What should I do if I can't regularly do 12-hour shots?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Phil & Garfunkel

Phil & Garfunkel

Member
Hi everyone,

I posted here about a month ago when my cat Garfunkel was diagnosed. Since then, he's been on two units of Lantus, twice a day and I brought him in for a BG curve today. I don't have the specific curve results (I should call up and ask for a fax of them tomorrow), but the vet said to keep his dose the same and that he's doing well.

My problem is, I work at a college and do video production, so my schedule can be very erratic based on when events are. Also, our four-day work week for summer schedule starts soon and my commute is an hour and a half each way, so I'm not going to be able to keep up a 12-hour shot schedule. I also live alone.

What do you guys recommend in instances like this?

1) My summer schedule, where I'll leave the house at 6:30AM and get home at about 9PM. The vet said I should still give him two units at each time, but if I get home later than 9PM, to change that evening dosage to one unit.
2) A day where I might have to cover basketball games at night and not get home until 11PM or so. Skip the night shot entirely? Give one unit and then two units in the morning like normal?

For the most part, outside of the four day summer schedule, I can keep to a 7:30AM/PM schedule. But the summer schedule is worrying me, and then just instances of, "hey, I wanna go do something after work with friends." I'd have to commute an hour and a half home to give a shot, just to go back out again which would take another hour of travel time.

Thanks.
 
dear 'goodcow'
as far as getting a handle on shooting an 'off' schedule, might i suggest you hometest you cats blood sugar so as to gauge his progress or lack thereof.
it would be far safer to err on the side of caution when you are shooting off schedule but you really do need to know the numbers he is giving you before doing so.
would you be interested in learning how to hometest, perhaps get a newbie kit which has everything you need to begin.
was all this discussed when you first came here?
has your cat been put on a low carb wet food diet?
so many questions i have for you.....
 
Lori and Tom,

I've read about home testing here and watched videos on YouTube, but I don't really know how Garfunkel will feel about it. I adopted him when he was nine and he had already had hematoma damage in one ear, so I'm guessing that ear is out. I'm not sure if that means his other ear would be susceptible to them if I tried testing with that ear, and he's a kicker, so I think the paws are out.

He's been on two cans (one in the morning, one at night) of Evo chicken and turkey since he was diagnosed. Before that I was giving him Newman's Own wet and Evo dry.
 
We understand. While a 12/12 schedule would be best, you do have to have a life also. :smile:

You do have a little flexibility. You should not give a dose of insulin less than 10 hours from the previous dose. I do recommend that you learn to hometest if you have not already started. First, by testing before each shot, you will know if it is safe to give the insulin or if you need to skip the dose. For newbies, we recommend not giving insulin if the BG reading is less than 200. Also, it will save you the expense and the readings will be more accurate if you do your own curve at home. BG reading taken at the vet can be as much as 100 higher than a reading taken at home. This is caused by vet stress. By testing at home, you may find that you could reduce the dose of insulin. 2 units is a higher dose than we suggest for a newly diagnosed kitty.

You do not want to give a reduced dose when you will have less than 10 hours until your next shot especially if you are not hometesting. It would be better to skip the shot instead. Lantus is a long acting insulin. So if you give a second dose too soon, you could put Garfunkel at risk of becoming hypoglycemic. It is better to have the BG too high for a few hours than the BG being too low for a moment. Hypoglycemia can be deadly or cause permanent damage to your cat. This is another reason we recommend that you learn to hometest.
 
you know tom only has one good ear too. and i don't think anyone of us came here thinking we could do that to our cats.
it becomes sooooo easy tho.
and it is interesting
and it will make his treatment so much more effective.
did anyone already offer to come give you a hands on lesson?
you can't believe how good it feels, and how interesting it is, to know your cat's bg numbers.....seriously.
lori
'and tomtom
 
A newbie kit is a lspecial little box of goodies that Lori puts together out of all the diabetic supplies that we donate to her to help those like you are just starting out, can get off to a good start home testing, it will have everything you need to get started, meter, test strips, lancets, rice sock and even a special present for Garfunkle.

If it helps at all I adopted my big guy Maxwell as a diabetic from this very board, he was 12 years old when I adopted him last october, I'm in the process of adopting another diabetic this time a 11 year old little girl himalayan. I started home testing Maxwell on day one of him moving into my home. Now Maxwell and I had zero bond with each other yet I learned to test him and he learned to be tested. Now he comes running when I call him and shake the can of test strips. If I can do it with Maxwell, you can do it with your boy, because he already knows and loves you. Just give him lots of loving and special treats at test time and before you know it will come running, it is so much better than not knowing what is going on with your boy, especially if you are going to be shooting at off times. And the other plus, Maxwell as only seen the vet once since I adopted and that was to Teach Them how to home test. I just email his numbers to them. (Email is FREE).

Mel, Maxwell and The Fur Gang
 
newbie kits are packages i make up containing a glucometer, strips, lancets, a rice sock, and a toy or 2 full of catnip for the most important individual in this discussion.
you are all set to go as soon as you open the kit. it would arrive a maximum of 3 days after you order it. providing you don't order on a weekend when the post office here is closed. it goes out priority mail.
it is made by me but the supplies are a group effort from the board members always contributing stuff for newbie kits. so many of us started our journey with a newbie kit and it's kind of a tradition.
all that is asked is that you pay shipping and a donation if you can afford it.
the link is on the bottom of my post...see it?
go to the web store.
order one.
i promise you will not be sorry.
and your gorgouse kitty will love you for it.
lori
and tomtom
 
I'm wondering if you might have an FDMB member living near you or if there is a tech from your cat's vet clinic who may be willing to give the shot when you can't get home in time? It may not be within your budget to hire a petsitter, but some of them will do medications and shots too for an extra charge, if you can't get a tech who is willing. If all the tech has to do is go over and give the shot, maybe they would accept less than someone whose sole job is petsitting.

We have many FDMB members all over the US and in Canada, the UK, Europe, South Africa and Australia too. So you may be surprised how close someone is. If there is someone from here, they would be able to show you how to hometest too. It's daunting at first, but it is the best way to help the insulin work well.

I was alerted to your post by another member because I also have scheduling issues but I don't think methods I use to extend duration would help you. What I do when I have to work late is split the dose in half, and give them 2 hours apart, but I am able to be home later in the morning to give the later shot.

Good luck.
 
Vicky & Gandalf said:
I'm wondering if you might have an FDMB member living near you or if there is a tech from your cat's vet clinic who may be willing to give the shot when you can't get home in time? It may not be within your budget to hire a petsitter, but some of them will do medications and shots too for an extra charge, if you can't get a tech who is willing. If all the tech has to do is go over and give the shot, maybe they would accept less than someone whose sole job is petsitting.
Click to expand...

I probably have somebody from this board near me, as I live in Manhattan, but I can't afford a tech from the vet clinic to come here, especially four nights a week during my summer schedule.

Vicky & Gandalf said:
If there is someone from here, they would be able to show you how to hometest too. It's daunting at first, but it is the best way to help the insulin work well.
Click to expand...

I noticed after getting Garfunkel back from his BG curve that his ear looked really bad from all the pricking. I just feel bad having to do something like that to him, especially twice a day. I'm probably going to get a newbie kit and donate though, then will myself into doing it a few times a week, at least at first. I thought I'd never be able to do the shots, but those have been a piece of cake.
 
lori and tom said:
newbie kits are packages i make up containing a glucometer, strips, lancets, a rice sock, and a toy or 2 full of catnip for the most important individual in this discussion.
Click to expand...

So the entire kit is the one cent glucometer? What's the actual amount I should be donating to recoup the actual costs?
 
well the 1 cent is just to make it go thru. the shipping is automatically added. it is 6.99 priority mail.
if you want to donate you can just put whatever dollar amount you choose in the donate cart.
and thank you,
lori
and tomtom
 
fwiw, their ears are just sensitive to all the poking in the beginning. in no time at all you won't even be able to tell they've been poked. and you can do stuff to help them in the beginning, i.e. apply pressure to stop the blood and minimize bruising, apply a little neosporin, etc.....

i've been poking Mousie at least twice a day since October 2006 and if you saw her ears, you'd never know.

also, i am one that does not do the 12 hour schedule. we spent our initial years on pzi but switched to lantus when the pzi we used was discontinued. i rarely come close to shooting every 12 hours. and it works out fine for us, with both of the insulins. i'm not saying it's best for most cats but with a little extra effort in the beginning to learn about this disease and how your cat responds to treatment, you'll figure out how to work it the best you can. for instance, last night we didn't get home and get to Mousie until around +14.5 (14.5 hours since the last shot). i could have skipped a shot altogether or i could reduce the amount of the shot since i know the next shot would have to be given in much less than 12 hours. i chose to shave the dose down some based on what her glucose level was then and how i know she would handle it and this morning's shot. it's by far not the typical way of working lantus but with help from people here you will figure out your "custom" plan that makes the most of your schedule.

as far as the newbie kit question, the penny is basically the way of getting something into the shopping cart. it won't do $0 so the penny is a technicality. you do the penny, the website throws in the S&H cost which is set at $6.99 nowadays so your total is $7.00. you don't have to give any more than that, but people can if they want. so in essence the $7.00 covers whatever lori has figured out to be the costs involved in the shipping of the kit, i.e. postage, gas, paypal fees, etc....
 
I noticed after getting Garfunkel back from his BG curve that his ear looked really bad from all the pricking. I just feel bad having to do something like that to him, especially twice a day.
Click to expand...

Trust me, you testing at home will be much better. They use big needles to do the poking at the vets office where most of the home testing devices are quite small to be comfortable for human use. The only time they let us be in when they tested Smokey was when we were comparing meter results. I was getting my meter reading when they did the blood draw, I saw it out of the corner of my eye and my knee-jerk response was "OMG, Smokey they just stabbed you with a tree trunk!" The tech turned red, but seriously that thing was HUGE and produced enough blood to easily test from both meters.

The ears will be sore at first, but they do get used to it. Smokey purrs and rubs her chin against her lancet device now.
 
Hi There GoodCow,
I received your newbie kit request and donation...but wanted to confirm your address. Please check your Private Messages up top and to the left. It will go out Monday morning...but would really like a confirmation on that ok.
Lori
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top