Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Abby vs Stress



Abby and I have been on our own the past couple of days while my husband went off on his annual ski trip with his brother. He wasn't supposed to return until late today, but his brother ended up in the emergency room with appendicitis, so we both lucked out and he came home early (not to mention Kit who was over the moon her dad was back). His brother is doing just fine btw so need to worry about him.

Abby, as I have mentioned before, has been throwing me some incredibly weird numbers. I started to wonder if it might not be the meter since I originally bought it when Abby was here the first time. I decided to go out and buy another meter - this time in a nice bright red color for something different.


Well that was a bit of a difference wasn't it. Meters generally can have a 20% variance from the actual reading so it is possible that one was reading up and the other was reading down.  The only way to hone in on the actual number is to test two or three times.  Two if the two readings match, three if they don't. Talk about frustrating and expensive.  Relion Prime strips are only $0.18 each, but that still adds up fast!  I would very much like to invest in a meter that seems more accurate according to what others are saying but they have test strips that are closer to a dollar each. I can find them online cheaper but that involves ordering and waiting for them to show up. The general recommendations is that the Accu check Aviva tends to give the number right the first time.

I don't really know what to do because while the meter is throwing me some weird numberage, it is getting me in the right ballpark and that ballpark has Weird Al playing at it.. like the other day she had a nice downward trend but around hour eight she had surpassed her starting bg (they should hit back at 12 hours in time for the next shot) and then her levels lowered again.  I am not sure if her pancreas is trying to come back to do it's job, or if her liver is still in the mix from all of the overdosing she has been through, or if because her metabolism forces her 12 hour insulin to only last 10.

I am fairly certain that her being so very stressed has a lot to do with her numbers, and I thought it would be nice to get her some Rescue Remedy or some Spirit Essences. I knew I had SE for the kittens, so I went to check out what I had and came back to Abby with Stress Stopper and Save Spaces.  I have always used the spray tops in them and for Abby I sprayed some on my hands intending to rub it on her. Well Abby heard the spray go off and she FREAKED.  She cowered, looked very uncomfortable, looked for an escape and then jumped off the couch and ran around the room to the side of the couch. She looked very much like she wanted to get behind the couch and hide but she wouldn't, she couldn't.  I swear that whomever had her before this must have been so rough on her, and was more rough when she hid in places that was hard to get her out from. Eventually Abby moved and went into the cave that is in the white end table in the room.  Her eyes were so wide and bug-eyed, that my heart broke in two for her.


She so needs someone special and patient to care for her who will not use spray bottles.. I think she would prefer a man, but she totally makes do with me and will purr and make air biscuits when I pat her so a man is not a necessity. She just tends to wait to eat when she wants loving, and she will wait a bit longer when my husband is there patting her.

Hopefully in the mean time she can become a bit more zen and less freaked out over things. She has shown some improvement since she has been here so I just need to relax over the whole situation..

13 comments:

  1. Poor Abby! I ache for what this girl has probably been through in the past... and I really hope you can help her get past as much of it as possible.

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  2. Here in Australia my husband has started using an Accu Chek mobile meter. It's compact and has a testing 'scroll' rather than strip. You buy a cartridge of this strip and it automatically advances after a test has been taken. The lancet is also built into the side of the meter, it's an all-in-one solution. https://www.accu-chek.com.au/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_303_303_-1_50909_301_301_301_Products

    Next bit, most strips come with a solution for calibrating your meter. All meters are going to read a bit differently, so find one you really like and calibrate it every now and again.

    In Aus, it is now recommended for a lot of diabetics to split their insulin into three doses throughout the day. It's more work, sure, but if you have the time, you might try that regime to at least get Abby stable.

    And as I'm sure you're aware - stress causes blood glucose peaks. A lesser known fact (picked up when I was working in a diabetes research laboratory) is that cells have a 'memory'. BG can go up quickly, but if levels have been high for awhile, it takes longer to come down then you would expect for the amount of insulin administered. This is why once BG is under control it may take less insulin to keep in range then it did previously.

    Poor Abby, I hate to see her so worried about a simple spray. You just have to wonder what has happened to so traumatize them.

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  3. oh - forgot to mention when writing about the Accu Chek - it uses a lot LESS blood to get a good sample.

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  4. Oh that is heartbreaking. Poor Abby. Like Summer, I sure hope you can help her through this. I'm glad she's shown improvement and has you and your husband's love and care.

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  5. You have to wonder if something bad happened to her with a spray bottle if she reacted like that. :-(

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  6. Glad your husband's brother is OK.
    How Abby reacted to the spray breaks my heart, too. Poor baby.

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  7. Poor Abby. Someone in her past must have been not very nice with a spray bottle. We sure hope that you all can get those numbers all straightened out, and that things will be stress-free soon.

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  8. Poor baby Abby, what a tough time you're dealing with.

    Emma and Buster

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  9. Oh, poor Abby! We call spray bottles "cat mortifiers" because Newton and Pierre are both afraid of them, but they are normal cat afraid, not bad-experience afraid. We hope that her time with you will help her stabilize both emotionally and insulin-wise.

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  10. We hope everybody is doing better...Please have a much less chaotic rest of the week!

    Noodle hugs...

    Noodle and crew

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  11. Poor Abby! Do you still have the droppers for the SE? Then you wouldn't need to spray it (btw, I do the same thing, spray the SE on my hands and rub all over the cats).

    Island Cat Mom

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  12. oh no, poor Abby. We sure wish she hadn't freaked. But we also know that she's int he very best possible place to grow in confidence and get her diabetes under better control. Wise people, those shelter peeps, the ones who asked you to foster her.

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