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Heather & Shooter

Heather & Shooter

Member Since 2009
I joined here in 2010 when I had my Poppy who I gave insulin to twice a day every day for 9 years. He lived to be 17 and died at home with me there. Unfortunately, today has been a HORRIBLE day. I received a voice message from the vet that one of my current kitties (Shooter 14 yrs old) has diabetes now. As sad as this is (for all of us), shortly thereafter I walked into another room and found one of my other kitties had passed away unexpectedly (Lou Grant 15 yrs old). So again, a horrible day. :(
 
I'm so sorry for your loss.

Let's hope that you caught Shooter's diagnosis early on and you'll be able to get him regulated or into remission. How can we help?
 
Thank you! The last few days have been really rough emotionally. Thankfully today I’ve been better and was also able to get Shooter a Lantus pen. In the past I only used a vial so this pen is new to me. I was playing with it this afternoon and something doesn’t seem right. They want him to start on 1 twice a day but when I set it on the 1 it looked like only a drop was coming out.
 
Heather82372 said:
Thank you! The last few days have been really rough emotionally. Thankfully today I’ve been better and was also able to get Shooter a Lantus pen. In the past I only used a vial so this pen is new to me. I was playing with it this afternoon and something doesn’t seem right. They want him to start on 1 twice a day but when I set it on the 1 it looked like only a drop was coming out.
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You need to use the pen as a vial with syringes.
 
As Sasha said, you can use a U100 insulin syringe with the pen.

I never used the pen as a pen but I believe you have to prime it first which is a waste of insulin.
 
As others have said, use syringes with the pen instead of the pen needle. With the syringes you can adjust the dose when needed by 1/4 & 1/2 units.
 
Wow! 1/2 & 1/4 units? Which syringes are marked like that? What I have now are U-100 1/2” 30 gauge 1ml/cc and are marked 10, 20, 30... I believe that means the very first line is 1unit which is what they wanted me to give but it seems like only a couple drops.
 
1 unit is a very small amount. But it takes very little for pets. There are U100 syringes with 1/2 unit markings. Look for 3/10 cc syringes and the box should say they 1/2 unit markings. I know that BD and Relion brands have them. I am sure other brands also make them.. For 1/4 unit changes you will have to estimate it. As far as I know there are no syringes with 1/4 markings.
 
Heather82372 said:
Wow! 1/2 & 1/4 units? Which syringes are marked like that? What I have now are U-100 1/2” 30 gauge 1ml/cc and are marked 10, 20, 30... I believe that means the very first line is 1unit which is what they wanted me to give but it seems like only a couple drops.
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If you have 1 ml insulin syringes, then I believe every hash mark (line) is actually TWO units.

You want 3/10 cc syringes, not 1 cc syringes.
 
Ok great! Thanks! So now here’s my current issue. Shooter tested 60 at +6 yes too low! I gave him some fancy feast beef pate. Any idea how much this will help or not enough and I should give syrup?
 
You can test again to see how much of a boost that gave him.

The markings on our syringes are inconsistent (really, just all over the place) and Perry gets anywhere from .7u to .9u, so we use calipers to measure. Here's the calipers post that will tell you now much 1u is for each of the major syringe brands.
 
upload_2021-4-22_15-20-8.png Are these the right syringes?
upload_2021-4-22_15-20-8.png
 

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Heather82372 said:
Oh shoot! The ones I ordered are 33 gauge. Is that going to be too skinny? They were cheap, so I can always grab some from Walmart if need be.
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Usually you would start with 26 or 28 gauge because they are thicker and will make them bleed better, you can try what you bought but when first starting off that's what size lancets we suggest. Like you said you can pick the other ones up at Walmart :cat:
 
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