? Help with subQ fluids please

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Misterbeesmom

Misterbeesmom

Member Since 2016
first time i did it no problem.

Next 3 times i hit a blood vessel. Not ideal. The last time i did it some of the fluid pooled at surface. Not great.

I follow instructions, had vet tech show me, i'm totally cool with it, but having a bad run.

Any tips anyone? Tnx
 
It's totally normal for there to be a "lump" where you give the fluids.....even some leaking back out (It will look like a lot more than it actually is)
 
Hi --I give Dre fluids every day-
the love bump (otherwise known as the hunchback) is totally normal-
hitting a blood vessel 3x in a row is some kind of world record :smuggrin: (it is totally fine)
Dre leaked for a while and the his skin must have stretched a bit and now it is only a drop or 2.
practice practice practice :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Wow I've been doing sub q's for months and never hit a blood vessel. Try a different spot.

You're supposed to get a bump of fluid. That's normal. It will go down as it is absorbed.
 
What gauge needle are you using to give the fluids? Of the 2 cats we've had who got sub-q regularly, Shadow did just fine with the 18 gauge Monojects, but they made Rosa bleed every single time (and she hated them too). She did just fine with a 20 gauge needle though...even a 20 gauge Monoject was fine for her. It might be worth trying a slightly smaller needle if you're getting blood every time.
 
The best needles are terumo and 20g is the way to go with most cats. I had one that wouldnt stay still so 19g worked for her. I got from shopmedvet online.
 
For needles, yo want the Thin Wall (TW) or Ultra Thin Wall (UTW).
Needle gauges are based on the outside diameter. Thus for the same gauge, the thinner the wall means the inside diameter is larger and thus the fluid flows faster.
 
JanetNJ said:
20 gauge
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I've got a whole load of Terumo UTW 22 gauge if you want me to send you a few to try out to see if those are better. The needle gauge really is an ECID thing - Rosa really liked the 22s, but they ran a little slower so I varied between that and 20s depending on how twitchy she was feeling in general on the day.
 
manxcat419 said:
I've got a whole load of Terumo UTW 22 gauge if you want me to send you a few to try out to see if those are better. The needle gauge really is an ECID thing - Rosa really liked the 22s, but they ran a little slower so I varied between that and 20s depending on how twitchy she was feeling in general on the day.
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Did you mean that for me or the original poster?... Because I wouldn't mind trying them but I think you meant to offer it to the op. Lol
 
manxcat419 said:
What gauge needle are you using to give the fluids? Of the 2 cats we've had who got sub-q regularly, Shadow did just fine with the 18 gauge Monojects, but they made Rosa bleed every single time (and she hated them too). She did just fine with a 20 gauge needle though...even a 20 gauge Monoject was fine for her. It might be worth trying a slightly smaller needle if you're getting blood every time.
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the vet gave us 18g
20 is smaller, right?
 
The 18g most vets use are harpoons. The terumo utw 20g are smooth as silk. The 21g will take longer. You can get the terumo ones at shopmedvet.com for $5.95 a box plus shipping. Thrivingpets.com is more expensive plus they recently moved and were taking orders, charging, and not shipping so I would not buy from them at this time.
 
JanetNJ said:
Did you mean that for me or the original poster?... Because I wouldn't mind trying them but I think you meant to offer it to the op. Lol
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Either or both - I've got over 2 boxes of them left. I'd bought a year's worth expecting to get to use them, but there really aren't that many of them gone. Just PM me your address and I'll send a few out to you. :)
 
tiffmaxee said:
The 18g most vets use are harpoons. The terumo utw 20g are smooth as silk. The 21g will take longer. You can get the terumo ones at shopmedvet.com for $5.95 a box plus shipping. Thrivingpets.com is more expensive plus they recently moved and were taking orders, charging, and not shipping so I would not buy from them at this time.
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they totally ARE harpoons! i hate these beastly things.
 
When you give blood like for Red Cross they use 16 gauge needles. Those are big. Bigger yet are the "needle" inserters for microchips. Those are about 14 gauge.
 
Misterbeesmom said:
they totally ARE harpoons! i hate these beastly things.
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Our vet was really surprised when I told them Rosa hated them...they seem to think they're just fine for cats. Though I will say Shadow never had a problem with them. I did though - it was an 18g Monoject that I managed to put right through my index finger (and most of the way through my middle finger too) the second time I helped with Shadow's fluids...that really hurt especially when I had to just carry on as though nothing had happened to avoid freaking her out! :eek:
 
I'm new to giving fluids too. One thing the vet office showed me to to is to hold up and pinch the skin for a few seconds when you're done so that it doesn't leak out.

Gravity is key as well. I bought an IV stand on Amazon so I can hang the bag up high and it has made a big difference. It also enables us to go to the kitty vs. bringing her to us.

The Terumo thin-walled are the way to go. I'm using 19 gauge and so far so good. You want a needle that is small enough, yet doesn't make it go too slow.

Jeanette
 
Thank you Mogs. :) I actually really needed that right now - it's 4:30 in the morning and I'm watching Roxi run the weirdest set of numbers I think I've ever seen! I might get some sleep before her AM shot time if I'm lucky!! :coffee: :bighug:
 
Have you ever seen the video Mike and I did, specifically to help board members, on how to give subq fluids? I posted it on YouTube and it's had over 150,000 views and an amazing number of comments. I like to think we did a pretty good job on it so maybe it will help.

The video linked in a previous message above is good but keep in mind he's getting the fluids in so fast because he's using a harpoon.....likely an 18g needle. It takes me about five minutes using a 21g needle which is much kinder especially if you are in it for the long haul.
 
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