frustration and danger

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cleob

cleob

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I am having the hardest time drawing blood from the ear with the lancet in order to do the glucose testing. The cat is fed up, I am discouraged. Her numbers went from the high 200s this morning, to 70 six hours later, convincing me that I should not give her the evening insulin. She did get the morning dose, 1 unit. I have read all the tips on getting blood and have not had much success in the last few days since we have embarked on this new thing. Help!
 
Oh dear,

try not to be too disheartened, getting blood testing down takes practice and patience. First time I did it, Lucky was having a hypo and I think it took 35 goes!

In case you haven't got any of these:
http://www.sugarpet.net/bloodtst.html
http://s138.photobucket.com/albums/q270 ... 0_0826.mp4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zE12-4fVn8
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m267 ... etspot.jpg Sweetspot-best place to try and use your lancet.

Have you looked through the hometesting sticky?
What depth are you using on your lancet? I used 4.
Can always try freehand (I couldn't but others do).45 degree angle.
Also a dash of vaseline, this helps the blood 'bead' so you can put test strip on to get sample.
Also 'milking' the ear.So where you've pricked, gently rub towards the area where you have pricked. I often found I'd hit the spot but needed to milk for me to actually be able to see the bloodspot.
Have your meter with strip almost inserted by your side ready to go.
I also used piece of kitchen roll (just a tiny square) which I held over the spot where I had pricked for about 10-15 secs. This helps prevent any bruising, especially good when your trying muktiple times.
I also used a rice sock-sock literally filled with rice, heated in microwave for 20 secs (checked on my wrist like babys bottle to make sure not too hot)place under ear and waited 10 secs-dilates blood vessels and tghus better chance ogf getting a blood sample.

Could also post where you are city/state and see if there is another experienced FD member near you willing to come and show you how to do it.

As for the numbers-there really really good.
Can I ask what insulin you are on?
Wet food?
how long been giving the insulin?
Insulin in cats needs to be given BID (Twice a day) because they metabolise it so fast.
You would wait till evvening to test bg again before deciding if her bg was too low for insulin. If it is/was then would look at cutting morning dose to even those numbers out. Otherwise you could end up on a rollercoaster when you want smooth.

Hang in there :mrgreen:
 
I am having the hardest time drawing blood from the ear with the lancet in order to do the glucose testing. The cat is fed up, I am discouraged. Her numbers went from the high 200s this morning, to 70 six hours later, convincing me that I should not give her the evening insulin. She did get the morning dose, 1 unit. I have read all the tips on getting blood and have not had much success in the last few days since we have embarked on this new thing. Help!

Kate gave you some great tips and resources.

I especially want to emphasize what she said about posting your city and state . It can make a big difference if you have someone that can show you in person. We can't guarantee that someone will be in your area, but there's a good chance that there is !!

We've all been newbies. we've all been there. You'll get the hang of testing. promise. take a break , give kitty a break and a treat, and take a deep breath or two and give yourself a treat :-D

It would be fantastic if you could set up a profile and put it in your signature line.
It makes it so much easier to access information about your kitty and what insulin and what you are feeding so you don't have to repeat every time you post. a big help for all.
here's the link to the template and instructions on how to do it :

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=17766

really can't comment on your numbers until we know what insulin you are using, how long you have been using it, if you have always been giving 1u bid. what your kitty eats . please let us know so we can help.
( this is the kind of stuff that will go in your profile ;-) )
post back with your next preshot number, k?

hang in there !!
 
We've all been there! It is frustrating in the beginning, it takes some practice and trying different things to figure out what works best for you and your kitty. It will get easier, I promise!!

Kate gave you a bunch of great ideas and resources, I'll just add a couple more ideas. We use the lancet pen with the clear cap, and keep pressure on the ear for the count of three after you poke...you can see the blood drop form that way. If his ears are chilly, I rub his ear briskly for a few seconds before poking...Tinkles didn't like the rice sock. Make sure you are keeping counterpressure on the back of his ear when you poke, I use a cotton round to protect my finger and then wrap it around the ear and put pressure for a few seconds to stop the bleeding after testing...when the meter displays the reading, I let go of his ear and give him his treat. Some people use a flashlight so they can see the sweet spot, and it makes a nice hard surface to poke against.

The 70 is a great number, as Kate said, you need to see what the number is at the next shot time to decide whether to shoot or not. Please do let us know what insulin you are using, as well as what meter.
 
As other have said, going from the 200s at shot time to 70 six hour later is great as long as the BG goes up after that. It takes a while for a cat's ears to "learn" to bleed. Please, just continue trying.
 
We are having the same problem getting Sam's ear to bleed. We gave up this morning after about 10 tries. We can see the vein, hit it but no blood. We warm the ear, etc. It's very frustrating! :sad:
 
My Testing Tips

1. Pet your kitty and massage the ear while you are petting him or use a rice sock to warm his ears.

2. Find a place with good light to do the testing. I used a section of my kitchen counter because it's a good height and has under cabinet lights. Put a towel down on the counter. Some people get the cat in between their legs while kneeling on the floor. Others use a couch or chair and put the cat between them and the arm. Others test in their lap. I sometimes tested Maggie in her bed.

3. Set out everything you need before getting your cat. I put the tesing strip part way into the meter, cock the pen.

4. Put a very thin smear of vaseline on the ear to help the blood bead up and not flow into the hair. I would talk to her and tell her she's being a very good girl.

5. Put something firm behind the ear - I used a waded up paper towel. It gives a firm base to work on, and keeps you from getting poked. It's handy to put light pressure on the spot after it bleeds. A little pressure will stop the bleeding and reduced bruising. Remember, you are not trying to hit a vein - you are aiming for the spot between the vein and the edge of the ear.

6. Most lancet pens have adjustment for depth. I started with it almost at the deepest. I worked down to the next to the smallest. Some people don't use the pen, they use the lancet free-hand.

7. Hold the ear firmly or you'll get the dreaded "ear flick" that send little spots of blood all over!

8. Some people use their fingernail to "scoop" up the blood drop, and test from the nail.

9. Don't forget the treats!


It takes time to get the technique down that will work the best for you. And If you're tense, your cat will be tense. So breathe and try to relax. Don't give up. After a while it will become second nature. And Maggie would actually purr during her test, so I know it didn't hurt her. The thing she disliked the most seemed to be holding the glucometer up to her ear - I think it tickled.
 
Dear Cleob,

I am a newbie too and I was one of the people who could not make my cat bleed in the beginning, no matter how hard I tried. Believe me, I feel your frustration. I even thought that my cat's ears are just a "non-bleeding" type. Far from the truth-with a little practice and some confidence (yes- being shy about doing this actually complicates the process!) i now can get a perfect drop on the first try almost every time.

Here is what made a night and day difference for me- I got myslef a ReliOn lancet device, which for me proved to be MUCH easier than free-handing and much better than another lancet pen I had before. I set it on almost the deepest setting (my cat can't feel it- he doesn't even flinch now when I do it), and I put the edge of his ear firmly against my finger. I don't even have to use a rice sock anymore.

So- be patient, try different methods if one doesn't work for you, and I am certain you can master it. Believe me- I thought I won't be able to do it and it used to take me 25 minutes to complete my (failed) attempts, and now I can test him in under 3 minutes.

GOOD LUCK!!!!

Eva
 
Thank you all for your comments-- they are not only helpful, but supportive. I managed to easily get blood from the ear this morning, and it's at 267. What someone said about giving less than the 1 dose of insulin-- question: how do I measure that in an injecting tube where I am filling it to the first line only?

I am waiting for a call back from the vet-- I haven't yet given her the morning dose. I want to work with the vet in doing this, but have to rely on my own sensibilities, which is why I didn't give her any insulin last night. The problem is the roller coaster effect, I realize, which can result from this, but I want to err on the side of too little than too much, rather than incur hypoclemia.

Oh, so you aren't aiming for the actual vein, one of you said? No one said that before. Huh...

I live in Albany, California, next to Berkeley.
 
For doses less than one unit on a syringe marked every one unit you just eyeball it. The thing to remember is to do it consistently (as you can) every time. The do make syringes marked in 1/2 units than maye dosing in less than one unit easier. There is a recent (yesterday (maybe) but today for certain thread on 1/2 unit syringes in Health.
 
Information:
I put Bear on new, high quality higher protein moist food 1 1/2 weeks before starting on the insulin.
She is being given lantus insulin-- the vet says 1 dose two times a day.
 
What gauge lancet are you using? if you use a wider lancet, it makes a bigger hole, so more blood can come through. I tested a broader gauge on myself compared to ultra-fine and didn't feel much difference, but for sure got a bit more blood. If you're still having a hard time you might give it a try.
 
I am using a pretty wide lancet.
test in the morning, insulin, and then feed
food
test 6 hrs after morning insulin
more food
test in the evening, insulin
more food

This is a cat who went down to 5 3/4 lbs from 7, from multiple conditions. The kidney condition is strangely being taken care of now by the hyper-thyroid condition. Since I put her on the new food (non-byproduct), she has gained 1 1/4 lbs, in the last few weeks. I read that I should start the food before starting insulin, so did that. I think she doesn't need much insulin, and probably that she won't need it for very long, before dealing with this with diet alone. And then dealing with the other conditions...
 
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