? 2/8 Kitkat pmps 86 empty syringe concerns 2/9amps 95, +6 92,pmps 94

https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/2-7-kitkat-amps-99-5-95-11-112-pmps-90-4-86.273929/
lol,,, livin on the edge.

 

Another nice green pre shot, high 5

 

Another lovely start to the day

 

@Bron and Sheba (GA)
Well. OK, I think I have a big issue that may affect Kitkat's numbers and now we have a concern about whether he's been getting a drop only dose or just an empty syringe. Matt and I have both been dosing him, slightly different in technique. I loosen syringe (up and down) and gently close before the draw, insert and heavy push/release. Matt does not loosen, syringe plunger is preset at 1 unit, he inverts bottle, heavy push/release. We did some tests in good lighting today.
Trial 1: Matt : 3 repeats with same syringe, 1 drop formed on test 2, no drop on 1&3.
Trial 2: Mel : 2 tests, same syringe, 1 drop good, 2nd was no.
Trial 3: Mel : new syringe , no drop, 2nd test 1 drop, Matt: 3rd test: drop, 4th-no drop
So, yikes! ???? Very disconserting...... We've been doing this drop only for 45 days! So if we've been messing it up for awhile now?????

 

Well that is very interesting and a bit alarming but there is nothing you can do about it now.
Hopefully he has been getting some insulin.
What made you think to do the trial?
Are you both pushing down hard on the barrel and then letting it go while in the insulin?
I’m going to talk to the moderators about this because it could be happening to others as well

 

We are both doing a hard push on the barrel,then quick release, then draw needle from bottle. We also push hard with the injection, and maintain that pressure when we withdraw the syringe, then release plunger. We figured by releasing plunger while inserted there would be a possibility of the drop (or portion thereof) to be redrawn back into the syringe.
We just thought to trial it as we discussed the dosing, saying it was tough to measure the 0.1, but doable, but that the drop only was kind of tough too. The only way we knew with certainty there is a drop would be to squirt it back out..... it just got us thinking. And it was on my brain after reading in other threads here about not realizing a bottle or pen may have been empty for awhile. It got my attention. (and my compassion).
At the very start I did 3 tests to see, got the drop all 3 times. Showed Matt and he tried and got drop. We've made that big assumption all this time

 

So I have an update on the syringe drop. Spoke with my motherinlaw (retired nurse) and she was not familiar with doing the microdoses (never was a thing for human patients) but she did suggest this: Loosen syringe and draw to 0.5 or even 1 unit, insert into vial and invert, depress plunger firmly,hold a few seconds seconds, light flick on syringe if you can see a tiny airbubble on the tip of the syringe (or even every time) , release. Withdraw syringe from vial. Essentially creating a slight pressure change within the bottle, creating a better bounce-back of the plunger when it's released? She pointed out that we may "feel it" bounce back a bit when we release. Did this 7 times, 6 of 7 was a nice drop. May keep experimenting this today. It was more consistent than what we got yesterday.
Not sure how that would affect a pen, or if that increased pressure can affect insulin over time??? Hrmmmm.

 

I dont wanna sound persistent, or impatient, i'm just wondering if there is someone else online today that would be willing to use up one syringe and a few drops of an insulin bottle to do a repaeted test themselves on drawing up a '1 drop' dose? I just don't know if we are doing something wrong with our technique??, that there is some small point we have missing?? Or if someone else has come across this in the past? Would appreciate any input.
I know I am overly concerned about this...probably.... what can I say.... helicopter mum and overly vigilant about a micro-dose.

 

@Melinda and Kitkat are you using insulin from a pen or a vial?

 

From a vial, thanks Angela.

 

I use a vial. I'll experiment for you

 

@Angela & Cleo oh! luv ya! Angela... it would help me so much to figure this all out you got a rollercoaster cat and i got a steady freddie,,,, you are just wonderful. many thanks and xoxox

 

I just did the following (using an old vial of Lantus in the back of the fridge)
Step 1 loosen the syringe a few times and brought plunger to the half unit or the one unit line
Step 2 insert syringe in the vial and depress the plunger.
Step 3 while still holding the plunger, invert the Lantus vial.
Step 4 release plunger.
Step 5 remove syringe from vial
I did this 6 times and got one single drop each time.
Hope this helps . Let me know if I can help any more.

 

Oh so many thanks for trying it for me,

and doing that. Sounds like it was very successful, and gives me hope I will be drawing it properly now Angela. It gives me a bit more confidence I will be dosing him correctly. Thank you so much

 

Only problem with doing it like that is you are withdrawing insulin from the vial and then squirting it back into the vial which increases the likelihood of contamination. We recommend discarding any excess insulin in the syringe when drawing up the dose.

 

@Bron and Sheba (GA) sorry, i may have typed wrong or mislead, but I dont put any insulin back into the bottle once pulled into the syringe. The drop test drop gets flicked into the air like the movies.lol , and next attempt is with same empty syringe of air, and it sounds like Angela did same. But maybe you mean by doing this test over several times in succesion with the same syringe there is a possibility of contaminating the insulin with the air pushed in???? Yikes, ok. I don't know how to get over this worry

 

@Bron and Sheba (GA) can you explain this more? My Cleo is no where near needing a drop dose lol. I have been using the method from the sticky with the YouTube video and always draw more than I need and squirt the excess out over the sink.

 

If you are drawing it out of the vial and not putting excess insulin back into the vial, that is fine.
Most times when drawing up insulin you wont be doing it several times.