8/28 Tink AMPS 373, +1=396

[JenM]

Yesterday: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=124258

Well, I think we're still in a bounce... or back to a bounce? But things still seem to be trending downward, so that's good. I'm guessing we're seeing some nicer numbers (blues) during AM cycle and he's bouncing from them still. But... this one seems to have not quite broken 400 (as opposed to almost 500 last bounce)... so that's a bit of a silver lining. This morning's +1 wasn't THAT much higher than PS (again, compared to yesterday especially), so I'm hoping we have a good day. I'd really like for yellow to become our new "high". I dont like pink/red and I want it OFF my spreadsheet! :shock:

Planning to up the dose starting with Friday PM. Would be nice if he's NOT bouncing for once, when I do that. :roll:


A couple points from last condo I wanted to respond to:

Boy, last night was a WEIRD cycle.

What did you find weird about it?

I'd encourage DD to keep at it and when successful give Tink a treat and lavish him with praise. She has the upper hand.
I had a really hard time with BK - he was an intact male, with BIG teeth, that had been on the streets since birth and was about 5 when we took him in. 2 days later we were trying to learn all this and apply it. we persevered and it became routine. during our 21 month journey (and wild ride) BK got stuck and poked many many times - I would never imagined it was possible to do that.
Please remember to check for evil ketones daily and make a note on the ss. They are slippery devils.

I found the cycle weird because he's never shown such a late drop (+10-PMPS). Perhaps a double dip... but very out of the norm for his PS to be the lowest number on the chart. Then his numbers steadily climbed AFTER getting insulin, when I'd have expected them to go down. By weird, I just mean weird for him.

Tink's behavior isn't the issue with DD and testing. It's just that his ears are increasingly difficult to make bleed. Even I have trouble sometimes. He does tend to get squirmy if it takes longer than usual though, which doesn't help when you've *almost* got that blood drop you need... She just needs to get the technique down. I have a particular way I hold him that keeps him from squirming too much but is comfortable for him (he purrs the whole time). Biting/clawing isn't an issue at all. Holding his head still on the other hand... :lol:

And yes... ketones. I am checking at least every other day - every day when I can. It's just a matter of catching him in the litter box. With so many cats, we have 3 boxes they can use... and the strips are only within reach of one of those boxes. I get a test in every chance I get, unless I've already done one that day.

 

[julie & punkin (ga)]

just thinking out loud . . . if you're getting blood when you poke, but just not enough . . . one of my friends always recommends that if you're going for a blood test, the day before you drink a lot of water. That hydrates you well and makes certain your veins are easy to get.

I wonder if you're not already adding water to Tink's food, perhaps that would help. I put water in all my cats' canned food. They get fed 2x a day, about 2.25oz, and I probably add more than a tablespoon of water/cat each time. Easy enough to try.

 

[JenM]

Yes, I'm already adding what I think amounts to at least 2TBSP of water to each of his 4 meals - maybe more. I'll have to actually measure it one of these days - though it tends to vary. I just put water in the can to "rinse" it and pour that over his food.

However, he has been having pretty dry stool for the past week or two - so I may try to add some pumpkin or zucchini (since he seems to LOVE zucchini) to his diet. He doesn't seem to strain, but his stool is small, dry and hard. Normal dark brown in color.

((TMI warning)) This morning he was walking along and all of a sudden flopped down and started grooming his rear end like he was being attacked by a flea or something. All of a sudden he flings (with his mouth) this piece of pooh about a foot across the floor. Then walks off like "whew! got THAT taken care of". :lol: It was largely HAIR (IN the poo, not on it) - so I guess his hairballs are taking the longer route out?? It must have been um... hanging on by a string?? :shock: At least I know why I've been finding random turds around the house. :roll:

 

[julie & punkin (ga)]

it's shedding season - he's not the only kitty leaving droppings about. i've found them here and there too. :shock:

a little butter, coconut oil or olive oil are safe for diabetics & will help the hair go through him.

 

[JenM]

I think with the blood, the biggest issue is just that he's got a lot of scar tissue areas on his ears now. I can tell when I poke if it's going to bleed or not. Plus a lot of the time his ears run rather cold. Being summer, I haven't used heat on them lately. In winter I have a rice sock that I just leave sitting on the radiator so it's always warm when I need it. I could suggest to DD that she microwaves it though (and then tests it's hotness) to make it easier for her.

 

[JenM]

it's shedding season - he's not the only kitty leaving droppings about. i've found them here and there too. :shock:

a little butter, coconut oil or olive oil are safe for diabetics & will help the hair go through him.

Ahhh... at my house, shedding season is all year, so I dont notice when it gets worse. :lol: I gave up on vaccuums - they self destruct in a matter of months. We dont have any carpet, so I just sweep/mop - but I usually could "make" a new animal each time - even sweeping several times a week. It's ridiculous!

EXCELLENT to know about the oils. I'll start adding some. Is any one better than the others? I have all 3. And how much? Just a little sliver in each meal? I'm sure he'll gobble it up. Granted... I feel like I could give him a piece of firewood and he'd eat it at this point. :shock: I think the Wellness foods are pretty low in fat compared to some... so it would definitely make sense to add some.

 

[julie & punkin (ga)]

make sure you don't re-use lancets - they blunt with every poke, and can increase scarring. Someone posted pictures once of extreme magnifications of lancets and ohmygosh, they fray out with the first poke and become increasingly blunt and frayed.

also always staunch the bleeding with firm pressure between your finger and thumb for a few seconds so it doesn't bruise inside.

we learned on punkin's left ear and it scarred, then moved to his right ear when we knew what we were doing and used that ear only for another couple of years. i slathered neosporin with pain relief on his ear every night and it would heal by morning.

 

[JenM]

OH... I didn't realize that. I do get a new lancet for each test - but sometimes poke a couple times with it if I dont get blood the first time. I'll stop doing that.

I rarely get a bleed that needs stopping - usually it does not bleed after I squeeze out my first drop - so usually I just take the blood and go - but I hadn't thought about bruising. I'll start putting pressure on it.

I'd heard of using neosporin, but so far haven't done that either. (starting to feel like a mean kitty momma here! ) I do alternate ears to allow healing time, which seems to help a lot. I'll try the neosporin, especially on his right ear, which I use more often. It's just a better angle for me. A few times lately, I get blood but it smears instead of beading. I hear the neosporin tends to help with "balling up" the drop too... so definitely need to put that on my "to do" list.

 

[julie & punkin (ga)]

hahaha no, you're obviously not a "mean mom".

those things that i mentioned help prevent scarring, and it sounds like that's the issue. You always want to apply pressure after you poke because even if you don't see blood coming out, it may be bruising (bleeding) inside that contributes to scarring.

the neosporin keeps the skin soft too - we had no scarring at all on punkin's right ear. i suspect it was partially from that. you want the one with pain relief - it takes out the owie like you wouldn't believe. i tried it on my foot when the cats ran across me and left a trail of scratches. It was amazing. Just wipe off most of the excess before your next test otherwise it can goo up the strip. It does help with making the blood bead up so it doesn't just soak into the skin or hair - the same effect that vaseline has, only with the pain relief added.

i did use one lancet per testing and sometimes it was a couple of pokes, but if i had to go more than twice, which i never did once he got going, i'd switch to a new lancet.