Need advice about prepping syringes in advance

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wombat88

wombat88

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I'm having surgery next week and a few weeks after that I'll have another that will lay me up for a longer period of time. I've got a dear friend who has offered to come in and take care of the cats while I'm in the hospital, but I'm trying to make her job as easy as possible because each cat has tons of medication to take each day and all of them are on different foods. I can load up plastic baggies with AM and PM meds for each cat, but am trying to figure out how to handle the insulin. When I saw the specialist the other day and could not be home for her PM dose I preloaded a syringe and stored it needle up as I saw in some of the files at this site. My friend was able to give it at the appointed time. I don't know how that would work for several insulin doses, however.

I'm trying to prep things for two days. Would it be feasible to load up syringes for that period or should I give my friend a lesson in loading syringes herself? It isn't tough to do of course, but she spent an hour at my house the other night and she works so I'm trying to figure out ways of reducing her time since meds would need to be given twice per day. I could board the cats but she doesn't want me to do that, and frankly, I think they do better at home (as does my vet). Both are sick enough I don't want to stress them out. I'm hoping that she will be okay without getting BG tested for that period. My friend is good at giving subQ fluids, shots, and pills, but I wouldn't want to impose on her for blood testing on top of everything else. One good thing is that Shaikha's BG seems to be getting more level. I plan to do another curve tomorrow but I'm not seeing the wild swings I was getting, so maybe she's getting more used to the insulin or possibly the leukeran is calming down her pancreas enough for it to do its job better (or maybe she's recovering from the steroid use and the pancreas is normalizing from that?).

How have you all handled things when you had to be gone from home?
 
If she's good at giving shots, then she should be able to draw the insulin. I'd put a piece of paper in the bag with the am/pm meds that says "insulin X Units" and tape it to a syringe in the bag (just to make sure an insulin syringe is used). And make sure she knows where the insulin is located, etc.

From everything I've heard preloading shots is bad, although no one has been able to tell me why. Just that they have also been told that it is bad.
 
It depends on the insulin. Some insulins, like PZI-Vet, Humulin N, etc, can be pre-drawn without a problem. Other insulins, such as Lantus, are recommended *not* to be pre-drawn; IIRC, it's because the insulin starts losing it's effectiveness once it's drawn. I'm not sure what the time-frame on the effectiveness-loss scenario is, though. For example, it might be okay to pre-draw Lantus for a day or two, but probably not a good idea to pre-draw it for a three-week vacation; the folks in the ISG would probably have a better idea (I'm not a Lantus user, so it's not something I've followed carefully).
 
If you are still using Vetsulin, preloading is OK. I wouldn't do more than maybe 10 days' worth. Preloaded syringes should be stored needle side up with the cap on.

You cannot preload Lantus, because it react with a substance in the syringe and degrades.

But it's probably better that a long-term caregiver learn how to load a syringe in case testing shows a need for a dosage change. One thing people do is mark a sample syringe with a marker to show the line to which the insulin is to be drawn.
 
Lantus reacts with the silicone lining of the syringe and can go bad. That's why you never squirt Lantus back into the bottle if you draw up too much- you do the "TV doc" thing and squirt the excess in the air. (Or in the sink.)

May I suggest that you have a few preloaded ones, but have a "sample syringe" where you draw up the proper amount of cranberry or apple juice? She can use that one as a guide and compare the two side by side. The juice is easy to see, and also ensures that she won't accidentally inject it into your cat!

By the way - hope all goes smoothly, and you are home again before expected!
 
Yes, prepare a SAMPLE syringe with colored water (in a used syringe).

Don't want the caregiver to draw up 10 units instead of 1, because they thought
the '10' mark was '1-point-0'.
 
Thanks so much for the information, everyone. Shaikha is on Vetsulin, but I was planning to ask my vet about changing to PZI, Lantus, or Levimir today. After giving it some more thought though, I probably should wait to switch until after the surgery next week as while I'm incapacitated Shaikha won't get her BG tested. I wouldn't want her going hypo during that period.

One big concern I've got is that all of these surgeries will mean I'll be non-weightbearing for a period of time. The first surgery is smaller, but the next one will mean I'm non-weightbearing for 90 days on the affected leg (ugh). I'm not sure how I can chase down cats on crutches, nor could I carry them plus meds and syringes or even food for that matter (especially if I have to syringe feed). I'm going to have to figure out something, especially if my husband is traveling. I'm pretty good at hopping on one leg, but my cats probably wouldn't appreciate being jostled like that and it's also not exactly safe. We'll figure something out, but I'm sure that both cats will figure out quickly that it is easy to run away from me and make it into a nice "game".
 
> One big concern I've got is that all of these surgeries will mean I'll be non-weightbearing for a period of
> time. The first surgery is smaller, but the next one will mean I'm non-weightbearing for 90 days on the
> affected leg (ugh).

Is the work being done on your lower leg, or above? I have carpal tunnel in both wrists, so bearing weight on them is hard, and I had ankle surgery that was going to leave me on crutches for two weeks. When I explained the problem to the surgeon, he recommended a rolleraid -- it's kinda a scooter for your knee. If you're having work done on your lower leg, that may be an alternative to look at; it certainly was a lifesaver for me!


> I'm not sure how I can chase down cats on crutches, nor could I carry them plus meds and syringes
> or even food for that matter (especially if I have to syringe feed).

When my mom had a hip replacement, we went and got two things for her walker. One was one of those little bottle holders that you see on bikes; we used that in conjunction with those capped coffee mugs so that she could bring drinks with her when she moved around. The second was a regular hard plastic cup, which we attached to her walker with clamps from the hardware store. She could use that to carry little things with her -- pens, her cell phone, etc. I know I've seen someone adapt their crutches with a similar mug-holder for their coffee, though I'm not sure how well it worked overall. One of the benefits of the walker was that the holder and mugs were always level; maneuvering on crutches, especially if you lean them against something and they fall down, may be more problematic. But it's something to think about, anyway.

Good luck to you!

-- Jean and her Gwyn
 
JJ & Gwyn said:
> One big concern I've got is that all of these surgeries will mean I'll be non-weightbearing for a period of
> time. The first surgery is smaller, but the next one will mean I'm non-weightbearing for 90 days on the
> affected leg (ugh).

Is the work being done on your lower leg, or above? I have carpal tunnel in both wrists, so bearing weight on them is hard, and I had ankle surgery that was going to leave me on crutches for two weeks. When I explained the problem to the surgeon, he recommended a rolleraid -- it's kinda a scooter for your knee. If you're having work done on your lower leg, that may be an alternative to look at; it certainly was a lifesaver for me!


> I'm not sure how I can chase down cats on crutches, nor could I carry them plus meds and syringes
> or even food for that matter (especially if I have to syringe feed).

When my mom had a hip replacement, we went and got two things for her walker. One was one of those little bottle holders that you see on bikes; we used that in conjunction with those capped coffee mugs so that she could bring drinks with her when she moved around. The second was a regular hard plastic cup, which we attached to her walker with clamps from the hardware store. She could use that to carry little things with her -- pens, her cell phone, etc. I know I've seen someone adapt their crutches with a similar mug-holder for their coffee, though I'm not sure how well it worked overall. One of the benefits of the walker was that the holder and mugs were always level; maneuvering on crutches, especially if you lean them against something and they fall down, may be more problematic. But it's something to think about, anyway.

Good luck to you!

-- Jean and her Gwyn
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips, Jean!. I'm having ankle surgery. I don't have carpal tunnel, but in the past I developed ganglion cysts from using crutches for so long, and they were painful enough. I did some googling today looking for some padded grips for my crutches and while doing that, found some bags you could attach to the crutches and the scooters you mentioned. I'd never seen them before. I did buy one so I could give my arms and leg a rest from time to time. I was on crutches for years so I can pretty much do wheelies on them :smile: but being nonweighbearing is a pain. I also bought a bike basket to put on the handlebars, but the bottle holder is a great idea! The frame on this one is actually more like a bicycle and instead of leaning on your knee you can actually sit down. I've got knee problems from years of running so leaning on them can be sort of painful. As a result, I opted for the nonkneeling type. It was also MUCH cheaper than the knee walkers that had turning front wheels but only a bit more expensive than the cheapest knee walkers that only went in a straight line. Reviews were good so I"m hoping it works well.
 
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