Itchy skin

[linkenjak]

We bought one of to use for Louie's shots but are a little confused about how to use it. There are spacer bars that can be used to reduce the amount of needle that goes into the dog. I will use the cap for the .3ml needle but does anyone use this and use the spacer bars. my concern is that not enough of the needle will come out to completely inject his insulin. Any help would be appreciated.

[Patty]

Re: Inject Ease by BD

Jane is using it currently with Franklin. I'll pull up a link to their video in a minute. But here's a link to another thread about the device http://www.k9diabetes.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4558

[Patty]

Re: Inject Ease by BD

Here's Franklin's video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMLp0...e_gdata_player

[linkenjak]

Lancet gauge

We are testing Louie on the inner lip and I was wondering what size Lancet people use. We have used the 28 gauge, but was wondering if anyone is using the thinner gauge and why. Thanks

[jesse girl]

Re: Lancet gauge

my jesse uses the one touch ultra soft i think it is 28 gauge but have used much thinner most times people give them to jesse or when ordering strips on ebay they give lancets with the order

never seemed to be a problem for jesse using a thinner gauge on the lip

[BestBuddy]

Re: Inject Ease by BD

I think if you use a BD syringe in the BD Inject Ease then you would need to use the correct end cap 1ml, .5 or .3 depending on your syringe. I didn't use the spacer caps on the short needles but did when I had the longer needles. I also used the spacers and end caps if I had a different brand of syringe as they were all different shapes and sizes.

I tested each brand of syringe by just putting in the device and clicking to see how much needle was exposed out the end to see if I needed to make adjustments.

Jenny

[Judi]

Re: Lancet gauge

We use the One Touch Ultra Meter but the Accuchek Softclik lancet and clicking device with the thicker lancets. It isn't always easy getting blood from Jenny.

I know that if I stick her close to her canine tooth and if she has recently chewed a tiny piece of dried liver treat, I'll have better luck getting blood.

how is it going for you?

[linkenjak]

Re: Lancet gauge

Thank you everyone for your help. I don't want to use too thin of a needled because I don't want to prick him more than once for each draw, but I also don't want the lancet so thick that it causes him unneeded pain.

[linkenjak]

Re: Inject Ease by BD

thanks Jenny. I think I'll do a test myself also. I am using short needles so I shouldn't have to use the spacer caps, but I'll check to see.
Thanks everyone for your help.

[Cabindream]

Re: Lancet gauge

SLN24 - Orange - 2.2 mm - G22 used on Denali's elbow callous works great!

http://www.medipurpose.com

[linkenjak]

Exercise

I was wondering how much exercise everyone's doggie gets. Louie was diagnosed diabetic about 2 weeks ago. Since then we have maintained his exercise schedule which is morning walk about 2 miles and then a shorter walk, about a mile in the afternoon. He is a 21 lb terrier/poodle mix. Is it ok to maintain this schedule? He doesn't seem to have any problems with it at all.

[jesse girl]

Re: Exercise

hi and welcome

that can be a difficult question to answer but we do know dogs have the potential to drop and it can be quite substantially during exercise with active insulin

i test my jesses blood sugar at home since the first week of diagnosis and shes been diabetic almost 3 years

early on she could drop a 100 points or more on a 20 minute walk i figured this out by testing her blood sugar before we left and tested on our return that gave the information what we were able to do to make it work

if she dropped to much we looked for a better time when insulin was not so strong and or added a spoonful of honey before the walk which gave her some glucose so she did not drop so much during

we have been doing the same routine for a while now and her body has adapted and she does not drop anymore or rise (sometimes that happens to with weak insulin) she does not need any honey either so time and consistency gives the body a chance to adapt to the new reality

i always bring some liquid sugar with me during the walk you can never take this disease for granted

[amholmesy]

Re: Exercise

Hi and welcome to you and Louie

CJ is like Jesse he can drop a lot after a walk . I home test like Jesse girl - in fact most of us on the forum test our doggies BG levels. Testing first thing in the morning before food and insulin and the same in the evening before food and insulin really helps you to see how your pup is doing. I test CJ after his walk if his BG is a bit lower in the am. I also often check him at around 1pm.
Can you tell us a little bit about Louie - are you home testing him? How much food does he get a day? How much insulin> Have you done a curve? What insulin do you use?


Every dog is different and responds differently to insulin and food and exercise. CJ does not show any signs of Hypo - when BG does very low - some dogs get weak and shake a bit and look a bit dazed. So that is why I always test him if I see his BG is a bit lower than normal.
I also keep a journal where I write everything - and I mean everything- down about CJ - every day I start with his BG testing results then I put in how much insulin he gets what he ate and any medication I gave him. I also write down anything thats different about him for example if he wont eat or his tummy feels hard or is gurgling a bit.
Its really helpful to look back and see what I did if the same thing happens again. I also carry honey with me on his walks - just in case.

You have come to the best place for help with Louie this forum is fantastic and the people are so generous with their advice and support. I could not have got through this first 7 months without their help.

Looking forward to hearing more about Louie!

Anne-Marie

[linkenjak]

Re: Questions about Louie

Louie is a mini poodle/terrier mix that is almost 7 years old. We have had him about 1 and 1/2 years and we got him from a rescue group. He currently is on 5.5 units of Humulin N twice daily. We are home cooking for him and he gets chicken/veggies pureed in the food processor and tiny bit of carbs at each meal. He was diagnose exactly 2 weeks ago today. We did a curve on him at the 7 day mark and his numbers are as follows:
6:45am-219-meal/insulin
9:45-162
12:45-184
3:45-173
6:45pm-193
Our vet seems happy with the numbers, but told us we could increase insulin by .5 units and do another curve to see if we could bring it down a bit. She told us the closer we get to 100 the better, but like most people, we are nervous about it going too low. We are learning so much from this board, and are researching as much as possible to do the best we can possibly do for him.

[jesse girl]

Re: Questions about Louie

those are very nice numbers

i would hold at this point for a couple weeks and maybe do another curve

if you do like walks and exercise its maybe better to be a bit higher with some cushion then to be lower without

you can adjust a dose in quarter unit increments if you have syringes with half unit markings you just split that in half to get a quarter unit