Transdermal Methimazole and Ear Pricks for BG Level

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wondercat

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Does anyone out there use transdermal Methimazole, applied to the inside of the ear, and do ear pricks for testing BG? I have the hardest time getting blood from our kitty's ear; it doesn't seem to matter how warm her ear is, or what type of lancing device or gauge of lancet I use, I have the most difficult time getting blood from her ear. I'm beginning to wonder if the use of the transdermal Methimazole might be what is making it hard to get blood from her ear. It's driving me nuts! I'm trying so insanely hard to be a good Mom, but I seem to failing miserably in the BG testing department. I swear that little girl does not have a "sweet spot" on her ears! :cry: If anyone has experience with this, I would love to hear about it. Any advice would be so greatly appreciated. Thanks! Joanne
 
Maybe we have a member nearby who could help? Sometimes just having someone else observe can help pinpoint things that might make a difference. If you are interested, start a new topic asking for hometesting help in Montpelier, VA.

You can also tell us exactly how you do it and we may have suggestions. What size lancets? Have you used the vaseline? How long are you heating up the ear? Have you tried both ears (sometimes one bleeds better than the other) The more details we have, the more ideas we may have.
 
My Bear Man was on methimazole. I never had any problems with getting the ear to bleed. I always found it easier to test his right ear, so I applied the methimazole to his left ear. Even though they instruct you to alternate ears with the methimazole, perhaps you could try putting it on one ear, and testing the other for a week or two to see if the situation improves.
 
My Nomad is also sometimes difficult to get blood from. There is the trick of making two small pricks close to each other. If you are using a lancet with a superfine gauge you may want to switch to a thicker one. I use 30 guage lancets now. What type meter do you use? I switched to freestyle because it takes a blood sample that is only .3 microliters. The test strips are more expensive but for me it was worth it. I use the lancet device than came with the kit. Most lancet devices have a dial where you can control how deep the lancet needle goes. You might want to increase this a bit if your device isn't going breaking the skin. I am sure some other readers can give you some suggestions. There is a video out there some place for demonstrating ear pricks. Can somebody else provide them with that link? Good luck :-)
 
Hey everyone, Thanks for all the posts so far. I have watched just about every video on testing I can find; they all look so easy, that's why I'm having such a hard time not feeling like a total failure. Tonight I'm definitely going to try the double prick on her and I'm also going to try going in on an angle, thus far I've only done it straight on. I've been trying several different gauges; 26, 28, 30 and 31 on have tried 5 different lancing devices. The lancing device I have had the most luck with so far is the Accu-Chek Multiclix; it has 11 settings and uses a "drum" of lancets. And when I say most luck, I mean I've gotten blood only twice in the past 2 weeks...that's pretty sad! I warm her for about 20 seconds, I try poking her on the elusive "sweet spot" on the side of the ear, near the top of her ear (both inside and outside of the ear) and have also tried the little tiny capillaries on the inside of the ear. I do use a FreeStyle meter, which is good in Monkster's case, considering I can't get her to bleed much. Of course, Monkster isn't the most patient of kitties there is, she is a Blue Cream Torti and she has the "Torti-Tude" that apparently is common in kitties like her. I had been hoping that by attempting to test her everyday, it would give me the experience I need, as well as get her used to being tested everyday, but it has not been easy! A few weeks ago my husband and I did our first home BG curve, and what an experience that was! I thought it would be less stressful for her if we did it at home instead of always bringing her to the vet. Huh! I ended up having to use a 25 gauge syringe needle because I couldn't get anything with the lancing device I had. Unfortunately, a couple of times the needle went through her ear because she fought us so much. Because Monkster gets the Methimazole twice a day, I alternate ears so she gets it on her right ear in the morning, her left ear in the evening. I might just have to try only putting it on only one ear, and use her other ear for BG testing. I suppose I can say one thing in my defense; when we were at the vet learning to test, even they couldn't get blood out of her ear, tail or paw with a lancing device; they, too, had to use the 25 gauge syringe needle. Does that mean Monkster is a "tough old bird"! ;-) I'm still hoping it will get easier with more practice and by trying the suggestions you all have been giving to me, but I'm getting pretty darn discouraged; however, I won't give up! Thanks everyone!
 
Here's the picture. I am not sure what you mean by the top of the ear - I aimed down nearer the fold. Where to poke

You might try for longer than 20 seconds. Several posters here describe the veins actually "puffing up".......If she will sit for it, I would warm the ear for 30-45 seconds at least.

If you poked through with the 25 gauge, it seems like you would have gotten blood if it had hit a capillary. I would try again with the 25 gauge. Put a dot of vaseline where you see the capillaries and then poke there.

Glad you won't quit trying. You will get it. We must have poked poor Oliver 20 -30 times over a weekend before we got a drop.
 
Are you cleaning off the "gunk" that builds up on the ears when using transdermal meds? I had to use either soapy warm water or rubbing alcohol to remove the residue at least once a week or it would interfere with Maggie's ear pokes. The residue build up will also keep the transdermal med from being absorbed.
 
I don't know why but I have better luck by poking the outside hairy side of Shadoe's ears, but Ollie is better by poking the underside of his ears.
And I don't ever aim for anything except somewhere near the edge of their ears. When I hit a vein, there's blood everywhere!
 
I took everyone's advice yesterday, and last night we were successful at getting a blood sample from Monkster's ear! :-D However, she didn't make it easy for us; it took some time, some growls, some huffing and nipping, but we got it and her BG was perfect! We cleaned her ears and I did a double poke and that seemed to help a lot because I got a nice drop of blood on my first try, but because she was struggling so much, the first drop of blood got smeared on my hand so we had to do it over again and she wasn't happy about it! We're going to continue to ear pricks everyday and hopefully one of these days she will get accustomed to having it done and give us just 20 seconds of her time. Thanks again to everyone for all your advice!
 
:RAHCAT :RAHCAT :RAHCAT Fantastic! Welcome to the Vampire club. (Secret handshake coming later in the mail....)If you continue to give her the treats after each poke, she should come to associate the poke with something she likes, so the growling should stop.

Now to the rest of the story. What insulin? What dose? What number did you get?

It will help a lot if you set up a spreadsheet to keep track of the blood glucose numbers. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207 If you are computer savvy at all, it isn't hard. If you need help, send me a private message. I'd be glad to help you set it up.
 
Hi Sue! Love the cheerleader kitties!! Monkster is on Lantus insulin, 2.5 units twice a day. Her BG was 87 (mine was slightly higher! :lol:). I already have a pretty extensive spreadsheet, but I'll check out the one here on the FDMB. If I need help, I will send you a private message. I created my spreadsheet a few years ago when I started asking for copies of all of Monkster's blood and urine test results. For several years now she has been getting the full gamut of blood and urine tests every 6 months. Every test from A - Z is on my spreadsheet. Monkster has also been getting abdominal ultrasounds once a year. I always go in with her when she has the ultrasounds so I can see all her organs; I even have CD's of the pictures of her organs. (She has the cutest gall bladder, I've ever seen! :lol: ) There isn't anything going on that we don't know about! If I ever have a feeling that something isn't right, she's down at the doctor's office. We caught the hyperthyroidism and diabetes very early, so she really didn't get a chance to become too sick from them. Monkster also has early stage chronic kidney disease, which is pretty much normal for a kitty her age, but her numbers are pretty stable. Monkster has an awesome doctor! We absolutely love her! She knows that Monkster means the world to us so we have a great relationship with her. I wish she could be my doctor too! As pathetic as it might sound, I also keep a "Monkster Diary". I keep all her doctor receipts, lab reports, a log of any days she was not feeling well, what worked and didn't work when she wasn't feeling well, when she wasn't eating well, every time she vomited, etc., etc., etc. She is very well documented kitty! Oh yeah, I also do home urine testing with Diastix and Ketostix. I test a couple of times every week. She lets me put the strip under her while she's peeing. She can be such a good girl at many things, but she just doesn't like ear pricks. We'll work on that! Thanks Sue!! Take care!
 
Not sure if I got this right, but I attempted to attach the short version of the spreadsheet I created and use for Monkster's 6 month blood and urine tests. Included in the spreadsheet are the numbers from the BG curves we have done to date. I haven't yet collected enough daily BG readings to add them to the spreadsheet, but I have logged them in a note book. My "long" version of the spreadsheet (which is not attached), has fields for what each test represents, what organs are affected, what a high level means and what a low level means. I've done tons of research and studying on just about everything there is, including, of course, Diabetes, but it's the "hands on" testing experience I lack, but we're working on getting those ear pricks perfected. With all the great advice you have given me, I feel a little more confident about doing the next BG curve, probably sometime within the next 2 weeks, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous just thinking about it. nailbite_smile
 

Attachments

Wow! Lots of info. The problem I see is that it isn't easy to find your bg levels and that the file is downloadable only. Most people here aren't willing to do that. We use a google document that everyone can access without downloading. Also, it is easy to see at a glance what is happening with the bg levels.

Here is a blank one with your 11/11 numbers. https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key ... utput=html I put the numbers from your sheet in but not sure it is all right. Just give for an example.

It's a great tool for you because it is color coded. This is something you can include in your signature and everyone can pull it up and see at a glance how you are doing, if you have a question.

BTW, those numbers on 11/11 (if I have it right) are almost remission numbers.
 
My spreadsheet was something I started before we got the Diabetes diagnosis. Thank you for sending me the blank FDMB spreadsheet with Monkster's numbers. After her doctor saw the results of the curve we did, she also said it's conceivable that Monkster could be one of those kitties that goes into remission. What my spreadsheet didn't show, was what happened to me during that one test where she registered the 157...It was a particularly awful struggle and Monkster jerked her head at the same time I was attempting to poke her ear with the 25 gauge needle; I poked right through her little ear! It made me feel so bad, I threw up! I did, however, get plenty of blood for testing. It was quite an experience; that's why I really want to be able to do the pokes with a lancing device, not free-hand with a needle.
 
Did we ask what kind of food?

I only saw the one curve. Have you seen low numbers in mid cycle like 40s? It seems unusual to see double digit numbers while giving 2.5 units a day...... But I don't use Lantus. Maybe someone who does will comment.

Good to get away to the lancets. Needles often tear ears.
 
Monkster eats Fancy Feast canned food and Friskies pouch food. She has had 4 curves since being diagnosed in July; the first 3 were at the vet's office, the most recent one was our first home curve. We haven't seen any mid 40's.
 
You seem to be doing fine. I don't know how much "help" you want, but if you would set up a spreadsheet and get preshot and nadirs daily, it will give you a real picture of what is happening. It gets a a little scary when they are down in the double digits - if you don't watch it closely, they can suddenly throw a low number you are not expecting. Now that you have mastered the testing at home :mrgreen: you can get a test before each shot and a nadir (lowest point in the cycle - usually somewhere around +6).
 
Time for this "master of home testing" to go home. Can't wait to see if I get some blood tonight! If I do, then I'll really feel like I'm part of the Vampire Club! :lol: I will work on that FDMB spreadsheet when I get a chance. Thanks for all your posts today!
 
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