drop. Practice until you get uniform consistent size drops. You can try coloured liquid in an old syringe first for practice. Once you've got a consistent size, then count the number of drops in the two doses. Would be interesting to see what the difference is between the two, and whether there might be a dose in between.

So, I did the drops on the syringe idea, it looks as if there is a 1.5 drop difference between 0.25 and 0.10 - tried to take pics of each with my camera, but although they look very different on the syringe, on the camera they look absolutely identical.

Wondering if I should try a dose which is either 1 drop more than 0.10 or half a drop more than 0.10 - all academic at the moment as vet says I need to continue ear treatment until Friday and add daily flushing to it which is going to result in a very annoyed cat, so I plan to hold her low dose until I am no longer fiddling with her ears and can monitor better.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

I'd also hold this dose until you can start testing more. If her ears heal up, that would be reduced inflammation which by itself could be why her numbers are higher. Healthier ears may mean less insulin needed.

 

[stannarp]

I'd also hold this dose until you can start testing more. If her ears heal up, that would be reduced inflammation which by itself could be why her numbers are higher. Healthier ears may mean less insulin needed.

yes, that is also a good point, I will monitor - I can probably test again (at least) pre am and pm now, so at least I can get more data, but am going to hold off on more extensive testing until I finish the treatment - same reason as in this thread ... 7 Feb 2022, I am already traumatizing her several times a day and she is not keen on testing, as it is on ears, so I don't want to create a fear around testing, as it won't serve either of us well in the long run.