Hi, I am new to feline diabetes (my sweet Muffin was diagnosed about 3 weeks ago) and giving the injections. I know to give them under the skin but not into the muscle, but I may have accidentally given her last insulin injection into her muscle (on her upper back). I am not 100% sure, but if it did go into her muscle, will she be okay? I'm in worried cat mom mode with her new diagnosis so that's why I ask. Thank you so much.
The insulin can be absorbed more quickly when shot into the muscle, increasing the chance of hypoglycemia. (It also hurts.) You do not have a spreadsheet, so I do not know how her numbers have been running, but if she has been running fairly high, it probably would not have caused that. How is she this morning?
Sorry we were all probably in bed when you posted! We did have a member once upon a time who gave all his shots IM (per direction from his vet...not something I would recommend offhand). His cat lived a good, long life and even went into remission for awhile. So the good news is, it's happened before and the cat was perfectly fine. As FBM said above, it can absorb more quickly, so if it happens again, you'd want to be more vigilant and monitor BG to be sure she didn't drop too much. What made you think you gave it in the muscle? How is she today?
Hey!! My sweet girl was doing great this morning. Very active and meowing and pacing around. I am still in the stage where the vet does not want us to start testing at home just yet (plus I would hate to have to prick her more than I already have to). We are just keeping a close watch on her for signs of hyper/hypoglycemia. The reason why I questioned if it had gone into her muscle was because it felt kind of hard when I inserted the needle and she meowed in pain. It is hard to get a good "tent" on her skin because she has lost a lot of weight from being in ketosis recently (we are working on helping her gain weight of course).
This link describes and has a picture of the “roll” technique for shooting. It’s what we use: I find it easier than making a tent, and it definitely reduces the likelihood of having a “fur shot,”especially if your kitty has very thick fur. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/testing-and-shooting-tips.85113/ Hope it helps!
I'm so sorry to hear that Muffin was DKA. It concerns me that your vet would tell you there is a phase when you shouldn't test at home, especially considering how serious DKA can be! There is no such thing, and I would encourage you to begin home testing, both for BG (blood glucose) and for ketones. Ketones can be checked with a little stick that you put in her pee when she's using the litter box (or if she's too private to let you do that, we have some tricks we can share with you). You can get ketone strips at any human pharmacy for around $15. Testing blood glucose can help you get her insulin adjusted to reduce the chances of her developing ketones again. You don't have to test a zillion times/day - just a few can be enough to help with the dose. This can all be so overwhelming at the beginning, and especially after you've already dealt with something so serious. You are not alone though, and we are here to help.
I'll echo Djamila's concern about not testing BG at home yet, especially after a DKA episode. I've been through it twice with my guy and it's very scary and expensive to treat as you know.
Good morning! I'm glad to hear she was in a good place this morning. So I have to third the concerns about not home testing. I know it is scary to think about (I was petrified...and may or may not have burst into tears the first time ). With DKA on board, testing is key to making sure your sweet kitty stays safe. We'll be happy to help you learn to test if you'd like. You'll see that many of us test a TON, but it really isn't necessary...we just all become data junkies! Okay, having made my plug for home testing, I'm going to make 2 suggestions I'd like you to consider. 1. Do consider testing for ketones. That's really not hard and is really needed for a DKA kitty. 2. If you're not quite ready to start home testing, go ahead and start a de-sensitizing practice. Start taking your kitty to a special spot as many times a day as you can (wherever you want to test...back of the couch, on the floor by the fridge, etc). Pet her, mess with her ears, then give a treat. When you are ready to start testing, she'll be so used to it, she'll already be running to meet you there!
I'm fourth! Testing is so very important. Without it, you really have no idea what is going on, so determining accurate dosing is very difficult, and the risk of having her become hypoglycemic is greater. Things have to be pretty far along before you are going to visibly see obvious symptoms. Testing is terrifying in the very beginning, but it becomes easier more quickly than you would imagine, and before you know it, it is very routine.
I share your concerns about not testing at home. I raised these concerns to the vet before I posted this on here. I emphasize that her glucose has been tested at the vet multiple times a week (still not "enough" I know) but these vets brought her back after nearly being dead from DKA with acute liver and kidney failure, so I do trust their judgment on some level. No ketones in her blood anymore. I am actively researching glucose monitors to get for her, but they all have so many bad reviews and I would hope to find one that will allow me to keep the ongoing expense of buying test strips down. I know some of them require specific brands of test strips to be used. I do have a human glucose monitor but the vet told me it would not be accurate because it is not calibrated for cats. Any recommendations for brands of cat glucose monitors would be greatly appreciated. This community has been such a blessing through this difficult time. Thank you for your ongoing help and support.
I use this one: https://www.adwdiabetes.com/product/8178/agamatrix-presto-blood-glucose-meter-kit-and-strips It's inexpensive and I can order the strips online, or buy them at any Kroger pharmacy. They are sold under the store brand name there, but are the exact same strips and work just fine. It's nice to know that in a pinch I could run to the store and grab some. Most folks here use the Relion meters from WalMart. Also quite inexpensive. Don't get too worked up about the reviews. They are all awful. You have to just start somewhere and do the best you can. Once in awhile any meter will give a bizarre reading that seems out of the ordinary and then you just test again to either confirm it, or to get a more accurate read. As far as what your vet said about human vs. pet, it's true that using a human meter isn't precisely accurate, but it doesn't really matter for our purposes. All you really need to know is if the cat is too low, in a good range, or too high. Whether the number is too high at 275 or too high at 475 doesn't really matter - either way it's too high, and once we know that we can adjust the dosing. And in the process save a zillion dollars on test strips since the AT2 strips cost $1 each and a human meter only costs about 20 cents each. I'm glad your vets were able to help your extra-sweet kitty get past DKA. In the end though remember that you are ultimately in charge of her care, and you get to decide if and how much you test at home. As it sounds like you've already figured out, it really is the best tool for keeping her away from ketones and moving towards health.
And as a side note, we are really looking for patterns in testing rather than specific numbers (except when you get below 50 on a human meter or 68 on a pet meter). So honestly, as long as you are using the same meter, the patterns should be easy to spot and it won't really matter WHAT meter you're using. Not sure if this makes sense, but in my head it does...been a long day. Ask for clarification if that's just confusing.
