Getting to grips

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Anne Biddle

Anne Biddle

Member Since 2018
Well, gave Truffles his 3rd Injection this morning whilst he was munching on his food and he doesn't seem to care less! Think I'm way more traumatised by all this than he is. He is on vetsulin and having read everything on here when we go back on the 26th I will discuss may be changing him to Lantus? He is loving his wet food and I have ordered the YoungatHeart dry food as all mine like to free feed so I can at least leave something down for them. Haven't checked his BG level yet (meter arriving today) so I thought I would check it first thing tomorrow am before breakfast? The vets didn't even mention me doing this but I told the nurse that I would be checking it.
 
Congratulations on getting three successful injections under your belt! You hit the nail on the head when you said you're more traumatized with this than he is. :)

It's really too early to know whether you need to change insulin. Vetsulin and Lantus act very differently and some kitties do better on one versus the other. Lantus is very expensive in the US but there are ways to reduce those costs.

Please consider setting up the spreadsheet we use here to track BG numbers. It's the best way we have of seeing what's going on in order to give the proper advice. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

Here's the basic testing routine we recommend:
  1. test every day AM and PM before feeding and injecting (no food at least 2 hours before) to see if the planned dose is safe
  2. test at least once near mid cycle or at bedtime daily to see how low the BG goes
  3. do extra tests on days off to fill in the response picture
  4. if indicated by consistently high numbers on your spreadsheet, increase the dose by no more than 0.25 u at a time so you don't accidentally go right past a good dose
  5. post here for advice whenever you're confused or unsure of what to do.
 
Lucky you! Truffles must trust you and you obviously care for him very much so you're off to a great start. For some reason some vets think a meter and all it can do is unimportant. You'll feel a lot more empowered when you get one.
Good morning Truffles :cool:
 
some beautiful kitties in your profile pic!
young at heart dry cat foods are all high in carbs (over 35%) so you may not want to let your disbetic kitty free feed on it.
 
If you already have the vetsulin you might as well see how it works out for you. My cat does fine on it.

Welcome! Way to go planning on testing already! I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat CC at home.
 
Great job and instincts! I know many cats do well on vetsulin but my Drevon was so depressed on it I was losing my mind thinking it was the FD but he got back to himself when we switched.
 
So I did another BG test on poor Mr Truffles this am. First one was a disaster as I couldn't get enough blood but the 2nd one worked a treat and he was so good about it all. They were all waiting for their breakfast so I think he sussed out he wasn't getting any until I'd done the nasty prick in the ear! Anyway, although wayyy too high his BG had dropped from 517 on Friday to 417 today which I would think is pretty good so far? I am only testing pre breakfast every other day so far as his BG is so high and we go back to the vet on the 26th for a review. He is only on 1 unit am and pm (which was started Thursday am) and so far is his usual talkative self and I think actually looks much brighter now he is on wet food.
 
Anne Biddle said:
So I did another BG test on poor Mr Truffles this am. First one was a disaster as I couldn't get enough blood but the 2nd one worked a treat and he was so good about it all. They were all waiting for their breakfast so I think he sussed out he wasn't getting any until I'd done the nasty prick in the ear! Anyway, although wayyy too high his BG had dropped from 517 on Friday to 417 today which I would think is pretty good so far? I am only testing pre breakfast every other day so far as his BG is so high and we go back to the vet on the 26th for a review. He is only on 1 unit am and pm (which was started Thursday am) and so far is his usual talkative self and I think actually looks much brighter now he is on wet food.
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Glad he's feeling better. Try getting a test about 5 hours after the shot today... You want to see how low its going.
 
Took a BG reading 5 hours and it was 293. I had terrible trouble getting a drop of blood poor love he was getting pretty fed up with me, Still practice makes perfect but I felt pretty rotten had to prick his ear about 4 times!!
 
Anne Biddle said:
Yes. Sometimes I can do it fine but others I struggle I’ve watched the video too.
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It'll get better. Some helpful things:
  • a warm kitty ear
  • large enough lancets (26-28 gauge instead of thinner 30-31 gauge)
  • trying a free hand poke instead if using the trigger device
  • not worrying if you go right through the ear (heals quickly)
  • a very thin layer of Neosporin or Vaseline on the poke site to help blood bead up.
 
Anne Biddle said:
Yes. Sometimes I can do it fine but others I struggle I’ve watched the video too.
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Ear tests will get easier when the capillaries start growing. Sometimes it's just like that though. I've been testing my cat almost two years and today I had to poke three times... The second time I got a drop my the test strip just wouldn't read it so I had to do a third. It is what it is.
 
Looks like you're setting up a spreadsheet... You have to make the link shareable so we can see it. Right now it's blocked.
 
Anne Biddle said:
I think I may have fixed it. Please test and let me know ty.
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No, I can't see it. Have you tried clicking on the blue share button at the top of your SS? Then click on "anyone with link can view". Somewhere in there you'll have to copy your SS url and paste it into a bar and save.
 
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