6/11 Toeby AMPS 288, +3 115, +4 63, +5 47, 41, 56, +6 61, +7 137, PMPS 306, +2 320, +3 322.

+5 reading was 47 - gave him some 11% carb kitten food

Retested 20 minutes later: reading was 40
Gave him some Fancy Feast Gravy lovers, which is high carb... he licked the gravy off, as he does.

He is eating, and bright, so I am not panicking... will recheck in 20 minutes

Retested 20 minutes after the 40 reading: He's 56

He went for food and a pee after then reading of 40 - I hope that means that if he ever drops low when I am not home, that he knows to eat, and will eat...
I gave him more Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers when he went looking for food.
 
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+6 reading is 61

He refused to eat the Royal Canin kitten this time, but maybe he's just tired of me bugging him.
He's sleeping on the spare bed.
 
Good catch today!

The guidelines for a long term diabetic are one drop under 40, or a week in normal numbers. People who have cats that don't hold reductions well, you can go to a method of 3 times between 40 and 49, on separate days. A long term diabetic is one that has been diagnosed a year ago. It's also good for cats that have come out of remission.
 
@tiffmaxee Yes, as he was briefly diabetic last summer, Wendy (Wendy & Neko) advised me that he qualifies as a long-term diabetic.
So I think unless he goes below 2.2 mmol/L or 40 mg/dL, I have to have 3 instances?
I just realized I had a conversion wrong... he was 2.3 mmol/L, which is 41 mg/dL - I had written 40 on my thread title, and that is wrong - I apologize for that.
I am using two meters, and one only reads in mmol/L so that is the system I am using, and recording converted numbers here...


@PerfumedCatMom Katherine, I am calling it .6 units just to indicate that it is ever-so-slightly more than what I was doing as 0.5.
I hesitate to even say it is measurable, I am simply pulling back to the far end of the black 0.5 mark on the syringe, so that in my mind it is a "fat" 0.5.
I guess the best way to describe it is that if before yesterday, if I was measuring 0.5 and being very careful to not go OVER 0.5, I am allowing myself to pull up a true, full 0.5, and not being so careful.
I don't really see white on the far side of the 0.5 line...

I bought calipers to use on him last summer when he was going hypo on small doses.
I read the instructions on how to measure very small doses.
I found that using calipers was no easier than just plain eyeballing it because I was trying to measure the insulin inside the syringe from the outside, just like you measure with the black lines, but using caliper arms as the guide instead.

BUT I suspect that might not be the right way to do it?

I asked, but never got an answer....

It seems to me that the way to do it would be to measure the END of the syringe, the plunger end, between the very top of the barrel piece, and the plunger end where you put your thumb or finger.
So that you pull back more insulin than you need, then depress the plunger to a set distance on the calipers, and not use your eyes to judge anything... just depress the plunger to the distance set on the calipers arms...
Does that make sense?
I could take photos to show what I mean.
I would love to know if that is the right way???

+7 he is 137.
I think he is past any danger and I will give him a break from sticks.
Laura

Edited to say I posted this before Wendy's repsonse... I saw it after hitting enter
 
Oh, I will add that while I mentioned that I use 2 meters ( One Touch sent me a free One Touch Verio when I called them to ask about an error I was getting on my One Touch Ultra that I suspect was my own error in sampling) and they use different strips and I use them on different days, never mix the results.
I will open a vial of strips and use that meter until those strips are gone....
The One Touch Verio is a nice meter, but it only reads in mmol/L - you cannot set it for one system or the other, like I can with my One Touch Ultra.
Laura
 
I am going to head out for a bit and will respond to any further messages in a couple hours...
I need to get out of this house and get some fresh air.

If any one can take me to school on how to use the calipers, please do.
If it still relies on my eyes, I can't see how it's helpful on small amounts less than, say, 0.25 units... as we're talking just one or two mm's on the barrel of a syringe.
I asked a pharmacist if there were any smaller syringes available at a human pharmacy than insulin syringes, to use to measure tiny doses of insulin, and was told "no".
 
Laurasboyz said:
I can't see how it's helpful on small amounts less than, say, 0.25 units
Click to expand...
The calipers aren't very helpful to me with smaller doses. This condo has a lot of good tips, especially Chris's bit about counting drops. I found with the BD syringes I use, .25 is three drops of Lantus and .1 is two. I don't look at the lines on the syringes anymore unless the dose I'm trying to draw is .5 or more, the zero line is printed where it is supposed to be, and then I'll use it to check that the dose is right after I've used the calipers.
 
Laurasboyz said:
It seems to me that the way to do it would be to measure the END of the syringe, the plunger end, between the very top of the barrel piece, and the plunger end where you put your thumb or finger.
So that you pull back more insulin than you need, then depress the plunger to a set distance on the calipers, and not use your eyes to judge anything... just depress the plunger to the distance set on the calipers arms...
Does that make sense?
Click to expand...
I've seen someone else suggest this, and I don't think it would be very accurate. And I actually tried it with some Monoject, BD, and Terumo syringes I had around the house. First of all, when you press the plunger, there is a variability in how "springy" each syringe is when you press them down to the needle end. And even significant variability between two syringes of the same brand. So the amount I moved the plunger down varied by syringe. Meaning, any measurement you use measuring plunger movement would be accurate for only that one syringe. Plus I have no idea how you'd adjust for bubbles. Best to measure the actual amount of space where the insulin is going in the barrel.

The way to measure is to first press the plunger down to the needle end, and see where the bottom of the plunger ends up. That is your zero line. Note, for Neko at the end, this was well below the actual marked zero line on the BD's. Her total dose was below the zero line. Ignore the lines when using calipers. Did you check out this post? Dosing with calipers There are pictures and a video that show what you do.

ETA: I used calipers for 0.25 unit doses.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
I've seen someone else suggest this, and I don't think it would be very accurate. And I actually tried it with some Monoject, BD, and Terumo syringes I had around the house. First of all, when you press the plunger, there is a variability in how "springy" each syringe is when you press them down to the needle end. And even significant variability between two syringes of the same brand. So the amount I moved the plunger down varied by syringe. Meaning, any measurement you use measuring plunger movement would be accurate for only that one syringe. Plus I have no idea how you'd adjust for bubbles. Best to measure the actual amount of space where the insulin is going in the barrel.

The way to measure is to first press the plunger down to the needle end, and see where the bottom of the plunger ends up. That is your zero line. Note, for Neko at the end, this was well below the actual marked zero line on the BD's. Her total dose was below the zero line. Ignore the lines when using calipers. Did you check out this post? Dosing with calipers There are pictures and a video that show what you do.

ETA: I used calipers for 0.25 unit doses.
Click to expand...

Thanks for these responses.
Wendy, I absolutely agree regarding variability on these syringes... they are mass produced for essentially pennies and I am sure while they are accurate enough for 100+ pound humans who are taking larger volumes of insulin, they will never be super accurate when we get down to tiny doses.
In my humble opinion...
That's where familiarity with what drop doses etc comes into play.

Even at larger doses, some of the syringes in the same bag are quite nicely lubricated and make it easier to dial in a dose, others are sticky and cranky.
And I do slide the plunger back and forth a couple times before making a draw.

I will go back and look at the info.
I can only hope that one day I get back to those teeny doses... LOL.
But it sounds like I was measuring from the correct end, at the very least...

He's 306 at evening pre-shot
I expect he might bounce after this morning, that's what his track record seems to suggest, but I will check him.
Laura
 
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+2 320
Geez... I had the wrong PMPS down...for some reason I wrote it for 16 mmol/L when it was 17 = 306.

+2 is slightly higher, but I will check again in an hour or so and if it's still high, will give him a break.
 
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