Canada Peachy

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alexanne

alexanne

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Thanks to everyone who has posted answers on Peachy's diabetes.

Current situation is Peachy is still on Caninsulin - 1U night and morning. She is very happy at this time with this procedure - she has gained weight and is urinated at a normal level. I have now got a One touch monitor and will be doing home testing. My problem is that I don't know where to get the lancet to get the blood. I got the monitor from my pharmacist who was most helpful, but she wasn't sure about the method of getting the blood from a cat. The monitor came with the instrument to get it from a huma, just a needle to prick the finger. On viewing the video on testing I wasn't quite sure what they were using to get the blood. I'm sure someone can tell me where they got their "lancet". I will of course speak with my vet.

Also will be speaking with my vet on the subject of what the monitor readings mean - in a human the low end is 0.0 to 4.0 normal area is 4.0 to 10.0 and high is 10.0 to 23.0. Is it the same in cats? Also assuming it is, if it is low or high how do you know how much insulin to administer? I will be changing to Lantus once I have established what Peachy's readings are on Caninsulin - I still have a few days' supply of the Caninsulin. I would like to get her reading on that.

Also I have been informed that it is also necessary to do the urine testing. So I will be obtaining the required test material from my pharmacist - I understand it is the same thing as is used for humans.

Unfortunately Peachy will only take the dry food - I am trying to get her to change but that as everyone knows is a slow process - I'll just have to persevere with that. At the moment she is on Purina DM from the vet.

I will be posting on the general health board on up-date on Vegas who had the ringworm.

Thanks again for those who suggested I use a new topic.

 
great you got the meter - did any lancets come with the meter?

You have the option of using the lancet device that came with the meter or not using it and if you choose not use it - if you choose not to use it, then it doesn't matter what lancets you get. If you decide to use it, you will need ones that fit the device. You can get all your lancets at the pharmacy -

I suggest getting ones that are 30-31 gauge - that means the thickness of the pokey part - the lower the number the thicker the needle - and the lower the number the more she may feel it, so to start try a 30 or 31 - you can always go up or down if needed.

They are inexpensive enough that it shouldn't matter\ if you have several with different gauges.

Again experiment with and without the device and try one size and see how that works for you.

Now as far as where to test on the cat - good question - most people test the ear - and here is a pic of where on the ear to poke:



I recommend holding the lancet at an upward 45 degreeish angle and poking that way, rather than straight into ear (like piercing). Kinda looks like this:



here are home testing links that will help you too: http://www.felinediabetes.com/phorum5/r ... ?8,1817358

It's from the old board, don't worry about that, the information is still good.

I don't know the Canada numbers, I think the conversion is X18 or something - I'll let the Canada peeps chime in on that part.

I had 3 dry food addicts here and all I can tell you is to keep at it, eventually you will win. Follow the recommends on Dr. Lisa's site - http://www.catinfo.org and hopefully some of those tips will help.

She needs to learn that wet food is food and good for her. Once she learns, she will eat it, it's getting to that point that is challenging and frustrating.

Other tips for poking - use a warming sock, to help warm the ear -

Recipe - take one sock

add 1/4 cup rice OR beans OR oatmeal

knot the top

put in microwave about 25 seconds, until warm to touch

place behind cat's ear and hold there until ear warms up

I also kept it there when poking, this way if I pierced rather than poked, I didn't pierce my finger.

Oh and do you have any neosporin (antibiotic ointment - like something you would use for cuts or scrapes)? If not, pick something up with/without pain reliever doesn't matter - after you test, you will want to massage this onto the ear to help the bruising that will occur.

I was lucky, Maui has black ears, so I couldn't see the bruises, but I still used the ointment.

And if your cat has dark ears - then use a handheld flashlight (put in your mouth to hold) and use it like a spotlight to light up the area you are poking. It was the most invaluable tool for me, with that I could poke her and see what I was doing.
 
I use the lancet device that comes with the meter -- it is like a pen and you poke your finger with it..

Well, I hold my cat's ear - tip of index finger inside the ear to support it -- then activate the lancet device (usually click a button) -- the pin springs out and pokes the ear (and sometimes the finger - just don't mix the blood)
 
HI again Alexanne,
The number you get, depends on the time of day it is. For preshots, that is, before insulin, I am happy with Thomas being in the 13ish range. In the middle of the day, or at his lowest point I am happy with something in the 4's or 5's, thought I will say that I don't fret too much if he's in the 7's or 8's. I am not sure why you feel you have to do urine testing. The fact that she has gained weight and is back to peeing a normal amount indicates that things are working. Now if you can get her to eat some canned.
There are some lower carb dry foods though, that you don't have to go to the vet for. I use a smaller chain, Global Ryan Petfoods, and the owners are generally well versed and friendly. I am sure they must have outlets in Mississauga.
In terms of the lancet, I shoot freehand, that means without the little gizmo. I think it sort of pops out too suddenly and too noisily, and quite truthfully, sometimes I barely have to apply any pressure to get blood.

Dana
 
I use the lancets that you buy for the One Touch Ultra... there should be a few that came with your monitor (probably white plastic things about a 1.5 inch long) . A box of 100 costs about $8. They're one time use.

Instead of putting them in the pricking machine that comes with the monitor, I just twist the little round cap off, exposing the needle, and then use it manually to prick his ear.

It's easiest if you have something solid behind the ear to prick against... I use a flashlight because it serves double duty of being solid and lighting up the ear so I can see the veins very well.
 
Thanks all -,

The one touch ultra does come with the pen device and the needles (lancets) I misunderstood - I thought lancet was something like a blade not a needle - I was watching the video and saw that they used the needle - so I do have them - not sure what the size is - the sock idea is good and also prevent mixing the blood so I don't get mine mixed up with it. And the flashlight too. Peachy has very light coloured ears - pinkish - peachy colour - hence her name she is almost angora type fur with the peachy markings on the head and ears. I'll have to practice.

Do you test every day?

I'll keep you posted.

You mentioned that 13 was acceptabe and was happy if in the 7s range - I know you are using Lantus - how do you gauge how much to give when referring to the reading which is too low or too high?

Somebody said that urine testing was very important too although you were doing the blood testing. Sometimes it's hard to know when someone says one thing and someone another - I'll be contacting the vet of course - I can give him the numbers when I have done my testing.

Thanks again to all.
 
I think the general consensus around here is to test before every shot, just to make sure it's not too low - in which case giving insulin might be dangerous.

And then as you get more comfortable, test here and there during the day, at different times, so you can start to see the pattern of how her blood glucose fluctuates throughout the cycle.

I don't know what to recommend for when to adjust her dose... it's probably best to ask your vet for guidelines. I know what our vet has told me for Odie, but he's got many other issues/medications going on so I wouldn't want you to rely on that. Less than 7.0, I'm not supposed to give him any, 7-10, I give a reduced dose, 10+ I give his full dose.

I have not been testing Odie's urine (it's only been 5 weeks since he was diagnosed with diabetes)... but his blood glucose numbers have been relatively good, so I don't think ketones are an issue. He was tested for them at the vet's, when he was first diagnosed and his blood glucose numbers were at their highest (around 18-20), and he was fine then. Others may have different advice though.
 
PS. If you click on Odie's spreadsheet, in my signature... you'll see one done with "Canadian" numbers.
At the top, you'll see the conversion from the US measurements to Canadian ones... you can see what they mean when they talk about "blue" and "green" numbers
 
If you are using Lantus, then may i recommend that you visit the Lantus forum and read the starred information there. It will answer most if not all of your questions and you can also post on that board to get very specific advice on how much to shoot, when to shoot and how often to test. Each day the amount of testing will vary depending on what is going on with Peachy.

Here is the link to the forum: viewforum.php?f=9

You can also click on board index and find Lantus that way too.
 
Thanks for all the help.

I have peeked into the Lantus site and will be going back there.

I'll be going to take a look at Odiesmum's spreadsheet - very helpful to see the Canadian numbers.

I'll keep you posted.

Thanks again.
 
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