Freestyle Libre-Hit a nerve?

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Lynnie23

Lynnie23

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My newly diagnosed diabetic kitty, Hazel, had good success, and tolerated well, her first Freestyle Libre attachment. Her diabetes is far from controlled yet. She had a second Libre applied a few days ago and has been absolutely miserable ever since. It’s placed on her right upper scapula, opposite of where the first one had been. Is it possible the new placement could be hitting a nerve? Other than her being noticeably uncomfortable in the placement area, her front left paw and arm have been twitching-as if her paw has a terrible itch and she shakes it and waves her arm. It looks involuntary but I’m not sure. Needless to say, I’m taking her to vet to have it removed. (The Libre, not her left arm.) It’s still super stuck and I’m not comfortable removing it myself.
 
It's possible that there's a pinched nerve from the sensor or it's rubbing on a spot that's uncomfortable for Hazel. If you don't already have a hand held glucometer, I'd encourage you to get one. Most of the members here use the Walmart Relion meter since the strips are inexpensive. However, any human meter is fine.
 
Thanks for your reply. I wasn’t sure if hitting a nerve was even possible, but I know something is quite different with this new placement. I do have the Alpha Trak. I’ve read everything about preparing for ear pokes so I’ve been gradually going through a “fake” ear poke routine using lots of sweet talk and reward treats. I built up and was able to do one poke but Hazel didn’t react well so I gave it a break and have started over with the pretend poke routine. She has been traumatized by all of this.
 
It can take a while for a cat to adjust to home testing but most cats adjust. It also helps if you're relaxed about the process. You kitty can pick up on your anxiety!
 
Oh absolutely! She did great until the actual poke happened when she screamed OUCH! and I needed to continue holding her while pinching her ear a bit to get enough blood to test. I knew jumping right back into it, neither of us would do well. I’ve honestly never been able to get her to adjust to any kind of routine that requires her to be held still. I really admire everyone’s commitment and dedication. I don’t feel like I’ll ever be that person with Hazel. My big boy, Perkins, who passed in 2020 was a breeze. He and I adapted to all kinds of health and medication administration issues, but Hazel…not at all. It’s difficult to have a positive outlook, like ‘she will get used to it over time,’ when I know her well enough to know…it mightbe unlikely. I love the encouragement but also don’t understand the blanket statements that, by giving it time, not being anxious, etc., everything works out. I cannot imagine that is the case for every single cat therefore, I would be to blame for that failure. Hurts my heart. Maybe some cats will never tolerate ear pokes at home, it just might not be apparent on this forum because, what owner would want to come back on here and admit they couldn’t treat their cat in a way the cat adapted to? Sorry to be a downer, but I’m feeling pretty down about all of it at the moment.
 
You are correct -- every cat is different. (We even note, ECID given how frequently this is true.) Most cats do adjust but cats tend to like predictability and getting a sharp object poked in their ear is not predictable! We do our best to help caregivers problem solve but also understand not every cat is going to respond the same way. Frankly, despite their limitations the Libre has been a huge benefit for many people. Hopefully, having the sensor moved maybe all that's needed to make this easier.

If you've not already seen this post on home testing, I'm linking it. Hopefully, there's some information that may be useful.
 
Thank you. I appreciate your accepting my frustration and worries over this and will take a look at the link. I believe that’s the one I’ve studied over and over so I could learn to home test. All the tips and suggestions are great, and not things I would have thought to do had I not read it.
I’m not giving up on home testing. I will continue to try all the things and hope Hazel and I can get there. At this point I’m just relieved I was able to get one poke in so I know if there were an emergency where I HAD to home test, it can be done.
I decided to cancel the Libre removal. I was able to get the tape/adhesive around the perimeter of the sensor to lift up using a q-tip and olive oil. That, along with a dose of Gabapentin, and Hazel finally seems to be relaxing. Napping on my bed currently. I hope I’ve made the right decision by not putting her through a vet visit today. If only they could tell us what they needed.
 
There is a Facebook page on using the Libre with cats (and dogs, too, I think). They may have suggestions regarding issues with the placement, adhesive, etc. One of our members has mentioned it (@Larry and Kitties) and he may also be able to offer suggestions.
 
I'm very new here and have very limited experience with blood glucose (BG) testing. I hope I'm not out of line to pop up and put my two cents in. We had a very similar experience to yours with Candy and have switched to doing pokes of the rear paw pads, using the large pad in the center of the paw exclusively. Candy tolerates it very well. She will even purr when my wife is holding her and warming up her paw with a warm cloth. I'm able to do pokes by myself, with her laying on her side. She will even lay there and wait for me to go reheat the washcloth and come back. She always gets a treat when we're done, so I guess she considers it no so bad...
 
@Lynnie23

Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up
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6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 10 or 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand not the lancing device
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
Look at the lancet under a light and you will see one side is curved upward, that's the side you want to poke with

Try putting a thin layer of Vaseline on the ear so the blood will bead up
Here's a video one of our members did
VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar

By the way Hazel is a gorgeous kitty :cat:
 
Whoa! Thank you everyone! I appreciate all the suggestions and plan to continue with the “pretend” test routine trying to build up to actual ear pokes.. I spend time gently handling Hazel’s ears while relaxing and talking in my “you’re a good girl” voice. I also definitely plan to try the paw method! Great suggestion and much appreciated.

FYI-I was able to remove the sensor yesterday. Unfortunately the arm twitch spasms, in her right arm, not her left as I previously stated, have continued. She will have the spasm, make a whining noise, then lick at the area on her shoulder blade where the sensor had been. I hope this resolves.
 
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@Diane Tyler's Mom GA I watched the video you shared. Wow! What a good kitty cat! Absolutely not st all like my Hazel when it comes to ear touching. Hazel will never in a million years be this tolerant. I’ve watched other videos like this where the cat is docile and things look so easy, but I’ve yet to find one where testing is done on an extremely upset squirmy cat that doesn’t like their ears touched. (Maybe because there are cats who never adapt to ear pokes?) But, I’ll keep trying. Seeing the ear poke location is very helpful. Thank you! I was poking more towards the inner area of the ear.
 
@Lynnie23
Try and start rubbing her ears whenever you can and give her a low carb treat before and after
Try and bring Hazel to the same spot for testing.
Give her the treat and try testing her , even if it's a no go give her a treat after that. She might start associating getting a treat when you test her

Click on this link and look at post #6. Numbers are to the right
You can get any freeze dried treats ,information is there
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/brand-new-many-questions-3.255627/#post-2878703

Freeze dried treats that only contain one ingredient (the meat or fish) is zero carb and fine to feed to a diabetes
 
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