need advice for home testing

[kaytee78]

Hello: I'm new here and probably not doing this right but I wanted to see if anyone had any advice for home testing. My cat's name is Frank, he's a Katrina Rescue so we are unsure of his age, but he's at least 9. He was diagnosed 10/31/09, and is currently on Lantus. At first, it was .5u BID because his bg was all over the place due to some kidney issues. Now the kidneys are happier so the vet wanted to bring him up to 1u BID, but have me home test as often as I could. I have all the supplies, I've been trained, etc, but I cannot for the life of me get blood out of my baby's body!! I've read everything I can find on the boards, tried all the tips and tricks, and my Bayer meter still says I'm not getting enough to test. I'm getting a One Touch meter in the next few days and maybe that will help, but this whole "shooting blind" thing is making me sick with worry. If I'm missing any details that would help anyone please let me know and forgive my ignorance on how this all works. Thanks people!

 

[Jean and Megan]

I presume you've watched the videos of peeps testing their cats? Sometimes you see something in one of those that makes the light bulb go on.

Since you are having trouble getting enough blood, you might do well to get a meter that requires a very tiny amount. The Relion (Confirm?) from Walmart and the Freestyle Lite meters (and maybe other Freestyle meters - I don't know) require only .3ul, which is half what the Bayer Contour requires. I'm not sure how much the One Touch requires, but it isn't .3ul, AFAIK.

One trick that has helped me: The blood in a cat's ear flows from the outer side of the head, up over the top of the ear, and back down toward the center of the head. After pricking, if you press on the vein "downstream" - so that the blood can't flow back to the head - this often will make a blood drop develop at the prick site.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Just make sure you are applying enough pressure to the backside of the ear when piercing the the ear. If you do not provide enough pressure the ear deflects instead of being pierced. Also, do not be afraid of going all the way through the ear. I go through the ears of my cats frequently.

 

[Kira & Max]

I wasn't able to get any blood at all until I did two things: used a rice sock and a lancet pen rather than just massaging the ear and hand-sticking with the lancet. Don't know if you're already doing those things or not. Frustrating, isn't it?

 

[ceil99]

Also, please realize that it takes insulin about a week to settle. START LOW AND GO SLOW!! The usual starting dose from our experiences is 1u twice a day for at least a week. Insulin in cats is NOT and I repeat NOT based on weight. This is a misconception that a lot of us have gotten from our vets here. pc_work

You have to be patient, as I also had to learn!! Do not adjust the dose upwards based on one test. Don’t freak out based on one test result. As long as the levels stay on the high side, keep the same dose twice a day for at least the initial week period and you should see improvements. When you have some time (hee hee), read my profile.

Hometesting is VERY important. Think of it as a human diabetic does. *If it were you or a child of yours, you'd be testing blood glucose levels at home prior to each shot; you'd be working with your doctor to determine a proper dose based on those shot results, correct?* Insulin is a VERY powerful drug and you NEED to hometest before giving a shot. This is very important. Hometesting saved me a lot of money and it is VERY important for you personally to know the cat’s levels and how it is reacting to the insulin before you shoot so you do not pass up your ideal dosage.

Here is a link to a member videos on hometesting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zE12-4fVn8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ6iXetR398

It does get easier! :thumbup

 

[kaytee78]

thanks to everyone! I am using the rice sock but not a lancet pen. Those other meters sound great----if they need half of what bayer requires, then I can do this because I can get halfway up the test strip on the bayer. thanks again so much!!

 

[paige]

Welcome and kudos to you for hometesting (trying to at least :lol: ). Another thing that may be of help.....make sure you are using lancets that are about 28 gauge. The higher the number the smaller the needle. I had bought the 33 gauge lancets, thinking that would be great because then Webber wouldn't feel it.....but the little pin prick from those tiny lancets didn't produce a big enough drop of blood.

Here are a couple of very useful pics if you haven't already seen them (aim for the vein on the outside of the ear)