Discouraged....

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JanetMR

JanetMR

Member Since 2017
So frustrated! We obtained a blood glucose yesterday for the first time on Bella. Had trouble initially knowing where to obtain the sample on her ear. Some online material was very helpful. Good news: it was 141.
This morning not so much luck. We stuck poor Bella 5 times at least. Got good samples.. machine kept reading “ error”. We are using a relion micro. She seems ok.. eating small amounts of fancy feast classic.
Shes currently off Vetsulin. ( ended up in the vet emergency after Two doses of 1 unit each)
Any advice?
 
So, 141 is actually almost "normal", so that's pretty good news for a cat not getting insulin. Have you watched @JanetNJ 's video? There is a little vein going around the ear edge, about 1mm from the edge of the ear. If you put a light behind the ear you might see it. Testing technique improves with practice, don't get discouraged so fast! Do you think there might be a problem with your glucometer?

Also -- if your glucometer is like the alphatrak (I'm guess most meters function the same) if you "fail" to get a reading a strip, that strip is dead, and you have to put a new one in. Did you do that or did you try and test multiple times with the same strip?
 
Stephanie & Quintus said:
So, 141 is actually almost "normal", so that's pretty good news for a cat not getting insulin. Have you watched @JanetNJ 's video? There is a little vein going around the ear edge, about 1mm from the edge of the ear. If you put a light behind the ear you might see it. Testing technique improves with practice, don't get discouraged so fast! Do you think there might be a problem with your glucometer?

Also -- if your glucometer is like the alphatrak (I'm guess most meters function the same) if you "fail" to get a reading a strip, that strip is dead, and you have to put a new one in. Did you do that or did you try and test multiple times with the same strip?
Click to expand...

We used different test strips. Five of them. The error read as contaminated. Will re- read the booklet and see where we went wrong. My husband did the sticking and did the meter. I was the “holder”. Perhaps it’s just as simple as not washing his hands....feel bad for Bella.
 
I hope this helps. In Windows you can right-click and save them for future reference.
ear_001.JPG
injsitesforcats1.jpg
 
The first time is always very difficult. I struggled too and my poor boy was poked many times. Trust me, it will get better soon. And you can do it without help. Some people offer treats after poking. I didn’t give any cos my boy doesn’t like treats. But strangely after we established a routine, he will willingly come and give me his ear.
You are helping Bella by hometesting. Don’t get discouraged.
Happy New Year! All the best to you and Bella.
 
Waheeda said:
The first time is always very difficult. I struggled too and my poor boy was poked many times. Trust me, it will get better soon. And you can do it without help. Some people offer treats after poking. I didn’t give any cos my boy doesn’t like treats. But strangely after we established a routine, he will willingly come and give me his ear.
You are helping Bella by hometesting. Don’t get discouraged.
Happy New Year! All the best to you and Bella.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your kind words. I’ve tried treats. But she wasn’t interested. I wouldnt have been either! Cats are very foregiving thank goodness.
 
That IS frustrating! I’m sorry for a rough start this morning, when you’ve done everything right! I hope the next round goes better. Maybe once you figure out the error message, you can do a quick test on yourself (or your husband!) before attempting again on the kitty. Good luck!
 
If you are using the lancets that come with it you might find it easier to get 26 or 28 gauge lancets. You can also scrape the drop onto your nail and test from there.
 
I also had trouble at first trying to get a reading from his ear and my strips kept saying error. I had a meltdown and went to a vet down the street to ask if they could help get some blood from his ear. I finally figured it out but now I use his paw he doesn't seem to mind. He bit me when I try to do his back feet but he doesn't mind his front feet. I get a little blood on my ReliOn confirm and it is awesome. Just make sure you're using the tip of your strip and not trying to put a drop on the strip that was my mistake the first time trying to get it on the Strip. Just touch the edge of the strip to get the blood.
 
Oh! one thing I understood sometime in that really helped me was this: at least on the AT strips, the little pointy thing on the side is meant to pierce the membrane of the blood drop so that the blood can enter in between the front and back panels of the strip. Early on I had been trying to apply the strip "flat" on the drop of blood. Now I really use the little pointy thing like a lance to penetrate the blood drop. Let me know if the explanation isn't clear or isn't relevant to your strips.
 
Stephanie & Quintus said:
Oh! one thing I understood sometime in that really helped me was this: at least on the AT strips, the little pointy thing on the side is meant to pierce the membrane of the blood drop so that the blood can enter in between the front and back panels of the strip. Early on I had been trying to apply the strip "flat" on the drop of blood. Now I really use the little pointy thing like a lance to penetrate the blood drop. Let me know if the explanation isn't clear or isn't relevant to your strips.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the helpful info. Sorry it’s taken me so long to reply. Still trying to figure out how this site works ( along with everything else)
I’ve gotten better and better at getting her blood glucose levels!!
 
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