glucose testing and insulin

Hi:
We are newbies, our cat Asher has been diagnosed with Diabetes 4 days ago. He is currently on 3 units of ProZync twice a day. Everything has been going well. He eats his new food and take the shots just fine. We started glucose home testing and the lancet is rough to use but we have been getting a reading every day, but not without frustration. At the vet initially he was 650. He was down to 359 a couple days ago, then 256 yesterday. Today we get a reading of 96. I am scared like crazy of making him go hypo and getting sick or worse. Naturally the vet is closed now. What do we do, don't give him insulin tonight? Give him some? I am so scared and don't know what to do.
I guess we'll just feed him and skip the insulin unless I hear differently. Sorry to be such a panic the first time I post. My email is donnahc@******* if you want to contact me offline.
Donna and Asher

Email removed so I don't get spammed...just in case...

 

Is that 96 a preshot number or somewhere in the cycle?

I don't know your insulin but if that is his preshot number ....Don't shoot. If that is somewhere in his cycle.i.e. after is morning shot but way before the next shot is due. Then you are going to want to get a reading right before his evening shot.

Usually with newbies we askthat you don't shoot if your preshot number is under 200. You can shoot the lower numbers but you need the data to support doing so.

Mel, Max & The Fur Gang

 

What time did you get the 96 reading vs when he had the 3 unit shot? Let's start there.

 

Welcome, Donna. So glad you found this board.
I agree with Mel. If the 96 is a preshot number, don't shoot.

Here is some very helpful information for you to read through about PZI (ProZinc).
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=32799
Please keep asking questions.

 

Donna, I know this is overwhelming and it's going to be a lot of info, so take some deep breaths and know that this board is a great support and these people are super smart about dealing with this disease. (I say these people because I'm not yet a month into this myself but learning every day.) My Sam is on Prozinc also and from what I've learned here, 3 units is a high dose. Sam started on 2 and is already down to 1 (maybe less tonight). That high number followed by the low could be what's termed a rebound, but more on that later.

One great thing you can do is to set up a spreadsheet (SS) - you'll see a lot of people have their cats SS linked to in their signature. This will enable you and those helping you to see what's going on with your cat. All the start up info you need and a lot more can be found here: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopi ... 24&t=32799 Start with the newbie checklist.

We'll get through this.

 

This is his pre shoot number before we fed him his evening meal. So he hasn't has food or insulin since 6 this morning. We tested again so the first test now was 96 and the second test was 92 so we feel this is pretty acurate. We r not going to shoot tonight. The vet opens early tomorrow so I'll be at their door
THANK YOU ALL for responding so quickly. You are all angels.
We'll keep you updated.

 

Hi and welcome, Donna! Good questions from Mel and Kristen. Once we get that info we can guide you along better. It's wonderful that you're already home testing. It's so good to be able to catch those low numbers that you'd never want to shoot insulin into. You're doing a great job! Oh, just saw your new post. What a great number! Definitely don't want to give insulin to him, though. But a beautiful number! Why no food since 6am though? Is he fed on a strict schedule?

 

As a rule of thumb, most people feed, then test a half hour later - at least this is how I was taught. I say feed him, then retest in an hour and report back. As a follow on question, what kind of food are you giving him? Is he on a low carb canned food diet now?

 

Just so you know both the 92 & 96 are non-diabetic numbers, so holding off shooting tonight sounds like a plan. You may get a higher number than normal in the morning, or he may still give you low numbers.

Now that we are through the scary part. Let me officially welcome you to the board and the FDMB family. You will find tons of experience and help here. It is wonderful that you are home testing for as you have just seen it is absolutely the best way to keep your kitty safe.

Another big key to managing this disease is diet what is your guy eating? And how did you get to 3u? As 3u is a fairly high dose, most cats do very well on .5 to 1u as a starting dose, then work up slowly from there.

We recommend an all wet canned or Raw diet that is low in carbs. I was very lucky with my sugarcat Max, after just a few weeks of insulin and a diet change to low carb/high protein canned diet he went into remission.

Looking forward to learning more about you both.

Mel, Max & The Fur Gang

 

As per vet instructions he's only to be fed twice per day, but as much as he wants at that time. We have been giving him a half a can plus some plain chicken per feeding. Low carb only. We are currently on Science diet prescription m/d low carb. I am not a huge science diet fan but for right now we are doing exactly what the vet says to get him regulated. He was 650 or more the day we took him to the vet so she put us on 3 units twice a day.

They told us to blood test, then feed. We have been testing at night because he is so pesty and wound for food in the morning, testing would be daunting for us newbies. We are trying so hard to do everything right. Basically he comes and sits on me at 3am and waits till I get up around 5 or 6 to feed him.

He is a big boy, when diagnosed this week he was 17 lbs. He was up to 21 before that but lost some due to a food change (he stopped eating his dry food for an unknown reason) then getting diabetes I am guessing. We took him to the vet as soon as I noticed he was peeing a lot so I think we got him pretty early because he never acted sick, he was playing right before we took him to the vet.

-donna and asher

 

Please try to test tomorrow morning. Some cats can be controlled thru diet alone, and you don't want to give insulin if Asher is under 200. What a great improvement you've seen! It's great that you are feeding low-carb wet food. You can get much less expensive (and better quality) low-carb food from a pet store than that science diet stuff, though. But I understand if you feel better using the vet stuff for now. I think it's wonderful that you have a vet that is an advocate of home testing. Most of us aren't so lucky. It helps to have them on your side. Even if you get a number above 200 in the morning, I'd be vary wary about giving 3 units. That's a really high dose to start with. We have 2 newbies in pzi who started high, and keep dropping the dose lower and lower cuz it was way too high. Erraby is down to .3 unit. Kristen is down to 1.

 

My vet told me to do the scheduled feeding too. That lasted for about 4 days. We now free feed and Sam's numbers (and insulin dose) have been steadily coming down. Your vet means well, but may not really know the best route for this. Most people find the Science Diet too high in carbs at 14. Most people, myself included try to feed less than that using Fancy Feast and Friskies. I actually shoot for food under 6 carbs. You can look at the carb counts in this food list: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodNew.html

 

Holy cow! The prescription "low-carb" food is 14%?!?! that's high! I aim for under 6, too.

 

Yep, I know, right? Shocked me too. You'd think they'd want something pretty minimal for diabetes care. Kinda counterproductive if you ask me.

 

Donna,

Good that you are getting him switched to a canned diet, but you really don't need to feed Asher the expensive prescription stuff. And really most cats tire of it fairly quickly if you can get them to eat it at all. Plus there are many selections out there on the commercial market that are just as low in carbs but made of better ingredients.

There is a food chart most of us use here http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html you can look on this and try to pick ones that are 10% carbs or lower (those with a 10 in the carbs column)

Since I personally feed 10 cats (only 1 diabetic) I feed my entire gang the same thing my diabetic eats, just good old Friskies pate favors. And I can't begin to tell you how much even my non-diabetics have benefitted from this diet change as well. They are much healthier and their coats have improved remarkably. So if you have more than just Asher in the household you can switch them all over to the same diet. You can also free feed canned food, I put fresh food out for my gang about 4 times a day, now I have the ability to do it since I'm home all day. But until Asher is regulated he is literally straving because his body can't process the food he is taking in properly. Personally if he was my cat I would be feeding him as much as he can eat right now. But again I don't know your insulin or if there is a reason for only feeding twice a day.

What part of home testing are you finding tricky? We might be able to suggest ways to make it easier on you all. The nice thing about home testing is you don't have to keep taking Asher to the vet's for curves you can do them yourselves from home and then just give the results to your vet. I personally just email mine to my vet. Not only will this reduce Asher's stress levels it will give you much truer numbers and keep a lot more green in your wallet.

3u is a very high starting dose, and some of the swing in numbers you are seeing could be that you have over shot his ideal dose.

Mel, Max & The Fur Gang

 

Yes I am not a science diet fan. They pump their other foods full of corn to make more $$ but I don't have the energy to get into that now.
Asher was on dry food, free fed, for years (prob why he got so big) before i figured out this wasn't good. An old vet I don't use anymore told me wet food is bad for their teeth so feed dry. Not knowing, that's what I did with my cats. Asher is 7.
I was recently looking into Blue Buffalo and their "Wilderness" low carb wet food. But I will check the list on binkys page you provided.
Thanks tons,
-donna and asher

 

The worst thing about home testing is getting the lancet pen to work and get a drop of blood. Until you try to hold him in one place, prick the ear, then change hands to get the meter in, he runs away, and shakes off that precious perfect drop of blood. Or you use the pen and get no blood at all. Yesterday it took me 45 mins to get a reading and was just about in tears. It takes two of us right now. i don't know what we are going to do when we have to test and only one of us is home. It's frustrating. I know it's only been a week. I am trying to be patient.

Our vet said to get the AlphaTrak vet meter and we are using the lancet pen that came with the kit. Asher is a calm cat, he lets us touch him and hold him anyway so it's not that he is naughty, but he's a cat, and he's really hungry and wants to eat.

-donna and asher

 

The blue buffalo wilderness isn't on the list. I called the company and the wilderness cans are less than 1% carbs. So perfectly good for diabetes!

Most of us use human meters. They give virtually the same numbers when compared, but cost a LOT less! Asher's ears will learn to bleed easier as you test more. We all felt the same as you in the beginning. I promise it gets better. We barely even think about it anymore. The kitties get used to it, and so do the parents.

By the way, they bleed easier if you warm the eat first. I use a baby sock full of plain white rice, microwaved till warm (not hot). Then I use the sock held against his ear to give me something firm to lance against.

 

Okay let see if any of these tips help at all. First off are you warming his ear before trying to poke? If not that might help a lot, you can make a rice sock by taking a thinnish cotton sock and filling it about 2/3 of the way full with plain white rice (not instant) then microwaving that for a few seconds until it is really warm but not hot. I check mine against my own cheek or neck.

Then once that is warm hold it to his ear for a few seconds until his ear is nice and warm. On some kitties you can even see the vein standing up.

I never could master the lancet pen...lol So here is what I do, I take the cap off, so I can see where I'm aiming and yet still use the spring action so I can't "pull" the poke. You can also try doing it without the pen at all and just free hand it. Didn't work for me but it has for others.

You can also use a little bit of Vaselin on his ear to help the blood bead up, also if you get blood but he starts to leave, you can catch that blood on your fingernail and test it from there. It's tricky at first until you find your groove but then it becomes as easy as breathing. Also when you test give him a extra special treat whether you get blood or not. He lived up to his end of the bargin by letting you try, so he gets a reward.

Also there is a good chance we have members near you if you would like someone to give you some hands on help with testing just post your general location and we will see if we have someone close that can stop by and help you out.

if you haven't already purchased the Alpha track meter you really don't need that expensive thing almost all of us use the same meters as human diabetics use. I personally use Wal-mart's Relion mini and it works just fine and much lower in price on the test strips. As the test strips are what cost you. The other thing I like about it is that Walmart is open here 24 hrs so if I run out of strips I can just run out for more even if it is 3am.

For now just keep reading and asking questions as you have them, everyone here is wonderful about helping out, there are years and years of experience here with dealing with not only diabetes but just about everything feline.

Mel, Max & The Fur Gang

 

Mel, Max & The Fur Gang:
So if I try to test and fail, you said I should give a treat. Wouldn't that screw up the reading when I eventually get a drop of blood if he's eaten a piece of chicken?
I know i have lots of dumb Q's

-donna and asher

 

Not as long as it is a low carb treat and it takes just about any food an hour to really get in the blood stream, and if you are just giving him plain chicken, that is pure protein and shouldn't raise his blood sugar. Some cats like my Max get so use to this treat and cuddle session associated with testing, that they will remind you when it is time to test.

My Max gets just plain chicken at test time and it hasn't effected his levels at all. you just want to make the whole experience as inviting as possible for him...When I first got Max ( I adopted him as a diabetic) I started out with brushing and cuddling then would warm up his ear, test, then hand over a treat....Now all I have to do is get all my supplies together and shake the test strip container and tell him it is "ears time" and he jumps up on his spot to be tested.

Never worry about asking a stupid question, the only stupid question it the one that goes unasked.

Mel, Max & The Fur Gang

 

There are NO dumb questions.

To keep him from running off, we wrapped Oliver up in a towel with only his head showing. I set him down on the couch next to the arm and gently pressed him into it. He couldn't get away until the test was done. Here, we call it the kitty burrito! We only had to use it for the first few weeks. Once he knew a treat was coming, he would sit still and wait.

Some other tips that might help. We took the plastic cap off the lancet - much easier to see where you are aiming. And if you put a small smear of vaseline on the ear where you are going to poke, the blood will bead up. As Mel said, the heating of the ear was vital to us.

Can you please take the 911 off your post? We use it when a cat is in life threatening danger - like a hypo.

 

I use a damp wash cloth in a ziploc bag. 14 seconds in the microwave and it's good to go. It can help if you watch some Youtube videos on home testing a diabetic cat - that's how I really got the hang of it! And I don't use the lancet pen. I tried it on myself and it hurt like crazy, plus I knew Sam wouldn't the like noise of it. I just use the lancet on it's own, putting a piece of folded paper towel behind his ear (until I did that, I was constantly poking through his ear and into my own finger.)

You'll get it. Also, the first week I cried a lot. It's okay. It's part of the journey.

 

You have a lot of questions, period. NO dumb ones ;-) We *all* had a lot of questions at first. Ask as many and as often as you wish. There are loads of folks here eager to help as we've all been exactly where you are.

BREATHE ... it *does* get easier.

Did i miss what type of insulin you're on? Oh... PZI I did miss it

Anyone tell her about the PZI board? viewforum.php?f=24

 

She is using PZI

Mel

 

I'm new to testing too, and a big vote for using vaseline to make the blood bead up. Just a thin film after you warm the ear, not a gob, and keep a paper towel handy to wipe your hands afterward. I use a small glass medicine bottle (2.5" high by 1" dia) filled with water that I microwave for 12 seconds, but a rice sock works well too. Prep your meter by loading in the strip partway but not enough to activate it.

At first I forced the testing issue by sitting on Leo, but now he hops up on the shelf next to the counter and waits for his treat. Pet him for a minute while he eats, then start to warm the ear while you pet him some more. Smear on the vaseline, wipe your fingers so you don't gum up the test strip, give another treat and pet, then grab the ear while his mouth is full and stick him fast. Immediately after the stick I grab his scruff firmly but gently, but still let him bend down and eat (but not shake his head). Hold the scruff with one hand while you load the meter with the other (I brace the meter with the heel of my hand and slide the strip in with my fingertips), massage the ear a bit to squeeze out the blood, then scoop it up with the test strip, let go of the scruff, and give another treat and pet while the meter counts down. I'm getting it 3 times out of 4 now and it's getting better.

Thicker lancets in the pen might help too if you're not getting enough blood; try 26g or 28g instead of the 30+g that comes with most pens. You might also try holding a small square of paper towel on the inside of the ear and pressing down hard with the pen before you pull the trigger.

Not sure about PZA, but on Lantus some of us free feed for the first 10 hours of the cycle and then take up the food 2 hours preshot so his PS number will be fasted. Human diabetics need 6 small meals a day to keep their blood sugar even, and I know my kitty has benefited from the same thing.

 

One trick is as soon as you have an adequate size blood drop, pick it up on the back of your thumbnail
and test it from there.

 

It is ok to feed more often that twice per day. I leave low carb canned food out 24 hours for my cats (all my cats eat the same food as the diabetic - Tiggy)

The main thing -- if your kitty is not eating, then wait on giving a shot -- that is usually why the vets say to feed at shot time. The older insulins like Humulin hit really fast -- the kitty NEEDS to have food in the tummy at injection time.

 

Mornin Folks. Just wanted to say thanks again for all your help last night. It was pretty stressful for us and all of your knowledge was priceless.
My partner Tom, sugar cat Asher, kitty brother Alby and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

So last night we tested Asher and got readings of 96 and 92 (and we checked the monitor and test strips and it was good) so we didn't shoot after his eve meal.

This morning we tested Asher again and he was back up to 404. We followed the suggestion of warm water in a medicine bottle on his ear, plus used the lancet pen without the cap and that worked for us. It was hard tho. He was crazy for food and wanted to be down on the floor in 4 paw drive the whole time.
We did give him plain chicken treats for each of our attempts. I think we got it on the 4th try.

So after getting the 404 reading this morning, we knew we had to give insulin but were still a bit shy so we gave him 2 units of the PZ instead of the 3. I will call the vet when they open and let them know what's going on. I hope we did the right thing.

Another interesting thing is thru this whole ordeal Asher has been waking us at 2, 3, 4 and/or 5 to eat. Since he has been on insulin he just comes to me in bed and sits on me and purrs until we get up, which isn't as bad as before insulin. (he has been knocking everything off my night stand and chewing on my glasses )
Last night we fed him some plain chicken before bed and he let us sleep till 5:30am. It was a blessing. So I am thinking its obvious we have to feed him more than twice a day.

And I think I am going to get more of the Blue Buffalo Wildnerness food instead of the prescription Science Diet. 1% vs 14% carbs seems to be a no brainer for me. We are low on food today and I need to go get some. Asher will eat almost any wet food, he loves it. Alby on the other hand is slow to convert but he's making progress.

I'll post what the vet tells us later this morning. You guys are the best.

peace,

Donna Tom Asher and Alby

 

Good Morning Donna and company,

Wonderful you got blood! Welcome to the Vampire Club! Now that you are testing, you can stay on top of what is happening. Please get a test around 5-6 hours after the shot so you know how low in the cycle he goes. That will help you gauge how the insulin is working and whether he needs more or less.

Unregulated kitties are literally starving; their bodies can't process the food well. So we tell newbies to feed their kitties more than usual, and several small meals during the day. Lots of us use automatic feeders; we put frozen wet food in ours at night and Niko gets fed while we sleep. We use the PetSafe 5; it seems to be the hardest one for cats to break into and it is easy to program.

Please take the 911 icon off your post. We use it for emergencies.

 

Thanks Sue. I think I got the 911 off the post. I just edited the first comment that I made with the 911 clicked. Let me know if I didn't get it off. I'm still figuring this all out.

We were discussing the auto feeders and wondered about it. We are self employed and this is our slow time of the year, so usually at least one of us is home, many days both of us. But once Feb and March hit, we hope to be busier and will have to eventually have to leave the house. I know I am jumping ahead of myself but I am gonna be really scared to leave the cat for any length of time mid day. Hopefully he will be regulated until we get busy with work. We do have a cat sitter but I hate to ask her to deal with the blood tests and all. We can barely do it ourselves (now).

Thanks,

Donna Tom Asher and Alby

 

It's off, thanks.

Have you see the PZI forum? It is forum within this one whose posters all use/have used PZI. Here is the forum: viewforum.php?f=24 and the stickies with PZI info: viewtopic.php?f=24&t=32799

 

Good Morning Donna and Crew

Congrats on becoming a card carrying member of the Vampire Club. I know it can be frustrating at first but as silly as it sounds their ears do "learn" to bleed. Even with knowing what I was doing when I first adopted Max he was a nightmare at first to get to bleed, now I joke that all I have to do is look too close at his ear and it bleeds for me. He has become that easy to test.

Really glad that you are home-testing now before finishing the change to an all wet low carb diet. As some cats drop drastically with the diet change. So you are going to want to stay on top of Asher's numbers as the diet switches over.

I know what you mean about getting to sleep in! With 10 here, 4 of which are siamese mixes, I rejoice anytime I get to sleep passed 6am. What I do here is put out their last meal right before we go to bed, that way they can eat all night long if they want and my husband and I actually get some sleep. I just mix about 1/3 of a can of water in with the wet food so it stays nice and moist for them over night.

Got to tell you, if you can get both Asher and Alby switched to an all wet diet, you will be pleasantly surprised at how much better Alby will be on it too. If I hadn't seen it myself I would never have believed that something so simple would do so much. For the longest time I thought my one meezer just had a rough coat, today, 3 months after the switch in diet, he is the softest cat there is. His coat now feels more like a rabbit than a cat, and my two 9 month old kittens that have never had a mouthful of dry food are some of sleekest shiniest kittens around. Even my one guy with severe food allergies had his allergies all go away too.

Mel, Max and The Fur Gang

 

Morning Donna! I'm so happy you're having some greater success with the testing. You'll be an old pro in no time. As far as the food goes, I do the same thing as Mel and put their last meal out before we go to bed. It seems to keep them fairly happy. And I think the new food will really help you get Ash regulated too. Keep us posted how your day goes. Oh, and definitely post over in the PZI section.

 

Just wanted to post what our vet said this morning...

We gave her all of Ashers BG results and she said we could have shot last night when he was 92 but she understands we were afraid to.
We also should have given 3 units instead of 2 this morning.

So our no shoot number is 70 and below. She wants him 120 range if possible ultimately. She wants us to stick to the 3 units 2x day for now.

We can also up him to up to 1 can of food per feeding twice a day since he's hungry. And can feed him and if he doesn't eat it all but comes back to it later to finish, that is ok too.

Hopefully this will help our sleeping

We'll keep ya posted...

Donna Tom Asher and Alby

 

Personally, I couldn't disagree with your vet more, but that's just me. Having been through one hypo and one potential, I would do anything to keep from going through that again. Have you taken any readings since the AM shot? I'd love to know what kind of numbers you're getting today. Keep us posted!

 

Wow, that is a really low no-shoot number. Most of us only shoot that low if we have data to base it off of. (gradually shooting lower and lower preshots to know that kitty won't dive). Please, please, please, if he is ever that low on a preshot, make sure to post here because you will need to be testing a lot that cycle just to catch a hypo before it happens. If you have never dealt with a hypo on your own, it really helps to have people here checking on you and coaching you through it.

 

Yeah I'm not so jazzed about the low no shoot number either. I couldn't actually talk to the vet in person, the tech took down all the info and then talked with the vet and called me back with this.
I have an appointment Monday morning with the vet that diagnosed him and will question her on this thoroughly. I am trying real hard to avoid a hypo situation. That is what scares me the most with all of this. I wake up at night worrying about it.

I have not tested him this morning when his BG was 404 before he ate. And we only gave him 2 units this a.m. since we were still scared. Tom isn't home until later this afternoon so I don't know if i can test Asher myself. I can try if he's sleepy I guess. And he is sleeping near the fireplace so his ears will be warm

We'll for sure test him tonight before he eats.

I have all his readings from the beginning so I suppose I should make a spreadsheet like you all have so we can see what is going on. If we do test him throughout the day, what times are good to test?

Donna Tom Asher and Alby

 

When it comes to time to test, every two hours seems like a pretty standard curve. You can really tell how the insulin is working when you do that. Minimal testing is before each shot, of course. In the beginning, when you're trying to determine dosing, that's a different situation. I would say at least test at the halfway mark which is where the nadir or peak for Prozinc usually happens. That's the +6 mark on the spreadsheet.

I'm sure someone with more info will come along and give you some more experienced advice. I would say try and test his +6 today if you can. It would be great to see how the 2 units worked vs the 3 units.

 

In the beginning I couldn't test Charlie alone, either. I felt like I needed 5 hands. He's especially difficult in the morning cuz he's hungrier then (he eats 2.25 oz of food 5 times a day, plus freeze dried chicken treats). I can easily do it myself now, so rest assured that it does get better. It just takes practice. When Charlie is especially squirmy for food I sit on the floor with him held in between my legs (sort of Indian-style with my knees up toward the ceiling to clamp him in between my thighs, facing away from me.) That way I can have my 2 hands free to poke and test. Maybe that'd help you. I have to agree that 70 is way too low of a no-shoot number, especially without any adjusting of the dose. Many many cats would hypo severely if they were given 3 units of insulin into a number that low! I'm a better safe than sorry type myself, though.

 

I am going to ask you to completely go against your vet if you do not want a dead cat. She is absolutely not giving you good advice. You have no testing data to support her advice. If you shoot at 70 or 92 you could easily kill your cat. if 200 is your line in the sand, and you collect data on how he responds to a dose at a certain number and gradually gather enough data to support a dose change and/or a lowering of 200 then great.

Seriously, I cannot stress enough how crazy this is. aiming for 120 or lower when just starting is nuts.

 

Jen:
I think the vet advise is scary too. We are def going to err on the high side. If his bg is like last night we will not shoot.
I really don't know what to do if we r in the grey area. I find myself hoping he is high tonight so we can just shoot as we were told. This is all so confusing the first week before we have a grasp on what we are doing.

We'll test pretty soon....

Donna

 

You can always come here for dose advice.

Please have data ready...BG readings, etc.

 

We just tested him and he's 315 so I guess I got my wish. Hanging out in front of the fireplace on the couch makes for an easier blood test

-Donna and Asher

 

Good job testing!

 

First off, welcome! you are definitely in the right place! Willie and I were in your shoes a month ago and I know how stressful it can be starting out! Quick question... what is the gauge of your lancet? Try not to use a number higher than 31... I found that starting out, anything finer than that (the higher the number, the thicker the lancet pokey part... yes, that is a technical term! LOL) makes it very difficult to get a drop when you're starting out. We're using 31s now and have success, but you could easily go down to a 27 or 28 if needed. You can get the Relion lancets at Walmart and they are very inexpensive... around $4.50 for a box of 100. I would start there! I also find it works better if I fold Willie's ear when poking... gives me a little more resistance (and keeps me from poking my finger... we've had LOTS of pokes over the past month and no finger pricks, knock on wood!).

A spreadsheet is a great tool not only for advice here, but for you to be able to look quickly at one place to see where you're at and where you've been. Can also be very useful when dealing with the vet!

Good luck, and hang in there!

Christie and Willie

 

31 gauge lancets and needles are SMALLER than 27 or 28 gauge.

Sometimes you need the larger gauge (27 or 28) to get a good blood drop.

Not all boxes of lancets even tell you the gauge.

You can get them at WalMart...their Reli On brand. Get 'thin' lancets,
not 'ultra-thin'