Blood Testing tips?

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becarose

Member Since 2013
Hello again all! I've been reading a lot about blood testing over the past few weeks, to the point where I went and got the whole meter and strip combo last week. I was extremely uncomfortable with drawing blood at the time and decided to wait until the vet appointment the next day for someone to show me how to do it. Long story short, the techie had never used the lancet contraption I have, and nobody in the room (the vet, two techies, and myself) could draw blood from ear or paw with it. Eventually they just drew blood with a syringe. After that experience I'm even MORE hesitant to go through this process, although I know it would be extremely helpful (and probably necessary)! So, what I'd like to know is how were your first experiences with this? And what tips do you have to help me actually get some blood?

Thank you so much!
 
Practice on yourself first so you are comfortable with how the lancet and meter work. Heat the ear - it can make a huge difference in the beginning. And have large enough lancets - you want 25-28 gauge, not the tiny 30-31 gauge lancets humans use.
 
I picked my foster Wink up from the shelter and there was only one person there that had ever done the ear poke to get a blood drop for the BG testing. Even she had not done it very often and was a little unsure of the how to's.

The shelter had always done a blood draw on his leg to get blood for testing. How barbaric!

I lifted Wink up to one of the cat trees, rubbed his ear a little to warm the ear and get the blood flowing to see the vein and poked. I hit the vein first try and got my first blood drop and test.

After that, sometimes it would take a couple of pokes to get a blood drop to form. Don't be tentative. Put something behind the ear to poke against and do a firm poke.

I now understand that it is not the vein you aim for, but the area between the vein and the ear. A flashlight shining up from the inside of the ear should help you to see where that vein is. When you really need to get a drop of blood, try for the vein. Sometimes, you will accidently hit the vein. Just be prepared for a big drop and if you are not holding the ear, the cat shaking their head will splatter the blood all over the place.

Have you seen the link that has the top 29 ear testing tips with pictures?
 
You are aiming for the edge of the ear, just outside the vein.
- In an emergency situation, you may aim directly for the vein (ex possible hypo), just be prepared to blot, as vein sticks tend to bleed profusely. Thats why we don't recommend vein sticks as a rule.

Many of us freehand the lancets because we find the lancet pen devices cumbersome. Using a clear cap or removing the cap and dialing the depth with the pen works well for some people. You find what works for you.

I used to brace the ear with a folded up piece of tissue. Others may use makeup sponges, paper towel, or just the finger (you risk getting poked yourself with just a finger!)

After 3 attempts, if you are unsuccessful, give a low carb treat and lots of praise. Try again later.

While you are working on mastering blood glucose testing, these Secondary Monitoring Tools may be helpful.
 
Don't get discouraged. It is unfortunate that your vet and the techs did not know how to do this, but no worries, we can help you.

Here is a link that demonstrates the process - http://www.sugarpet.net/bloodtst.html

the thing I notice about this link is where exactly on the ear the test is done.

This picture may help you to better understand where you are aiming to test. The goal is to hit the sweet spot - which is the area between the vein and edge of ear.



Now, you can do this by going from front to back of ear or back to front. There is no right or wrong, there is only what is more comfortable for you.

Do try to stay in the upper half of ear as lower down (closer to ear lobe) you won't get as much blood - why I don't know, it just seems to work better in the upper section of ear. You also don't have to be exact on the sweet spot, just use it as a guide.

What color ears does your cat have? If he has dark ears, then you may want to get a flashlight so you can use it (in your mouth) to shine on the ear as a spotlight. I did this with Maui - as she has black ears.

Also using a flashlight you may be able to see where the vein is on your cat and then adjust your aim that way - your goal is to get near the vein, but NOT hit it. Now if you do hit the vein, no worries, you will just get lots of blood and will need to hold/press firmly to stop the flow.

You want to make sure the ear is nice and warm, which will make it bleed easier. The trick to warm ears, is using a warming sock

Take one sock (any sock you have without holes in it)
Add 1/4 cup of dried rice OR dried beans OR oatmeal
Knot the top so nothing falls out
Heat in microwave 15-30 seconds until warm to touch
Place behind cat's ear and hold another 30 seconds or longer until ear is warm

You may want to keep it there as a buffer between ear and your finger and to help give stability to ear when poking.

Poking - you can use the device or you can do it free hand

When using the device - put it on the deepest setting and you may want to remove the cap cover too (sometimes that helps give you more control) then push it straight on the ear - in a nice horizontal motion -

Personally, I found the device cumbersome and harder to do than free handing.

If you try to free hand, then the biggest tip is to go in at a 45 degree ish upward angle, like this:



Where are you located? Maybe there is a member nearby who can come over and help you in person.
 
Don't get discouraged. I am on day six of learning how to test and shoot. I struggled at first and this morning hit a vein so now my sugarcat is mad at me. I am still not great but am steadily improving. I got the best suggestions from this message board and used most of them - especially the rice sock for warming. By the third day, I, along with my kitty calmed down and I barely have to hold him anymore. I am switching to the ReliOn meter tonight because it works off a smaller drop and I just read a suggestion about singing a song to my kitty during the testing to keep us both calm. I'm thinking of singing, ♫ "How much is that doggy in the window" ♫ :lol: :lol:

The smartest thing you can do while you are learning is to seek help here and read, read, read. All of the experienced sugarcat experts are here and willing to answer questions, hold your hand and give you the support you need to be confident. I know because I have sought and received all of this from them this very week.

If I can do it - anyone can do it!!

Keep us posted on your progress.
 
Thank you all for the suggestions and encouragement! I figured out how to use the lancet today and tried it on myself (on the lowest setting!)... Ended up with a bruised finger! Of course, I also bruise if you look at me funny so maybe I'm not the best test subject. I have been able to see his veins; his skin/fur on the ears is a dark grey but you can see the bump where the veins run. He's currently on the Purina DM food, 1/4 cup kibble and 1/4 can wet food 2x a day. His insulin dosage is currently up to 4 units of ProZinc 2x a day. After reading about the kibble I'm considering reducing/eliminating it, but probably won't do so until Sunday when I can watch him ALL day.
 
Dry food, sadly is not a good choice for cats. Also, you don't need to spend the $$ for prescription food. Commercial low carb food will work just fine - such as Fancy Feast Classics, Friskies, etc. On www.catinfo.org she has a food comparison chart to help you find low carb options (under 10%) preferably 0-6% carb.
 
Some questions for you.

First, some personal information about you and your cat.
What is your name?
What is your cats name, age, gender?
Where are you located? Country, state/province is nice to know.
What was the diabetes diagnosis date?

If you look at my signature link, all this type of data is in there or elsewhere in my user control panel profile. It helps to give us a quick snapshot of your cat and helps us to help you better. If you are uncomfortable sharing any of this type of data, you don't need to.

Then I'd like to learn more about the dosing of the insulin.
What was the starting dose of insulin?
How many times has the dose been increased?
At what intervals were the increases done and based on what testing?

Current Insulin used is Prozinc, 4U, BID
Meter used is brand/model?
 
Some answers:

I'm Becky,
Baloo is male, and somewhere between 5-10 years old. The adoption place said he was about 5, the vets seem to think he could be anywhere from 7-10.
We are in CT, on the border of NY
He was diagnosed April 24th, 2013

Original dosage of insulin was 2 units ProZinc 2x/day with a U40 needle.
He was bumped up to 3 units on April 30th, 3.5 units on May 4th, and 4 units on May 8th, for a total of 3 increases. So far all of the urine strips have resulted in the highest reading (2%, 2000 mg/dL).
I have a TrueTrack meter.


Info aside, I was able to draw blood! Unfortunately it wasn't enough for the meter, so I will need to do more work on that. Both me and him were able to keep calm though!
 
Thank you for the information Becky.

Info aside, I was able to draw blood! Unfortunately it wasn't enough for the meter, so I will need to do more work on that. Both me and him were able to keep calm though!
Click to expand...

Good on keeping calm for the testing. It is so hard and stressful at first. Remember, deep breath, hold, breath out, repeat to help calm yourself.

Three tries, if not successful, give him his treat and try again later that day. It takes time to learn how to do this. You will not get blood on every try, so give yourself and him a break.

ETA: So the increases in the insulin dosage were on the advice of your vet based on the urine glucose test strip results?
 
fwiw, if you don't get it in a few days, i know there's a few members on here in that area that would probably be able to help you hands on if they are near enough. just say the word and we'll see if anyone is close enough. i've gone out and helped nearly a dozen or so people learn myself but i'm in california so i'm not sure i'd be of much help to you :-)
 
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