8/20 Jetta First home test AMS +9.5 = 289

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Jacspets

Jacspets

Member Since 2011
Ok- my meter didn't arrive so I took the strong advice I got here and bought one. Can I just say the insulin injections are easier than testing? I definitly need more practice. Gotta love that head shake- blood spray. oops. I'll get the hang of it. Anyway as it says above- she's up to 289.
 
Wahooo! Good for you with your first home test. And welcome to LL!

The testing does get easier with practice. For me, what is the most difficult will vary. Sometimes it seems like the testing goes well, then not so much but the shots get easier, then not so much. The most difficult for me stays pretty consistent and that is measuring the insulin! Mostly because I can't see those tiny little lines. ;-)

There are many wonderful people here with loads of experience and ready to help. I never could be doing this without them!
 
Yay!!!!

Like Ann said, it does get easier. You get more confident and capillaries build up along the edge of the ear making the ear bleed more easily.
 
Don't forget to give a little treat after each test. They look forward to the treat and it makes things easier. Most of us use the freeze-dried 100% chicken bits (the dog chicken bites in the dog isle in PetSmart are cheaper than the cat version because the bag is bigger. The bits are bigger, too, but you can break them apart.). Good luck and it will get easier!

Ella & Rusty
 
Fabulous! Great Job!

Testing takes some pratice, which you will get plenty of!
Having 2 meters will be good as well, you never know when your cat will get hold of the meter and hide it. That' happened to me...

Jacspets said:
Gotta love that head shake- blood spray.
Click to expand...
(BKs testing area has sometimes looked like a crime scene) :lol:
 
Congrats on your first test! Just so ya know...7 months in, we still occasionally get the head shake/blood spray situation :lol: ! Like everyone else said, though, it really does get easier. Yep, I didn't believe it when I first started out, either!

Have 2 meters is definitely a big help...as I learned the hard way. I procrastinated buying a back up meter, then one morning I woke up to a broken meter (apparently I dropped something on it late the night before and didn't realize it was damaged at the time) and couldn't test Trixie at AMPS. She had been running kind of high lately, so I took the risk of shooting blind, but was at the local pharamacy the second they opened their doors for a new meter. I know have 3 meters.

A nice glass of wine also works well as a post-test treat - for the bean, of course :lol: !

Amy
 
Poor Jetta. I wish she'd eat treats. She never has. She has always been super picky so that makes our food switch fun too. So her post stick reward will be lots of love and apologies from mom.

Here's simething odd. I can give her morning insulin myself without any fuss but at night she jumps every time. Tonight it took 4 sticks and both DH and I to wrestle her into submission. Of course tonight might've been worse on account of her ear pokes. I'm nursing a few good finger pricks myself.

I'm sure it'll get easier. Like all things in life patience and practice.

Have a good night everyone! Scritches to all the LL kitties.
 
Does Jetta like to be brushed? Sometimes brushing or some other activity they associate with positive attention works with pokes.

I shoot when Gabby's face is in her food bowl. She doesn't even notice -- she's too intent on eating.
 
whoops - i just posted in your other condo!

we also shoot punkin while his face is in his bowl. works like a dream. i had to buy a stupid looking head-lamp like miner's wear so i could see his skin to shoot, which is about the same color as his fluffy hair.

also, for the ear pokes, if you pour maybe 1/2 cup of uncooked rice into a cotton sock, tie a knot in the sock and nuke the thing maybe 15-20 seconds, you can warm up jetta's ear. warm ears bleed easier.

neosporin ointment with pain relief is a blessing for getting through this. we slather it on at the end of the day and i guess they heal overnight. you can also put it on during the day but you have to wipe off most of it to test or it will goo up your strip. i tried it on me and it really takes out the sting.

you can also use vaseline first thing in the morning - we put the tiniest schmear on, just enough to make the ear hair shine, and it will help the blood bead up and not soak into the surrounding hair.

i'd encourage you to try to find a food that jetta will perceive as a treat. cheese? boiled chicken? punkin LOVES rotisserie chicken! a pinch of canned tuna? it doesn't need to be very much - just 1/2" cube even. people told me their cat would come to be tested, and as i was pulling punkin out from under a chair by his leg, i'm thinking that will never happen to us. but lo and behold, punkin now demands to be tested because he knows that food will follow. he even purrs while you're testing him. i have videos to prove it! :lol: i shoulda gotten some "before" videos where i was pulling him out by his leg. those were sad times. but he tolerates the whole thing now.

i did have to "burrito" him in a beach towel for the first couple of weeks, poor guy. there are youtubes on how to do it - the trick was getting his front legs pinned down so he couldn't get away, then he was unable to move while i tested him. it's not nice, but he completely stopped fighting me and then i stopped doing it. we still look like a crime scene from the occasional ear shake, though. :lol:

here ya go:

the pill pockets: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrVBjvBE5fc
wanting to be tested so he can eat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2OK_nJ4a5o
 
Glad you were able to start hometesting. It will make your life so much easier. Another snack you might try is shrimp, either raw or cooked. Champ goes crazy for that.

Also, make sure you only open one condo a day. You'll want to keep all your posts for the day in one place. When you open tomorrow's condo, link your two condo's from today in case anyone wants to look back and see what happened previously. You'll always want to leave the previous day's condo to your current condo.

Awesome job today!!
 
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