Ran out of test strips :(

Hey everyone!
Me and Effy are back and FINALLY ON INSULIN!!! I switched vets and went back to our previous vet and it was the best decision EVER! She's an absolute angel and I feel so much more secure and on top of things with her on my side. Anyway, vets office is closed now and I literally just realized I only have 3 test strips left!!!! I ordered some but they won't be here until Monday or Tuesday. Effy's on 2.5 units of Lantis twice a day. He's been on it for 5 days so far, Tuesday will be a week. His numbers haven't been all over the place or that low since we've started.... But I'm wondering if it's absolutely terrible if I give him his insulin without being able to test him before hand. He's usually in the mid to high 300's during every pretest before he gets the Lantis.... I'm thinking she'll up his dose after we do his curve this coming week since he hasn't been getting very low... but anyway I guess i'm here just to see what your guys' opinions are on me giving him his insulin without being able to test for a day or two... or if theres any in store off brand test strips I can use for my alphatrak 2 for the time being.
Also wondering how terrible it is if I can't make it home on time for his shots or something and have to give them an hour early or late...

 

Your best bet for now if you have a Walmart nearby is to buy one of their ReliOn store brand meters. The strips for the Prime model are cheapest but take a larger blood droplet. I think the Micro and Confirm (?) take a much tinier blood drop but the strips are a bit more expensive. As you know, the AT strips are $$$. Many people here use a human meter day to day and save the AT for vet curve day. It's important to be able to get test strips easily, on weekends, etc.

We always recommend testing before every shot. It's the best way to keep your kitty safe.

 

You can use freestyle light. If you have a Walmart nearby, that would be the best price.

 

Thats the brand I was looking for!!! I saw someone saying they use those for their alphatrak and all day i've been searching for that thread again to get the name! Thanks so much!

 

I used them a lot until I bought a Pettest from Amazon as a spare meter. I liked it so much, I use it all the time.

 

Even though I haven't seen any baked goods in my mailbox I'll try and help you. I don't use Lantus but could you get some retail strips, like Walmart? If so you might pay more but you'll feel better. An emergency clinic might help you out, call first and make sure Effy doesn't need to be dragged in for an "examination" $$$$$.
Because of various medical conditions I have completely missed a shot so being an hour off won't end your world. I in no way am encouraging you take a slack attitude towards this but, a fur shot is an unintentional mistake made by the most devoted people. And then there's the switch to daylight savings. It will never be perfect, just try your hardest. As for no strip at all I am unqualified to say anything.

 

Maybe post "Out of strips, what should I do" in the Lantus forum with a quick rundown of Effy's numbers. You may get a more specific/knowledgeable response.

 

I'm gunna have to figure out how to mail them all the way to canada just for you without them cracking or melting!!! I'll make little noah's hahah. But thanks for reminding me that there's a lantus forum!! I need to check that out. I'm gunna run to walmart tonight and see what I can do in the meantime, might just buy a side meter for now since I'm too paranoid to not test him. I can't believe there are others out there who haven't home tested or been told to home test before each shot, even this new vet was surprised I had a home meter!
I'm glad I can have a little leeway with the shot times, as I'm graduating tomorrow at 4 and Effy's due for his shot at 6, I'm not sure I'll get home in time to give it to him right on the dot.

 

Speaking of fur shots I literally JUST gave him my very first fur shot, SIGH! Boy, does Insulin smell bad, lol.

 

Buying a new meter? That's devotion, you don't need me giving you any lessons. Just so long as you don't take "a little leeway" too literally but I think you're past the nervous newbie part. Mistakes happen, that's life. I once had to stop for windshield washer fluid on the way to emergency, that was a bonehead move.
Canada Customs are anal retentive, not everyone in Canada is "so nice". Skip the baking and have a good time at graduation.

 

Congratulations on your graduation!!!

 

Hope everything turns out okay, I'm off to dinner etc. When I can't give you specific advice it's not me being a weiny/coward. There's too much that can go wrong. What I can say if you're my neighbor and in front of 1,000 people are two different things and it would still be an educated guess. Better safe than stupid! Double posting isn't encouraged (Lantus forum) but you can always ask for a post to come down. This was borderline emergency but you figured it out pretty quick. Bye

 

Alphtrak 2 and FreeStyle Lite strips here - been using that combo for over a year.

 

Thanks so much everyone!!!! I am relieved!

 

@rndbrkr Hope you're still around, I know today's a busy day for you. I was more than tired last night. You said you had just given your first fur shot and I posted twice after that without commenting on it. I cringe at the thought of making possibly condescending/eye-rolling comments like "Do not give another shot after a fur shot because..." I already have an image of you as someone who jumped right in and soaked up every scrap of info. That was a mistake on my part to just assume you knew that. In an extreme case it's better to embarrass someone and save their cat than do nothing and be polite.
There's always more to learn, I hope I don't end up on your cranky old man list.
Hope Effy is purring away!

 

Lol no worries!! I'd only hope you would correct me on something so I can learn more!! You were right though, I definitely did soak up enough info on here to know not to try again after a fur shot! You have not made it into the cranky old man list Effy is currently purring on my lap as we speak!

 

Kids these days!

 

Glad to see are are getting into the swing of the insulin thing. If you keep your spreadsheet updated, we can help with dosing advice.

 

I just realized Effy's head is bigger than yours! I have a real soft spot for enormous Toms, preferably black with some white and definitely long hair. I often read too much into photos but I see why you care so much for Effy. The two that flew here with me lived to 17 and 23 and everyone adored them.

 

He is HUGE, definitely the size of a small dog. He used to fit into medium/large dog clothes before he lost all his weight from the diabetes! Was 16.6lbs, now he's at 12lb but still a big guy. I was coming on here to say how CUTE Noahs Christmas picture is!!!! But I really do love my boy, he is my pride and joy! The life of the party, whenever I have company over he ends up being the star of the show. The most friendly and outgoing cat I've ever met. Here's a picture of him before he lost all that weight!

 

I just love big cats. My Zimmy at one point was 17.6 lbs. The vet techs used to gush over him. Just a big bear. Your guy has that long hair on top of it making him look even more huge.

 

Ha! This is a big cat. Kobiashi was 28 pounds when someone just moved and left him behind. But they did bring him food and water every day! (to an empty house)
He had a tattoo inside his ear, we never knew how old he was. That's his rubber chicken in #2.

 

Effy look so sweet in that shirt...well he looks a little perturbed.

Kobiashi was huge! Yeah, rubber chickens are good toys.

 

Magnificent beast! Do you still have him?

 

Hooollaaayyy! I thought Effy was big! Kobiashi takes the cake!! Holding him would make my arms tired!! lol!

 

He's a little lion! What's even better is I found him a sister who is his exact twin, but she's a petite little thing, vet said she won't get much bigger the older she gets! I named her Steffy! lol!

 

They are all sweet, well most of them except the real feral ones.

 

Whenever Kobi made a public appearance women with blue hair would positively swoon over him like he was Clark Gable reincarnated as a cat. Not kids, not other cat people, not the techs. It was very strange because he was sweet to us but was really a big melon-head that could swallow a donut whole. Go figure.

 

Oh man, that is really sad. Atleast you got to spend the time with him that you did. I'm glad he had you in his last moments! Cats are definitely not meant to be that big, I joke about missing effy's puffy self but in reality I am glad he is half a pound away from the vet's goal weight for him. I'm hoping he stays around with me for a very long time. We had a scare the day we went in for an insulin lesson, he had a crazy bump on his back that looked like a cyst, the vet tried to pop it for him but it barely popped. She took a look under the microscope and found lots of white cells and something else I couldn't remember. She said it didn't seem aggressive but she wanted to take it off him whenever we got put him under to clean his teeth. She said it could just be a normal lump that got infected due to the diabetes making him more prone to infections. We gave him a shot of antibiotics to see if it would go away and thankfully we woke up the next day and the bump was gone. WHEW! I am so worried about him getting sick with something I have no control over... I mean I'm sure it'd be easier to let go if it was something out of my control but still! I don't think i'm strong enough to deal with something like you did with Kobi, something that happens out of nowhere and goes downhill so quickly. I would lose my mind! Effy tested at 33 the other morning and I freaked out, forgot to tell you guys this!! I called the vet once they opened and they told me not to shoot and feed him and keep an eye on him. Thankfully I had already learned from here not to shoot and to immediately feed him. His numbers jumped back up pretty fast. I had to take a double take when it read 33, he hasn't been lower than 234 in a month.... Couldn't believe me eyes. He also showed absolutely NO symptoms of hypo, go figure. Now I test more frequently out of paranoia since I know now he probably won't show any signs of hypo the next time. Vet said some cats can just handle low numbers like that.... I hope I don't have to deal with something scary with him

 

Having a great vet makes all the difference and it's how you got here. 13 years ago we stumbled into our vet with Zoe, "She's so big, is it a tumor? Help help." No tumor, she's pregnant. That's where Noah came from and how we zoomed from 5 cats to 9. Only one person wanted a kitten and that was because she ran over her cat in the driveway.
No cat for you!!!
I have the paper work, Zoe was "fixed", not fixed enough I guess.

 

Okay Randi, I deleted my post about Kobi because it was too sad and this is about you and Effy. In exchange we all want to see more pics of Effy in cat clothes.
I would also like to know
A - Your house/apartment looks swanky. I see lots of wood. Where does the ladder go? Is that a laundry hamper in the background? What's the green blob in the doorway?
B - How much grief do you get from your friends for dressing up Effy? I know it's "wrong" but he looks so adorable. A few more years and you'll qualify for full crazy cat lady benefits.
C - He looks a little demented in the first pic but Noah's papa looked the same with the frazzled whiskers etc. His other name was Doctor Demento. Everyone needs a hobby right?

 

It's very possible that Effy was so mad after those first cat clothes, that she can't get him to wear another set of clothes. All those claws, and not enough bandaids.

I told Theresa about Effy and Steffy, and she LOL'ed.

 

Cynthia as well, said they were both beautiful. Her avatar is priceless.

 

We know you're here Randi

 

I've been so busy the past few days I haven't been able to sit down and reply until now!!! So lets see here, that apartment in that picture is my previous place, it was very woodsy, had thick trim everywhere which gave off a log cabin type of vibe, i loved it! That ladder was actually a barstool! haha. Green blob was a tiny bird cat toy. But yes, that was a hamper in the background, lol. Now i'm downtown in a historic type of neighborhood so the houses are very old and split into multiple apartments inside, now we have dark, thick, old trim and french doors and such, it's very nice. Only problem is, my french doors don't keep the cats out so he can stand up and push them open whenever he wants. Steffy managed to knock one of the plastic windows out of the bottom frame of my door and made herself her own tiny cat entrance, lol!
I don't get much grief from friends when I dress him, it's always a cute surprise whenever they get my pictures of him. He's a regular on my facebook with his cute pictures, lol. But I think to everyone in my life that knows me I have already reached crazy cat lady level!! Effy always looks demented in his pictures, admittedly he hates being dressed and always gives me that irritated face, but his irritated face is so darn cute I can't help it, lol!

 

thank you!!!

 

Oops i might have done those pictures all wrong but oh well, lol!!! some of those are old, the basketball one is in the current house. I was sure to feature steffy in one lol! You can see the size difference

 

snooping around / how I knew you were here
If you click on someone's avatar it can show what forum they're in and a bunch of stuff. You can stop that with a checkmark in Show online status.
My profile is an open book but one day someone popped a cork because I knew what time zone they were in. It was meant as a compliment, "That's good to know" but was not seen that way. Oh boy!
I'm going to get my once a year fix of turkey. Poor Mr. Turkey, sorry!

 

Beautiful kitties!!

 

Anyway while i'm here, i'm so stressed! Today is effy's first curve day. I've been testing every two hours and let me tell you, he is NOT my biggest fan right now. I'm also a little nervous because ever since this morning and the constant testing, he has been peeing all over the house... At first I chalked it off to him being mad at my for poking his ear more than usual, but now I can't tell if it's a uti or something.. He's also pooped twice around the house so I can't tell if it's a uti since it's not strictly peeing. I kind of feel like he's just THAT angry with me. I tried to call our vet to see if we can get him in for a possible uti and realized they are closed until Tuesday.... Not sure what to do at this point but man am I worn out... I keep telling myself.. 3 more times... 3 more pokes and we're done... sigh.

 

Oh no! Has he done this in the past to protest something? If it's the first time, it might be the testing. Peeing alone would suggest
UTI but pooping too might be "inappropriate elimination" with an emotional cause. Cats!

 

He has definitely pooped in protest before! Never peed! This is the first time I have ever seen him pee outside of his box, so it did worry me until I caught that he was also equally pooping throughout the house as well, so now i'm leaning more towards this is just spiteful and not a uti but fingers crossed!! He's still cuddling with me, and he used the box a little bit ago, but whenever he sees me go for the lancets he takes off and hides. I feel bad but I need to do this!! I wish he could understand! lol

 

Those are some great pics!

And that 12 hour curve is looking good too. Based on the existing, I would probably increase the dose by 0.25 to 2.75. That will drive the nadir down to the 100-120 range. Please consider updating your signature to include insulin type.

 

Give him some treats today. He is really trying to be a good boy, but he doesn't know how.

For Leo, he now associates testing with treats. I don't even have to call him. He just shows up. Test then treat. One of us has the other one trained. I don't know if it's me or him

 

Hi Randi. You might have noticed that the very second I said something about snooping and privacy settings I ran out of the room. There's a touch of creepiness that goes along with that and I don't want or need to be that guy. And me telling you that is like showing you how to bake frozen cookie dough or telling Jeff how to pill a cat.

 

preheat to 350, 10 to 12 minutes. Thanks Randi.

 

I absolutely LOVE the photo of Effy and Steffy together. (I feel bad for Effy in the clothes ones though.)
I miss my big black Jordan. He was 18 lbs and the smartest cat I have ever known. Lassie had nothing on him.

 

Timmy? Haven't seen him all day. Woof

 

LOL you crack me up! What kind of insulin do you use? I'm concerned with the lack of progress effy is having on Lantus. I don't know what other kinds there really are though. Take a look at my spreadsheet maybe and see what you think? I know you don't use lantus but still just want to see what someone thinks about his numbers. I did the curve and he drops down quite a bit but doesn't stay low.... I admittedly had to miss his second shot on Christmas day, the weather was so bad I had to camp out at my parents all day until it slowed down later that night!

 

It's challenging to give you advice because there are so few mid-point BG values. Without nadir values, it is hard to determine dose effectiveness. Please take nadir BG measurements when possible. If you have time this weekend, as 12 hour curve would be helpful like you did on the 23rd.
AMPS test and dose
then test every 2 hours
then PMPS and dose

During the week (during work days), try to get some PMPS +4hr tests. I think a dose increase would be useful. But to be sure, a couple more mid term tests.

 

will do! I know, it's so hard to get him inbetween shots now that we are so used to doing it before the shots, he'll sit and let me do them because he knows he gets to eat after. Curve day was the absolute worst day for us, like i said he peed and pooped after every test lol. I bought freeze dried chicken treats for him though so maybe I can win him over after each nadir test with those. They also seemed to clear up his diarrhea for now atleast so that's awesome!

 

Testing treats definitely help!

 

The clear up of the diarrhea is a plus for any cat owner!

There is a treat or food after each medical procedure.
Pill then food
Chemo then food
BG test then treat

Those treats and food taste great.
Almost forgot... Leo also gets treats and food after the procedures

 

Yeah! He loves the freeze dried chicken, I'm trying not to give him too much though since I read on one of these forums somewhere that they can constipate them, but they definitely solidified his poops so i'm happy camper. Chronic diarrhea is a real pain. lol.

 

Ready?....Noah is a Caninsulin high dose bouncer with multiple health issues and his spreadsheet is done in Excel because I like to complicate things. I sometimes leave the front door open to encourage intruders and I enjoy provoking people I don't know. I was an alter boy for 3 seconds.

 

Nutcase.

 

pssst! They never check under your tongue for the key.

 

@Randi & Effy If you want to come over to the dark side to see what's going on there...
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/the-ga-in-my-username.188815/#post-2099259