I did it .... My 1st hometest .... Oh My gosh.

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Winni

Winni

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Not sure if you guys remember me. My Simba was diagnosed on 4/25/11. Went from 1 unit to 2 units of ProZinc. I took Simba for a 2nd opinion on 6/13/11. This vet recommended OFF with the dry food completely. I went on vacation last week to my summer home and Simba came along. He was acting funny last Tuesday; Therefore I went to WalMart and got a Relion Micro meter. My husband & I pricked Simba on Wed night and I almost fell to the floor when I saw his level at "85"

I said to my husband there is NO way I'm giving my little buddy 2 units of ProZinc. Yes, I cried so much knowing that I could have killed him. If you recall I have been a little reluctant in hometesting, mostly because of my husband who didn't like the idea of pricking Simba, but we have become so good at it in a matter of a few days. Gosh, Simba does NOT mind the pricking at all, but those little ears. I called the vet first thing Thurs morning and she said very good job and give 1 unit of ProZinc he goes over 200 & check his level twice daily. I believe coming OFF the dry food is what dropped his levels. Simba has been off of dry food for 2 1/2 weeks now. GUYS WERE SO RIGHT...

It totally sucks because it's hard to target the vein. I'm not so sure my husband & I are getting the vein all the time, but I do get blood and the meter reads it. I hate the little gun that the meter comes with. I don't think it goes deep enough. The lancet/needle is so tiny and the hole it comes out of is so wide. All this bragging about doing a good job, I'm actually having a hard time getting blood from Simba tonight.

I have to thank everyone here for all your advice and telling me I need to do hometesting. Yes, I did it and I'm so excited about it.... I was scared at first with so much to learn, but thank God you guys are here... It's truly important to do hometesting. I never thought for a million years my little boyfriend Simba would let me do it. He is such a good boy. I love him so.

I special thanks to M.J. & Donovan who has been with me through out all this with private e-mails. Thank you so much for keeping on top of me.
 

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Congratulations! My husband and I did our first home test just about a week ago. Tonight, I did my first one alone and it went well. I say this having so little experience, but it really does get easier - even after a week. :) We just made the switch to all wet diet a few days ago, too. I am still a little overwhelmed sometimes, but setting a routine is helping. Take care and hugs to you and Simba!
 
well you don't need to hit the vein. actually you are better off not hitting the vein. Instead try to get between the vein and edge of ear.

Here is a pic of the area I'm referring to.

sweetspot.jpg


If your cat has dark ears, then use a flashlight to help you see where you're poking.

Congrats on home testing. Empowering isn't it.
 
Dear Winni, and, of course, you too, maybe not so sweet Simba,

Oh my gosh indeed! And, I'm only talking about the smudge on his nose...

Okay, all cat mushiness aside, Welcome to the Vampire Club! Simultaneously hateful yet grateful words...

Hateful, because we don't want our cats to be extra sweet... Grateful, because we home test which gives us information which gives us power because we become pro-active.

This is a benchmark day in Simba's life. Truly. This is a benchmark day in your life, Winni. Truly.

You don't need a vein to be a vampire. Really just a capillary -- around the edge of a wafer-thin ear... I free hand with the lancet. That might work better for you. Do you sew? Just pretend you're hemming something and aim at a 45-degree hemming angle... I always take a deep breath first...

I'm so very proud of you, Winni! Your post is why we home test.

Thank you.

Much love and countless grateful and proud hugs for you, your husband, and Simba,
Deb and Nikki -- and, Giz, who taught me to be brave...
 
mplsmuse said:
Congratulations! My husband and I did our first home test just about a week ago. Tonight, I did my first one alone and it went well. I say this having so little experience, but it really does get easier - even after a week. :) We just made the switch to all wet diet a few days ago, too. I am still a little overwhelmed sometimes, but setting a routine is helping. Take care and hugs to you and Simba!
Click to expand...

Yes, all wet is the trick and this is what everyone here was telling me, but it took me 2 1/2 months to decide to go all wet, but I tell you the levels do drop amazingly, I'm still stunned about it. I still have not pricked Simba alone.... I should have named Simba Mr. Wiggles. Good luck to you.
 
Hillary & Maui said:
well you don't need to hit the vein. actually you are better off not hitting the vein. Instead try to get between the vein and edge of ear.

Here is a pic of the area I'm referring to.

sweetspot.jpg


If your cat has dark ears, then use a flashlight to help you see where you're poking.

Congrats on home testing. Empowering isn't it.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the pic. I'm pricking Simba on the outside of his ear.. This is how my vet did it, but she said either way is fine. Simba does not like when I feel the inside of his ears. We tried 4-5 times tonight to check his level, but he's not giving in, so I told my husband enough. I'm not giving him insulin since I don't know what level he's at. Yes, we both cried cuze we pricked him a total of 5 times ..... I did get some blood but the damn meter could not pick up the reading....put in new strips and still nothing....Frustrating & heartbreaken....

I heard about doing the paw pads - Would this be easier ?
 
Winni - I had no luck with the lancets that came with my kit as they were too fine a point. The switch to 28 gauge lancets, and warming his ear with the rice sock seemed to do the trick. We started off needed two pokes, but the last several times, one has sufficed. We have done our share of crying. Take a deep breath. Big hugs to all of you!
 
yep, that ditching the dry food did it for cedric too. I still test him, but have problems all the time. he takes it tho, for the treats! :lol:
 
Congratulations on the prick!! It feels so good to get it done! And terrifying and scary at first too! Julian and I have only in the past few weeks gotten a routine down so we are both ok with it. My heart used to beat so hard when I'd try to get it for the first few weeks. I'd cry and feel so bad because I could tell he was confused and upset.
But you, your husband and Simba WILL get the hang of it!
I freehand lance Julian's ears. I've found its easier to pinpoint exactly where I want to prick. Try heating Simba's ear up with a rice sock (baby sock filled with uncooked rice, microwave 30 seconds) first, it gets the blood flowing, and is so much easier to get a good drop. I have Neosporin Pain Relief ointment (not cream) that I rub on his hears after to help heal, and ease any pain he gets from the repeated pricks. He seems fine and even sits still for me now! Don't give up! It's hard now but it won't be forever!
Good job cutting out dry food! Julian dropped 200 points when I did. Good job to decide to home test! You caught and prevented a potentially life threatening low shoot number.
So congratulate Simba on being such a good kitty and putting up with this, and congratulate yourself (and hubby) on being so proactive about helping him!!
You are in Billerica? I grew up in Bedford :) I'm now in Boston, and if you want someone to go over this with you, I'd love to help!
Diabetes is a scary thing, and scarier still in our pets because they can't easily tell us when they aren't feeling well. It's stressful, but I hope you and your husband take good care of yourselves and each other. When I was getting 4 hours of sleep a night and crying every day, my dad gave me this advice- "You put your own oxygen mask on first so you are clear and level headed to best help others." I listened to that, got more sleep, and Julian and I couldn't be closer!
Congratulations and good luck with the future!
 
Yittle used to fall asleep while I tested sometimes. And one of hubby's nicknames for him was "Mr Does-Not-Deal-Well".

After awhile I got so good at it, I could wake up from a dead sleep, have the cat on the desk, test him, record the data, feed him, inject him if it was a shot time and be back in bed in under 5 minutes. 2 minutes if it wasn't shot time.

Generally speaking if you follow the pricking with cuddles and a nice bite of food they tend to ignore the pricking part.
 
My poor baby went to the vet yesterday & had 9 teeth pulled out. Never mind I was devastated that he was diagnosed w/diabetes on 4/25, but when I got the news from the 2nd opinion vet that he needed dental surgery I totally freaked out.

Simba is one day post-op from his teeth surgery and he is actually doing pretty good today. I decided to take today off and keep an eye on Simba. I'm also so excited that I pricked his ear all by myself this afternoon and his number was 94. Simba has not had dry food since 6/13 and no insulin since 6/29. Thank GOD I took him off the dry food and decided to do hometesting. I tell you dry food is a drug for cats.

Thank you all for your support and Lucy & Julian thank you for your nice post and offer to help me. I've been talking to this nice lady from Worcester Ma who has helped me so much via private e-mail.

I'm donating money to this site since it saved Simba's life. Thank you all.
 
Simba's bad teeth could have contributed to his diabetes (infection raises the BG).

Praying for Simba to feel better soon.

You have pain-reliever for him, right ?

He can probably eat baby food chicken while his mouth is sore. Gerber or Beechnut chicken or turkey.
NO pork, and beef is an allergen for some cats.
 
That is so awesome!!! Simba is such a cutie and he looks a little like a kitten I recently adopted. My first hometest was a disaster (following the advice of the vet to prick the paw pad), but with everyone here I became a pro in no time at all! My Seasaidh had frostbitten ears from his days as a feral but I was able to test his ears, including the left one that had a hematoma. Congratulations on all that you've accomplished with Simba! I hope you have continued success, and also that Simba can go to the Falls.
 
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