Newbie insulin injection and regulation question

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ewest

ewest

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Hi All, One of my cats was recently diagnosed with diabetes and

1) Just started giving insulin Sunday night and this morning I noticed a small blood bead where the needle went in? Is this normal? I don't recall seeing it before. Gave near hips.

2) She was hospitalized for 5 days in DKA and is stable now but wehave 1st f/u tomorrow. She is 17 yrs old and Type I (not diet related onset-is on raw meat diet) and was started on 1 unit of Lantus. Do folks have tips on what good diabetes evaluation and next steps would be and things that wouldn't be (like increasing units a lot). I read that determining dosage on BG alone isn't good but not sure what the good thing to do is.

Thanks for any advice.
Elizabeth
 
Hi and welcome!
1) anytime we poke a hole in our kitties we can cause small amounts of bleeding. I mean we're poking a hole where a hole isn't supposed to be. I've.seen a droplet a couple times too. Could be that you "just missed" the tented area and grazed the underlying tissue. Maybe the needle wasn't.quite parallel to the body when it went in. I don't.think it's a great cause for concern if it was just a tiny bead.
2) I am not a lantus use so I'll defer to someone who is.
Carl
 
Welcome Elizabeth. It sounds like you are doing some reading and research. There is an amazing amount of information on this site. If you have questions about something, just ask.

Lantus is an excellent insulin. Have you seen the Lantus support group page: viewforum.php?f=9 Start with the starred topics on the top. They have great tips on how to dose, how to store and how to use Lantus in cats. You might also read through some of the threads to see how others are doing with your insulin.

We have had great success with regulation and sometimes remission in cats by using a good insulin (Check :-D ), feeding a wet lo carb diet (Check :-D ) and testing blood glucose levels at home.(?) We test the kitty before each shot to be sure it is safe to give the amount we are planning on, and during the cycle to see how the insulin is working. Here is how we do it: Video for hometesting We do dose based on glucose levels.

Questions? Just ask. Everyone who answers you is paying it forward for help they received in the beginning when they were new and scared.
 
Thanks everyone. I was set to try to home test but the vet and nurse at the hospital either didn't know how or told me I would hurt her ear if I did it before every shot. I was so overwhelmed the first night and day because I also had a naso tube (gone now) to deal with that I didn't have the strength to try but now would like to. My plan is to exchange my Accu Advantage for a Onetouch Ultra as I heard that one is easier for newbies and requires less blood.Hoping to try tomorrow and my regular vet seems supportive of me doing it along with the urine check and she comes to my home so much less kitty stress. I'm nervous not testing and feeling little bad about not being able to do everything at first but hoping to catch up and that my cat will be ok in meantime. She is on 1u of Lantus and I know her sugar readings had been through the roof. How long does it take an experienced person to do a home test b/f a shot..like minutes? Thanks.
 
Once you get down a method that works for you, it takes only minutes to get a reading. The two things that made the difference for us were heating the ear. (thin sock filled with raw rice, heated in microwave until very warm but not hot) Warm ears seem to bleed better than cold ones in the beginning. You can also use a pill bottle filled with very warm water to heat the ear. And a large enough lancet. Often the easiest ones to find are the smaller gauge (30-31) You want something in the 25-27 range at first. Having said that, we spent a weekend poking poor Oliver before we got a drop. So don't be discouraged. If you ask for hometesting tips, we will bombard you with things that worked for us.

Here is shopping list for hometesting:

A human glucometer. Any one that sips and takes a tiny sample is fine. The meters are often free at drug stores; it’s the strips that are expensive. You can, however, buy them on ebay at less than half the price of stores. Lots of people here also like the ReliOn from Walmart. It is an inexpensive meter and its strips are the cheapest around. Try the meter out on yourself or someone else before you try it on your cat. You want to be familiar with it before you poke the cat.

Lancets and a lancet device. Usually, until the ears “learn” to bleed, a 25-27 gauge is good. Any brand will work.

Ketone strips. (Ketostix) Just like human diabetics use. You will sometimes need to test urine if the numbers are high.

Rice sack. Make this out of thinnish sock, filled with raw rice or oatmeal and then knotted. You heat this in the microwave until very warm but not hot. Then heat the ears before poking.

Also nice to have. Flashlight: so you can look at the ears and find the little capillaries that come off the vein running down the ear. Vaseline: Put a tiny smear where you want to poke. It will help the blood bead up.

And some lo carb treats to give your kitty, successful test or not Lo carb treats

No guilt trips here. We absolutely understand. Everyone was completely overwhelmed at first. We spent a weekend poking poor Oliver before we got a drop. So don't be discouraged. If you ask for hometesting tips, we will bombard you with things that worked for us.
 
Thanks. I got a OneTouch Ultra2 but the sample lancets are 33 gauge..so maybe too small?..I will try on myself first. Is this a good meter for newbies? It seems to require less blood than others. Thanks
 
That's a good meter, and so is a relion micro (available only at wal-mart unfortunately). Both require small sample sizes.

33 gauge is probably a bit too small. That's what my meter came with, and I ended up buying a box of 26's and 30s within a couple days. I've tried the 30 gauge first, and had good luck. I still haven't opened the 26's. I've stuck myself with both a 33 and a 30 (by accident), and if that happens, you can test yourself :)
If you do have success with the 33s, that's terrific. Bob doesn't seem to mind either way. Eventually, your kitty will associated the ritual of testing and shooting with feeling better and with getting treats (always give treats as a reward), and Bob hears me open up the meter bag and comes right over and lays on my feet waiting.
With practice, you'll be able to test in a minute or two at most if you mess up and need a 2nd strip. Always keep the strips close by so you don't have to move if the first test results in an error (or if you don't believe the number and 2nd guess the meter and want to try again). I've done that a few times. Got virtually the same result the 2nd time.
I alternate ears each test, just so they don't get sore. Bob bleeds just as well with either ear, although I've read here that some cats are right or left earred so to speak.
Home testing is definitely the way to go. It gives you much more control over the situation and is much less stressful for you and for her (not to mention cheaper) than repeated visits to the vet.

Carl in SC
 
Well tried home testing tonight and no luck yet. My cat was incredibly patient. Tried warming ear with warm towel in baggie and also mild heating pad that I made sure wasn't too hot. I don't have microwave. Used BD Ultrafine 30 but only got tiny drop. Think will move down to 28 and see how goes. Her BS at vet's yesterday 6 hrs after 1u Lantus was 90- as vet said almost too perfect. She wants her retested tomorrow or Monday and am hoping tomorrow works. She wants me to give lil less than 1u in meantime. I did more like 1/2 tonight. Hoping my baby stays in safe zone while I'm learning how to do this.

Elizabeth and Munchie
 
If you don't have a microwave, Elizabeth, you can try hot water in a pill bottle. Hold it up next to his ear for a few minutes to warm it and then you can leave it there to poke against. A bigger guage lancet is also a good idea. Remember, you can double poke also - just a quick second poke in the same spot as the first.

Keep trying. You will get it. Be sure to give yourself and Munchie a treat after each attempt, successful or not. :-D
 
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