Ear sticks

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tinabetta

Member Since 2012
Okay, so we have been doing the ear sticks for about a week and my poor Lee has got me all figured out. He knows when I start getting out all of the stuff at dinner time and heating the rice sock that I am getting ready to torture him and the battle ensues. I have tried the "burrito" method, the sitting on him method, the poor poor kitty method of trying to love up on him then sticking him and now both of us are at our wit's end. He is a pretty strong healthy fellow all things considered and he is doing everything in his power to keep me from sticking his poor ear. He howls and yells and struggles and if I do successfully get a drop of blood he whips his hear away smearing the sample and we have to start all over.
Does anybody have any advice on how to do this without killing both of us? Looking forward to possible years of ear sticks might do just that....
 
I am guessing she would be happy to. I drove an hour to help someone and thought nothing of it. We are all paying it forward for help we received. I'd suggest asking her. If she can't, she'll tell you.

One thing that can help - if he starts to move away, get the blood drop on your fingernail and test from there.

Are you sure poking on the side of the ear, not more toward the middle? Do you use a new lancet each time? Do you give him a treat he loves after each poke?
 
Before you stick him, put petroleum jelly on his ear - this way the blood will bead up on the jelly and give you a better chance of collecting it.

You may want to try bribing him with treats/food before you test him, this way he will be engaged in eating and not notice the test and will start to associate the test with a treat. And don't worry, a treat or bit of food won't affect the BG level that quickly that you get a food reading.

Does he let you play/massage his ears? If he does, you may want to start doing this on a regular basis, even when not ready to test, so again he doesn't flinch or associate the testing with somethng bad.

What part of the testing is difficult? Is it your preparation and he now knows it and runs away, is it the way you hold him when testing? do you use the lancet device or freehand poke? Sometimes the device can be the problem, with the clicking noise it makes.

Don't give up, there are ways to do this, we just have to help you find what works for your guy.
 
At first we tried the lancets without the gun and he squirmed so much we stuck ourselves, the gun makes it easier to do the thrust but harder to aim. Like I said, he knows now what we are up to when we are getting ready to poke and he wants none of it.
 
Yes, neosporin with pain relief can help.

Does the lancet holder have a clear plastic lid on it? Once we took ours off and could see the actual lancet, it was easier to poke in the right place.
 
Call Dale.....you have her home and work number. She has no computer at home and she does not have your phone number. She said to tell you she'll be only too glad to come out and you are not far away from her.

As for the lancing device, which I have always used, you do not aim....you just put it on the edge of the ear and stick.
 
Tina,
Have meter and treats...will travel. Truly, I'm not that far from you but if you want to call I'd be glad to answer any questions. I have several types of lancing devices if you want to try one. Also, maybe your lancing device is set to prick too deep and hurting him thus the reason he's avoiding you. Maybe back off on the notches and see if that helps. Have you tried sticking yourself to see if you get blood and if it hurts you too much? Have you picked out a specific place to test him and give him treats when he goes there? You could try putting his food down and when his head is in the bowl pick him up and test him, then set him down to finish eating, and give him his shot right there. Or put his food on a table that is easy for you to bend over and grab his ear and test. He'll get used to going to his special place for food.

Regarding your spreadsheet and the numbers you are shooting at...you are shooting on normal numbers.
 
I would certainly take Dale up on her offer; maybe she can find some little thing to tweak in your technique.

I am very concerned about your giving one unit with a 77 this am. We suggest that new diabetics don't shoot any number under 200, as has been suggested in earlier posts. Please watch him carefully today and come on with a 911 if you see a number in the 40s. I would test at +2 and then every couple of hours during the day. Dale, if Trina doesn't come back on, can you give her a call and tell her we are concerned.

Prozinc is not "like shooting water" It is as powerful an insulin as any other kind. Please monitor carefully today.
 
I will give Dale a call as soon as I get out of work. There is still so much I don't know and it is kind of overwhelming. The vet said keep him at 1unit since he was 'stable', I guess she meant not in the 500's....
 
I know it is overwhelming for you. And we try to give you all the information at once, because we want to be sure your kitty is safe.

A kitty is in remission when, off insulin, he ranges from 40 -120 with the majority of the day in double digits. A regulated kitty ranges from 200s for preshots and dips into double digits at nadir, but not below 40. We urge new diabetics not to shoot under 200 until they have the data to do so. Even seasoned ProZinc users who have lots of data do not shoot under 150.

Are you home? Is your cat okay?
 
Oh yes, he is fat and sassy. He was happy and ready for dinner when we got home and he was at 86 so we did not dose him. It is hard for my hubby to not want to dose him but I told him what you all have said about the numbers and he reluctantly agreed. I see where he is coming from, he does not want the numbers to soar again. It looks like the low carb is working and I am sorely tempted to go low carb for the entire househol. Lord knows they would not complain at all but with 8 my budget might! But it beats having the vet fees!
John and I got together on the ear sticks and we think we have it down, he holds, I stick. As long a we do it quickly it is relatively painless for everyone involved.
 
It sounds like he may be a diet controlled diabetic! That would be wonderful. As far as converting all the kitties, it would be worth your while. If high carb food was a contributor to his diabetes, it could happen to another kitty in the household.

Lots of people here feed wet low carb to a multiple cat household. You might start a new thread and ask how they do it.
 
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