11/5 Tiki AMPS 280, +2 272, +4 259, +8 280

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Tonya and Tiki

Tonya and Tiki

Member Since 2011
Day 1 (.5) and everything is A-ok....EXCEPT....my little man has suddenly become very fidgety during his BG tests. It seems like his ear has become really sore (imagine that!!). Is there anything I can do to make the whole testing process easier on him? He always gets his treat which always makes us friends again, but the sudden onset of Mr. Wiggle-butt makes me feel really guilty.
 
I know that a lot of folks put neosporin on the ear after the test....

Binks is doing a wiggle worm routine during tests lately, but his is just an attempt to get more cuddles... :roll:
 
I use neosporin ointment with pain relief. I do think Morgaine likes it once I rub it in. She tries to fight it while I am attempting to put a small glob on her ear but it must feel pretty good after that.
 
The neosporin works for us too. They do go through stages. Mostly Weezer has no reaction to testing, then she starts acting restless for awhile. It settles back down.
 
make sure you get the one with pain relief. i like the ointment - seems like it kinda helps the blood bead up, like vaseline does. we put it on whenever we're doing a lot of poking, especially at the end of the day so his ear can heal overnight.

also make sure you're pinching it gently til the bleeding stops so the little ear doesn't bruise.
 
Should I be poking him in different places each time and rotating ears? His ear is definitely bruised and the last couple of times I got blood it gushed quite a bit. Tonight he even yelped (mrowled unhappily) when I poked him. The poor baby. I've been applying pressure (mostly to stop the bleeding). I'm afraid to keep hurting him and making him hate getting tested when it's so important. Ugghhh....

Am I doing something wrong???
 
the neosporin with pain relief will make a huge difference. yes, moving the spot you poke will also help. i only poke one ear on punkin - his right ear. at first we only poked the left ear and honestly, i think we must've somehow wrecked that ear. it really doesn't bleed now. we switched to the right ear and go along the outside edge, trying to move the spot a little bit each time. if i'm having to do a lot of poking, i slather on a lot of the neosporin and i think it numbs it.

the cats scratched my foot a while ago and i tried the neosporin with pain relief on the scratches. it was amazing how it numbed it.

you can look at tiki's ear with a flashlight shining through from the front side - if it's bruising you'll be able to tell dark areas. holding it til it stops bleeding, just 15 seconds or so, will prevent the bruising.

if you give tiki a treat every time you poke, it makes the poking more tolerable. punkin literally asks to be tested now because he wants the treats.

don't feel too guilty, though - testing is what keeps him safe.
 
Can I ask a dumb question as I am sure it's an ECID kinda of thing....but when will I see the numbers start to change? (I've only given him two injections of insulin so far...) But is this something that will happen over a week? A couple of days? Should they be doing mind blowing things already (they aren't)? How many days before I change his dose (if necessary).

Trying not to be impatient...but would at least like to know when to re-evaluate things if need be.
 
not silly, don't worry. but i don't really know.

when lantus is injected it forms a micro-crystalline precipitate under the skin. then that precipitate dissolves over time. when a dose is started or changed, some of the lantus immediately is available to use and some builds a "shed" in the body. following the protocol the dose is held for 5-7 days unless a cat gets below 50. after 5 or so days, the numbers are evaluated (well, they are kind of evaluated all the time because we can't help it!) and the dose is adjusted.

so . . . i guess the simplest answer is that you probably will see some reduction of tiki's numbers fairly soon, but what you're mainly doing now is gathering information. as the ss gains data we'll begin to see patterns. one thing we're looking for is how quickly tiki drops, if he has a gentle curve or if he has an abrupt drop, when his nadir is and when he comes up.

that's all important, but the most important thing is what the BG number is that he gets to at the nadir. that's the number that will tell us if he needs a dose change.

a lot of what we do is wait. cats move at their own speed and we just run along beside them trying to keep them safe!
 
we have a saying here "it's a marathon, not a sprint!" :-D i remind myself of it often. don't stay up all night to get data unless you see something that makes you think tiki is dropping - but always try to get at least one test in the evening cycle as well as several in the daytime cycle.

it's good to get readings at different + times after each shot. i always do a morning preshot a +3, +6 and evening preshot and +3 or +5. But i've tested enough that i know punkin never drops quickly. i did test about +8 or 9 when i started to learn how his body responded to the lantus.

a +2 is a good one to get because it *should* be fairly close to the preshot number. if it drops significantly, that tells you that you need to keep on top of the following few hours because your cat's BG might be dropping. when you have a few days worth of data in, you might be able to see when the nadir, or low point is. that's a good thing for you to learn.

I'd encourage you to read the condos for Louie and Cini Mini - you're all starting within a day or two of each other and could learn from each other's condos and advice.

it's also really educational to look at other cat's spreadsheets. you can see if someone is new or longer-term by the "joined" date under their names.

if you post daily people will get to know tiki's situation, and as you post updates in the subject line people who give dosing advice will see what you have going on and stop by to offer advice. you can also edit your subject line with any questions you have - that gets the eyes of the people who know that topic. don't hesitate to do that, or to ask as much as you want. there's tons of info in the stickies too - i've reread them a lot of times and get more understanding each time.

hope you sleep well tonight!
 
Great advice! I can't wait til that BIG PICTURE starts to present itself. Question regarding the Neosporin. I have the regular kind that I have been using and he spends 10 mins after I put it on, rubbing it off with his paw/tongue - if he ingests the medicated kind, is that ok???
 
if it's not the pain relief there's no point in using it. as long as you're using a fresh lancet each time you poke, i don't think you have to worry about infection.

i wouldn't want him eating it. i don't know if it's a problem or not, though, so can't say.

i just told cini mini's mom that she doesn't need to test more tonight - if i were you i'd go to bed too. nothing to be gained by killing yourself staying up all night if you don't need to!

punkin is fine, so i'm calling it a night too. sleep well! see you tomorrow!
 
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