Oh, those poor ears... (Sake Update, Day 3)

Well, it's Day #3 of trying to monitor Sake's BG at home, and I am beyond frustrated I was unable to get another sample from her last night after 7:30pm last night. I tried in vain at least 3-4 more times, but it just resulted in a really frustrated/exhausted me, & a super annoyed Sake. I finally gave up ~1:30am, gave her a small amt of food, and went to bed to get a whopping 4.5 hrs of sleep. I tried to get another sample this morning, and got a blood droplet, but it wouldn't get big enough, so when I got my strip up there, it resulted in an error code. That's the SECOND time that's happened in 24 hrs, and it's super annoying. The whole process is this juggling act, of warming her ear, getting my lancet ready, while trying to insert the strip at just the right time because if I do it, and I have an issue getting the blood droplet, it will time out on me, and cause even more problems. This is next to impossible to do with one hand. AND once I've tried and failed, Sake is MUCH LESS willing to tolerate a second round of this with or w/o treats, and tries to jump out of my lap, etc. We start out all calm and relaxed, w/her on my lap being petted and having her ears massaged, etc, and 50% of the time, everything goes well, and we get our sample, and everything is roses and sunshine. Then, there's the other 50%, where the whole thing turns into a disaster, and I have no idea what her BG is because there's no way I can get a sample from her

Anyway, this morning, my plan was: if I couldn't get a sample from her, or her # was high, I would use my new syringes, and give her 1U. Well, I bought the wrong kind (the non-lo dose kind,) and I couldn't risk overdosing her, so I just set the Lantus pen to 1U, said "F-it!" and gave her that and went to work. Am not able to go home today to check on her at lunch, so I won't know anything until at least 7pm, and my 4 yr old will be w/me, so that will be another challenge altogether (trying to keep her calm/relaxed, and keep him occupied while I attempt yet again, to get another sample. At least we have a Spreadsheet now. Sigh...

 

One thing that can help a lot is to partially insert the strip so the meter doesn't turn on. Get the poke done and a good drop formed and then push the strip in all the way to start the meter. Also - lots of good infohttp://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/ here:

 

Is there another spot you could do it besides your lap? Mia's testing spot is a level on her cat tower that is a few inches lower than my waist, so it's a good height for me to stand there and deal with her. I put her treat in a little bowl and set it on the tower where I need her head to be. I do not use the lancing device. I stick a lancet between my teeth (being sure the needle faces out ) and stick the strip in the meter and set it down. I have a warm damp cloth ready which I told on her ear for a few seconds - during this time, I have the cloth in one hand and the other hand is available to stabilize her, if needed. Then, I put the cloth down and get the lancet to quickly poke her - I still have the other hand free to stabilize her, if needed. I lay the lancet down and pick up the meter which already has the strip in and is on, and I touch the edge of the strip to the blood. Then, I lay the meter down, get the cloth and use it to hold over the spot a few seconds and wipe the ear - during all of this, there is a free hand I can use to stabilize or pet on her, if needed. All of this happens very quickly, then I am off and she stays there enjoying her treat.

If you have a spot that would work, maybe you could start calling her to that spot a couple of times a day and just give her a treat and some loving. Once she is used to that routine, you could add the testing part to it. I would not have believed this possible in the very beginning, but Mia comes on her own and jumps up in her testing spot for me. She usually holds her little ear out for me to poke it. Sometimes, she is in a hurry to get to that treat, which is when the extra hand comes in handy to help me get to the ear. In the very beginning, part of the issue was with me. I realized I had to force away the hesitancy and nerves and just do it.. the more quickly and matter-of-factly you do it, the better. It really will get better with practice. Don't give up.

 

I've already been doing that, and everything else on that link. The only thing I haven't tried yet is the Vaseline. Sake's not a big fan of having stuff put on her though. Last night, it was like there was no blood left or something. It didn't matter how warm her ear was. Several times when I pricked her, nothing would happen--except that she would whine

 

I don't know if she was extra hungry or what, but the treats just seemed to make her more worked up last night. She would jump over to me, eat one, and then frantically search for the next one. They're those Whole Hearted pure salmon ones. Needless to say, they didn't help in calming her down last night. I even got my Cat-in-the Bag out & tried that on her, and whoo... she did NOT like that! It was just an all around ugly scene. I also have my other cat, Toulouse to deal with. He's only 1 and can't understand why I'm fussing over Sake & feeding her all of the time. Thankfully, he doesn't like her salmon treats

 

This!

 

*FINALLY GOT ANOTHER SAMPLE!* We're holding steady at 154 12+! So we've got 3 days in a row of PMPS/pre-dinner (11+) BG levels at 112, 111, and 154. I'm guessing the higher number today is due to her only receiving 1U this morning, instead of the 2 from the previous days? She was rewarded handsomely with a few yummy Temptations that I added to my treats(bribery) arsenal today Am REALLY hoping I can get one more BG sample out of her before bedtime tonight, and that I get it well BEFORE midnight. I still have no idea what her PM post-dinner BG level is w/o a shot, and I know that's going to be a big determiner in how much Lantus I continue to give her.

 

I get to go to sleep happy & relieved tonight! Just did a final reading for the day, and we're at 116 BG, 4+ which is right in line with where she's been at PMPS, 12+ when she's on 2U/day. I also just got to experience my first blood to the face/head shaking experience I'm not sure where exactly I got her this time, but wherever it was, it was the holy grail of ear-pricking sites--that droplet was so instantly crazy big, that I'm lucky I got it on the strip before she shook it all over me I gave her about 1/3 can of FF because she seemed a smidge hungry & deserved it for being so awesome today

 

I’m brand new at this also. Last night I was feeling your pain. Today I got 2 perfect samples, one was on my kitty with black ears. (She’s overweight and always hungry so I wanted to check her) I was so excited as you are here

 

I'm so glad to read about these pokey test success stories!

 

I think the more active blood comes when you hit the vein and not the surrounding tissue. Not a big deal but the experts here told me you should aim for the space between the edge of the ear and the vein and not actually stick the vein as repeatedly sticking the vein can lead to complications.

Sounds like things are going well for you, glad it's getting easier but don't get frustrated when things don't go perfectly as you're doing the best you can.

-Joe

 

It is definitely very rewarding to be able to actually get it done, and get good #s on top of it I think I've actually hit the vein the last 2 times, which is why I've gotten the immediately perfectly huge droplet, so I need to stop doing that, as that is not good for them. Keep trying, and we'll all be there for each other

 

Thanks for the advice, Joe. I was accidentally, unfortunately hitting the vein, as was clearly evident when it didn't stop bleeding right away, like they usually do It could also be due in part to her blood, as the Vet Tech said that she has pretty thin blood, but it's probably mostly due to my bad aim I will try to get in between there like you said. I knew it had become far too easy...

 

Me too!