2/21 larry AMPS 339 +4 1/2 328 PMPS 383

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IloveLarry

Member Since 2014
wow this lantus keeps his ps almost exactly the same!
gave 1U. possible partial furshot.
getting tricky bc larry wont always eat during shot, now. he jumped when needle went in so tried 2 more times, on the 3rd attempt, i feel all/most of it went in.
need a plan for him to hold still for shot.
 
Re: 2/21 larry AMPS 339

Is he good about holding still for testing? If he is one trick is fill the syringe before you test then test and shoot in fairly quick secession.

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Re: 2/21 larry AMPS 339

not really. when his #s get lower i think he will be. when 400+ he is restless and wild. the 300s he is still hard to do. it takes time every amps/pmps.
it was taking abt an hr. now maybe 15 mins or so to get a ps. during the day whn he was in the 100s he was great/cooperative. hope we get back there.
 
Re: 2/21 larry AMPS 339

Ahhh got it!! Actually he'll probably get easier once the Lantus fully kicks in even when he's higher because he'll start feeling better once he's off the roller coaster ride the N has him on right now even before his numbers lower. And he'll start associating feeling better with the shots.

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Re: 2/21 larry AMPS 339

yea he always felt good all day on N. where now he hasnt gotten low enough, so he just sleeps in the closet all the time. its sad. he doesnt go as high, but doesnt get low enough either. hope it changes today.
 
Re: 2/21 larry AMPS 339

It's early days for Lantus. As you start working up the dose based on the #'s, you should start to see them come down and Larry feeling better. It just takes time and patience. I always thought I was a fairly patient person until I started dealing with feline diabetes. With FD, I wanted results and improvement cause I didn't want Max feeling poorly. I've needed reminding more than once to be patient. ;-) That is what is so great about this site the help, information, and support from others. I appreciate it so much! My Max is an especially wiggly kitty, at least I think so. One trick I have for the shot is to put a little pile of Max's favorite treat on top of his food. Then I've got the syringe ready, put the food down, and shoot while he's licking up the treat. If I'm slow and he finishes the treat before I've shot, it's back to being hard. I've got a little window when he's distracted by the treat. Otherwise, I was finding it pretty hard to give Max his shot too. At first the food was enough to distract him, but that didn't last. The treat seems to be working so far. He also gets treats for the tests.
 
Re: 2/21 larry AMPS 339 +4 1/2 328

thank u. this is so strange. i just never expected it to keep him at nearly the same number every time i ps. thot the #s would vary some.
 
Re: 2/21 larry AMPS 339 +4 1/2 328

It will start varying once his shed is full. Right now most of the 1u is going to fill his shed and only a small portion is going to him to lower his blood sugar. It takes 3 to 5 days for the shed to fill initially.

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Re: 2/21 larry AMPS 339 +4 1/2 328

It might not seem like it, but his numbers are already looking better: no more reds and they're already lower today than they were yesterday. You're getting there! Just a few more days and you should start seeing better numbers or you might need to increase .25u. Come on, Larry! Work that Lantus! :mrgreen:
 
Re: 2/21 larry AMPS 339 +4 1/2 328

Every so often I find I have problems with Sammy not liking testing. Two weeks ago she was one grumpy cat. I decided to do some "attitude training". I put her on her testing station, and had some no carb treats in my closed fist. I held that hand under her nose, and then petted her. As she relaxed, I played with her ears, etc. if she stayed calm, I gave her a small bit of treat. Then i repeated it, 3 or 4 times. Anytime she started to get antsy and want to take off or fight me, I opened my hand a bit to give her a whiff of freeze dried chicken treat. She immediately became submissive again.

I did NOT test her at this time. This was simply to re-associate the testing area with getting loves and treats, not pokes. Worked very well.
 
Re: 2/21 larry AMPS 339 +4 1/2 328

Testing isn't so much a problem for us any more now that we have it down to an art form. He might not necessarily like me disrupting his play to test him (absolutely my fault when that happens), but if I let him have his fun a bit longer, then he'll eventually make his way over to me so I can grab a test. Shots, on the other hand.... :YMSIGH: I'm always having to find new ways to bribe Mikey into letting me give him his shots.

  • Treats in a special place where Henry can't easily get to them (Mikey lets Henry steal his treats because he knows I'll just give him more). I pile them up and then loosely wrap my arms around Mikey as he's munching away to hold him still while I give him a shot
  • Food: hope he's hungry enough to eat and ignore me when I sneak up behind him. Sometimes I'll actually hold off on feeding them about 4 hours before his next shot just so I can make sure he's hungry enough to be distracted by it.
  • The Back door. Michelangelo's most favorite place is to go outside. Pretty much the only way I can get his morning shot is if I open the back door a crack. He'll stand there waiting for me to open it wide enough for him to get outside and I tell him I'll let him out once I can give him his shot. Not sure how much longer this will work for us, though. :? If it's anything like before, I'll be having to look for new tricks soon. :roll:
 
Re: 2/21 larry AMPS 339 +4 1/2 328

ty all! sorry i forget every1's name by the time i get here.
yea, the problem with the treats is larry goes wild! apesh-t wild for treats haha
when i had them nearby he was nvr still for trying to get to them, and he was worse for shots, sometimes evn testing. besides making w/e i was attempting harder, i have to be so careful with him now bc of his hind legs not working much (dont tell him that), hes a little maniac trying to climb, jump DOWN, anything possible, but im afraid hes going to hurt his legs. hes overweight at 16 lbs. and a jump off a cabinet onto hardwood floor... not sure if that could damage his legs? (since he has neuropathy) bc theres no stopping him. hes no longer able to go UP, but down, yes! anyway... its like a very fine tuned, delicate issue....a finely tuned piano. he got used to his N, knowing what it did, and wanted it. he would stare at the cabinet starting an hr. early or so, and i would set him up there, at shot time, and he would lie down so still. he wanted his shot! real progress we had made. now we have to start over bc hes not feeling the association of feeling better related to a shot, yet.
sooo yea, its gonna take time. tmrw is day 4, hoping that shed is going to be full enough to at least show us some 200s.

ps. i need to get his freeze dried chicken here at my walmart if i can. no1 ever answered whn i asked if the kind with rosemary is ok? just chicken and rosemary. its in the dog section. i see rosemary in other cat treats but wntd to ask.
i dread it! bringing crack in the house with 7 kids who will beg and go nuts but i suppose its necessary, since the doggie and 2 kitty siblings love the chicken i cooked but not larry! grrrrr rascal.
wow this is long. i would give anything for a cell with a camera. u would all see pics of all my beautiful kids :)
i still hvnt figured out how to get larry small enuf for my icon on here either.
 
still getting the huge bubble grrr
went to abt 1.5 but at 1, it was still there and i lost the whole shot when i expelled it :(
gotta redo! argh
 
i have the pen, and right now am using up a couple kinds of syringes. some r walgreens, some r relion.
i think on the last one i got the bubble out and still had 1 u left.
he was vry jumpy again though. almost lost the shot :( he was eating but jumped when the needle went in. i never realized this would get harder. the shot was always the easy part. he was gulping down food for the first couple weeks or longer. now he is less and less interested in food, and more aware, which is good bc he is better. u know what i am saying tho?
 
Okay, forgive me, and please please please dont get offended, but if testing is okay, and shots are an issue, its your technique here that needs improving. I know others will chime in here, and provide links to youtube videos of correct insulin shooting. I know for me, if I try to give Sammy a shot while she is lying down, for example, she will be right p.o'd at me. I have to get her to sit upright, and then tent her scruff and shoot horizontally into the tent. If I try to give it lower on her back, it hurts her, and she yells at me.
 
yea, i do the tent, angle and all. sometimes he is fine. other times jumpy. again, hoping he gets better as his bg lowers. part of it may still be due to that. i have watched all the videos a million times :D i noticed laying down doesnt work either!
 
Okay here is a trick to draw a clean dose with the pens. (This works until the very end of the pen). Dial up 2u and push the button on top. Keep doing that until the button won't depress anymore after you dial up that 2u. Now prime the syringe by moving it back and forth a couple of times. Then push the plunger as tight as you can to the needle. Hold it there while you insert it in the pen. Use your thumb to control the plunger. By dialing up the dose on the pen you've pressurized the pen and it will push the plunger back by itself. It doesn't get all the bubbles all the time but what you do get will be tiny.

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
oh ok! that must be why the lady on that video says it has pressure. i wondered why mine doesnt push my syringe like she said. i was a bit relieved. i have never touched the dial and dont wanna goof. so i dial it to 2? i cant possibly hurt anything right? do it b4 each shot? would it hurt to try 1? would that give less pressure? i am shaky and uncoordinated, so want to be prepared. :)
have already been doing the priming syringe and pushing air out as i inject syringe into vial/pen.
 
Since you've been using it you're going to have to dial and push the button several times. You want the little rubber stopper to bulge out a little bit. You're not going to break anything...I've been doing it that way for the last 3 years. And it really that much pressure I'm sure you can handle it. :-D

Once you get it tightened up then you just dial up the 2u and push the button before each shot.

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
ok, is there by chance a video of this? im nervous abt my golden vial :) i feel its liquid gold every time i touch it!
 
I was using the Walgreen's brand syringes too, and they were driving me crazy with bubbles, bubbles, bubbles! After I used up the box, I tried BD brand that was recommended here, and it seems like the bubbles are less and not as hard to get out. I think Relion might be less bubbly too.
 
IloveLarry said:
have already been doing the priming syringe and pushing air out as i inject syringe into vial/pen.

Pam, are you saying that you are injecting air into the pen? You shouldn't be doing that. The pen keeps its pressure by dropping a rubber gasket as you withdraw insulin. Also, som say the insulin came become compromised over time if it is infused with air.

The syringe should be at the zero line...and even pushed past that a bit...when you put its needle into the insulin pen.
 
The BD syringes with the half unit markings also have a finer needle, and it is shorter. Less chance of hitting the muscle than just under the skin.

http://www.bd.com/ca/diabetes/english/p ... 2&id=14905

When we used the regular BD needles, she would yelp at me. These little ones she doesnt even feel. i can literally insert the needle, and move it a bit side to side to be sure I am "in" and then shoot and she doesnt feel it at all.
 
what is a bd syringe? ill have to go reread all that. i have mainly relion syringes. :)
no i dont push air into the vial. i do like the video says, and keep it pushed out :)
 
oh ok. thanks! i am very happy to be with DCIN or i wouldnt be able to care for larry. we use relion. i have some walgreens bc a kind soul donated them as well. :) thankful for all the help!
abt to start todays post.
 
Okay here is a trick to draw a clean dose with the pens. (This works until the very end of the pen). Dial up 2u and push the button on top. Keep doing that until the button won't depress anymore after you dial up that 2u. Now prime the syringe by moving it back and forth a couple of times. Then push the plunger as tight as you can to the needle. Hold it there while you insert it in the pen. Use your thumb to control the plunger. By dialing up the dose on the pen you've pressurized the pen and it will push the plunger back by itself. It doesn't get all the bubbles all the time but what you do get will be tiny.

Mel and The Fur Gang
I knew w that this is an old thread, but I'm having this same trouble with bubbles in the Solostar cartridge. I use a syringe to draw the insulin from the cartridge, and over time air seems to build up in the cartridge. I've been inserting a pen needle and priming the pen as though I'm going to use it as a pen, just to remove the air. Are you saying in this post to turn the dial and press the button without inserting a pen needle? Does the air just go out through the rubber film directly? Thanks!
 
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