New to the group and in need of help

Hello and good evening to everyone. I will try to be brief. I am the lucky parent to an almost 18 year old named Umeko, who has had more than his share of health issues, mostly over the last 5 years. He was diagnosed as diabetic late last fall, and his Veterinarians have had him on ProZinc twice a day, and have been very conservative in increasing his dosage. We have been trying to manage his levels through visits to the clinic, but it appears that we have been having rebound issues lately, and I am going to have to start monitoring at home. At their recommendation, I purchased an Alpha Trak 2 kit. Umeko is already receiving subQ fluids 3 times a week for CKD, pills, and other assorted shots, including the insulin. He can be very uncooperative, if he chooses to do so, but most of the time he will give in, but I had not wanted to overload him with something else (the monitoring), but it is now becoming a necessity. They always do vein draws at his clinic, so they did not really have a lot of experience with "pricking", either ear or paw pad. So I am reaching out for some help and advice.
I have tried a few times to get a reading, and so far have only had one success, which was from the ear. Otherwise, it seems as though I am coming up dry. I have tried using the little lancet device that came in the kit, both on the ear and on the side of the large back foot paw pad, and get either no blood or not nearly enough. Is the AlphaTrak lancing device pretty good, or might I have better luck using something else? I tried sticking his ear with one of the lancets by hand, but no luck their either. Despite these difficulties, I think that I can make this work, in the long term, if I can just come up with a process that can work reliably, and over and done with, fairly quickly. Umeko gets agitated if you try more than a few times.
Any ideas and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

Welcome to FDMB, the best place you never wanted to be.

There are 4 things you'll need to manage your kitty's diabetes:
- You - without your commitment, the following won't work.
- Low carb over the counter canned or raw diet, such as many Friskies pates. See Cat Info for more info. If already on insulin, you must be home testing before changing the diet.
- A long-lasting insulin such as ProZinc, Lantus, BCP PZI, or Levemir - you've got ProZinc
- And home blood glucose monitoring with an inexpensive human glucometer such as the WalMart Relion Confirm or Target Up and Up in the US (the pet ones will break your budget!).

Some of us free hand the lancet, rather than using a device.
Also, it helps to massage the ear and to warm it. A warm washcloth in a plastic bag works.

 

Welcome! With Prozinc, you do want to increase/decrease dosages slowly. Since you already have the AT2 meter, the strips are very pricey, but Freestyle Lite human test strips are made by the same company and are very close in their readings. They cost about half what the AT strips cost and are what I use.

I use the lancer "clicker thingy" and I poke the paw pads. I love Goof up a little before we test and while doing that I gently pull/slide down the leg to the paw, pulling blood down into the foot. Then after the poke, I kind of pump rather than just squeeze the pad, the blood comes easier and you only need a tiny drop with the FS strips.

 

Welcome! Sorry that you have to be here as none of us want to have this issue for our kitties but, I can tell you that the members here are fabulous and so very helpful.

I, too have a rather un-cooperative cat and it does make things difficult but, things have gotten much better as we've gone along in terms of getting a blood glucose reading where like you, it was once impossible to get.

First, you should know that the more you do the testing, the easier Umeko's ears will bleed for you. I didn't think it was going to work but, it does.

The trick (since your vet doesn't seem overly experienced in getting a home sample) is to keep the ears warm by massage or a sock filled with dry rice and put in the microwave to warm them up (make sure that the sock is just WARM NOT HOT!!!)
And you'll want to get the outside rim of the ear (doesn't matter if it's inside or outside, depending on your preference). Most people use the outside of the ear and apply a little vaseline first so that the blood beads up instead of being absorbed by the fur.

We also like to have treats ready so that our kitties know that they will get a "reward" for being good for us and actually not mind as much since they know that after the test, they get a treat.

Some people will wrap their cats up in a blanket like a Burrito wrap and others....well, *IF* you can get help with it, it's ideal (a lot have to do it on their own but, if someone can just sort of hold him, it does make it easier).

Here's a little video on taking a glucose test. This cat is pretty calm and not what my cat is like but...you'll get the gist from this and there's many more videos like it on Youtube if you search.



If you have more questions, you can put them in the "Main Forum" now where more people will be looking to answer questions.

Hope this helps.

 

Oh, and the treats should be pure protein, like a small piece of cooked chicken or freeze dried beef/poultry suce as Pure Bites.

 

I just checked in, and am happy to see that there has been a wealth of replies, as apparently I was not getting email notified. Thanks to all of you that have taken time to reply. If someone had told me 5 years ago, when Umeko first came down with IBD and chronic pancreatitis, that I would be giving him pills, on a daily basis, I would have looked at you like you were crazy. Same thing with the SubQ fluids for his CKD, and other assorted shots, including his twice daily insulin. It seemed like for all of them we go through this "introductory" stage where he will first attempt to prevent me from doing what I need to do, usually squirming and telling me he does not wish to participate. But once we get through this stage, he is usually ok.
One of the problems I have is with the lancing device that came with the Alphatrak kit. My near vision is not that great, and I have a hard time seeing exactly where the lancet is aiming, before firing. I have seen some other ones at the diabetes sites, but just wondered if anybody had experience with any other ones that were easier to aim? Considering how small that ear vein is, and that Umeko does not want to keep still, it is a very difficult target to try and hit. I may eventually just have to focus with his paws (which he keeps wanting to pull underneath himself).
Thank you.

 

Actually, you're trying to hit between the vein and the edge of the ear.
I found the Carson Clip and Flip clip on magnifiers immensely helpful to seeing better close up.

 

Hi BJM,
I just want to make sure that I understand correctly - I should be aiming between the vein and the edge of the ear? His vein is about 1/16" from the edge. I tried some safety lancets, and I don't think they prick deep enough to draw any blood ... couldn't even get any out of my own finger. Thank you. UmekoSB

 

I did notice a triangular shaped area, about 1/2" high near the base of the ear, that seemed to have a fair amount of blood in it. Is that an area that i could also try, or should I stay away from it? Thank you.

 

I was on my cell before and did not have the image to upload.

 

Hi there, I used the Alphatrak 2 on my Molly, I found some of the time I would prick her ear with the lancet and no blood would come, but then I would gently massage her ear and the blood would come, but once you have done it roughly in the same spot as in BJM above picture, most of the time the blood came easily

 

What size lancet are you using? Often, at first, a 25-27 gauge will make a better hole and give more blood. Most lancets are sold with the smaller 30-31 gauge.

 

The AlphaTrak 2 lancets are 28 gauge. Are you trying to use the device with the clear plastic cap on it? I found that impossible. I remove the plastic cap and hold the device at roughly a 45 degree angle so I can see where I am poking. Initially I had it set on a depth of 4 but now use 1 or 2. Freestyle human lancets work in the device and are also 28 gauge.

 

Sorry -- don`t mean to hijack this thread, but thank you BJM, I really needed something like this and just ordered it.

 

Hi MrWorfMen's Mom,
Yes, I have been trying to use the lancing device that came in the AlphaTrak kit, which I also find extremely difficult to aim accurately.
How do you use it without the cap? Are you still firing it, or do you just prick manually?

Thank you,
UmekoSB

 

I cock it and "fire". I couldn't master free handing it without impaling her poor ear and the tissue I put at the back of her ear for support and finger protection! I think the real trick is holding the device at an angle that allows you to see where you want poke and then determining the depth setting that gets you a sample. Hope that helps.

 

Just another thought. What colour is Umeko and how much hair does he have in the "poke" zone? My girl's black fur definitely makes it harder to see if I only get a tiny drop of blood initially. You might want to try trimming a little hair off that zone so you can see better. I'm sure he won't mind if it saves you both some struggles!

 

I am trying to show a current photo of him. He actually has a darker band on the edges of his ears, right in the area where the vein runs. The fur itself, it's not really all that long. As you might be able to pick out, you can actually see light coming through his ears, as the hair is starting to thin in that area. Thanks again for all the great advice. UmekoSB

 

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Oh what a handsome fellow you have there! Is he a Ragdoll, Apple Head Siamese, or are those Himalayan genes? I see what you mean about the ears. I have nothing to offer to contend with that. Menace has a black line around the edge of her ears but it's not as wide and it's her fur colour and a fair bit of hair that sometimes makes it hard to spot the blood bead. I know how frustrating this can be when you first start out and I am a retired R.N. so just give yourself time and don't sweat it. The more relaxed you are, the more settled Umeko will be as they do tend to pick up on our stress. You too will have that GOT IT moment! Just be as gentle on yourself as you are trying to be with Umeko!

 

Umeko is actually a blue point Birman. Thanks to all of the great advice that you guys have provided, I was actually able to get a sample and a glucose reading earlier today! I want to go slow with him right now, as he already has to deal with 2 daily pillings and insulin shots, as well as weekly Adequan, and SubQ fluids every 2 or 3 days, and he is currently on a very conservative insulin dose. Because of his medications, he will not eat as much for the next 24 hours, as he did for the last, so I want to get another reading tomorrow, at about the same time, and see how much of a difference it makes. Hopefully he will do well for me. Thanks to all of you for your great help, it was just what I was looking for.