Cross post - just did my first home test - question.

Her glucose level is 330. That's a good 200 points lower than the stressed out number she got at the vet's when he said to raise her units to 3. I never did that, because I just had a feeling it was elevated because of the stress. I've been giving her 2 units per dose. I'll give her her 2 units now. How long do I wait before testing again to see the results of this dose?

 

Re: Cross post - just did my first home test.

Yay! Now the only other thing I might suggest is that you change the name of your first subject line to something like "testing question" just a thought. Good luck! I am happy you found this message board, it is truely a life saver :mrgreen:

 

Generally speaking 3-8 cycles.

Please read the info in the Sticky at the top of this forum. There's some info in there that may help you.

Do you have a spread sheet? Instructions can be found the the Tech Support Forum for this. And while you are at it maybe a profile too?

Thanks Paige for your encouragement! :smile:

 

Do you know where his nadir is? If not, I'd test at +3 and +6 for starters. Gator can give you more information about doing a curve or mini curve (which you *should* do at home) but, for the short term, +3 and +6 would give you valuable information.

How hard was it to get the home test? Great job!
Michele

 

Meme,
It would be great if you could give a brief summary of Demi's diabetes, your insulin, what your feeding, what meter you are using, what your vet has told you, etc.

Its even better if you could write it into a profile, which gets attached to your signature( like you see on on ours) then people can refer to it before they answer all your future questions. This link will help with this: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=486 There is a form you can fill out which is pretty easy (look for something like coolification link). If you need help with adding a pic to your name , scroll down to my post in there- I tried to put it in simple steps after I did mine :lol:

The spread sheet is awesome and will help you and others (including your vet) keep track of her doses and responses to those doses, its really important and useful. Heres a link to make it : viewtopic.php?f=6&t=16

Welcome! and keep testing.... (and giving freeze dried meat treats as a reward)

 

for this shot cycle you should be able to see the insulin start working about two hours after the shot. it should keep working or lowering the glucose level for roughly 6 to 8 hours after you gave the shot and then start petering out and the glucose level will start rising again until you are back to your next shot scheduled shot time.

you can't go wrong with testing so if your curiosity takes over you can test every couple hours if you'd like to see what is happening.

 

Good job trusting your instincts!!! 3u is quite a lot, and many cats never need that much.

Are you testing before each shot? Sorry if I missed that, but wanted to be sure you know to do that. Since you are on a dose you have already been on for a while, test away! If you have limited opportunities, I would go for the 2 preshots each day, and then one mid-cycle check when you can get one in. +6 is nice one - although it probably isn't the exact point where your cat nadirs, if you have to get just one test in, at least that gives you an idea of what the lower #s in the cycle might be.

I'm not sure what you already know or not, so I'll mention a couple more things just in case:

- With PZI, most of us have a "no-shoot" # where we won't give insulin if the PS is below that, for safety reasons. For newbies, 200 is usually a good starting point. Once you get a little data you can move that down to 180 and then 150 with more data, but for now I would suggest you use 200 since you are just starting testing. If you get a PS below 200, wait 30 minutes or an hour and retest. Once the # is over 200 (or is in the upper 100s and clearly rising), go ahead and give the insulin.

- If you get any # in the cycle that is below 50 or so, lower the dose a little bit at that point, so you don't risk #s that are lower than that. You probably don't need to lower by a lot, but maybe 1/4 unit or so (and of course ideally just post here for advice if you are in that situation & people can help you figure out what dose to shoot).

I mention this stuff because I've seen people continue with the same dose even after they get low nadirs or low PS, and it usually lands them pulling an all-nighter on Health with the Karo syrup in hand!

Welcome, and congrats on getting your first test!!! Great job!

 

Hi Meme--good job on getting your first test. Just a little warning--testing can become addictive!

PZI takes about 2 hours to start working (onset) after a shot. Then somewhere around 6 hours after the shot it peaks, meaning you get the lowest reading of the 12 hour cycle. After peak, also called nadir, you will see numbers start to rise. You hope the insulin stays active for at least 12 hours (called duration).

You should always test before each shot (called preshot). When you test after that can vary. It's important to know when the shot peaks for Demi because that's the number you use to make dose adjustments, in conjunction with preshots. So today, you may want to test 6 hours after the shot (written as +6). Tonight, you could test at +4, tomorrow +5--all to try and starting determining the general time at which a dose peaks for Demi.

After that, you'll want to test around between +1.5 and +3 to find onset. Then between +9 and +11 for duration.

 

wanted to add that I was assuming that you were already planning on testing pre-shot!

How did your evening go?

 

Whew! Just got in my am pretest. I only wasted 3 strips before getting my result of 376. I gave her her morning dose of 2 units, and I'll retest her again around 3:30/4. Both of us have to get used to this! The blood diddn't come out well, and she was struggling, so I'm sure her stress hormones kicked in a little (though not as badly as at the vets!)

 

It's easier if you can figure out a way to make this HER choice instead of something you are doing to her. With Lucy, I put newspapers down on the floor in an area I could set aside as our testing place. She LOVES newspaper so she was quite happy hanging out there. Then I could go to her. Also, I sing to her (still!) when I test. In the beginning, it kept us both calm. Now it's just become a funny routine that we share.

 

Hi Meme,
You have gotten a lot of good advice and input here and I don't really have anything to add. I just wanted to welcome you and say Hi! I hope we continue to see you and Demi here.

 

I get Soccer's food ready before I test him. I test him in the kitchen and IMMEDIATELY put the food down. He doesn't have to wait for me to open the can! This helped with the positive-reinforcement of testing. Before I started doing this, he would bolt as soon as he smelled the rice-sock in the microwave. Now, he comes RUNNING when he smells the rice-sock!

 

My testing tips

Hey Meme,

I about had a full on hissy-fit meltdown when I was trying to get the hang of things. You'll get more efficient with it.

Below are some of my testing tips [some of this copied from other posts of mine]

What size lancets are you using? I like 28g lancets. These are the ones I buy from Hocks:
http://hocks.com/hocks-healthcare/hocks ... 80001.html
If you have small lancets like 30g or 31g then this could easily explain not being able to get enough blood.

Make sure you get that ear good and warm [without scorching it of course] . Sometimes it takes a while. You should be able to feel the warmth come through the ear into your palm.

I get H in a "safe" place like one of his beds around here. I do it on his ground. Some people advocate doing in a "room of terror" but I think it's better to do it where they feel comfortable.

Once you poke their ear sometimes you will not see any blood or not enough blood. Then you have to "milk" the ear. The milking technique is what takes some practice. The only way I can describe it is to set your thumbs on your index fingers with the tips of your index fingers and the tips of your thumbs touching. Then push your thumbs forward. You can vary the angle of your index fingers so that they make a straight line away from each other or make a "V" in either direction. I think I may get the best results when the "V" of the thumbs is a very wide upside down "V" and the index fingers make a normal "V." Hope this makes sense.

It takes some practice to get the right setting on the lancer [I call it the clicker]. I like the one that came with my OneTouch Ultra mini. A setting of "4" of "10" - "10" being the deepest - seems about right on it. Some come with a clear cap that one would only use of they were sticking the paw. It just allows deeper lancing I think. Anyway...

You are not aiming for the vein but the sweet spot between the vein and the edge of the ear - right? Even though I thought I had read everything when I got started, somehow I didn't get it right when I started... :roll: When you are done testing apply pressure to the area for about 30 seconds - this will reduce bruising and eventually callousing of the ear.

Make sure to reward kitty [maybe with a low carb treat] after you test [or even before during and after lol].

Hang in there you guys are doing good. :smile:

 

A very thin coat of vaseline before the test might help the blood drop "bead" instead of spread out into the ear fur. And some people spread a little neosporin on the ear after applying pressure to stop the bleeding.

(Question -- I don't do the neosporin, is there something magical about it? I'm a generic brand person, will the triple antibiotic ointment that I use for the rest of us work for the cats?)

 

Hey just wanted to mention that I can't see your spreadsheet. It says I don't have permission to view it. Go back over those steps and see if maybe you missed something. Post in tech forum if you cant figure it out.

Have you viewed the testing tips and videos in the Health Links forum? viewforum.php
Something there might help you.
:smile:

 

I've found that the spreading junk on H's ear actually inhibits the beading [as does the washing off of the junk]. Also if I do anything to his ear that displaces his natural oil [like washing junk off], that I definitely will not get a bead [sometimes for days later]. But some swear by the spreading some sort of petroleum jelly technique.

According to wikipedia on Neosporin, "The original ointment contains three different antibiotics: bacitracin, neomycin, and polymyxin B. Other brand names for this mixture include Mycitracin and Topisporin. The generic drug name for this mixture is 'Triple antibiotic ointment.'"

I'm a generic brand person too. :smile:

 

Thanks for all your input. You've been incredibly helpful already!!!

I just published the spreadsheet, so hopefully it will work properly now. Please let me know if it still doesn't work.

Also, I spoke with my vet, and he was so happy that I'm home testing. He wants me to do it every 3 hours today. He was impressed with my initiative, and I told him it was because of you all that I started doing it!

 

GOT IT, HURRAY! you are on your way!

 

Great job on getting your spreadsheet up. Now we can watch Demi's numbers. :razz:

On the Neosporin, I've heard and I've tried using the Neosporin that has a pain killer in it. If your kitties ear gets sore, you could try that. Blackie is so easy I don't have to warm his ear or put anything on it. I did buy reading glasses, though, just so I could see the blood drop on his black ear.

Your vet sounds good. I look forward to hearing more about Demi.