1/28 Alska AMPS=218 PMPS=106

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RobinCot

RobinCot

Member Since 2013
Took off that tutu to bask in the sunshine today.

Good discussion on shooting methods yesterday. In fact, I think I am shooting into a parted pinch rather than a tent. Also, I can't get a pinch from his scruff so I mostly shoot around shoulders. Unfortunately it is mostly the right shoulder because I can't hold him with my forearm if I am pinching on the left.

I have to chuckle at the idea of holding the syringe in my mouth because I would for sure end up stabbing my lips :lol:

Last month I accidentally bloodied my cheek with my own thumbnail!
 
Re: 1/28 Alska AMPS=218

LOL no girl, you keep the cap on until you're ready to shoot. :lol: Are you a clutz? :lol: Join the party, been a clutz all my life. I'm forever injuring myself in some way.

I don't shoot in the scruff either, heard there are few capillaries there so it doesn't get absorbed well. I shoot across the shoulders too.
 
Re: 1/28 Alska AMPS=218

Yeah but Debbie there's that part where you remove the cap with your teeth - I can totally see my arm ricocheting with the syringe pointing right at my face :lol:
 
Re: 1/28 Alska AMPS=218

:lol: I've done crazier things. :lol:

Usually just out of shear stupidity, like a few months ago when I tried to hack off a chunk of frozen cooked turkey meat for Lucian, with a heavy cleaver and almost got my hand! :shock:

Now I should know better, I KNOW my aim sux ! I can't even play Putt Putt! Yet I'm going to attempt to chop off frozen meat with a cleaver, that I am holding with the opposite hand. :o I actually felt the coolness of the blade, it came that close. ohmygod_smile ohmygod_smile

Dumb stuff like that is how I get hurt. ohmygod_smile :lol:
 
Re: 1/28 Alska AMPS=218

I have a knife phobia because I'm such a klutz! I even sliced my knuckles the other day when I was grating cheese. ohmygod_smile

For the shots, Michelangelo has always been difficult. The first month or so, I was able to shoot while he ate. Then he caught onto that trick and refused to cooperate. He gets so mad at me whenever I give him a shot that he'll give me a good *****-slap with claws drawn if I don't move out of the way fast enough. I think it partially has to do with the Lantus sting. Yeah, I know he's not on a high enough dose to allegedly be able to feel the sting, but what else can you call it when twice a day for the past year and a half, his skin twitches and ripples after I give him a shot and he jerks at it and licks the spot like something bit him. (This is the major reason I want to try out Levemir with him.)

What I've been doing lately is get him up on his kitty condo or my bed or the couch. Then, I loosely wrap my arms around him with the syringe in one hand. I gently pull flat (no tenting) an area along his flank/side and I angle the needle in at about a 20* degree angle going towards his head. I press the plunger and hold it in for a couple of seconds (or as long as Mikey will let me) to reduce the chance of leakage and then I pull the syringe back out and I hold my hands up in surrender so Mikey can see I'm done poking him. It's reduced Mikey's "you pinched me so I'm hurting you back!" swipe to about once every other day now, which I'm thankful for. But, knowing Mikey, this will probably work for about a month or so before I have to find yet another technique. :YMSIGH: At least that means I've got quite a few tricks up my sleeve when it comes to giving shots so let me know if you want a few more ideas. ;-)
 
Re: 1/28 Alska AMPS=218

I don't think getting a small dose makes a difference. Haven't you poked yourself with a used Lantus needle with nothing but the residue? That mess stings! Bad! I'm sure just a couple drops hurts a whole lot worse. I poked myself a couple times when Lucian was on Lantus and I can understand why Mikey gets mad.

Graters are dangerous, I've lost knuckles and nails more than once. :lol: That's why I bought a food processor, so I could make slaw without butchering myself. :lol:
 
Re: 1/28 Alska AMPS=218

Alska's back seems to always be itchy which is probably why he likes to be brushed. I never thought it could be the Lantus. Yet another reason to try Levemir. I am almost finished this pen and am going to go back and try the two pens I thought were bad.
 
Re: 1/28 Alska AMPS=218

I'm just glad to know that there can be a sting. For a while, I just thought it was another example of my kitty being difficult and everyone else's being easy. Now, I know that's not totally the case. I hope my shrimp trick works for a long time cause I don't know what I'll do when it doesn't. I got a 5 pack of Lantus pens in December, so we've got a while to go.
 
Re: 1/28 Alska AMPS=218

Yeah, everyone says the sting is only at higher doses or that it's because the insulin is cold, but I know that's not the case with Michelangelo. He has no problem with the needle in his skin; it's just when I inject the Lantus that I get a reaction from him like, "why'd you hurt me? :cry: I hurt you now! :evil: "

When he first started on Lantus, it was really bad to the point that he had hyperesthesia constantly! He never had the issue before starting insulin, which is why I feel like there should be a new category of insulin-induced feline hyperesthesia or something. I got Henry a couple of months after Mikey's diagnosis and that helped reduce the frequency of his "episodes" because he could redirect the irritation to play with Henry, but he still has them. In fact, I can usually tell when the Lantus is starting to kick in and his numbers will start dropping within the next hour or two because his skin will start rippling and twitching, his eyes will dilate, he'll start yowling, and his ears will flatten back with annoyance. If I'm on top of things or if Henry is around, I can redirect his frustrations and distract him. If I'm not around, then he becomes grumpy, angry cat and won't let anyone near him.

This is my last Lantus pen at the $25 discount price, so I'm planning on starting him on Levemir in the next month or so once I get him scheduled at the vet and convince my vet to let me "pioneer" Levemir at his practice. And once he's on the Levemir, if things improve, then I'll prove once and for all (at least to myself) that Lantus does have a "sting," regardless of the dose.
 
Re: 1/28 Alska AMPS=218

My civvie Bing has hyperesthesia but he has the neurological reaction along with the back twitching and frantic licking. Luckily Alska's back twitching is not that bad
 
I keep on saying that I need to take some video of Mikey during one of his episodes. It's like he's possessed or something. :o
 
I so know what you mean. I feel so bad for my Bing running around frantically as if his back is on fire. Sometimes I just hold him to try to soothe or distract him. I remember the vet telling me to remove all stress from his environment and I responded that he IS the cause of all the stress in my house :lol: then she told me to hide treats and make him hunt for them so I put a bowl in the cupboard with a few treats in it and now all my civvies open that cupboard to get their treats. Then I got him a birdfeeder to chatter at.
 
Awww poor kitties! That must be awful. :sad:

Glad the only issue Lucian has is FD.

Don't let anyone tell you Lantus, in the tiniest amount, doesn't sting. They are lying! :o I think I got myself maybe 3 times while he was on Lantus and it stung like h*ll for at least 5 mins. Just got myself with the PZI this morning. :lol: Gotta get christened. :lol: No sting with the PZI either.
 
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