10/21 Calistica's AMPS 261

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Thelma and Calistica

Thelma and Calistica

Member Since 2011
Off the juice! Thanks Squeaky. I don't think that my prednisolone kitty will ever be off the juice.
I can't complain about the Relion meter. I'd never used anything else before but this one works for us. Ray will get the hang of it. I'm sure. This weekend we'll try him on the injections too because he may have to do it on Tuesday afternoon when I have to go see my rheumy

I am going to see if we can stop doing the warming up. Although we're here in the Northeast so her ears may need warming up for a while going forward.

Hi Georgia and Simon! Thanks for stopping by and for thinking my baby is adorable. The vet on Monday gave Calistica a purified water shot with an insulin syringe (this was my training session) and when I saw that Calistica didn't even move it gave me courage to do this.
Claudia has been wonderful so I'm glad she told you about us. We're not close by though. she is in Canada and I'm in the US. Good to know that your DH also tests. Ray needs to know so he can the +2 tests.
If I did two little side-by-side pricks won't the pen pick up the first droplet? My Relion meter will error out if I don't give it a big enough sample. This means a new strip. I've been using a little neosporin too!
I'm sure your Cleo has a funny personality being a Calico. I've always said Calistica is the family clown! LOL
 
Good morning Thelma....did we ever think we would be looking for warm kitty ears!!!

I find the "two poke" pokey works if I move the meter and get both drops quickly. I also "milk" the drop sometimes to get it bigger. After a while you get to eyeball the drop and know if it's big enough. I really hate getting error messages and waste a test strip.

Hope you have a great day!
 
Hi Ollie, I got her a the first try today which was awesome. I went back to bed since I'm off today and Ray just told me that he tested her at +2 and it was 266. I asked him how many times it took and he said 2.
He also added that Calistica is onto the treat thing and he thinks that she moves so much because she is looking for her treat. So he said: sweetie, you have to be poked before you can get your treat! :lol: :lol: :lol:

I have to do my first curve on Sunday. Any pointers anyone can give would be most welcome.
I have to do it every 2 hours. Only one test time falls at meal time so I'll test her before the feeder opens up
 
Good morning! I wanted to stop in and say hello and tell you that your kitty is adorable! I love calicos.

You are getting the hang of things quick! Good for you! I thought I would never be able to do this when Tarragon was diagnosed, and here we are about 8 months later. It becomes second nature after awhile. I wasted A LOT of strips in the beginning, but rarely do now.

Have a wonderful day!!
 
Melissa and Tarragon, thanks for stopping by to welcome us. Tarragon. I LOVE that name!
I never thought I'd get the hang of this so quickly either. I still have so much to learn. Like right now it's easy. 1 unit BID.
 
Hi Thelma, just wanted to stop by and say hello to you and Calistica. Yes, they really look forward to a treat and will start to remind you with "that stare" if you forget. Beautiful kitty! Have a great day.
 
Thelma, I guess I was confused and thought that you and Claudia are in the same town. Phone advice is great, too. Claudia has also held my hand lots of times over the phone, walking me through things with Simon and now my CRF calico kitty, Cleo. She is such an amazing person, always helping others even though she has so many things to take care of with Rocket.

If one poke doesn't produce enough blood, I'll poke right next to it and squeeze (or milk) Simon's ears and both little drops usually make for one bigger drop if they are close enough together. Sometimes, I think the first poke isn't going to be enough blood, but if I milk his ears, a bigger spot of blood comes out and I don't have to poke again. You are doing a fabulous job and kudos to your husband for jumping right in and testing without you in the room. Sounds like he is a keeper.

Good luck on your curve. Every 2 hours is great. Calistica may start giving you "the look" after so many pokes, but it does give you so much information.
 
WELCOME TO THE GROUP! :-D

Thelma and Calistica said:
Off the juice! Thanks Squeaky. I don't think that my prednisolone kitty will ever be off the juice.
Click to expand...

Never say never. I was thinking the same thing about a month or so ago

Thelma and Calistica said:
I can't complain about the Relion meter. I'd never used anything else before but this one works for us. Ray will get the hang of it. I'm sure. This weekend we'll try him on the injections too because he may have to do it on Tuesday afternoon when I have to go see my rheumy
Click to expand...

He'll get the hang of it. It just takes times. :smile:

Thelma and Calistica said:
I am going to see if we can stop doing the warming up. Although we're here in the Northeast so her ears may need warming up for a while going forward.
Click to expand...

Warming up the ears helps with the blood flow, and they may or may not feel it nearly as much as if the ears were cold.

Thelma and Calistica said:
The vet on Monday gave Calistica a purified water shot with an insulin syringe (this was my training session) and when I saw that Calistica didn't even move it gave me courage to do this.
Click to expand...

You'll do fine. :-D It's a bit overwhelming in the beginning, but soon it'll be part of your daily routine.

Thelma and Calistica said:
Claudia has been wonderful so I'm glad she told you about us. We're not close by though. she is in Canada and I'm in the US. Good to know that your DH also tests. Ray needs to know so he can the +2 tests.
If I did two little side-by-side pricks won't the pen pick up the first droplet? My Relion meter will error out if I don't give it a big enough sample. This means a new strip. I've been using a little neosporin too!
I'm sure your Cleo has a funny personality being a Calico. I've always said Calistica is the family clown! LOL
Click to expand...

If at all possible, get the Neosporin with the Pain Relief in it. The ointment works better than the cream. The pain relief will help with future pokings. Eventually, their ears will be tough to the point where they won't feel it as much. Although, Blackie still feels it. :lol:
 
Hi guys .. Nice yellow start to the day for calistica! Both me and peter could test mocha without any problems, but it took BOTH of us to give her the shots every day .. she fought us tooth and nail .. And I'm not kidding when I say once the shot was in her, we would both nearly pass out from exhaustion on trying to catch her .. so it could always be worse :lol: Have a great weekend!
 
Morning Thelma and beautiful Calistica!

You're both doing amazing! I do find that warm ears do bleed better AND KT doesn't seem to notice it as much.

Yes, I'm still putting off that horrible job....I just HAVE to visit condos first....don't I?? ;-)
 
Just want to say welcome to Lantus Land. I learned so much from this group and they gave me courage and strength to treat Maverick's diabetes the way it should be treated. Claudia is a wonderful person and I'm so glad you had her to lean on and she led you to this site. You are in great hands!!!
 
Good morning Thelma. Isn't it great to know that you and your sweet Calistica have found such a great community to rely on? When I got here I felt quite alone in the world of FD (except for DH ofcourse!), but soon discovered no one is alone here.
 
Hi Ann & Maggie, Thanks for stopping by to say hello! I can't wait till the day Calistica reminds me with "that stare" that it's time for her treat. LOL
Amy, thanks for letting me know about the Arkray strips! Do you really think Calistica's numbers are looking good? I want to see her in the blue range!
Hi Georgia and Simon, Claudia has a big heart. she is great and a brave lady too! I did watch a video where someone was milking kitty's ears. I did that yesterday for the first time. Ray is a keeper. He is good at taking care of us girls. I was dx'd with lupus last year and when I was all stiff and couldn't move he took over Calistica's care and took care of me too!
As long as Calistica just gives me "the look" on Sunday we'll be OK!

Thanks Angela & Blackie & 8 Others!!! I hope some day we can say OTJ too but given that Calistica needs her predsnisolone I will be happy if we can get her into normal ranges!
Blackie's SS looks great!!!
Ray is going to be good at poking Calistica. She allows him to do anything to her! She is daddy's little girl!
I was seriously overwhelmed last weekend because Calistica was just dx'd last Friday! I'm so much better now!
I did get the Neosporin ointment. I hope Calistica's ears learn to bleed really well soon! Blackie still feels it? Is it easier in one ear than the other?
Mocha's person, I've been calling you Peter and I guess you're not Peter! Oops! Sorry about that! LOL
I can just imagine how hard it must've been to have to chase Mocha around to give her the shots! Have a great weekend yourself!

Lyresa, thanks so much for the vote of confidence. I hope some day Calistica doesn't notice so much. I really don't think she notices and she is now just moving because she's looking for her treat! LOL
So I've been calling you Squeaky but now not sure if that is your nickname or antoher cat! LOL

Karrie and Angel Maveric, thanks for welcoming us to LL! What a hansome boy he was!! I'm sorry you lost him.

Hi Linda and Weezer. I am so happy that I found this wonderful community to rely on. I knew Claudia from other groups and knew that she was part of this community so she was the first person I contacted after Calistica's diagnosis last Friday!

Hi Lyresa, thanks so much! I'll continue to warm up Calistica's ears. I want to make this as easy as possible for her.
 
Hi Thelma:

Sounds like you are learning the ropes!! We use a rice bag to warm Gracie's ears in the winter...no need in the summer. My DH, Mike, does alot of testing and he likes the two-poke method but I just do one. If I have to do another, then I do it side by side to the first one and let the two drops conjoin. Over time, I believe the ears get desensitized. You are poking the edges and staying away from the large vein, right? There are many of us now who can even poke when the kitties are asleep...Gracie doesn't even open her eyes :lol: :lol: :lol:

Hang in there..you'll get it!!!
 
Re: 10/21 Calistica's AMPS 261, PMPS 299

Hi Marjorie,
We are going to continue using the rice sock. Calistica is morning like crazy now!
Stay away from the large vein? This site says to look for a vein
http://felinediabetes.com/bg-test.htm
I do go for the outer edge but I'm not sure what I'm hitting is a vein.

Calistica's PMPS was 299! It went way up today. :sad:
 
Thelma and Calistica,
I don't know if you don't want to warm Calistica's ears because she doesn't like it...Missy isn't overly fond of it, either. What I have been doing is crunching up some of the treats into basically a powder (so she doesn't get too much....she has to watch her girlish figure) and let her lick that off a lid while I am warming her ears. She doesn't seem to mind it as much, since she is focused on scarfing. :-D She knows she gets a chunk when it is all over.
Don't feel bad about her numbers..... Missy has had me on an emotional roller coaster ride for a while. I wish it was still May, June or July when she was so green. :cry:
Kudos to DH for jumping right in!!! I need to get mine to TAKE LESSONS!!!
Hope you guys have a great weekend and surf some blues or even greens......
 
We've just started using the "warm wash cloth in a plastic bag" method that Celi (Binks bean) suggested to warm Zener's ear (we just poke the left one as the right one is difficult). It does seem to bleed easier thus making it easier to poke. Never thought I'd be happy to see a nice bead of bright, red BLOOD! :lol: :lol: :lol: FWIW, I wouldn't worry about the numbers right now, the 200s are ok while you learn how to do everything. The dosing experts (not me!) will help you with adjusting the dose when the time is right. You and DH are doing great! Calistica is one lucky kitty to have you as her beans.
Liz
 
Hi Mares, well Ray discovered that it's not that she doesn't like her ears warmed up. It's that she wants her treat and is all excited with expectation! LOL
I just told Ray that we have to give her a little of the treat while we do the ear too! We need to do exactly what you're doing with Missy.
Do you think Missy has been lethargic because her BG is high? I just saw her SS and I see why you've been in an emotional rollercoaster.
I don't know if we'll surg blues or greens Mares. Her numbers have been climbing today! Don't know why.

Hi Liz, glad you tried the warm wash cloth in a plastic bag. I tried that in the beginning and I will try it again. I'm so glad it worked for you! In this group we get excited about the blood drops. In the IBD group we get excited about good poops! LOL
I am going to need all the help with dose adjustments for sure! I think Calistica needs more. We will do our first curve on Sunday and will fax the results to her vets on Monday.
Thanks so much for your nice words! Can you tell me about the term "beans"? Is it parents? I'm used to saying meowmy as in Mommy
Do I need a prescription for syringes? My vet gave me one unit syringes. She didn't think I'd need the 1/2 unit ones!
Thelma
 
A "bean" is a human companion as in human bean. You can check out the slang dictionary at
slang dictionary
Meowmy - I like that! We all need help with dose adjustments. :lol: :lol: Thank goodness we have several experts who can make sense of the oodles of data in a spreadsheet and help you figure out what your cat needs. You will definitely need the 0.5u syringes. Some of us count drops and some eyeball even finer doses. We use monojet syringes and like them pretty well. Have a nice weekend!
Liz
 
Hi Thelma,
You and DH are doing great. Keep up the good work and it will continue to get easier and easier.

Beans = humans (human beings=beans). Part of our slang (there's a LL slang dictionary in one of the stickies).

Syringes: you can get them much more cheaply online and you don't need a prescription. Check out the Monoject 31-gauge syringes at American Diabetes Wholesale:
http://www.americandiabeteswholesal...t-ultra-comfort-insulin-syringes_2552_178.htm

(Get the 0.3cc size (for doses under 30 units).)

If you want to get 3 boxes of 100 Monoject 31-gauge syringes in a "package deal", see this page at American Diabetes Wholesale:
http://www.americandiabeteswholesale.com/product/monoject-syringe-31g-310cc-100bx-case-of-3_3360.htm

ADW ships your order immediately and has excellent prices. They are a great source for all things relating to diabetes. Free shipping on orders over $100.

Have a great evening. Scritches to Calistica,

Ella & Rusty
 
Thelma,
You DON'T want to hit that large vein - it just helps outline the right area. It's OK if you do accidently hit it but don't try for it. I was doing that when I started and was quickly helped understand differently. What you're actually getting to bleed are the small itty bitty capillaries just under the skin. When their ears are cold, that means those capillaries don't have blood running thru them at any volume. Rubbing them can help bring more blood to the surface but warming them works quicker.

Hugs!
 
Hi Thelma,
I like Meowmy, too! Cute.
I am hoping Miss is lethargic because of her numbers......and I wish she'd go down!! angry(2)_cat I am worried a bit because she just got off antibiotics for that dang acne (your suggestion shipped today.) so maybe something is brewing...or like my vet said, maybe she is just adjusting after being on it so long. I hate the not knowing. I don't do it well.

Did I read that you have Lupus? I hope you are doing well with it. I have MS....they tested me for Lupus before deciding on my dx. I am one of the lucky ones....fatigue is my worst issue.

I bought a small bag of the doggie freeze dried chicken today. I want to see if it matters to them it for a DOG! :shock:
The place I got it at (didn't make it to PetSmart) isn't much different in price per ounce than Swanson's but at least you don't have to wait for a mail order. Knowing my cats, they won't like it anyway.

I hope crunching that up helps with Calistica. Warming really make a difference with Missy and she is so focused on hoovering up the little bits she barely registers me :lol: .
 
Hey Thelma,
After the last post and Missy's last check, I realized something....and you might want to think about it, since you said Calistica had acne..... I have been putting the Halo in to a plastic container with a wider mouth than the original container, so I can easily reach as much kitty crack as necessary to do the test. It just dawned on me I am feeding her treats off plastic, which is NOT good for acne, ohmygod_smile I keep it clean, but still.... Maybe I am perpetuating her problem. I am switching to a plate tonight. Just thought I would throw it out there....it didn't hit me until her plus 10 test!
Good luck with your curve...you guys are doing awesome!!
 
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