Not sure what kind of pen you are using but my Lantus SoloStar pen has 100 units in it. It's right on the label so I don't have to guess.
The 100 is NOY the number of units in the pen, it is the concentration which is 100 units/ml. The lower right of your image says 3 ml which is the number of ml in the pen. So 3 ml of 100 units/ml insulin means there are 300 units in the pen.
Wow! That makes even more sense then that the dose is just a couple of drops. Thanks for setting me straight. I wish the vet clinic or the pharmacist would have explained this. I'm so grateful for the information I've gotten here. I'm seriously thinking of putting together a package for the vet clinic to give out to people with newly diagnosed sugarbabies. In it would be all the stuff I've learned here that I wasn't told. I'm a teacher so it would be just like making a teaching unit. I know I would have loved having something like that for myself and it would have alleviated some of the panic. I love my vet tech and she's a big help but I think she's forgotten what it's like to be new to all this.
Not sure if this is meant for me but I have to ask, how do you test while they're eating a treat? Clawdius gobbles it down and immediately looks around for more. I don't think I could do the test quick enough but I will give it a try today.
It was meant for @Acadaca but if it helps you too that is great.
That is a great idea. I just assumed the treats would be like the freeze dried chicken ones and Clawdie gobbles them up and immediately looks for more. I never thought of something liquid. The friskies pates often have a lot of juice in the can, do you think that would be enough?
You are getting some good mid-cycle tests in! You will often read here that we talk about the "before bed" test. This is around +2 PMPS. It is useful because it can be a helpful predictor for if FCC will be having an extra active cycle where he drops low, so then you will know if you need to stay up or can sleep soundly. It is also good to get some tests in at night (like if you wake up in the middle of the night). I don't know about FCC, but cats are often more active at night and will have lower values than their day cycles.
You should use the test strips that should be used for the meter you are using
I was looking up that meter and it says the advantage meter is discontinued, in case you can't get the test strips for it anymore , just wanted to let you know .. I even looked up the comfort curve test strips and most places said unavailable.
Someone gave it to you?
Just a heads up if you will need to buy another meter
Just checking to make sure that you know about this site. It looks like a decent price. Wish I'd seen it before I went to Walmart. Oh well, live and learn.
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I get the same thing but then I did when there was dry food down all the time too. Now about half an hour before each feeding time (which they know as breakfast no matter when it is served) I have two very good friends who follow me everywhere and generally end up sitting tight beside me, front feet on my chest and faces staring unblinkingly as close to my face as possible. I also get the bedroom eyes, you know, the slow half blink when they're trying real hard to look cute? And don't forget the pitiful little chirps that say they don't really have the strength for a full meow. I try to stay strong and keep them on schedule but sometimes it's darn hard to resist them!
When you first start out, it is actually good for just one person in the home to give the insulin shot. This prevents accidental double-doses and means the doses measured out will be relatively the same. When you get more settled in, you could fill up a syringe with food colouring so that both you and your partner can measure out a similar dose. Then compare the food colouring one to your dose each time. Don't feel too scared about getting the "exact" dose each time. There will always be some air bubbles, measuring differences, and also the syringe markings themselves can vary between syringe batches! Just try to get it as close as you can reasonably and then go from there.
Just keep referring to the SLGS stickied post. I think I read it most weeks in the first 6 months of Dixie's diagnosis! There is no need to memorize it.
If you received them in closed containers then I would think they would be good until the listed expiry date. After that, we can't really say. Since you are starting out, I think you should avoid experimenting with expired strips for now.
Unregulated diabetic cats can be ravenously hungry
. When I first got Dixie and didn't know that she was diabetic yet, I left dry food out and she gobbled down 340 calories of dry food, drank over half a litre of water, and wanted more!Try to think of this as a good thing. They are currently trained that if you wake up, then they know they will get fed. So that means that they can be trained! What you want to do it switch FCC's routine so that he knows that if you test him, then he gets fed. That will make him MUCH more likely to put up with testing. Be consistent each time you test him. Always give him a treat no matter how poorly the test goes. And don't give in and feed them when you get up. Keep very consistent and after a few weeks, you might notice that they get used to the new routine. Avoid giving out treats unless you are training them to do behaviours you want (I used to be bad at doing this!)
As Red said, make sure you have a backup of 200-300 strips for hypo events. You don't want to wait till you are on your last bottle before getting new strips.
Clawdius has started to do this too but I'm sure I'm not doing anything different. I would be interested to know if this is common and whether it will pass?
How is the testing coming? Did you get the hang of it? I use the ReliOn Premier Classic meter because it takes so little blood to get a reading. And it is such a hot summer here, I have never had to massage ears or create a rice bag. I got results immediately using the lancing device with the alternate clear top where I can SEE that I am hitting the sweet spot. I have it set on the most shallow setting so as not to go too deep or through the ear. The device gives me control. I shoot, continue to hold the ear between my fingers (because when Sister feels the blood, she will shake and it will go flying somewhere), and watch the small bead of red appear. Oh, Sister is used to squeezing in beside me on the left when I am in my recliner. So that is where I test. She is held firmly between my thigh and the chair arm. It allows me better control of her as well. She faces forward, like me, and both ears are accessible to me. I sure hope you are having better luck. I cannot believe mine.
I have been looking into getting a blood ketone testing meter because I have the same problem. If I try to lock Clawdie up until he pees then there is loud yowing and clawing at the door from both of them until I let him out. I think they each believe the other is getting something special they need to know about. I wouldn't care at home but this is my dad's house. They even make some meters that test both glucose and ketones (different strips for each) but all that I've found so far are pretty pricey or don't ship to Canada. I'll be talking to some of the drugstores and Walmart in the area tomorrow and see what I can get. My brother gets his 20% off Walmart employee discount day this Friday so I'm hoping I can get something reasonable there.
When I needed to learn this I asked the vet tech if I could video tape her instructions so I wouldn't forget anything and so my partner would be able to see too. It was really helpful and we watched it several times before doing things ourselves.
I thought the same thing. We just factored in the cost of boarding or pet sitting into the vacation. It's just one of the expenses, like a hotel or dinner bills.
Is FCC iffy about you being near him in the litter box? I put a spoon under Dixie and she doesn't notice it. There are various other ways to catch it if that doesn't work for you.
Yes, I believe it is better to be on TR. Looks like your testing is going very well and you are getting lots of mid-cycle tests. If you are able to consistently get AMPS/PMPS and commit to 2 mid-cycle tests (1 day and 1 night) then I would encourage you to consider TR! As far as how high his numbers are to start, it is really impossible for any of us to say how his regulation will go. Each cat will react differently to the insulin. You will need to gradually increase his dose until you reach that breakthrough dose where his numbers start to come down. Then his body will start to heal and you can (hopefully) gradually lower the insulin dose.
Can you bring him with you?
I admire your dedication to Snicky. I am so sorry for your loss.
I went home to see my 93 year old dad for Father's Day on Sunday, a 3 hour drive each way, for the first time since 2018. Left a couple of hours after Sister's shot and returned just in time for evening test, feed and shoot. I did alert a nearby friend and left a hidden front door key just in case. Took me two days to recover. It was exhausting.
Just to clear up terminology: AMPS is the morning test (AM, breakfast time) and PMPS is the evening test (PM, dinner time).
You want to fill in the missing data points. Think of it like a glucose curve but over the course of a few weeks.
That is fine. You can always write it in the spreadsheet notes section if the AMPS or PMPS is food influenced (the other midcycle tests are fine to be food influenced and don't need to be noted). We really can't say how FCC will react to food at this time. Some cats will spike their BG when eating a bit of food, some don't. You can experiment by feeding him and seeing how the food raises his levels with tests.
You will get the hang of it
I know it is hard in the beginning. I have Dixie regulated right now so I don't really need to hang out here. I just like to pop in and if I see other Canadians just starting out then I try to help, because I know how difficult the start is. Most info here is for the glucometers and test supplies is from the US, so I have tried to put together as much info as I can about where to test supplies in Canada on a budget. I found it very overwhelming to find a glucometer and pet feeder when I started out! I spent a lot of time searching the forum and just found little tidbits here and there. I never made an introduction post, and maybe I should have because it was hard going it alone at first. I am glad that you are reaching out for help, because this is a very supportive community.
It's killing me to think we had to put her down. She was getting worse and to put her thru another vet stay, cramped cage, poking holes all over her, another catheter in her leg, and for what? I desperately wanted to keep her going. But her quality of life was decreasing. I had nobody I could trust or wanted to have to care for her while I went away, so I stayed home with her. I'm still grieving yet. The last look at her as her life faded away will stick with me forever. I appreciate your kind words.I admire your dedication to Snicky. I am so sorry for your loss.
Hugs to you...
You will get the hang of it
FCC is very young still. Don't get too caught up with remission and getting him off the juice. I have Dixie regulated and I don't think she will ever go into remission, but it doesn't really matter to me. The BG tests are so easy nowadays, the insulin shots don't take much prep, and she is into a good routine. I don't think of her as a diabetic cat. I suppose it is more limiting to have to schedule around her insulin shots, but even then... I can work around a missing a shot or giving her a reduced dose for a few days. Just thought I would try and give you some perspective that it isn't so black and white as unregulated vs remission. You can achieve a good routine with FCC where you feel comfortable treating him without it interfering with your life so much. The beginning is the hardest part, but it will get so much better from here! And hey, maybe in a year you will see someone here asking for help and you can point them in the right direction
FCC is very young still. Don't get too caught up with remission and getting him off the juice. I have Dixie regulated and I don't think she will ever go into remission, but it doesn't really matter to me. The BG tests are so easy nowadays, the insulin shots don't take much prep, and she is into a good routine. I don't think of her as a diabetic cat. I suppose it is more limiting to have to schedule around her insulin shots, but even then... I can work around a missing a shot or giving her a reduced dose for a few days. Just thought I would try and give you some perspective that it isn't so black and white as unregulated vs remission. You can achieve a good routine with FCC where you feel comfortable treating him without it interfering with your life so much. The beginning is the hardest part, but it will get so much better from here! And hey, maybe in a year you will see someone here asking for help and you can point them in the right direction
