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Ok so I got his reading at 550pm, his morning shot was at about 930am so its +8 and it read 104.

Oh and he was giving me a hard time because he had to pee I guess. after I let him go he went straight in there. Note to self, try to let him potty first.
 
Don't get discouraged about the testing. It takes a little practice and training for you both. Every cat is different and I have to admit my cat Max was a hard one to let me test. Some cats pick up the testing pretty easy and some need a little more time. Max absolutely did not want to hold still...was a total bear about it. In the beginning, I had to have someone help me by holding Max, so I could have both hands free. I would wrap Max in a blanket and that helped keep him from using his paws on me or to get away and eventually he seemed to find the blankey comforting. As best you can, try not to get nervous. Use your most calm, lovey mom voice and talk to Carl about what you're doing. Also, whether the test is successful or not a little treat after is a big help. Max still doesn't love testing like some kitties come to love it, but, he'll do it cause as soon as he hears the meter beeps that it's done, he jumps up for his treat. I was a nervous wreck when I first started with shaking hands and a wiggley unwilling kitty, but, after some time and practice, it did get easier. When people would tell me that when I first started testing, I didn't believe them, but it really did get easier. Don't give up.
 
I know it HAS to get easier, everything eventually becomes routine. When he had the feeding tub, the canned food smell made me gag, then knowing I was injecting it through a tube into his throat. Well i almost puked every time I fed him for 2 days and that was every 2 hrs. Then it just became routine for him and me, I could do it half asleep and he could sleep right through it. So I know this has to get easier and hopefully faster lol. As long as he doesnt shake his head again and throw the bead of blood onto my face :shock:

Thank you for your support :-D
 
I posted my response before seeing your update. So glad the testing went easier. Yay...you got your first reading!!! 104 is a good #, although it makes me wonder about the 3u. You'll definitely want to check when it's time for Carl's next shot. Depending on what you get, you may want to think about cutting back on the dose, but it's a little early to know that yet. Now you're home testing, you can see that sometimes the stress of being at the vet can really raise BG #'s and you'll get more accurate #'s at home.
 
You know, Im amazed at the difference between the 2 readings. I mean I was thinking maybe 50-100 different. But not 195 lol. Thats good though. When I test later we will see what it says. But I cant say enough how glad I am tha tI found this site. I probably would have gone ahead and gave him the 4u had I not and Im thinking 4u is too much for him. But we will know more I guess as I test him more
 
Hi Amy:
I have to chime in too and say it does get easier. And I didn’t believe that in January when we were dx’ed.

For us the giant help was, I think it was Judy that told us about holding a small pill bottle behind the ear to test. We put warm water in it to warm the ear. (or microwave the water in the bottle without the lid for 13 seconds)

That was the thing that clicked for us and made testing so much easier and faster. It used to take two of us to test Asher but now I do it myself. I sit on the floor with the cat between my knees and hold the warm bottle against his ear with one hand and the lancet with the other. I talk to him the whole time. He purrs for the whole process and when he hears the “chicken beep” he knows the treats are coming :-D

Some people here use a warm rice filled sock behind the ear too.

Sorry if I have repeated what other have told you or you already know ohmygod_smile
 
Thanks! I didnt use the rice sock or anything this time, but Im going to next time, I think part of my fear is pricking myself. lol I tried sitting with him between my legs, he wasnt having it, we ended up with him in my lap and my daughter getting the dot of blood onto the tester
 
Hi Amy, My Sam is on PZI too and his highest dose was 2.75U which I only did for a short while until we had a break through and I could lower the dose. 3 U is high, very high and 4 is even worse. Go with your gut and if it seems high to you don't shoot it! Please test before a shot when it's time for the next one. If Carl is picky about his ears warm it up first put the cotton ball behind it and poke him fast! My Sam really howls now at first he didn't even act as it it hurt. But now his ears are sore and he's crabby about it but we still test him. It's improtant to test!!!! Lori is right about the dose, she helped me a lot with my cat. So, go with the gut, please test pre-shot and if he's crabby about the test, do the preshots and a plus 6. 6 hours after his am shot. Good luck!
 
Amy, I have to say....and I don't usually say this...but WHAT???????
you have a kitty at +8 at 107 down from his earlier stressed out +4 or 5....
You are using PZI...
not only is a dose increase not rite...this cat may be unshootable tonight.
And if he zooms to over 200 from +8 to then...it is still more than likely he is rebounding.

I think, no, I don't think...I know you cannot increase dose on this kitty and for all I know you may not even be able to shoot him tonight.
No shots for you under 200.
Not until you get enough data. (let's get a spread sheet going)
And I don't thing anyone will argue with me when I say if you are over 200 you should drop dose to 1 unit.
Had you not been testing, had you not met us, had you followed dr.s orders this poor baby...well, i don't even want to think about it.
His PU/PD is up right? have you said that?
He's been tested for a UTI?

Oh my, That +8 is just unbelieveable!
excuse me while I go collect myself.
Lori
and Lord Thomas.
 
RyanAmy02 said:
Could it happen to be that changing his food might make the numbers drop enough to not need to up the insulin? If we can use less insulin just by switching food wouldnt that be better?

Grr. Ive never not agreed with a vet or doctor or whatever. I think we should be doing a curve based on the 3 units before we up it to 4 units. Why would we up it before knowing for sure how the 3 is working?????? :?
Click to expand...

You are ABSOLUTELY right!!!!

Changing the food can dramatically lower their insulin needs, and though they almost always do still need some insulin for a while to get back on track, that gives them the best chance for going OTJ.

And yes, it makes 0 sense to raise the dose when you don't know what the current dose is doing. We also do NOT raise in 1u increments - that's old school, and just too much room to miss the right dose and overdo it.

It is hard to disagree with your vet. Many if not most of us have been in the exact place you are, and stuggled too with how to handle it. I would say the short version is do NOT do something unsafe, which is what the dose increase would be. If your vet knows you got a reading around 100 they may well even say not to increase the dose. They are basing it on something like 300 earlier today, right? So if you need a spin to put on it when you talk to them, I would say "that number was lower than I expected, so I wasn't sure if it was safe to raise the dose, so I decided to wait until I could discuss it with you" or whatever. Ultimately I found it easier not to confer with my vet on specific doses, and just discuss the general picture. Or nod and smile and then go home and do what I wanted. :-D

Suggestions for now, as others have said:

- NO SHOT if the BG is under 200. If it is that low, wait and retest, and then once it is over 200 shoot a reduced dose.
- NO DOSE INCREASE
- No food change until you can reliably test, and/or drop the dose to 1u when you change foods.

Testing can be up & down for a while until you get the routine going. Sounds like you are off to a good start (minus the kicking & screaming, LOL!), and have a good head on your shoulders. Trust your instincts, and don't feel like you have to do what the vet says simply b/c they are a vet. Remember, you are hiring them to be your consultant, so they're like your employee. Hehe. We all struggle with this. ;-)
 
p.s. on the dose I would lower it to 2.5 and gather some data (and lower if your PS is low tonight). Based on today's #s I'd say 3u is either perfect or a little bit high. For safety, I would pull back a little. No need to see green #s on your second day of testing. :shock:
 
Good for your vet not charging to show you how to test. I got charged $127. for the vet tech to show me all wrong.
With those numbers I sure wouldn't go up, and if you switch to low carb wet, down would be the way to go.
The vets said Maisey was over 500, I never saw any numbers that high. So I'd assume it's up at least 100 points by not being home.
 
Ok sorry guys. Pay days are our eat out days and the hubby wasnt willing to give up his smoothie. I got home, test Carl and the number is 383. So we do we think? I have no clue. Im think ok sot him, but at what dose? stay with 3u or drop?
 
i'm sorry i will miss this evenings # and dose..home by 10pm west coast. Will look in.
i advised 1u...if over 200. saw joanna adivse sticking with dose or going down .5
i understand what your thinking joanna...not broke---don't fix
still.....
if shooting that amount promise a +2 and +6
the 2 to see how quickly she's moving
the 6 to see how low she goes.

let's not forget that low +8 is on a vetty bean day!!!! who know's what numbers we would see if it had been a normal regular day. plus let us not forget this number is also on a kibble fed kitty.
i find these factors ummmm, pretty amazing.
 
Personally I would drop it to 2.5 - you don't know what this morning's PS was, there are just so many unknowns. Alternately if you want to start introducing LC food, you could drop the dose back to 1u and start switching over.
 
Lori are you still around, did you see PMPS 383? I'm thinking 2.5, but I wouldn't argue with reducing further, especially if a food change is on the near horizon. What do you think? I definitely think 3u is risky as you said.
 
hi amy...was just leaving.
the zoom up...hmmm...interesting for a talk tomorow..or today with joanna or someone.
your call.
1u or 2.5u
either way...if 2.5u can you get a +2 and +6?
i can kind of understand if you want to go to bed tho and not get up again.
 
discussion for tomorow...105 to 383 in 4 hours. is that a zoomy rebound like number? 270 points. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
just sayin.
not a comfortable curve.
 
Hmm Ill have to think about it. Im not sure. I know Ill get the +2 reading, I have a crap load of homework to finish thats due tonight. Im think the +6 is a maybe since it would be 4am. But then again the dogs been getting me up at 4am-ish to go out. I wish I wasnt babysitting tomorrow so I could be home to do good checks. but I have to pay back the friend who watched my kids when the husband was deployed.
 
Lori it could just be poopout, hard to know til she has more data. I think today is probably a toss-out anyway b/c of the vet trip, stress, all that. Plus if he's on higher carb food, could be that. I'm not worried. :mrgreen: OK well maybe I'm worried, but not particularly about that. :lol: Bix used to go from blue to black in less than an hour when he was in liver training... and I did *plenty* or rebound checks and it wasn't that. I think maybe it's your Lev-head going :o , so put back on that PZI hat and go :cool:

:mrgreen:
 
ohhh, yes the lev's never mve much..they just stay and glide gently around the numbers.
the pzi kitties zoom?
i forget.
i iz hopelez confused_cat
new food, start over i guess.
 
I think Im going to go with 2.5 and recheck in +2 then I have to be out of here at about 930 (which is why I am getting this shot done now.) and Ill try to test at 7 when get up and ill set the alarm for +6 and try to get up, to see where that gets us.
 
Sounds good. What you see at +2 will help you know whether you will need to keep testing or not. A lot of times the shot hasn't really kicked in by then, so your +2 could be higher than the PS, or about the same, or maybe a little bit lower. If that's the case, I might get in another spot test if it's easy to do so, but I probably wouldn't be too worried. If it's a lot lower though than your PS, and definitely if it is in the blues or something, I would try to get another test at +3 or 4.

I will check back before bedtime to see if you have any news. Always know too that you can post on Health if needed. It can be slow in this forum, and if you have anything you are unsure of, there is almost always someone on Health. Definitely post there if you get a blue # at +2, as that is probably a sign the dose was too high. Don't mean to scare you, I hope it will be just fine, but I want you to know what to do just in case.
 
Ok I went with 2 because I was like omg it might be to much. Ha Im crazy but I want him alive. And Ill be home by 2ish tomorrow so Ill at least be able to get the +6
 
Oh good, I started feeling all nailbite_smile too about the 2.5 and was thinking it was too late to take it back. ohmygod_smile Good on ya'! Of course now 2u will probably be too little insulin, but better safe than sorry. You need some data, and also to make the food change now that you can test and make sure it's safe to reduce the carbs.
 
Yay did great getting the prick on his ear, now he just has to now shake his head! It read 483 at +2. I think some his last shot may have been a fur shot though he was trying to go all over the place. He hates sitting still for me!
 
ok, it's high but that's ok for a +2, the new shot may not have kicked in yet. I'm not too worried about the dose being too high, but if you do have a chance to get another spot check in it's always nice to have data - I wouldn't stress about it though. You're on a lower dose than you have been on so far, and so far he has done ok. If you have any worries, be sure to head over to Health if no one is around here. I'm signing off.... Great job on getting through your first day of testing, you are a pro already! I think it took me a month to get more than one test every few days, I was so squeemish & chicken about it.
 
by the way I think there was mention of putting something behind the ear? I always folded up a kleenex to a little square and used that. Never pricked my finger, and then it gave me something to hold the spot with afterwards to prevent bruising.

I also found a strategic distraction helped with the sitting still until it became routine. For Bix, he loved the little plastic bag the lancets came in with the meter - once he saw that, it was love at first sight! So he would just sit and chew on that and barely noticed the testing. Some people put out a little treat for them to munch on (? I think I saw that somewhere), or whatever you can think of that your kitty will hone in on.
 
Im still not done with my homework. Maybe Ill go part time again grr anyways, If Im still up and hes not hating me I may try for another one. Ill be in bed in about an hour. If my works not done by then its late so I wont be staying up to finish it if i dont get it in. If Im up, Ill test again.

Thanks! Amy
 
so you think it's a possible fur shot? bummer. if you ever think that again rub your finger over the spot and smell, it should have a distinct odor even if you can't see the wet. but with 2 or 3 u i imagine you would see the wet on his fur.
see you in the morning?
i'll be on board for another 20 minutes or so...catching up with everyone :-D
 
I know it was wet, but im not sure how much I missed bc he did get up and try to move. Im gonna head to bed before im asleep at the kitchen table. Thanks for checking back in :) talk to you in the morning.
 
Ok I tried to update from my phone a few times but it didnt work and i am finally with my computer. Carl wouldnt let me test this morning so I gave him 2u. This afternoon I tried with no luck and finally at +11 I got a reading. 360. and an hour later I gave him 2u. Ill test in a bit and go from there with another test in the morning.
 
are you remembering to praise him and give him a treat or kisses and stuff even when it a failed attempt?
he must never know it failed...it's our little secret.
have you switched foods...
 
do you need a walk thru to make sure your not doing anything wrong to get blood...you are in the VAMPIRE CLUB now...you must have blood!
 
Great job! It takes a while to get the hang of testing, but as you discover what works best and get into a routine with it, it will get easier.

btw I would suggest starting a new thread tomorrow - we seem to have pretty good success with a new thread each day, it helps get more attention when they aren't too long...
 
I am still treating him the same either way, he likes to shake is head, then I do look like a Vampire, blood on my face and or neck. And I dont want to keep trying a million times. This evening I tried twice, first time shake shake right in my face the second time I pricker got blood tested, in like 10 seconds, I just moved so fast and got it and then loved him and took out in the sun for a few minutes and He got a visit from the neighbor girl so then he was all happy. Hopefully tomorrow Im not feeling so sick and Ill be able to try more and get farther. I havent switched foods, that was the plan until the husband came home with the old stuff and not the new stuff so now itll be a little more than a week since I had no choice but to feed him the Friskies Shreds. Maybe that will be good though and if his numbers stay like they are then the switch will fix it nicely. My husband is mad Im only shooting 2u. He wants me to shoot the 3u like I was if Im refusing to go to 4u. I tried explaining it to him, but hes like well if it was still to high then you should at least do a 3. Stubborn.
 
hey Amy, as long as you are testing...and if you can test the pre shot numbers..and you are gonna be on dry for another week or so. if you see those high's than go ahead with the 3u. keep peace in the household ya know. of course if you see low numbers pre-shot than of course you won't want to stick 3 units in him.
hope your feeling better.
Lori
and Lord Thomas
 
I dont know why he is having such a fuss about it, he wont even help me out with it. Im about to try for his GB before I head to bed. If I can get it ill post up and if not tomorrow Ill start a new thread. His food right now is wet food. Friskies flakes (not shreds, i get those confused). After this Im going back to the patte.
:smile:
 
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