When does give the insulin shots get easier?

Heather and Gizmo

Heather and Gizmo

Member
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I have been giving Gizmo his shots for almost three weeks now. 90% of the time I can give him his shot and he doesn't feel it. The other 10% he meows in pain when the needle enters. I think I am getting good tent. I think I am at the right angle, but I still hurt him sometimes. What am I doing wrong? Am I hitting muscle? I give his shots in the scruff of his neck. I alternate sides. I feel so bad when I hurt him. I know if is only temporary, but I still feel bad. Any pointers on how to give that shot so that I never hurt him?
 
The shots are easier for me for some reason, it's taking blood and getting it the first time from Simba for me.. ANYWAY, You can shoot in multiple places.
Side of chest, tent tween shoulders and side of belly. I have a well behaved Cat that puts up with me poking him 4 - 5 times a day between testing and shots. He must know it's in his best interest and loves me back putting up with me fussing over him :^)
 
Hi heather. Just s thought... are you nervous when you give the insulin shots? I am wondering if perhaps Gizmo senses this and the meow is not pain but a reaction to the “vibe”of the whole thing? In the beginning I shot little once in the scruff real close to her head and I think I felt the needle hit bone!!!’ Even then no pain for her. Just thinking out loud....
 
Hi Heather - I think folks have given you some good advice already. I'll add that if you are using the u40 syringes that most vets sell, you could also get a syringe with a smaller/thinner needle and see if that helps. However, my hunch is that working on technique, location, and vibe will all combine to make the needle size irrelevant. It really does get better. Hang in there and know that you have lots of folks here who have likewise struggled at the beginning, but now it's just part of our daily routines. You're going to get there! :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Sorry for the late reply. Thank you so much to all of you. You have all given me a lot to work with. I didn't know that you could give the shot anywhere other than the scruff. My vet did not give me any other option. I am still a little nervous, but not as much as I used to be and just when I start to relax I hurt him and I get nervous again. We have got the BG readings down pat. He has chosen his spot. When it is time he will just lays down and lets me get his BG reading, even while doing a curve like today. So i know the insulin shots will get easier just like all of you have said. YOu were right about the BG reading, so i know you are all right about this.
 
Even those of us who have been giving shots for years have little bouts of "losing the mojo" as I call it. For no particular reason I'll have a day or two where I can't seem to get it done properly or I poke Teasel in a way that hurts, etc. Yes, you can inject in a variety of places as kitty tolerates. Anywhere along the side from "waist" to hip is one to try.
 
Thank you for making me feel better. This truly is an emotional roller coaster. I can't seem to figure out Gizmo's BG reading. I get so much lower numbers in the morning than I do in the evening. I get numbers in the yellow and blue in the a.m. and in the evening I get pinks, reds and the occasional yellow. My morning high from the good numbers disappears quickly when I get to the evening. I will probably increase his dose to 2 units this evening. What do you think? When should I have more blood work done by his vet? He has not been seen in three weeks.
 
It is a rollercoaster for sure! It's hard in some ways because we can't figure out what's going on and we can't just ask our cats how they're feeling (well we CAN but we won't get an answer :)). I will say for one thing that most cats have a cycle that is lower and one that is higher. Most cats actually run lower at night and higher during the day but we've had a few come through who were opposite.

I do think you're ready to bump up to 2 units. Even during the day, Gizmo isn't getting into greens at all and those blues are still on the higher side of blue, so you want to increase and see if you can that a little lower.

As for the vet...are you asking about when the vet should test his BG? I honestly never had my cat tested at the vet again unless it was because I brought her in for something else and they just checked as part of their tests to see what was going on. I did bring my SS every single time I went in and gave them a copy, which they loved. That way, they knew how she was doing and could see what her BG had been like recently. If it's just BG levels, since you're home testing, you probably don't need to bring your cat in just to get a test there.
 
Thank you Rachel. Leave it to Gizmo to be different than most. I will increase him to 2 units tonight so I have one cycle to see how low his numbers go before the work week starts. I was asking if I should take him in for more blood work to check what the glucose readings have been. I know that the glucometers are not real accurate and the blood work they draw and have sent to the lab is. I forget what the test is called. I think it is a fructosamine test. I am not sure if this is how you spell it.
 
The fructosamine test gives an average BG over time. So it is helpful for initial diagnosis, but not helpful for deciding dosing. There's really no reason why you need that number at this point. I would say the next time you'd need one might be if Gizmo goes into remission and your vet just wants to verify that he's staying in remission. Although even then you wouldn't need it since you can see that quite clearly with home testing.

Most of us just show our spreadsheets to our vets, and avoid the expense of unnecessary blood work. My vet (and I know several others here on the board too), just have us call in with the current dose whenever we need to order a new vial of insulin. My vet only see Sam a couple of times/year - his regular physical and senior blood panel, and for his annual dental. Otherwise we're pretty much on our own at this point.

As for the accuracy, while home meters have allowed variance, in-office blood tests are impacted by stress, so they have their own inaccuracy. And the meter variance is negligible when you factor in the number of at-home tests we do, so in the end really end up being the more accurate measure.

That being said, if money isn't a factor and it would make you feel better, it is fine to have the vet run the test periodically. Just know that you don't need to since you monitor at home.
 
Thank you for explaining this to me Djamila. It makes sense and money IS a factor. The vet that diagnosed Gizmo is a new vet that we just started seeing the day of the diagnosis. I didn't get much guidance from them except on how to give the injections and NOT to home test him except at injections times. So I really do appreciate you explaining all this to me. I keep feeling like there is more that I should be doing to help him. I really don't know what I would do if I had not found this community of people that have or are going through what Gizmo and I are going through right now.
 
Just keep looking at your spreadsheet. You can see that Gizmo is improving already! This is a long journey. They don't become diabetic overnight, and they don't get to regulated overnight either. But you can see positive forward progress already, and in no time you're going to see your first green! :D
 
Heather and Gizmo said:
I think I am getting good tent.
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I never ever mastered the 'tent' technique. It just somehow felt wrong for my hands. And I know that there are some folks that use the 'roll' technique, and find that easier.
In my case my 'technique' is to grab some loose skin between the fingers and thumb of my non-dominant hand, pull that up a tad, and then give the shot almost directly downwards into the skin that I'm holding between fingers and thumb. What I found quite early on is that this 'technique' eradicates the possibility of shooting too deep and hurting the cat, since the needle can't go deeper than my fingers and thumb will allow.... This method has served us well for many years.
 
Thank you Djamila for the positive encouragement and thank you Elizabeth for another technique to try. I think I had my first fur shot tonight. Either that or I started injecting before I pierced the skin, because his fur was wet. I know not to inject again. I just pray that his numbers don't climb to much tonight. Can anyone tell me how much a piece of freeze dried salmon will affect the blood glucose readings? I tested Gizmo's BG at 5:15 pm, the result was 280 and out of habit gave him his treat. I tested him again at 6:45 before I gave him the PM insulin shot and it was 335. It is not a huge increase but I was just wondering if it would be from the treat. His numbers have been higher since I started him on the 2 units and seem to be all over the place compared to the 1.75 u.
 
Heather and Gizmo said:
Thank you Djamila for the positive encouragement and thank you Elizabeth for another technique to try. I think I had my first fur shot tonight. Either that or I started injecting before I pierced the skin, because his fur was wet. I know not to inject again. I just pray that his numbers don't climb to much tonight. Can anyone tell me how much a piece of freeze dried salmon will affect the blood glucose readings? I tested Gizmo's BG at 5:15 pm, the result was 280 and out of habit gave him his treat. I tested him again at 6:45 before I gave him the PM insulin shot and it was 335. It is not a huge increase but I was just wondering if it would be from the treat. His numbers have been higher since I started him on the 2 units and seem to be all over the place compared to the 1.75 u.
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Those freeze dried meat/fish treats are virtually zero carb.
 
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