Taking a break from checking Websters BG

[Websterthecat]

Hi everyone. After 4 days of collecting numbers on Webster I'm considering cutting back on checking his BG several times per day. Why?

Last night has started to run and hide every time that we approach him. We actually just found him hiding in bathtub which is a first. I butchered his ears from the moment we brought him home from the vet and took his first reading which was at 45. I went into panic mode and barely knew what I was doing with the lancet. His ears are all red, inflamed and bruised. In addition, we have been forcing Liquid AB down his throat 2x per day for the past 4 days plus giving him his insulin. (which is actually the one thing that he doesn't seem to mind). Not to mention, I have been trying to get him switched over from all dry food to LC wet food. Last night and this morning he gave me a nasty look that I have never seen from such a sweet cat. :sad:

I understand the importance of testing which is to understand how he reacts to the insulin so that slow adjustments can be made and to catch low numbers but.. Given the circumstances:

-The AB seems to be compounded in a sweet syrup, which has likely thrown his BG out of wack. My initial guess was the he would be finished with his bottle by now but there is still a good bit left - Maybe another 2-3 days?
-He's still favoring his old dry food over the LC wet food. He does however seem to be eating a bit of his LC. The dry food is also driving up his BG.
-His ears are sore and he lets you know it. The fold back and his head turns away whenever you start playing with his ears to get blood.
-I don't want my cat to hate me. We have always had a great relationship and I don't want him to run and hide. :-|

I would like to test him 2 times per day before each insulin shot to ensure that I'm not shooting in dangerous territory. I would also like to give his ears some time to heal, finish with the AB, and transition to low car food prior to testing on a regular basis. This should give me more accurate data to work with? Right?

You guys gave me some great tips and links yesterday viewtopic.php?f=9&t=128645 which I used last night and today with much better results. I really need to practice my technique and allow his ears to heal a bit. Right now they are coated with Neo+pain.

In addition, my wife and I are having a difficult time dealing with all of these issues at once. As everyone here knows, it's not easy to deal with.

I want the best for Webster but trying to consider the pain that he is experiencing while trying to keep my sanity.

Please advise. Thank you all.

 

[tiffmaxee]

Re: Taking a break from BG check?

I get the frustration. I felt the same way at first. It takes time for them to adjust to food changes. I sprinkle a little freeze dried chicken powder on Max's food to get him to eat. You also need to experiment to find a food Webster likes.I also use Stella & Chewy's the same way. If Webster likes freeze dried, I buy huge cans of it almost 1 1/2 pounds from a human store that is way cheaper than the pet foods and it is 100% freeze dried chicken or turkey with nothing else added. He loves it. He gets one after each test as well. I get it from honeyville.com. They also sell a smaller can.

Testing less may be a good idea for now but I would add two tests, one between +5-+7 on each cycle. Had you not gotten the 45 the other day you would not have known that your dose was too high. That being said when I started this dance I was not going to test. I mentioned that in my very first post entitled something like don't beat me up if I choose not to home test. My vet had me coming in twice a week around nadir so he could check and adjust the insulin. When we got a 60 BG he had me stop for three weeks and Max gradually came up until we had to start again. Big mistake stopping insulin too soon but we needed to keep Max safe and I couldn't have tested right then even if I had wanted to do it.

You will get support you need here whether you test 2, 4, more or less times a day so keep posting. :YMHUG:

Elise

 

[dirtybirdsoaps]

Two times a day is still better than none It takes time. With lantus it is best to try to get some tests around nadir, but in all honesty its not like everyone can test in the middle of the day like that. So for now it may not be bad to test before each injection and maybe every couple of days if you can manage get a test in mid cycle.

Glad you are using the neo +pain, that helps. You may have posted this already but are you warming the ear, and also are you giving diabetic friendly treats at testing time?

 

[Websterthecat]

Re: Taking a break from BG check?

I get the frustration. I felt the same way at first. It takes time for them to adjust to food changes. I sprinkle a little freeze dried chicken powder on Max's food to get him to eat. You also need to experiment to find a food Webster likes.I also use Stella & Chewy's the same way. If Webster likes freeze dried, I buy huge cans of it almost 1 1/2 pounds from a human store that is way cheaper than the pet foods and it is 100% freeze dried chicken or turkey with nothing else added. He loves it. He gets one after each test as well. I get it from honeyville.com. They also sell a smaller can.

Testing less may be a good idea for now but I would add two tests, one between +5-+7 on each cycle. Had you not gotten the 45 the other day you would not have known that your dose was too high. That being said when I started this dance I was not going to test. I mentioned that in my very first post entitled something like don't beat me up if I choose not to home test. My vet had me coming in twice a week around nadir so he could check and adjust the insulin. When we got a 60 BG he had me stop for three weeks and Max gradually came up until we had to start again. Big mistake stopping insulin too soon but we needed to keep Max safe and I couldn't have tested right then even if I had wanted to do it.

You will get support you need here whether you test 2, 4, more or less times a day so keep posting. Oh, you might want to add Webster's name to your subject box as I bet lots of people will be looking to see how you and Webster are doing. :YMHUG:

Elise

Thank you for responding Elise. Sorry about calling you by the wrong name on my other post. I'm still a bit confused as far as how folks here differentiate their name from their cats. So, In most signatures is it the human name, then the cats name or the other way around. It seems as if I've seen it both ways. I now see that your cat is Max, you are Elise, whats the meaning of the first part of your user name "tiff". Not trying to be nosy, simply want to make sure that I'm calling everyone by the right name.

He seems to like the freeze dried chicken. I picked up 5 oz in the dog food section at petsmart for $7.99 (on sale, usually $8.99). The only ingredient listed is freeze dried chicken. Thanks for the link. I'll bookmarked it for future reference when these run out. I might consider making my own as others have suggested.

I want to test him as often as possible so that I can have a better understanding of what is going on but don't know if I can continue to poke him when he keeps running and hiding from me. I want to check him out mid cycle because he has been dropping off fast and that concerns me. I just don't know what to do.

What do you mean "he had stopped you"? Stopped coming to be tested, stopped insulin or both? Why stop with a nadir of 60? Isn't that a considered a "good" BG @ nadir or is that questionably low?

And thank you everyone for you interest in Webster and in helping us get though this difficult time. :smile:

 

[Websterthecat]

Two times a day is still better than none It takes time. With lantus it is best to try to get some tests around nadir, but in all honesty its not like everyone can test in the middle of the day like that. So for now it may not be bad to test before each injection and maybe every couple of days if you can manage get a test in mid cycle.

Glad you are using the neo +pain, that helps. You may have posted this already but are you warming the ear, and also are you giving diabetic friendly treats at testing time?

Thank you. What name do you go by? Just DirtyBird? Sorry, still trying to get this whole name thing down.

Yes to warming ear with rice sock and yes, picked up treats last night. Now that I learned where to poke his ear, they seem to bleed just fine if I can hit the very edge without hitting the vein. Still trying to get this down. Will make a flashlight/spice jar device perhaps today.

I wish I would have read the info that you guys offered yesterday and worked on my aim and draw site a few days ago so this wouldn't be so hard on him. I was panicked about low/dropping numbers and was poking him in all the wrong places non stop just to get blood. Poor guy...

 

[tiffmaxee]

I just started a long post and lost it. So the short version now. Tiffany was my kitty that I lost to lymphoma at the young age of 12 and Max's partner in crime.

My vet thought Max might be going into remission and feared he might go hypo while I wasn't home and couldn't test. I went to see him twice a week for about 3 weeks and then it was determined that he wasn't in remission. I started testing for real at that point and at first 4 times a day at the most. Max started bouncing and it was suggested he might be going low at night so I started adding a night test that proved that he was and explained his numbers. If I hadn't gotten the night tests he might have gone hypo of gotten too much insulin.

So while you don't gave to test as often as you have been I'd suggest you do a couple of random tests in addition to the tests at AMPS/PMPS. If you do the two extra tests sporadically you will get a picture of what is going on. Does that sound like a possibility? Maybe do the two tests for a few days and then try adding two more? What do you think ?

 

[Websterthecat]

I just started a long post and lost it. So the short version now. Tiffany was my kitty that I lost to lymphoma at the young age of 12 and Max's partner in crime.

My vet thought Max might be going into remission and feared he might go hypo while I wasn't home and couldn't test. I went to see him twice a week for about 3 weeks and then it was determined that he wasn't in remission. I started testing for real at that point and at first 4 times a day at the most. Max started bouncing and it was suggested he might be going low at night so I started adding a night test that proved that he was and explained his numbers. If I hadn't gotten the night tests he might have gone hypo of gotten too much insulin.

So while you don't gave to test as often as you have been I'd suggest you do a couple of random tests in addition to the tests at AMPS/PMPS. If you do the two extra tests sporadically you will get a picture of what is going on. Does that sound like a possibility? Maybe do the two tests for a few days and then try adding two more? What do you think ?

Sorry to hear about Tiffany. Losing her had to be very difficult as I imagine.

Yes, I'm going definitely want to test 2 time pre shot. I also want to test multiple times per day so that I can hopefully get him OTJ one day. I don't want to continue multiple test at the moment because hes stressed, I'm stressed.. I just want his ears to heal and then practice better testing with my new found knowledge.

I'm going to test at +6 today and perhaps at +7 to see whats going on and then again before his shot. I just don't know what else to do.

 

[MommaOfMuse]

Ears heal and it does get easier and easier. And while his ears might be sore right now from all the testing at least you caught the lows the other day and Webster is still alive and kicking. So progress. You don't need to learn this whole dance in a day, it is okay to break it down into baby steps. And a good place to start is the routine of testing without actually poking, make it fun for both of you and Webster will learn that it means treats and extra cuddle time.

This is how I started with all of mine since they were all adopted after they were already diabetic so I had to not only keep them safe on insulin but work on building a relationship as well. I start with just the preshots for actual poking, the rest of the time, when I knew I wanted to schedule in random spot checks I started by setting my phone to go off at test times, that gave both the cat and me a audible cue, then when the alarm went off I would gather up kitty, go to their testing spot, give a treat, lots of praise and lots of cuddles, play with their ears, even set the lancing device on the ear and click it without a lancet in it, then give them a few more cuddles and a treat and release. It wasn't long and they would hear the alarm on the phone sound and they would start trotting for their spot to be tested. Because that sound meant if they went to that spot they got a treat. Then when we got to where they wanted to go to their spot I started to add in tests, first the +6 one, then slowly the +3, +6. +9 and so on until I can now test anytime and anywhere I fell like it, but always, with a treat in hand ready to go for a job well done.

Now Autumn races me to her spot and Cassanova is so busy loving on everything in sight at test time it is very easy to get a quick poke in.

Another thing that helps with aim, is either free handing it, or taking the cap off the device so you can see where you are poking. Autumn hates to be free handed and Cassanova hates the click of the device. :roll: So it might take some trial and error on your part to figure out what style works the best for you both. And we all have a ton of tricks and tips to make it happen and not stress out either of you. If you have to, tell Webster jokes or make up a funny song for him at testing time. Yeah you feel like an arse but as long as you are in a good mood about it so will he be, you cringe and get upset when you have to test, he is going to pick up on those emotions as well and react the same way. Cats talk to other cats with body language, so we can't lie to our cats. We can smile at them all day long but if that smile doesn't reach our eyes and isn't reflexed in our body language as well they know. OMG you should hear some of the silly stuff that comes out of my mouth at testing time...lol

Autumn has her own song...and yes, we dance to it while I get her stuff all set up and ready to go... :roll:

Mel and The Fur Gang

 

[dirtybirdsoaps]

Two times a day is still better than none It takes time. With lantus it is best to try to get some tests around nadir, but in all honesty its not like everyone can test in the middle of the day like that. So for now it may not be bad to test before each injection and maybe every couple of days if you can manage get a test in mid cycle.

Glad you are using the neo +pain, that helps. You may have posted this already but are you warming the ear, and also are you giving diabetic friendly treats at testing time?

Thank you. What name do you go by? Just DirtyBird? Sorry, still trying to get this whole name thing down.

Yes to warming ear with rice sock and yes, picked up treats last night. Now that I learned where to poke his ear, they seem to bleed just fine if I can hit the very edge without hitting the vein. Still trying to get this down. Will make a flashlight/spice jar device perhaps today.

I wish I would have read the info that you guys offered yesterday and worked on my aim and draw site a few days ago so this wouldn't be so hard on him. I was panicked about low/dropping numbers and was poking him in all the wrong places non stop just to get blood. Poor guy...

Its actually Samantha, Dirtybirdsoaps is the name of my business and I use it for all my screen names lol I should probably edit my signature to include that. Glad you found some helpful tips on testing and the treats. Those are both key factors in a successful test. Hidey LOVES test time now, and is probably a little bummed that I don't test him as often. He's been in remission for 7 months and I usually test every few weeks now, although he still gets a few pieces before I go to bed. The whole diagnosis is very overwhelming, and I'm sure its worse on your end because of him staying at the vet for the DKA, and now meds AND insulin. Most of it is probably the trip to the vet and the antibiotics its probably overwhelming for him too

With the insulin and testing it does get easier for all of you, especially when you find a treat they like and you get the hang of testing. Sadly Hidey's diagnosis was a great thing for me & him bonding wise. Of course I wish it didn't get to that point, but with all the testing, and eye watching he has NEVER been this lovey with me since he was a kitten. He has now turned into a lap kitty and always wants ME time and he makes it well known if I'm trying to do something besides pay attention to him.

 

[tiffmaxee]

That is exactly what I was trying to say. Do the am/PMPS and one other random test each cycle. If you poke and don't draw blood unless it is a pre-shot, I'd skip that test and give a treat. Count it as a test though. Some lucky people don't even need more than 4 tests a day.