10/14 Molly AMPS 187

Adrienne & Molly said:
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/10-13-molly-amps-191.236816/#post-2656958

@Sue and Luci whats a fractional increase?
Click to expand...

Sorry...I forgot to respond to you last night! I go to bed early...I'm up between 4 and 5 a.m. every day so by 8 p.m. I'm toast.

Fractional dosing refers to increments less than .25. Some people refer to them as 'Skinny' or 'Fat' dosing.

If you take a look at @Butters & Lyla SS - you'll see she's using calipers to indicate exactly how much of a fraction of .25 she's giving.

Numbers like 1.125 are not quite a whole .25 increase or decrease.

Do you have calipers? If not, order these from Harbor Freight. They're wonderful.
https://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-...rj5VVy7hojaGhufK10L7mYEMEs31-B-hoCuj8QAvD_BwE

I wasted money and time ordering a bigger calipers from Amazon...never use them...the smaller size works best!

Thank you for reminding me again of your question this morning!
 
I highly recommend using calipers for dosing! To add to what @Sue and Luci said...in addition to helping you be able to do fractional increases if/when appropriate, I would like to mention that dosing with calipers is so much more accurate.

Harbor Freight doesn't ship to Canada, though. You can check out amazon.ca, lee valley or canadian tire. I found the canadian tire ones to be too expensive. Bought mine from Lee Valley. The same one is available on amazon.ca but when I bought them the price was the same as Lee Valley.

There is a certain tolerance in syringe manufacturing that is allowed in regards to placement of the unit markings. If you take a bunch of your syringes and compare them to one another, you will see that the markings are not necessarily in the exact same place. This is fine when we are talking about the amounts of insulin being given to humans, but for kitties, especially those on a smaller dose, it can make quite a difference.

Marje posted instructions and an excellent video on calipers dosing: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dosing-with-calipers-updated-w-videos.79851/#post-862835

It took me a good two weeks to feel very comfortable doing it. And I asked a tonne of questions in my condos when I was first starting out with them. But I couldn't imagine dosing without them now.

Have a great day!
 
Sue and Luci said:
Sorry...I forgot to respond to you last night! I go to bed early...I'm up between 4 and 5 a.m. every day so by 8 p.m. I'm toast.

Fractional dosing refers to increments less than .25. Some people refer to them as 'Skinny' or 'Fat' dosing.

If you take a look at @Butters & Lyla SS - you'll see she's using calipers to indicate exactly how much of a fraction of .25 she's giving.

Numbers like 1.125 are not quite a whole .25 increase or decrease.

Do you have calipers? If not, order these from Harbor Freight. They're wonderful.
https://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-...rj5VVy7hojaGhufK10L7mYEMEs31-B-hoCuj8QAvD_BwE

I wasted money and time ordering a bigger calipers from Amazon...never use them...the smaller size works best!

Thank you for reminding me again of your question this morning!
Click to expand...

No worries Sue I figured you weren't online. Thanks for your help this morning. I'll find some calipers and give it a try. I may have lots of questions though
 
Adrienne & Molly said:
https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/vernier-caliper-0581253p.html#srp
Would this one be ok to buy? Looks hard to do @Butters & Lyla
Click to expand...

You want a digital caliper....https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=digital+c...23011&ref=sr_nr_n_2&tag=felinediabetesfdmb-20

I was intimidated, too. If you can get that, a lightboard....something like this: https://www.amazon.ca/FOME-Ultra-th...ling/dp/B07BK4VD11/?tag=felinediabetesfdmb-20

ANd a lit magnifying glass or even just a magnifying glass if you have really good lighting at home. You'll be able to do it. I had to watch the video probably about 15 times and I asked a lot of questions as I was going through the process.
Instead of dosing by "units" you would be translating those units into measurements of "mm". So you want to get a digital caliper that has "mm" readings on it. I know it seems intimidating at first but if you are going to go for it we will help you. Chances are, measurements for your syringe type may exist already. What syringes do you use for Molly?
 
Butters & Lyla said:
You want a digital caliper....https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=digital calipers&rh=n:11076213011,n:11853191011&dc&qid=1602685675&rnid=5264023011&ref=sr_nr_n_2

I was intimidated, too. If you can get that, a lightboard....something like this: https://www.amazon.ca/FOME-Ultra-thin-Adjustable-Brightness-Stencilling/dp/B07BK4VD11/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=led light board&qid=1602685751&s=industrial&sr=1-1

ANd a lit magnifying glass or even just a magnifying glass if you have really good lighting at home. You'll be able to do it. I had to watch the video probably about 15 times and I asked a lot of questions as I was going through the process.
Instead of dosing by "units" you would be translating those units into measurements of "mm". So you want to get a digital caliper that has "mm" readings on it. I know it seems intimidating at first but if you are going to go for it we will help you. Chances are, measurements for your syringe type may exist already. What syringes do you use for Molly?
Click to expand...
Okay I’ll order them from Amazon Molly uses these
upload_2020-10-14_7-38-30.jpeg
 

Attachments

  • upload_2020-10-14_7-38-30.jpeg
    upload_2020-10-14_7-38-30.jpeg
    62.8 KB · Views: 122
I don't see the little locking wheel on top of that one...

If you look closely at the one from Harbor Freight you'll see a little wheel on the top...that's where you unlock the 'jaws' to set the amount...then you turn it back and lock it on that setting...so you don't have to reset it every time you measure up your dose.
 
 
Sue and Luci said:
Yes better to get that kind...so they lock when you set up your numbers - you'll do that based on your type of syringe as Lyla mentioned earlier.
Click to expand...
Okay I ordered the calipers, they'll be here Saturday. I watched the video that @Butters & Lyla attached to this thread. But I'm not sure what to do for the conversion? Molly is at 150 U for dose. So 1 unit is 1.5mm correct? then I need to add on .50 and increase that to what .5?
 
Adrienne & Molly said:
Okay I ordered the calipers, they'll be here Saturday. I watched the video that @Butters & Lyla attached to this thread. But I'm not sure what to do for the conversion? Molly is at 150 U for dose. So 1 unit is 1.5mm correct? then I need to add on .50 and increase that to what .5?
Click to expand...

Okay hang on I'm going to give you the spreadsheet that I believe @Sonia & Leo originally did. I follow that as I use the same syringes as you. BD Ultrafine II 3/10ml.

ETA: I'm just having a bit of a moment having forgotten how to attach a file. I will attach it but in the meantime I think I can copy the values for you.
 
Last edited:
Here you go! And It may actually have been @Ti-Mousse who created it.
Lemme know if it doesn't work for some reason.
ETA: All I know is, somebody on here created this for Canadian BD Ultrafine II 3/10ml syringes, and those of us in Canada who use them have benefitted greatly from it!:D
 

Attachments

Last edited:
Adrienne & Molly said:
Perfect thank you Lyla :). I printed it off and now wait for the calipers. I feel bad bugging you with Butters being sick. I hope she feels better soon and is home with you!:bighug::bighug:
Click to expand...
DOn't feel bad at all.:bighug: It's no bother (lolol my boss may differ). If I can help other people, I'm happy. I can do that even as I worry about my own cat. :)
@Briere Fur Mom made me a convert and it has made such a huge difference even though I was incredibly frustrated in the beginning. It is so worth it now so I'll do whatever I can to help anyone who wants to try. Some people seem to have got the hang of it a lot quicker than me. So if it comes easily to you, then awesome! If it doesn't, I and others will help you.:bighug:
 
Butters & Lyla said:
DOn't feel bad at all.:bighug: It's no bother (lolol my boss may differ). If I can help other people, I'm happy. I can do that even as I worry about my own cat. :)
@Briere Fur Mom made me a convert and it has made such a huge difference even though I was incredibly frustrated in the beginning. It is so worth it now so I'll do whatever I can to help anyone who wants to try. Some people seem to have got the hang of it a lot quicker than me. So if it comes easily to you, then awesome! If it doesn't, I and others will help you.:bighug:
Click to expand...
Okay :) so I increase the calipers to .5 for the increase?
 
Adrienne & Molly said:
Okay :) so I increase the calipers to .5 for the increase?
Click to expand...
Okay so first I just wanna state that I can't help you figure out how much insulin to increase Molly by... @Sue and Luci I know mentioned it earlier so I'll leave that part of the discussion for her. (I know you aren't asking me that, just wanna state it though for the lurkers ;))

So in terms of determining the measurement for your calipers based on your syringe type, here is what I'd do:

First set up your calipers:
Zero them out by closing them all the way and make sure the measurement says "0". You can "tare" them if it is needed. Refer to instructions.
Make sure that you are on the "mm" setting. Most calipers toggle between "in" and "mm".
Open the calipers until you get to the correct caliper measurement that is equivalent to Molly's dose in units.
Use the locking wheel so they lock in place! Then you don't have to fiddle with them again until you change her dose.

Second, figure out the measurement for her dose.

Current dose for Molly = 1.50u BID.
1.50u = set calipers to a distance of 2.25mm (as per spreadsheet of measurements for your syringe type).

Let's say you want to try a partial increase, up to 1.625u BID (instead of taking a full .25u increase, which may be too much, you're taking a .125u increase which is half the amount of a full .25u increase).
Desired dose for Molly, then, would = 1.625u BID
1.625u = calipers set to a distance of 2.44mm.

Look at the very first measurement on the spreadsheet, which states .25units = .38mm
If I only want a half increase (or decrease), then I need to divide both in half, and add to my current dose:
.25units divided by 2 = .125units
.38mm divided by 2 = .19mm

So .125u is the equivalent of .19mm distance based on your syringe type.
If Molly is currently at 1.50u and you want to increase her to 1.625u, then you need to increase your caliper distance by .19mm, from 2.25mm to 2.44mm.

I hope this helps.:)
 
Butters & Lyla said:
Okay so first I just wanna state that I can't help you figure out how much insulin to increase Molly by... @Sue and Luci I know mentioned it earlier so I'll leave that part of the discussion for her. (I know you aren't asking me that, just wanna state it though for the lurkers ;))

So in terms of determining the measurement for your calipers based on your syringe type, here is what I'd do:

First set up your calipers:
Zero them out by closing them all the way and make sure the measurement says "0". You can "tare" them if it is needed. Refer to instructions.
Make sure that you are on the "mm" setting. Most calipers toggle between "in" and "mm".
Open the calipers until you get to the correct caliper measurement that is equivalent to Molly's dose in units.
Use the locking wheel so they lock in place! Then you don't have to fiddle with them again until you change her dose.

Second, figure out the measurement for her dose.

Current dose for Molly = 1.50u BID.
1.50u = set calipers to a distance of 2.25mm (as per spreadsheet of measurements for your syringe type).

Let's say you want to try a partial increase, up to 1.625u BID (instead of taking a full .25u increase, which may be too much, you're taking a .125u increase which is half the amount of a full .25u increase).
Desired dose for Molly, then, would = 1.625u BID
1.625u = calipers set to a distance of 2.44mm.

Look at the very first measurement on the spreadsheet, which states .25units = .38mm
If I only want a half increase (or decrease), then I need to divide both in half, and add to my current dose:
.25units divided by 2 = .125units
.38mm divided by 2 = .19mm

So .125u is the equivalent of .19mm distance based on your syringe type.
If Molly is currently at 1.50u and you want to increase her to 1.625u, then you need to increase your caliper distance by .19mm, from 2.25mm to 2.44mm.

I hope this helps.:)
Click to expand...

Yes, this totally helps I understand now. I'll wait ti see what to increase her dose to. Her preshots are always higher would like to get them down. Thanks Lyla for your help if I have more questions I'll let you know. :)
 
Butters & Lyla said:
Here you go! And It may actually have been @Ti-Mousse who created it.
Lemme know if it doesn't work for some reason.
ETA: All I know is, somebody on here created this for Canadian BD Ultrafine II 3/10ml syringes, and those of us in Canada who use them have benefitted greatly from it!:D
Click to expand...
So sorry to be late, I was working outside today... but I see you're a great teacher !!:) I don't have much to add...
Yes, this is the SS I did for using calipers with BD Ultrafine II 3/10ml syringes. For those syringes, 1.5mm = 1u so it's easy to calculate the dosing you need.

@Adrienne & Molly
Because the way BD are made, we have to use the small arms, no choice...
On our syringes, plunger goes up to the barrel, so measurement starts from there; this is our "0" point.
We align calipers flush to the barrel then draw insulin until the plunger aligns with the lower arm of your calipers.
That way you will always have a consistent dosing!
You'll love your calipers !!
 
Ti-Mousse said:
So sorry to be late, I was working outside today... but I see you're a great teacher !!:) I don't have much to add...
Yes, this is the SS I did for using calipers with BD Ultrafine II 3/10ml syringes. For those syringes, 1.5mm = 1u so it's easy to calculate the dosing you need.

@Adrienne & Molly
Because the way BD are made, we have to use the small arms, no choice...
On our syringes, plunger goes up to the barrel, so measurement starts from there; this is our "0" point.
We align calipers flush to the barrel then draw insulin until the plunger aligns with the lower arm of your calipers.
That way you will always have a consistent dosing!
You'll love your calipers !!
Click to expand...
Thanks Lyane I’ll have the calipers Saturday just preparing myself. If I have any questions can I tag you? @Butters & Lyla was a lot of help today :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top