Hemophobic and struggling to do BG

[Emily & Lucy]

[Edit] Previous Thread
Hello! Here with an update on my girl Lucy - I'll get into the title in a bit, but let me remember the last week or so first!

Dec 24th - Diagnosis
Dec 25th - First Insulin injection (1 unit twice a day)

I give her insulin during her meal at 12pm and 12am (it's best for my schedule)
She's a very food motivated girl, so I've been attempting to feed her 4 times a day (1 can of Purina DM cut into quarters) hoping it'll divvy up her hunger if I upkeep the food intake. However it's not really working so my coworker suggested getting her calorie intake monitored at some point (but for now, to stabilize her diabetes)

We free feed the other 3 cats because they're known to have food scarcity anxiety (free feeding is what works best for them) but Lucy keeps trying to get at the dry food. Current solution is to lock her in my room when she's unable to be monitored.

Jan 2nd - Glucose Curve
On Jan 2nd I took her into work to get a glucose curve done. I'm gonna be very busy for the next while and unable to commit to a 12 hour process, so I took her in with the understanding that she's going to be stressed and it'll impact her numbers. We're gonna do another glucose curve when I'm available to do it because I finally got my AT3 ready and programmed!

Now here's where the issue comes in... I'm hemophobic! I hate blood and needles and everything about them! My coworkers understand my fear and have helped me greatly with easing me into doing it alone, but I'm so grossed out by the idea of pricking her ear I'll end up missing her vein or not pricking hard enough and UGH!!!

My coworkers suggested a Libre to do 2 weeks of monitoring, but I'm also very grossed out by that! Any tips from people who have phobias conquered for the benefit of their baby? :')

Currently she's been upped to 1 and a half units and only getting two meals (1 can of Purina DM cut into halves) but I feel it's a little understandable to want to get her BG levels monitored during the dose change haha.

 

[Mary & Jude]

Hello! Here with an update on my girl Lucy - I'll get into the title in a bit, but let me remember the last week or so first!

Dec 24th - Diagnosis
Dec 25th - First Insulin injection (1 unit twice a day)

I give her insulin during her meal at 12pm and 12am (it's best for my schedule)
She's a very food motivated girl, so I've been attempting to feed her 4 times a day (1 can of Purina DM cut into quarters) hoping it'll divvy up her hunger if I upkeep the food intake. However it's not really working so my coworker suggested getting her calorie intake monitored at some point (but for now, to stabilize her diabetes)

We free feed the other 3 cats because they're known to have food scarcity anxiety (free feeding is what works best for them) but Lucy keeps trying to get at the dry food. Current solution is to lock her in my room when she's unable to be monitored.

Jan 2nd - Glucose Curve
On Jan 2nd I took her into work to get a glucose curve done. I'm gonna be very busy for the next while and unable to commit to a 12 hour process, so I took her in with the understanding that she's going to be stressed and it'll impact her numbers. We're gonna do another glucose curve when I'm available to do it because I finally got my AT3 ready and programmed!

Now here's where the issue comes in... I'm hemophobic! I hate blood and needles and everything about them! My coworkers understand my fear and have helped me greatly with easing me into doing it alone, but I'm so grossed out by the idea of pricking her ear I'll end up missing her vein or not pricking hard enough and UGH!!!

My coworkers suggested a Libre to do 2 weeks of monitoring, but I'm also very grossed out by that! Any tips from people who have phobias conquered for the benefit of their baby? :')

Currently she's been upped to 1 and a half units and only getting two meals (1 can of Purina DM cut into halves) but I feel it's a little understandable to want to get her BG levels monitored during the dose change haha.

Hi Emily!

Welcome back to the forum!

I'm sorry I can't offer any advice about your phobia issue (if it were claustrophobia, I might be able to help ); I hope some other folks will be able to weigh in and give some suggestions.

I do want to mention a couple of housekeeping issues: here is your previous post: Introductions!. Each day when we create a new post, we also link our previous post so that folks will be able to quickly look back at Lucy's history. To link the previous post, you simply go to that post and copy the URL and then paste it into the new post somewhere near the top of the post.

Also, when we post daily on the Lantus forum, our title line reads like this: date, kitty name, AMPS # (plus other numbers as the day progresses)--for example, your title today would read 1/5 Lucy AMPS # (if you have one--omit it if you don't)). Each day, we create a new post and link the previous post. Here is the full posting-guidelines detail: Info - POSTING GUIDELINES PLEASE READ. The moderators ask us to keep this information in this particular order because it helps them as they and other helpers look through each forum to identify who might need help.

I'm not seeing any numbers in your spreadsheet. Do you have the numbers from the curve and can you input them into the spreadsheet? I'm assuming that you are not performing bg tests prior to Lucy's shots because you're still trying to navigate the phobia issue--is that correct??

 

[Emily & Lucy]

Hi Emily!

Welcome back to the forum!

I'm sorry I can't offer any advice about your phobia issue (if it were claustrophobia, I might be able to help ); I hope some other folks will be able to weigh in and give some suggestions.

I do want to mention a couple of housekeeping issues: here is your previous post: Introductions!. Each day when we create a new post, we also link our previous post so that folks will be able to quickly look back at Lucy's history. To link the previous post, you simply go to that post and copy the URL and then paste it into the new post somewhere near the top of the post.

Also, when we post daily on the Lantus forum, our title line reads like this: date, kitty name, AMPS # (plus other numbers as the day progresses)--for example, your title today would read 1/5 Lucy AMPS # (if you have one--omit it if you don't)). Each day, we create a new post and link the previous post. Here is the full posting-guidelines detail: Info - POSTING GUIDELINES PLEASE READ. The moderators ask us to keep this information in this particular order because it helps them as they and other helpers look through each forum to identify who might need help.

I'm not seeing any numbers in your spreadsheet. Do you have the numbers from the curve and can you input them into the spreadsheet? I'm assuming that you are not performing bg tests prior to Lucy's shots because you're still trying to navigate the phobia issue--is that correct??

Thank you for the heads up! I'm still learning how to navigate the forums and general etiquette :]

Her glucose curve results were done at the vet clinic I work at, while I could get them from my coworker - they're still technically filing them I believe? I can definitely ask for the results so I can keep them on hand - it's my cat I deserve to know how she's doing! haha.

After the glucose curve, they suggested we let her ears rest for a day or two. To be honest they looked mangled (I'm so bad at drawing blood!!) and I was pretty quick to agree with them on that.

Today I wanted to do the BG test, but felt so nauseous I didn't do it. I came here to make the post because I REALLY gotta get help for this phobia - it's so important for my girl!! I'm gonna do my best to get help for the second insulin shot (my roommate should be home by then!)

 

[Mary & Jude]

Thank you for the heads up! I'm still learning how to navigate the forums and general etiquette :]

Her glucose curve results were done at the vet clinic I work at, while I could get them from my coworker - they're still technically filing them I believe? I can definitely ask for the results so I can keep them on hand - it's my cat I deserve to know how she's doing! haha.

After the glucose curve, they suggested we let her ears rest for a day or two. To be honest they looked mangled (I'm so bad at drawing blood!!) and I was pretty quick to agree with them on that.

Today I wanted to do the BG test, but felt so nauseous I didn't do it. I came here to make the post because I REALLY gotta get help for this phobia - it's so important for my girl!! I'm gonna do my best to get help for the second insulin shot (my roommate should be home by then!)

Phobias are real; you'll get no argument from me on that. I never suffered claustrophobia before until they inserted me head first into an MRI machine a few years ago, and I anticipated experiencing no issues in advance, but my brain had other plans that included freaking out. Now, I can barely think about getting into a confined space.

Try to get Lucy's numbers and put them into the spreadsheet. Additionally, each preshot number and the units should be input there as well. As you probably know already, we are very data-driven here--people cannot adequately help you and Lucy if they can't see what's happening with her and her insulin, so this information is vital.

 

[Mary & Jude]

Emily, have you tried to check online for resources to help with phobias? Not that it will take the place of hearing from others who have experienced these issues firsthand, but I just did a ChatGPT question ("how can a person overcome the fear of blood and needles?"), and AI pulled together some of what appeared to be useful resources. It's just a thought.

 

[JoM]

I too cant help with the phobia, but maybe it will help to know that you dont aim for the vein. Theres a photo in one of the sticky posts, Im sure some expert will post here for you. The place you poke is all along the outer edge of the ear flap. The warmer the ear the better chance for a blood bubble (or Blubble as I call them) You can use a rice sock to warm the ears. Also you may need to start with thicker lancets. I use 28g. I believe lower numbers are thicker.

 

[Mary & Jude]

Here is the photo Jo is referencing (I think): https://www.felinediabetes.com/images/laur_danny_famoussweetspot.jpg

Also, here are various general hometesting links: Hometesting Links and Tips

 

[Allie & Gen]

Hi Lucy! Can I ask what freaks you out so much about using a Libre? Maybe I can help. We had another user who was under some significant misapprehensions about what it entails. I've been using one (and have done my own applications several times now). While I'm reasonably new to that process, I also have what I think may be relevant phobia experience ... in my case, not about blood, but about medical needles and similar things. I've been working on my phobia for my entire life (I'm 41), and I know it's not something you can necessarily do anything about in the short term (or even the long term, depending).

Oddly, my medical needle phobia doesn't kick in when I give my cat insulin injections (something very specific about textures, visuals, etc I think?). That said, it reacts most strongly nowadays to things like IVs, surgery drains, and other longer-term invasions into the body - enough that you would think a CGM might set it off. But it doesn't, and I think that's because the application and removal process are really clean, and you don't actually see the (very tiny) filament enter the cat's body.

The Libre sensor is mostly external apart from the tiny filament, which cats don't seem to feel at all (though they sometimes really dislike the loud click the applicator makes). All you see when you install it is a plastic disc resting on the cat's body, held on by a gentle paper adhesive strip. The application is like using an old-fashioned date stamp, just a quick press and release (sometimes with the addition of using something like tweezers or a nail file to help hold the paper in place while you lift up the applicator, to make sure it doesn't go with). There's no bleeding involved at all, in my experience; even when my cat managed to tear his Libre off prematurely (rather than having me carefully remove it with anti-adhesive spray and a q-tip), there was just a little redness to the skin.

I use a Libre because my cat has a wildly adverse reaction to blood tests, and I don't have anyone to help, so even when I was able to perform one I often didn't get enough of a sample to get a result. And it is really important to have regular readings! The Libre has its quirks, but the amazing thing is that it basically does away with the need to "perform a curve" because it's always measuring (and there's no need to set alarms to wake oneself up through the night, etc). I really appreciate the completeness of the data I get from mine.

(Even with a Libre, it's ideal to be able to perform occasional blood tests, and that's something I'm hoping to work towards. But I'm not the only person around here who can't/can rarely do them, and relies on the device.)

Sorry, this is getting really long! Please let me know if you have questions/specific concerns I can help address?

Meanwhile, here's an excellent and thorough guide to using a Libre, put together by a couple of experienced users here on the board: Getting Started With Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) for Diabetic Cats

 

[Emily & Lucy]

Hi Lucy! Can I ask what freaks you out so much about using a Libre? Maybe I can help. We had another user who was under some significant misapprehensions about what it entails. I've been using one (and have done my own applications several times now). While I'm reasonably new to that process, I also have what I think may be relevant phobia experience ... in my case, not about blood, but about medical needles and similar things. I've been working on my phobia for my entire life (I'm 41), and I know it's not something you can necessarily do anything about in the short term (or even the long term, depending).

Oddly, my medical needle phobia doesn't kick in when I give my cat insulin injections (something very specific about textures, visuals, etc I think?). That said, it reacts most strongly nowadays to things like IVs, surgery drains, and other longer-term invasions into the body - enough that you would think a CGM might set it off. But it doesn't, and I think that's because the application and removal process are really clean, and you don't actually see the (very tiny) filament enter the cat's body.

The Libre sensor is mostly external apart from the tiny filament, which cats don't seem to feel at all (though they sometimes really dislike the loud click the applicator makes). All you see when you install it is a plastic disc resting on the cat's body, held on by a gentle paper adhesive strip. The application is like using an old-fashioned date stamp, just a quick press and release (sometimes with the addition of using something like tweezers or a nail file to help hold the paper in place while you lift up the applicator, to make sure it doesn't go with). There's no bleeding involved at all, in my experience; even when my cat managed to tear his Libre off prematurely (rather than having me carefully remove it with anti-adhesive spray and a q-tip), there was just a little redness to the skin.

I use a Libre because my cat has a wildly adverse reaction to blood tests, and I don't have anyone to help, so even when I was able to perform one I often didn't get enough of a sample to get a result. And it is really important to have regular readings! The Libre has its quirks, but the amazing thing is that it basically does away with the need to "perform a curve" because it's always measuring (and there's no need to set alarms to wake oneself up through the night, etc). I really appreciate the completeness of the data I get from mine.

(Even with a Libre, it's ideal to be able to perform occasional blood tests, and that's something I'm hoping to work towards. But I'm not the only person around here who can't/can rarely do them, and relies on the device.)

Sorry, this is getting really long! Please let me know if you have questions/specific concerns I can help address?

Meanwhile, here's an excellent and thorough guide to using a Libre, put together by a couple of experienced users here on the board: Getting Started With Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) for Diabetic Cats

Thank you for the insight! I find my blood phobia is a little mixed in with a needle phobia - I'm not too afraid of the needles themselves more so the injections and such (BLEH!!).

I had an IV in my arm last... October? and it was a dreadful experience, feeling the IV move (because I'd shuffle in place) got me into such a high panic state I almost passed out!! My fears of the Libre are a bit co-related - I don't want to pet Lucy and feel the Libre attached to her? It will gross me out severely!

I told my co-workers that despite my phobia I will do what's best for my friend - because even if I'm grossed out and panicked... she is suffering greatly and deserves the best attention she can!

I do have a good thing to report - I just tested her Blood Glucose because she got into my cinnamon bun
Girl you're diabetic... you can't eat icing!! Anyways I pricked her ear and managed to test it successfully!! We'll see when I test her again in 30 minutes how good I can keep up with this haha

 

[Monster's Mom]

Congratulations on getting a test done! That's quite the hurdle considering your phobia!
You have wonderful support here and everyone is cheering you on!!!

 

[Emily & Lucy]

Congratulations on getting a test done! That's quite the hurdle considering your phobia!
You have wonderful support here and everyone is cheering you on!!!

Thank you, here's hoping it's only up from here!!

I feel like the reason it was so stressful before was because I jumped into a glucose curve? A little over confident of myself haha

If I pricked her and didn't draw blood, it would still make her ear really red and irritated. If I pricked her and it did draw blood (but hit the vein) she would react and I would become too nervous. Even if I pricked her ear correctly, I still had to learn the Glucose Monitor Stuff. I would sometimes give too little blood, come from a bad angle, or just fumble the set up (all causing an error) and have to prick her again!

So I'm looking back and I can see why I got so flustered by it, glad to see I can do it without so much stress... but let's see in a few days if it keeps up lol

 

[Allie & Gen]

Good luck! I'm impressed.

If you do decide to consider a Libre after all - the 3 is pretty small and it wouldn't be hard to avoid when petting, and most people put something else over it as well (a shirt, harness, bandage, etc) to help prevent the cat from removing it, which might also help.

 

[Albert & Xander]

When Xander was diagnosed with diabetes, I was petrified because I have an aversion to needles/blood/medical stuff. I can't get blood drawn without laying down at the doctor's office and i've nearly passed out from seeing wounds. Actually, I passed out at the doctor's once after having stitches removed. It's called a vasovagal response.

The first two or three times of giving him his shot I felt a bit lightheaded, but from there on out my body somehow adapted. I think knowing that it had to be done to help him out ended up overriding my reaction to it. It didn't help at all with my own problems with needles though, as confirmed by a recent blood draw at the doctors

Blood glucose testing at first was a little scary, as I didnt know if I was hurting him. It's definitely a learning curve and I had to poke him a bunch at first to get an adequate drop, but over time their capillaries adapt and bleed much easier. It has become second nature and takes a few seconds, Xander barely even notices. I actually think he enjoys the extra attention, as he starts purring.

I can't really think of a strategy to overcome the fear, but I think it was just the exposure over time that helped out. Beforehand, I watched a lot of youtube videos of cats being tested/injections being given (and winced) to prepare myself. You're doing great by already trying it out and pushing past some of your fear.

 

[Tyleete]

I too can speak for phobias. I'm a big baby for needles. When my first cat was diagnosed with diabetes years back, my husband's response was... "Well what are you going to do"? Knowing if my aversion towards needles. My mum had me on medication in my youth, and had to and got regular blood work done. I always either brought a sugar drink (such as apple or orange juice), so as soon as the blood was taken, I could chug the little carton. I know that sounds goofy, but I was so fearful of the whole needle thing, my blood pressure would plummet every time. I dropped (passed out) twice that I know if. Once as an older teen and once as an adult. A third time just after getting a flu shot, they had to put me in a seriously embarrassing wheelchair.. Because I got so dizzy I thought I was going to feint.
I can take a lot of pain.. But needles?
Something that has helped me, was either do the sugar drink before or after. Aside from that, I actually have to psych myself up till it became easier. Before I walk into the room my little boy stays in mostly, I'll tell myself.... I've got this! You can do this do this!
It's a bit sad, I know. But it does help me. I know I HAVE to do this, so psyching myself up to do this really does help.
If you feel too sick? Take yourself into a room with cold, hard flooring. It once took me 3 pokes to do subq fluids for 1 of my cats. I was so sick to my stomach, as soon as I could, I finished, told my husband to take the cat back to where she belonged, and laid my face down on the cold bathroom floor until the queasiness passed. Which was probably at least 10 minutes till I could get up.
So psyching yourself up to the deed, and you need a sugar drink or food. Nico wasn't the only one getting 'cookies' after getting stuck.