Hypo Situation...Smokey Low again 4/7/20

[DD & Smokey & Sissy]

Yes, how does the drop technique work??

 

[Deb & Wink]

I wrote this up some time ago, since I was helping people learn how to drop dose.
Drop Dosing

How many drops do you get from your insulin syringes if you draw the liquid up to the first line? Not the first line with a number next to it, or the shorter line that shows half unit markings. The very first line on the syringe. What we think of as the zero mark.

• Practice, practice, practice to see how many drops you can get out of the syringe.
• Use some sort of colored clear juice like apple juice or colored water.
• Mark the syringe well. Painter's tape, duct tape, masking tape at the top of your “practice syringe”. So you don't forget and use that syringe to draw up insulin.
• Draw the "test liquid" up to the first line on the syringe.
• After you have drawn up a tiny bit of “test liquid”, point the needle up towards the ceiling and give the syringe a "finger flick". To move/push the air bubbles to the top of the syringe. Push the air bubbles out of the syringe.
  
• Slowly “twist” the syringe plunger to push out all the “test liquid.”
• Then when one small drop of “test liquid” is all that is left on the beveled tip end of the needle, draw the syringe plunger back to "suck" that 1 drop back into the syringe.
• You are looking for consistency.
• Try to get evenly sized drops.
• Practice, practice, practice until you get a consistent number of drops.

Do you think you have the technique down for the drop dose?

Then let me know.
When it’s for real. You’ve practiced and are ready to give a tiny “1 drop” dose.

• Draw up a tiny bit of insulin, needle pointed up to the ceiling and give the syringe a "finger flick. Push out the air bubbles.
• Slowly “twist” the syringe plunger to push out all the insulin.
• Then when one small drop is all that is left on the beveled tip end of the needle, draw the syringe plunger back to "suck" that 1 drop back into the syringe.

"Finger flick” technique - make a circle with thumb and first 2 fingers tucked into first thumb joint. Quickly “snap” those first 2 fingers against the syringe barrel held in your other hand. That will force any air bubbles up to the top of the syringe. Then you can push the air bubble out.

Syringes have a lubricant inside. Before you draw up insulin, moving the syringe plunger up and down a couple of times helps the plunger move more easily.

Give the shot. Monitor.

Later, if you need to, you could increase the number of drops.
Some people use calipers to measure the dose. But I think that would be too difficult and not accurate to use when you only want to give your diabetic cat a single drop or maybe 2 drops of insulin.

Some people refer to those tiny doses as "needle juice" or "some insulin".

 

[Juls and Billy]

Heartily agree with Deb. Time for drop dosing. Smokey Joe says he's trying to make all his insulin his own self, and that's awesome. Even the .25 was too much. Even if his pre-shot test looks high, I wouldn't do more than a drop for at least the next three cycles. And be prepared to skip even that drop if his BGL is too low.

 

[Deb & Wink]

DD, would you please start a new thread, and link this old one into the top.

Moderators like to keep threads <50 posts if we can. Makes the database behind the scenes of the message board more efficient too.

Thanks.