How can a newbie help?

Status
Not open for further replies.
donaleen and Ozy

donaleen and Ozy

Member Since 2013
Everyone has been so kind and helpful, which I am grateful for. Now, what can I do for the board? I don't think I am ready to give advice. I did give money. Is there anything else I can do that would be of help?
 
Stick around and soak up knowledge. You'll be able to answer questions some day and offer your experiences.

Shop using the links at the top of the page, and Felinediabetes.com gets some $ from your purchases. I order supplies from American Diabetes Wholesale, and now I'm ordering food from US Bones and DCIN gets a donation from that. (Diabetic Cats In Need)

After my first diabetic cat passed away from cancer, I adopted another diabetic cat through DCIN. I also help with transporting cats (and dogs) that are going to a new home if they are traveling through my area. If you are interested in doing that, you can sign up in a couple different transport lists.

Edited to add: you can also reach out to newly diagnosed humans/cats in your local area. I have shown several people how to test their cats over the years, and take a "newby" kit of supplies - meter, test strips, lancets, syringes, food, treats -
 
Donaleen,
Visit other condos and post a hug if nothing else. You'll learn LOTS and LOTS doing this too. Remember how good it felt when someone visited your daily condo? Even if they had no advice, just knowing someone took time to post helps SO much! You never know, you might run across something you CAN help with!!

BIG HUGS!!!
 
You've learned to test. You've learned to set up and use the spreadsheet to track BG. Those are both daunting tasks to most newbies, and especially when it comes to testing your advice is great because people will be able to see that even though you haven't been at this long, it was doable for you and it will be for them too! Share your experience with everything you learned and it will help others get to the same place you are now.
 
By offering encouragement to other newbies as they join the board. Because many of us have been here for a while, some newbies seemed overwhelmed when we start offering advice, especially if it seems like a lot of things coming at them at once.

By sharing with our new members "If I can do it, you can do it", that takes away a lot of the fear. You may not think that you know much or can help, but your encouraging words is an enormous help to someone that is scared.
 
And if you want a real challenge ... make up some continuing education packets for veterinarians in your city and distribute them!
Many vets are out of date and risk harming their clients and their pets through incorrectly treating the diabetic cat.
 
Sit down and jot down a list of things you've learned or discovered since you joined just one week ago. It might be a longer list than you realize? And you weren't completely "new to the game" when you joined. You'd already had to deal with pancreatitis, and seen the effects of steroids with your kitty... you had already started home testing, and feeding an appropriate diet.

Then find a "first post" from a brand new member - it seems there's at least one every day if not more than one - and do a "meet and greet" reply. Look at what they might have asked, and just pick one thing that you can offer help with. Not only will you really help someone feel less overwhelmed, but I think you'll also realize how much you have to offer in terms of helping people out.

Another thing that I did a lot of back when I started responding to new members on the Health forum was just tell them "I don't know the answer to your question, but let me find somebody who can help you". I just did a lot of reading of threads, and I made mental notes as to who seemed like experienced voices on any given topic. And I would either PM them, or I would go to another forum, like Lantus or PZI depending on which type insulin it was, and I'd post a "Help needed in Health, Please" note on the Insulin Support Group forum. I used to worry that I'd become a "pest" by always asking other people to take a look and help. But I quickly learned that everyone on this forum is always willing to lend a helping hand. All you need to do is ask, and people come running in droves!
 
I read this topic again to remind myself of things I can do.

I respond sometimes to new people but I still feel pretty awkward and worry I may not say the right thing. I especially try to chime in when the cat has pancreatitis, because I do have some history with that one.

I take seriously the educate a vet suggestion. I feel a little stymied on that one because I seem to make so many mistakes on how to interpret the protocol. I need to know more before I feel qualified to do that one.

Yesterday when I had a low numbers incident, I also sent my vet a link to the topic where I got help with the low number. I sent it to her more as an education tool than anything. She supports home testing and is quite receptive to the suggestions I get here. I see sharing as a way to get her to fully appreciate this forum and the advice and support offered here. It seems to me that educating a receptive vet is a good way to reach other vets.

She also has a link to Ozy's spreadsheet so she can have the history and up to date information at all times.
 
its great when you have a vet that really understands the issue. I wish there were more of them. And its great that you chip in..this board is very busy and I am always worried people will slip through the cracks and we miss a question they have - it would be good to know someone else is keeping an eye out for those !

Wendy
 
I have the time to help more but need to get past some learning hurdles. I still don't get this...

Nikki's Mom said:
I think that's sort of a "know thy cat" kinda thing. Perfectly clear, right? :lol: That's a +10 or +11 can be helpful. Say Ozy was 100 at +6, then 300 at +11. If your pre-shot number was 250 and a +2 200, I'd make sure to get a later test.

On the other hand, if +6 was 100, +11 was 150, and pre-shot 200, you can probably just get that before bed and if it hasn't dropped too much you're in good shape. It really just differs from cat to cat and for each cat from day to day.
Click to expand...
 
Ok i have no clue either. I spent 30 minutes looking at this and I am not sure I know what she means - you might want to ask her.

Personally I always recommend a +2 because it gives you an idea of what the cats nighttime plans are. If its the same as , or lower than preshot it usually indicates an active cycle

I like a +11 if I suspect I might be in for a low preshot. Allows me to confirm the trend before I get to shot time and saves me having to stall

Wendy
 
I think that what she was saying is that if you have a rising number since your +6, when you give the next shot, the cat has already been rising for 6 hours and will continue to rise for another couple of hours before the shot kicks in, so that is usually a cycle that you can tell from the previous cycle will be a later or higher nadir and you can pretty much leave them be with the testing till the next pre-shot (but still try to get a spot check in if you're able).

Some cats follow this pattern like clockwork, some cats don't (hence the "know thy cat"). Mikey follows this about half the time and I will even sometimes shoot early when I see he's doing this so he doesn't go up even higher or stay higher for too long. Of course this means my shot times get screwed up, but he does enough quirky things that it's like two opposing quirks make a right and he's fairly easy to get back on schedule. :lol:
 
How can a newbie help you ask?

Everyone, every one can use words of encouragement. A pat on the back. A cheer, a hug, a smile, a little levity. Let the new members know we are here for emotional support as well as having cost saving ideas and a broad range of knowledge of many aspects of cat health.

For example, you said you have some experience with pancreatitis. Use your own experience to help others that have cats with pancreatitis. Let people know we are here to help and encourage them to ask questions. Follow up your posts, to ask how things are going. That can get a dialogue going. If you don't know something, say so and PM someone to come take a look.

If you see an emergency situation, raise a red flag and let us know. There are so many posts, it takes time to get around to reading them all and hours may have passed. Yell for help if you need to. That 911 icon is for health emergencies, use it as such.

Tell people of your experiences in dealing with your sugarkitty. Remember the ECID. Let people know this gets easier, they will develop a routine. Yes, there are scary parts, but there is a special bond you develop with your cat.

Keep it short and sweet. Make it clear and understandable, use paragraphs and spacing for readability and clarify any abbreviations you use, like BG (blood glucose).

Be yourself. Let your joy in your cat shine through what you say. Keep it positive and upbeat.

If you don't think you can help, move on to someone else.
 
Thanks... some great advice here. I hope that more experienced members will be reviewing my responses and correcting any errors I make.
 
donaleen and Ozy said:
I hope that more experienced members will be reviewing my responses and correcting any errors I make.
Click to expand...

I hope so, too! That way you (and the poster) can learn more. :-D It's a steep learning curve and we're all here to help everyone learn about the day-to-day management our precious sugar babies. ;-)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top