New Member Question about air bubbles in syringes

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Flits

Member Since 2023
My neutered male (age 12 3/4) bff (Oliver) has been diabetic since January 2022. It took over five months to get it somewhat in control b/c complicated by pancreatitis and other unknown GI issues. (My vet even said he's one of her most difficult-to-control diabetes patients) He's been on Lantus the entire time but has had multiple dose changes as he at times has had huge daily fluctuations and also has dipped very low at times. He's been on 2 1/2 u twice a day for the past few months.

MY question: I can never get rid of the air bubbles in the syringes no matter what! It will appear as if there are none, but then when i flick the syringe an air bubble appears. The air seems to come from the top of the black plunger. I'll draw it down quickly and see an air bubble rise, but no matter what I cannot fully get rid of it.

Should I not be flicking the syringe that hard and just let there be a thin film of air atop the black plunger?
Since Oliver is extremely sensitive to small changes in insulin I've become a bit OCD about getting his dose exactly right. I am using UltiMed U-100 syringes.

Any thoughts? Seems like I need a PhD in fluid mechanics to figure this out...
 
I try to push the plunger in hard as if I’m injecting and then I insert the needle into the tip of the pen once I do that, I let the plunger go and draw the insulin in. I find that helps to not get as many bubbles. I also pull the plunger in and out a few times before using the syringe.

Are you using the pen or the vile?

do you mind telling us what kind of food he’s on right now? How are you monitoring the bg, are you home testing? Are the dose increase/decreases being done by 1/4 unit at a time or more? Lastly, what meds is he on for the pancreatitis?
 
Thanks for the quick response.. good suggestions that I have not tried.

I am using the Lantus Solostar Pen. He's on Royal Canin Glycobalance wet. He has not had any pancreatits in almost a year. I was initially giving him a mix of Glycobalance dry and wet and he suddenly stopped eating the dry and his BG improved. He had been getting a little fancy feast, but that seemed to cause loose potentially bloody stools. So, he's been on only the glycobalance wet since last August. He does get Hills Metabolic treats at his shots and maybe 2 in the middle of the day.
The last dose increase was done by 1/4 unit, although my vet tends to do the increases by 1/2 units.
I monitor his urine daily. I last did a glucose curve with an alphatrak 4 1/2 weeks ago. It was his best ever, according to my vet. But I worry that now he is just either creeping higher overall or having big swings. So, I plan to do a curve this coming week. But b/c I have such problems doing the curve (four thumb surgeries) I now only usually do 4-5 readings three hours apart, starting with a pre-breakfast/pre-shot measurement.
 
The best thing to do is to test daily. That’s what we recommend especially when the food diet changes. Diabetic cats need low carb foods just like diabetic people. Dry food should be removed from his diet completely, but not until you’re home testing daily since it can drop his bg by as much as 100 points. Even the treats should be low carb, like freeze dried treats or even regular naked chicken/turkey or tuna. Unfortunately, the canin glycobalance is also too high carb for diabetics. I know vets prescribe it all the time, my vet did too, and I was horrified when I found out how high in carbs it is and that fancy feast or even Friskies is much better for them. There’s nothing special about prescription food other then the price and how it’s marketed to vets. Unfortunately most vets do not know a lot about feline diabetes….they have many animals to look after and they all have different diseases and treatments. Vets also get their information about nutrition from the big cat food manufacturers so they are biased in what they recommend.

With a diabetic cat you need

  • A low carb wet diet that is 10% carbs or under. Most of us use around 4-7% carbs
  • A suitable insulin such as Lantus or Prozinc which are long acting, more gentle insulins than the old insulins.
  • We recommend hometesting the blood glucose with a human meter…it is not necessary to use a pet meter which is expensive to run and is no better. It will keep your kitty safe and you will know how the dose is working for your kitty. Only testing every so often will not tell you what is happening in between those times and an awful lot can happen in even a day.
  • HELP US HELP YOU has information about the spreadsheet, signature and hypo box which you will need to be able to look after your beloved kitty properly
FOOD CHART have a look on this chart and choose foods that are under 10%.

You will also need some higher carb foods for that hypo box..information in the help us help you link.

This is an excellent site for diabetic cats…it has been around for more than 25 years and has very experienced people to help you.

Keep asking lots of questions.
 
Syringes have an expiry date, check yours. That synthetic rubber seal around the plunger is the first thing to go.
Just a bit OCD? I know all about it along with some attention def..... is that a squirrel? :oops:
 
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