Just a few words here about testing while you are hopefully answering...
Many of us have a special place where we test. I use a table and approach Shadow from behind. I am able to hold a folded tissue under his ear and I use a lancet device to prick the ear. Once I get the blood into the meter, I fold over the tissue and apply a little pressure to stop the bleeding.
At first it is difficult but as you continue to do it, their ears "learn" to bleed.
Of course, I have a towel that he lies on and I get all the stuff ready before I start...the meter is off to my right with a test strip...and everything is ready to go. I think the beep of the meter actually signals that we are ready to begin...Pavlov's dogs.... :razz:
I had both Raja & Shadow to test back in August of last year! I was going to my vet once a week at first before I found this forum. I realized from the reading material that the BGs are not a constant thing. The number is changing all day long and giving a dose of insulin without doing a test first to see what the BG numbers is, is like driving down the highway at 90 mph with a paper bag over my head!!! I realized that if I wanted my two to be safe with the insulin, I needed those numbers and the process was non-negotiable.
Somehow, I managed to learn and then managed to test them both so many times a day. It was like an assembly line! :lol:
It is important to test before each shot. AM/PM and at least one test at night...a before bed time check. Any other tests you can do throughout the day are great! The more data you have on your SS, the better you are able to see how insulin is affecting his BGs.
My vet prescribed 4 .0u for Shadow twice a day. Raja was prescribed 3.0u twice a day. I followed the advice and Raja got very sick on the 5th day. That was before I was home testing. Once I joined the forum, the people here looked at her numbers and suggested a much lower dose... 0.6u~~not even a full 1.0u!!!
She might have died had I continued to give her the full 3.0u and not tested her!! She went OTJ (off the juice) 4 months later and she never went above that 0.6u dose but went down the dosing ladder that entire time! Shadow is a different story..he is my problem child. And yet, we started over here, following the Protocol. I was told to "Start Low and Go Slow" Shadow has never worked his way up to that high a dose since we have been here and is currently on his highest dose at 2.5u.
Many vets prescribe a higher starting dose it seems.
We when increase the dose, it is because the numbers we get on our SS warrant an increase and then we usually go up in increments of .25u at a time.
I hope you will get a chance to read the starred stickies at the top of the page if you have not already done so. This is a lot to take in at first, but we are here to answer all your questions....okay?
