5/14 Winny AMPS 211 & pic

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twinkiefreekitty

twinkiefreekitty

Member Since 2012
First post here, apart from yesterday's cry for spreadsheet help. Many thanks to Squeem3, Marjorie and Grace, and Celi and Binks. I really appreciate your help. Hopefully it's set up right.

I think last night's PMPS might have been wrong. Not enough blood maybe.

Winny seemed a bit more active this morning and yesterday compared to the past few weeks. The back leg neuropathy is my biggest worry. We have a big house with stairs and hardwood floors. It's a lot of walking and climbing for him to cope with. He still wants to do his inspection rounds of every room, closet, nook and cranny, but it's totally impossible for him.
winny5-14-2012-1.jpg

I parked him at his lookout post by the back door this morning so he can supervise the baby squirrels and birds.
 
Soooo handsome! It's great to hear Winny is starting to feel better! B12 can help with the neuropathy...is Winny taking it? I personally don't have any B12 experience, but if you post in your subject line that you want info, there are lots of people who know all about it.
 
Re: 5/14 Winny AMPS~211, +5~114 & pic

I read a bit about B12 yesterday. At the moment Winny isn't eating very much and I read that the B12 needs to be crushed into the food. I don't want to alter the taste of the food as the change to wet food is proving enough of a challenge. When we get as far as agreeing to mealtimes instead of Kibble-At-Will I'll try the B12 for sure.

He actually tried to run just now! A squirrel hopped onto a windowsill and Winny scrambled across the floor trying to get there.

Our +5 was 114.

Winny would like a friend or two. He's very handsome, fur as soft as a chinchilla, spoiled, and was a complete wild child right up until a few months ago. Just the sort of rebel that girls go for. I have sort of enjoyed him being more mellow while I've been immobilized with back surgery, but the idea that he's being mellow because he's sick makes me wish he'd go tearing around the house at 60mph again and meowing all night. He's soooo quiet at the moment.
 
Welcome to Lantus Land.

Actually, you want to give methyl B-12 (methylcobalamin) for diabetic neuropathy. There is now a product available specifically for diabetic cats - Zobaline. It doesn't contain sugar or flavorings. It's also available on Amazon.

Great job with the spreadsheet. Just a word of caution. If your PMPS was correct, you definitely want to get some PM tests. If you shoot a lower number than you've ever shot, especially with a newly diagnosed cat, it's important to make sure your cat is safe. We recommend getting a +1 and a +2 so you know where the cycle is going in a situation like this.

I'd encourage you to read the starred sticky notes at the top of the Board. They will help you to become familiar with the dosing protocol we use as well as provide you with what is, no doubt, an overwhelming amount of information.

Please let us know how we can help. People here are very generous with their time and information.
 
Thanks! I'll read more and try to get the PM tests if he's low again. I think I just messed up the test, but I'll be more careful now. The ear pricking thing is not going down well, even with treats and adoration.
 
It took me weeks to work up the courage to test my Donovan. He could definitely pick up on my nerves. As I got better at it, it became No Big Deal. He'd practically sleep through it. The beginning is the hardest. Is there a particular problem you're having with the ear pricks?

MJ
 
MJ, the issue is that I cannot get the ear prick to give me blood first time. If we could get it right first or second time then I don't think we'd have quite such a tussle. I don't want to upset him just before his meal because he's not eating very much anyway.

I've watched videos and read instructions. I am hitting the "sweet spot", massaging his ear, warming it first, trying to go in at 45 degrees. I gave up on the holder and am just using the little lancet as I can then see where I'm putting it. He gets a treat whether we get blood or not of course. Maybe I just need more practice. I'm worried he'll decide that testing is horrible before I can master it.
 
Hi Lulu, just want to welcome you and your beautiful Winny. I love the pic of him on his lookout post? Maggie has a lookout post, too. I use the lancet by itself, too. It will come easier to you soon. Yes, the treats sure help.
 
My Ruby wasn't thrilled with testing at first, once she figured out how tasty the freeze dried chicken is, she became a pretty willing victim, for the most part. This is a cat who never liked treats before! (not that you'd know it looking at her!) Hang in there, you and Winny will get the hang of it. It just takes a little time.
 
I also preferred freehand. Never got the hang of that clicky thing.
Are you "milking" the ear after you poke to encourage a drop of blood to form?
What size (gauge) are your lancets? Typically it is recommended for beginners to use a larger one to make it easier, and then you can use thinner ones when you're better at it. Also try two very quick pokes in succession; one or both ought to give you something testable. And try moving a little further up or down on the edge of the ear. Or try the other ear. Personally I only ever used one ear, the right one, because of the position I used to test him, but some people are able to switch back and forth. If he gets suspicious that a pokey is coming every time you rub his ears, make it a point to rub his ears randomly and not poke him. It broke my heart when Donovan eyed me suspiciously or conveniently "disappeared" around shot time, but I can't really blame him since to him, he felt like crap from the diabetes and I was The Pokey Lady, always bugging him. But then he started feeling better, and I got much more efficient at the whole rub/poke/test/inject/snack sequence, and everything was fine again. Keep trying. It takes a while to find what works bests for you.

MJ
 
The other issue may be the gauge of the lancet you're using. The lower the gauge, the thicker the lancet. Until the capillary bed is built up and Winny's ear "learns" to bleed, you may want to use a 28 gauge lancet. I use a 30 or 31 gauge with Gabby. If you're using that thin of a lancet, it will be hard to get blood at this stage.

Another technique is to poke the 2nd time as close to your original poke as possible. The 2 drips of blood may then coalesce into one good drop.
 
Welcome to Lantus Land! You are doing great, it just takes a while to figure things out. Zener had pretty severe problems from peripheral neuropathy (walking on his wrists). We started giving him a 3 mg tablet of zobaline each day. We use a pill pocket from Greenies, duck and pea formula (doesn't have sugar but does have carbs). We cut the pill into 4 pieces and cut the pill pocket into 4 pieces. Then wrap up each piece of the pill. Zener likes the pill pockets so it's a treat for him and its easy. The pill pocket does up his BG a bit so we try to give it to him to slow down a dive. Zener is quite the bouncy boy so we almost always have an opportunity. :lol: :lol: If Winny doesn't bounce much, I would suggest giving it to him at +2. It took a couple of months to see a noticeable effect in Zener so I would suggest starting the zobaline as soon as you can.

The company is stopping making the feline version of pill pockets but the canine version is the same formula, just lots bigger. I figure to cut the dog one into eighths to equal one cat one.

It took a while but Zener is pretty much back to his normal self, pre-FD. Other kitties do that too and so will Winny.
Liz
 
Thanks for so much help! I'm so glad I found this forum before I even got the diagnosis. You are all making this doable for me. Unfortunately, the timing is awful as I'm handling family problems in all directions at the same time so research time is restricted. I'm just glad I'm off work right now to get that nadir test in. I need to go back and read about bouncing. Someone was kind enough to post an explanation of it to me, but it coincided with my special needs daughter having a complete meltdown... I'll go back and find it.

So, okay, I'll try to get two pokes in next to each other - he tries to bolt away and I lose track of where I poked by the time I've held his head still again, but I'm starting to learn the subtle coloration on his left ear now to try to make this work. Yes, I rub towards the prick once I finally get some blood. Poor Winny - I have a lot of ear piercings and I know how much they hurt! Once I actually went all the way through and into my fingertip so we had to nix that particular blood sample as we couldn't tell whose it was. I'm using a paper towel behind the ear, I just forgot that time!

I'm using a 26 gauge lancet which is what someone on the health board recommended to begin with. The lancing tool and meter came with lancets in the thinner gauge so I have those saved for once we have this mastered.

THANK YOU all sooooooo much for all this help and encouragement!!!! Winny has been such a gorgeous and fun guy for over a decade. I haven't had any other pets as an adult, I won't have any more pets, and only had one cat as a child, so he's super important to me. I adopted him with another siamese kitty, but he had FIP and had to be put to sleep less than a month after adoption. Winny's seen me through all kinds of ups and downs with his completely feline distain and fickle love. I love him to bits for how he lives entirely for his own pleasure, which is not something the rest of us can do.

Hopefully soon I'll get enough time to get to post on everyone's daily updates. I'm just drowning at the moment with family commitments.

Thank you! Hope everyone has a good evening.
 
Welcome, Lulu and Winny! Winny, you are a handsome guy. Rusty wants to tell you that he is a squirrel-watcher too.

I've always found the lancet device much easier to use than poking by hand with just the lancet. It always delivers a uniform poke, and it is much faster (and therefore, I think, less painful; I have tried both techniques on myself and much prefer the lancet device!). But we all have our preferences and what works for one person often doesn't work for another.

So, welcome again to LL. Lots of support here. We're glad you found us.

Ella & Rusty
 
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