? FIRST FULL DAY AFTER SWITCH TO LANTUS (1U/12) CANT DRAW A SINGLE DROP!

Blanche

Blanche

Member Since 2026
Hello fellow night owls! (sorry, cats :) )
Yesterday we switch at PMPS to 1U Lantus. I didn't have the 0.3 syringes only the 0.5 and I was not confident to shoot a 3U as the previous caninsuline.
Today, at PMPS, after 57solid minutes I couldn't draw a single full drop of blood! Blanche bled but blood fled to my fingers and her ears and not a single drop, not one! enough for testing. Nine strips later I let her be, she was hurting and even afraid. Not of me but surely of my fingers approaching her ears. I use xylocream before pinch her, and a reparative one after (jalplast), a new little needle every time, I warm her ears with warm rice, but no, today at PMPS and later, NOTHING not one test! I cant go to sleep, I check her every 15 min and I dont know what to do if tomorrow also continues the same situation. I order the libre device but it wont be here before Saturday.
As you can see all is well and calm and I certainly dont panic#not
 
Blanche, is this new with you not being able to get a test? Once, when Jude was on a specific drug (I think it might have been a Metacam shot), his blood would not bead up--it simply spread on his ear and I couldn't get a drop on the testing strip. Thankfully, once that drug was out of his system, things went back to normal. Hopefully, Wendy's suggestion of the Vaseline or petroleum jelly will help the blood to bead up or gathering it on the fingernail. I wish I had known that back when I was struggling. I wonder if he is on a medication that is causing this. Best of luck with the next test!
 
Wendy&Neko said:
I found that a tiny smear of Vaseline on the poke side helped the blood bead up. If you see some blood, you can scoop in onto your fingernail and test from there.

Some tips here might help: Hometesting Links and Shooting Tips
Click to expand...
Hi girls,
Wendy thank you for replying (and the tips! ) I used vaseline also today at AMPS but still nothing. She became wary from the moment I picked her up and she didn't tolerate more than 5 pokes tail wagging and all. After that, she didn't really fight but she tried to escape and smear even the minuscule amount of blood every where but the strip or my finger nail... I still shot the 1U but I hate being in the dark! You can see her giving me the nasty eye!

Screenshot 2026-03-12 at 10.28.22.png
Mary, no, nothing different about drugs, nothing different at all. Only her ears becoming bloodless! (Sorry, bad joke to mask my frustration and ineptitude.. )

Hellen, it seems not tip will save me this time, Blanche is doing well (for the moment) and she is lounging at the her favourite spot, the top bunk near the window door.
But I don't know if it safe to leave or not (and I have to leave in one hour!)

Screenshot 2026-03-12 at 10.28.37.png
 
hellen_maggie said:
Some people also get blood from the paw pad instead of the ear. Maybe you could try that if the ear isn’t working? Do you think Blanche would tolerate it? I hope everything goes well while you’re out.
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Hellen, I tried paw pad once, at the beginning. She hissed me for the first time in 9 years. I think that was a clear no-no sign.
 
Blanche said:
Hello fellow night owls! (sorry, cats :) )
Yesterday we switch at PMPS to 1U Lantus. I didn't have the 0.3 syringes only the 0.5 and I was not confident to shoot a 3U as the previous caninsuline.
Today, at PMPS, after 57solid minutes I couldn't draw a single full drop of blood! Blanche bled but blood fled to my fingers and her ears and not a single drop, not one! enough for testing. Nine strips later I let her be, she was hurting and even afraid. Not of me but surely of my fingers approaching her ears. I use xylocream before pinch her, and a reparative one after (jalplast), a new little needle every time, I warm her ears with warm rice, but no, today at PMPS and later, NOTHING not one test! I cant go to sleep, I check her every 15 min and I dont know what to do if tomorrow also continues the same situation. I order the libre device but it wont be here before Saturday.
As you can see all is well and calm and I certainly dont panic#not
Click to expand...
Are you warming her ear before trying to get blood?
I also try to massage the ear after I’ve warmed it with a rice sock and a pill bottle filled with warm water.

The warmer the ear the better to get the blood flowing.

Have you read all about using a Libre (sorry if you have already). Lots of good information in here about using one
Getting Started With Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) for Diabetic Cats

I always keep several sensors in my home since they can fail for a variety of reasons and it can be a time delay in getting another one quickly just when you need it.

Hope this helps!
And hope her ears bleed easier very soon!
Blanche is just adorable 🥰 💕😻
 
Staci & Ivy said:
Are you warming her ear before trying to get blood?
I also try to massage the ear after I’ve warmed it with a rice sock and a pill bottle filled with warm water.

The warmer the ear the better to get the blood flowing.
Click to expand...
Hello Stacy!
Thank you for replying! <3 Yes to all the above! Last time I tried at AMPS +3 massaging and warming her ears for about 20m still nothing. Its like a switch flip!
I read all about Libre and I will confess that I'm desperate for her ears to blooding again because here the sensor is quite pricey and I definitely cant keep several sensors around. I purchase two for having one spare for the switching to Lantus but I really hope to be able to continue the traditional home testing. Even if nothing ever fails, I cant keep two sensors/month indefinitely.

Thanks again! And please, give to Ivy a kiss to the tip of her nose, such a beauty 🥰💖😽
 
Blanche said:
Hello Stacy!
Thank you for replying! <3 Yes to all the above! Last time I tried at AMPS +3 massaging and warming her ears for about 20m still nothing. Its like a switch flip!
I read all about Libre and I will confess that I'm desperate for her ears to blooding again because here the sensor is quite pricey and I definitely cant keep several sensors around. I purchase two for having one spare for the switching to Lantus but I really hope to be able to continue the traditional home testing. Even if nothing ever fails, I cant keep two sensors/month indefinitely.

Thanks again! And please, give to Ivy a kiss to the tip of her nose, such a beauty 🥰💖😽
Click to expand...
I get it about the Libres and the cost. I know in the EU they are more costly than in thr US! 😩

Just know that getting their ears to bleed is a process.
Hoping her ears will get with the program soon!

Sending you both good vibes that her ears will catch on soon.
Ivy says thank you for the kisses, and please give some to Blanche as well 😘😽💋
 
Ok, after a try at +3 at +4 at +5, after shaving her ears, massaging them for 20m et still nothing, I realise that this is not normal nor accidental. From the 1st March when I start till yesterday I was almost every time successful and I used two meters simultaneously, a pet and a human and when I doubted the pet meter I repeat a test immediately. I had enough blood for 4 or 5 tests on the row! And then I test also for ketones. It is not possible that I suddenly became so inept.
The only thing I change since yesterday (except the insulin type) is that I start to put xylocream before poke her and jalplast after. I'm wondering if the healing cream has somehow destroyed the tiny blood vessels and now I cant make them bleed. When massaging her ears earlier I noticed that the skin was more silky like waxed.

Any thoughts?
 
Blanche said:
Ok, after a try at +3 at +4 at +5, after shaving her ears, massaging them for 20m et still nothing, I realise that this is not normal nor accidental. From the 1st March when I start till yesterday I was almost every time successful and I used two meters simultaneously, a pet and a human and when I doubted the pet meter I repeat a test immediately. I had enough blood for 4 or 5 tests on the row! And then I test also for ketones. It is not possible that I suddenly became so inept.
The only thing I change since yesterday (except the insulin type) is that I start to put xylocream before poke her and jalplast after. I'm wondering if the healing cream has somehow destroyed the tiny blood vessels and now I cant make them bleed. When massaging her ears earlier I noticed that the skin was more silky like waxed.

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Sounds like a possibility.
I would think you'd want the ear clean before poking.
You could use the cream after the poke.
They also say to hold pressure after a poke and a blood test to help the site heal (for about 30 seconds)
 
Wendy, I thought that because alcohol on a cotton is generally used to disinfect the skin before using a needle and because ear has not so much fur, that I had to be sure that cant catch anything from poking. I don't wipe when give her insulin but I thought is the right thing to do on ears. The vet every time she draws blood from a vein to run test, after shaving the fur, meticulously clean the area with a gauze and alcohol. She said that helps the blood to the spot.
 
Blanche said:
Wendy, I thought that because alcohol on a cotton is generally used to disinfect the skin before using a needle and because ear has not so much fur, that I had to be sure that cant catch anything from poking. I don't wipe when give her insulin but I thought is the right thing to do on ears. The vet every time she draws blood from a vein to run test, after shaving the fur, meticulously clean the area with a gauze and alcohol. She said that helps the blood to the spot.
Click to expand...
You don’t need to wipe the ear with alcohol to test her BG as Wendy mentioned.

(Unless you have medications already on the ear already, then perhaps).
 
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