Bubbles First BG!

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greenae

greenae

Member Since 2013
Today is Day 8 on PZI, 2u every 12 hours. I finally got all my supplies today and took Bubbles BG for the first time since starting insulin. It only took about 10 trys. She wasn't very happy til she got her treat.
+6 = 151 Thinking that's OK? nailbite_smile
Then I tried the SS. I have no idea if it made it on here...getting very tired...maybe I'll try that again tomorrow.
So, do I go to the vet Friday? Or do I try to do this myself?
:?
 
Congratulations!! drinking24
151 is a pretty good number!! You are doing a great job.
Sue and Oliver are experts on the SS. I'm sure that she will be along soon and help you with that.
Keep up the good work!!! :RAHCAT
 
You saved the SS correctly and linked it to your signature just fine.

I second the Welcome to the Vampire Club!
 

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Thank you all for the encouragement. I hope Bubbles lets me at her again. ;-) . I am supposed to take her to vet tomorrow. Gonna try to get more BG's tonight and see how it goes. ;-)
 
Treat! Treat! Treat! Be sure to give Bubbles those bribes, I mean treats for putting up with the ear pokies.

Here are some not food treat ideas, for those non food driven kitties.
how about some alternatives to food as a treat?

Treats for kitties don't always have to be food. I think the civies want the treat too, but most of all, they wonder what is going on and want some special attention too.

A treat can be a hug or a little bit of brushing or petting them or picking them up or a two handed massage or talking to them and telling them what good kitties they are or ear scritchies or play time.

My civie Monet loves some extra special attention, being picked up and slung over my shoulder and a close up snuggle. He is my lap kitty and the only one that will crawl up on top of me in the evenings when I am laying on the couch reading a book.

My civie Delta hates being picked up but she loves a little two handed massage, running my fingers through her fur, one hand on each side and getting down into the skin a bit and massaging from shoulders to butt. After a year and a half, I'm just starting to get this skittish semi-feral kitty used to me picking her up and putting her in my lap. But she'll only stay there if she is getting the full body massage.

My sugarhunk Wink loves head and ear scritchies and will purr up a little storm. No picking up please, and no petting unless he is in the mood. When he is not, he dives away from my hand. ohmygod_smile

Find something special to do for each of your kitties. Even if it's for just a couple of minutes.
Click to expand...
 
Thank you for the ideas...but Bubbles not having any of it now. Just had a lousy experience. Poked her ear, saw the droplet, My dog decided to get involved and Bubbles started hissing and biting. Now I know the dog has to be out of the way before I can try to get a BG. I also need to know some alternate techniques for sticking. I hold the pen against her ear with my right, hold her ear with my left, and have no way to keep her from biting me, or pulling away. Any suggestions? :-x
 
So your drooler wanted to help, huh? That can make it trickier.

I had to take Wink to my bathroom, shut the door, and block out all other distractions. The other kitties wanted their fair share of the treats and attention, but I made this Wink's and my special time together. Deep breathing exercises before, helped to calm me down.

Have you seen this document on ear testing psychology?

You can try to sort of cup your right arm around the cat, like you're holding a football, cat tucked a bit against your body with the arm and poke the ear with your right hand.

Two quick pokes together in almost the same spot can help.

Poking the inside of the ear instead of the outside.

Freehanding the lancet. Holding that tiny poker between thumb and forefinger, at about a 45 degree angle and then poke.

Some cats bleed better in one ear than another.
 
See if any of the following are helpful:

I used a half bathroom because the other cats wanted to help. Plus there isn't a lot of room to get away, so if he was too squirmy, I could put him down for a bit.

I'd attach the clip-on magnifying lenses to my regular glasses (Carson Clip and Flip were terrific - see our shopping partner Amazon at the link above).

I'd un-cap the lancet, fold up a piece of tissue to use for backing, and place the test strip part way into the meter.

I'd sit on the toilet lid, put Spitzer in my lap, facing to the right,and shut the door with any other cats outside!

My left arm would be over him, pressing him to my body with my left hand holding a folded tissue under his left ear and helping stabilize the head.

My right hand/arm would be holding the lancet (the pen was too cumbersome for me and I felt I had better control holding the lancet directly. With practice, a few fingers could be spared to stabilize the head if he was squirmy.
 
Thank you for the tips and article. I will try again later. I did go in the bathroom with her after Augie tried to interfere, and as soon as I saw blood, Bubbles escaped, hid under the sink and tried to bite me. I coaxed her out with chicken and she got away again ...ugh...( but kinda funny :lol: )
 
I will definitely try the fingernail test. Just tried multiple times to get a PMPS and failed miserably. I need to check Youtube for ways to restrain her. She is biting me and freaking out. She is not much of a lap cat and doesn't like to be petted on her Best day. ugh. Gave her plenty of treats and even tried while she was eating. I got the blood, but of course ERROR on the monitor. :evil:
 
Burrito wrap: place towel on floor.
Place cat halfway between the ends.
Wrap each end around the cat, including paws..
Additional restraint may be done by kneeling straddled over the cat and compressing your thighs along the cat's body and slightly sitting over the cat to reduce upward motion.

Test from there.
 
Thanks for that, I will give the wrap a try. Also, I have been sticking inside of ear with a pen. All the videos I watched...most did not use a pen and stuck the fur side. Any advice? Thanks!
 
THANK YOU! Burrito wrap, lancet in pen without spring action, back of ear, worked on first try. Didn't get bitten, just a growl or two. :cool:
+5 = 178
 
Hooray!!!

And always give a low carb treat after testing. Eventually, she may learn she isn't really being hurt.
 
Yes, I gave her some turkey. but I think she's still mad at me.
And I am going a little ctazy trying to understand the SS directions. I cannot understand instructions 7-8. I got the SS on here, but couldn't figure out how to change it to Bubbles SS. Also, when I do it again, How do I find it? The same way? Or was I supposed to save it somehow? Feel like a dummy, but I am used to using a flashdrive. How do I do this?
 
And I see that yesterdays posts and SS's now have today's info there...ugh. Is that the way it works? :?
 
It updates automatically every time you enter new data. The ss url in your signature is a read only. We can see it but no one can input - even you. The ss URL you started with is yours to edit. Find it in your google docs and save it to your favorites

It looks fine. Does it look okay to you?
 
It looks ok, I just feel like an idiot because I don't understand how to change the name to Bubbles SS. And do I have to sign in to my google account to open googledocs.? I didn't save the SS after I put the numbers in.
 
The only reason I stick the outside of the ear is it was impossible to get Goldie to stay still if I was going for the inside. He'd constantly pull away and/or shake his head, it was driving me crazy! If inside works better for you, more power to you.
 
First PMPS

Day 9
Got a PMPS, finally. Took 45 minutes, endless growling, snapping and coaxing with treats. She was so stressed I am wondering if it elevated her BG. Ugh. I am not having fun. And her ear a pincushion.
 
Give it time. Give yourself and Bubbles time to get used to all the changes that are going on in your lives right now. Give yourself time to get better at testing. It will come. Give Bubbles time to get used to the new routine of test, feed, shoot. Give yourself time to relax and enjoy your self and your cat Bubbles.

You will develop a very close bond with Bubbles with this new sugardance the two of you are doing. It takes time to learn all the new steps, and Bubbles will keep changing up the steps and improvising and throwing out new steps. You'll get the hang of this soon, and it will just be a new daily routine for the two of you.

Hang in there. We're here to help you through this and answer any questions you may have.
 
Thank you for your patience and help. I was trying to figure out how to update the SS. Asked again in Tech Support. I went to googledocs, then updated, then publish, then copied link, then profile, then changed that url stuff. Is that the way to do it everyday?
As for Bubbles, she was Never a friendly cat. I got her from the shelter 15 years ago, she was playful as a kitten, and snuggles with a human sometimes at night, but is pretty much a loner. No comparison to my Siamese, Willie, who died of RF at 16, 3 months after I got Bubbles. I try to calm her and be calm, myself, but she wants no part of the testing. I give her insulin while she's eating, so at least that's not a problem. I am stubborn, so I will keep at this, but it may be quite awhile before we get a curve. :YMSIGH:
 
Asked again in Tech Support. I went to googledocs, then updated, then publish, then copied link, then profile, then changed that url stuff. Is that the way to do it everyday?
Click to expand...
This process is a one time thing. Going forward, you only need to go to google, make a change and it should show up here in the signature version automatically.

Once you have the SS set up and linked into your signature, the only thing you need to do for us to see that latest data, is go to google drive and do your updates. If you followed the instructions correctly, you said "publish to the web" and "automatically republish changes".

There is no need to recopy the link to your signature every time you do an update.

To test that you set it up correctly, go make a change, like add a note to the remarks column, then come here and look at the SS yourself or ask one of us to take a look.
 
Good job in the SS. 185 is pretty good so I am guessing she was annoyed more than stressed. A normal cat is 50-130 and she isn't much higher than that.

Really a curve is overkill. I usually recommend a few tests a day instead. Always before each shot so you don't shoot when too low, and a couple of spot checks where you can so you know how low the insulin is taking her. But we can work up to that.

Wendy
 
Thanks! A curve is not something either of us is in the mood for right now! ;-)
I am just concerned because she is still drinking a lot, urinating a lot and hasn't defecated in the box since this all started. Her symptoms started about 4-5 weeks ago. Right now I am dreading cleaning the box, been doing it every day for almost a month. :evil:
 
I was planning to change her food to Fancy Feast Classic tomorrow. She was on dry for the past 15 years, and I switched to Fancy Feast Medley upon diagnosis, before I knew the carb content, so now I am ready to change to Classics, gradually over the next week. Think that's ok?
 
Sounds good but home testing will be important since her blood glucose is likely going to drop.. And the insulin dose may be too much .. For tonite you shot at 185. To keep her safe, for now I wouldn't shoot her if she is any lower than that.
 
Those food changes can make a big impact. Wink really started to dive once we got him to about 50% high carb dry/50% wet low carb food.

Be cautious please, and be sure to have your hypo toolkit stocked and plenty of spare test strips on hand. We like to be prepared, like the boy scouts.
 
If she were mine, I would drop the dose to one unit and then change the diet. (you can always raise the dose after a few cycles if needed, but you can't get too much insulin out of the cat once you give it. :-D )

When you get a Preshot under 200, wait and test again in 20 minutes without feeding (food raises bg levels). You want to be sure the number is rising. Your number today was very nice and she should be fine, but it'd be nice if you could get a before bed number to be sure she is not too low.

A kitty is in the regulated range if they are in the mid 200s at preshot and 100 and under at midcycle. 40s are too low at midcycle and requires intervention

To help her ear heal, you can use Neosporin with pain relief.
 
My understanding of PZI is that it peaks in 6-9 hours. I have tested her at +5 and +6 and she was 178 and 151, which is on track. Her PMPS (+12) of 185, followed by a can of Fancy Feast Medley surely warranted a shot of 2u? And the excessive drinking and urinating also tells me she is not near a normal BG, yet. If the PZI doesn't peak til 7 hours after the shot, why would she be hypo now? She is not active, hasn't been for the past 2 years. I am thinking the change in food may bring her down closer to 100, so I am eager to make the change, but gradually. My BIGGEST problem is the testing. I don't foresee her calming down, before diabetes, I hate to say it, but she could be nasty. When she wanted to eat, she would bite my ankles if I walked by without her food. Can she play with catnip? Maybe that would make her happier?
Thank you so much for all your help!!
 
Your pmps is a very good number - lower than we often see with new diabetics. When we consider the diet change (which can make a difference of -100 points in some cats, I am concerned that your 2 unit dose might be too high once she starts to eat wet low carb regularly.). I imagine she will be fine tonight - I just try to be cautious when giving advice.

Yes, catnip is fine. Did you try the kitty burrito?
 
Oh, I agree about the 2u maybe being too much when I switch to Classic. I am thinking I will mix Tuscany and Classic together for feedings the next few days, and test at 7 hours (peak) and AMPS and PMPS. If I see a drop in BG, I'll lower to 1u q 12, before I make the complete switch to Classic. That's why I am upset with the trouble I am having testing. I used the Burrito wrap last night, and it worked great. Today when I took the towel out and wrapped her, she started growling and hissing before I even touched her. My bedroom looked like a boxing ring before we finished. I am afraid to start switching til we get more comfortable with the testing. Believe me, it is not me who is uncomfortable. :sad: I can get an IV in a screaming 1 yr old. Bubbles is a challenge because she is a biter. :sad:
 
If necessary, you can buy a muzzle to keep you safe. Check our shopping partner Amazon (link on top of page)
 
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