Evening all - new meter question

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LydetteSimmie (Iceman)

LydetteSimmie (Iceman)

Member Since 2014
Hiya everyone!

I finally got the ReliOn Prime today. There are a couple of things I liked about the CVS TrueTrack meter (that I recently tossed) but the nicest feature was that I would get a BEEP after certain actions. First when inserting the strip, then when I was able to get a sufficient sample, and then when the reading was available. I know that sounds silly, and I am sure I will get accustomed to not hearing cues but I sure wish they provided them. Especially the one telling me that a sufficient amount of blood was pulled and when the reading is ready...this is because I tend to give Simmie all my attention during these periods so I don't look down all the time. Am I missing something in the instructions that would allow me to turn on these sound cues?

Also, with the other monitor the manufacturer stated how long the strip could be in the device before being inactive again. The manual for the ReLiOn Prime doesn't state a period of time. It would be GREAT if I didn't have to rush to get the sample, in case Simmie and I are having a challenging day. For you folks using this meter, is there a max time prior to when the strip is inserted and the sample is taken...of course I know I can't have the strip in for a month :lol: but it really would be nice to know that I have more than the 2 minutes, as with my first meter.

Thanks for your help! Tomorrow is going to be an interesting day. Originally I had planned to get a curve done on Simmie but after reading some responses to my frazzled queries I canceled the curve and requested some time with my kitty vet to talk about everything I have been reading here and hoping to get her support for the recommendations (home testing, low carb commercial food, etc). I don't like the way we parted last week especially because she is a fantastic person and vet I'll let everyone know how it goes. I'll be printing out some of the peer reviewed material from this site for her. Wish me luck!

Hugs Lydette and the Iceman or Simmie!
 
I have the Relion Micro but I bet they work pretty much the same. I put the test strip only part way in, prick the ear and get the blood beed, then push the strip the rest of the way in and wait for the signal to put the strip on the ear. I hope that makes sense.
 
Hi there! That's what I had been doing with my TrueTrack but I was wondering if it was possible to wait for full insertion of the strip until WE were ready, vs. the machine being ready that would be fantastic and one less issue for newbies to deal with. Not that it is a big deal but a couple of times I kind of 'bent' the strip when trying to get it fully into the meter once I had a large enough bead. Does this make sense? So, I thought, if I really had more time I could chill a little longer making me less tense around Simmie. Just a dumb thought.

Anyone have any idea about setting this meter for a BEEP? Again, another nice thing to have for Newbies.

I have one other very strange issue and I don't really know where to post it. It just hit me an hour ago. Hmmm, I think I will start another post so I can be directed to wherever everyone thinks I should go....

Hope you are all sleeping well and cuddling with your babies!
Love Lyd, Simmie and the rest of the household. Sweet Dreams?
 
The Prime doesn't have any sound.

What I do is push the strip in and wait for the meter to turn on, that's how I know the strip is in correctly (most of the time). If it's not in correctly, either the meter won't turn on or there will be a flashing arrow next to the strip icon saying for you to take out the strip and put it back in; otherwise, a little blood droplet flashes. I love this even better than my Micro because the Micro takes about 3-5 seconds before the strip is ready and I'm constantly wasting strips because I get the blood drop on before the meter is ready. With the Prime, the meter is ready immediately.

With the Prime, you can leave the strip in for a good 2 minutes (I timed it) before you need to re-insert the strip. With the Micro, it seems like it's only a minute. You might be able to adjust that settings on the Micro, but that's too much work for me. I just want my meter to be plug-'n-play. :lol:

I also "guess" when it's gotten enough blood by making sure it goes up to the blue line on the base of the strip. Anything less and it's a 50/50 toss-up the meter will return an error. Then, you have to power it off, remove the strip, insert a new strip, and test again. If the blood makes it to the blue line, it's about a 99% chance you'll get a reading. The reading will also stay on the screen for quite a while (I haven't timed it, but at least 2 minutes if not longer). After that, the meter turns off. To get the reading back, turn the meter on and press the Right arrow key.

Other than that, as I said, I like my meter simple-stupid so I don't use the computer hook-up or the memory or anything else fancy and just write everything down in Mikey's log book for me to eventually input into his spreadsheet. (Yes, I am the type of geek whose microwave always flashes 12:00 :lol: )
 
Thanks guys for all your help. I was going to do my first at home curve today but I am actually having one of my own 'bad' days so I am going to wait until tomorrow so I don't unnecessarily stress out Simmie. He's just about completely switched from his dry m/d (was only a snack anyway, wet m/d was his main food) to the low carb PurinaOne pate. I guess I am really anxious about this total food transition so I need to do that curve asap. Unfortunately I seem to only be able to get blood from him via one ear and only in a limited spot. His ears are always warm, always have been. I guess poking him every 2 hours in the same place makes me more uncomfortable than him. I just gotta do it! I'll use the spreadsheet for the curve tomorrow when I feel better. Many hugs to all.
 
I test Mikey mainly on his right ear in a very narrow area because that's where he bleeds the best and where he prefers it (he only sometimes begrudgingly lets me test his left ear). Been at this a year and a half and you can't even tell he gets tested at all. When you first start out, the ears look terrible, so it might be helpful to use a little neosporin on his ears to help them heal faster.
 
Evening Kpassa and all you late night Kitty Watchers :RAHCAT

Kpassa, you always seem to be there for me. :-D You must be a wonderful person. I've noticed so many people who don't seem to let anyone hang for an answer. I don't want to name names but you know who you are...and we newbies love you for it.

Well, the Iceman (Simmie) is sitting on the couch with me, licking his ice cubes and as lovely as it sounds, I do have one burning question that is not an emergency. It's about the ear prick...I do not seem to have the touch so I guess having the commitment can make up for other shortcomings. Ha! Not to Simmie I bet.

I know I am not supposed to pierce his ear. I just don't seem to have any success unless I do that. I need to understand the ramifications of piercing vs poking. Here's the average poking activity:

- I get everything ready for Test, Feed, Shoot. Simmie, in position, happy, ecstatic that there is food coming
- I put a small amount of Neosporin, with pain relief, on both ears, rub his ears, scratch his neck, and talk of birds in flights that he'll never get cat(2)_steam
- I try to poke him at a 45 degree angle, around the sweet spot, twice, and I almost never draw blood, in fact, it doesn't 'feel' like I've pierced the skin
- Simmie gets irritated, flattens his ears, and in my frustration I poke again (might be same ear, or different) and it ends up more as a pierce
- I get the blood, he gets the food

- he saunters away happy and I walk away feeling like I have damaged his ears for life.

He doesn't seem to have much bruising but I assume that's because of the Neosporin. I haven't yet seen what the problem is for our kids if they are pierced instead of poked. I have read that we don't want to pierce but given the thin skin I don't know how I can avoid it. Could someone tell me what the trick is to getting blood from the poking vs the piercing and what the real problem is if I can only get blood from piercing? That would be great. BTW, I do freehand poking I do not use a lansing pen.

Hugs
Lyd
 
LydetteSimmie (Iceman) said:
it really would be nice to know that I have more than the 2 minutes, as with my first meter.
Click to expand...

According to the manual, the Prime turns off 2 minutes after the last action.
 
Sometimes, 2 quick pokes in about the same place will bead up enough for a test.

You can aim directly for the vein. It tends to bleed freely, so you snag a droplet on a clean fingernail and blot firmly to staunch the bleeding (why we don't generally use it)
 
I use a lancing device so I can't really offer you any help with the poking free-free hand. As to piercings, we've all done them. :lol: It's much like aiming for the vein: you don't want to do it all the time, but every now and again it's bound to happen. The problem with poking through the ear is that usually the blood will come out the other side or not come out at all. Plus, it makes two holes instead of just one.

Something you might try is the inside of the ear instead of the outside. With my non-diabetic, Henry, his fur on the outside makes it almost impossible for me to spot the blood drop, much less suck it up in the meter so I use the inside of his ear. With Mikey, he has such long hair on the insides of his ears that the blood never beads up so I have to test him on the outside.

Other than that, patience, Grasshopper. You're still in the early days of testing and his ears are still "learning to bleed" (angiogenesis). With Mikey, all I have to do now is look at his ear and it starts to bleed. :lol:
 
My only thought was wondering if you were using something firm behind the ear to poke against. Some people use a folded up piece of tissue or cotton ball. Other people poke against a pill bottle lid. It may help you get that firm poke you are "aiming" for (sorry for the pun ;-) )
 
I'm new to all this but I feel like I've had pretty good success testing so far and this is a trick I don't think I've seen described yet. I test from the inside of Huey's ear with my thumbnail as a backstop. I'm using a lancing device and also piercing more than I'd like to but I'm working on freelancing and I think this could help with that too.

Picture me this, hopefully this doesn't get too confusing: I am right handed so I sit Huey on my lap facing to the right. With my left hand, I hold his head. The bottom three fingers cradle his face, my thumb goes behind his ear and I use my first finger to flip his ear over my thumbnail. This way, my left arm hugs him and keeps him still long enough to test and my right hand is free to grab the lancing device, glucometer, and bit of gauze in quick succession. Huey has learned that he gets his treat after the testing, and I swear to god he doesn't start squirming until after he hears the meter's confirmation beep!

Another only semi-related but hilarious (to me?) observation: Both my earlobes are pierced but my right ear has two additional piercings in the cartilage. Whenever I have a drink or exercise or do anything that gets my blood flowing, the right ear gets noticeably warmer sooner, presumably from the increased capillaries that formed while the two extra holes were healing. ANGIOGENESIS IN ACTION!
 
These are all great ideas.

I use a piece of gauze as a backing when I poke Simmie. That seems to irritate him more than me just going in for the poke, as it were. I'm probably clumsier than I will be in another couple of weeks.

I also love the stories by the way. It's nice to get to know the people, the 'kids' and the humanity side of all the science that is really discussed here. The lack of condescension is also such a wonderful plus and obviously critical to the success of the site but it is still rare to discover such a powerful 'we are here for you' attitude believed in by so many.
 
LydetteSimmie (Iceman) said:
I use a piece of gauze as a backing when I poke Simmie. That seems to irritate him more than me just going in for the poke, as it were.
Click to expand...

I had this same issue with Mikey when we first started testing. It turned out that I had switched brands of paper towels (what I use instead of gauze) and he didn't like the quality of the new paper towels. Seriously, something as simple as that can affect your rate of success. ohmygod_smile

Now, I use nothing to back it except my finger because the lancing device is set to a low enough depth that it doesn't poke through (took about a month of gradually moving it lower and lower as Mikey's ears started bleeding better). Not sure if you've seen this yet, but here's something I wrote up about finding agreeable positions for both of you for ear testing that might give you some helpful hints.
 
Nancy & Huey said:
Another only semi-related but hilarious (to me?) observation: Both my earlobes are pierced but my right ear has two additional piercings in the cartilage. Whenever I have a drink or exercise or do anything that gets my blood flowing, the right ear gets noticeably warmer sooner, presumably from the increased capillaries that formed while the two extra holes were healing. ANGIOGENESIS IN ACTION!
Click to expand...
YES! I have 4 holes in each ear but I only wear earrings in the bottom holes and one in the tip in honor of home-testing (stole the idea from Hillary and Maui, although I already had the piercing). Whenever my blood starts pumping, my ear-holes tingle. I also have super sensitive skin and my ears react/heat up first when something is bothering me and sometimes the piercings even itch. Not sure if it's actually angiogenesis, but that's a really interesting correlation and now you've got me thinking!
 
Isn't it so great that we all have funny and interesting stories to tell that make our 'families' greater than the illness? This is an amazingly compassionate community and while the personal stories never detract from the task at hand, it allows us to care for each other at a deeper level. I feel as if you learning to know me, with all my idiosyncrasies, and Simmie by knowing his characteristics like his love of ice, creates an environment where we are almost in each others' living rooms.

I don't know...my hubby calls me a weirdo, with lots of love in his heart, because I can't help but say what I feel, even if it is inappropriate. Like this note perhaps. I just tell him that I am like this because I was born and raised in New Jersey! HA!

Love to you all. Lydette and the Family

ps - Oh had a dumb question...sometimes when I select VIEW MORE SMILES I am given the list of option but other times nothing appears. Has anyone else had a problem with this?
 
Hey, didn't you know that when you joined FDMB that you were joining our family? :lol: ;-)

The smilie problem is probably your web browser. You might want to run an update on it and see if that helps or try a different browser.
 
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