First one done

[cjsmith]

First insulin dose given tonight. I'm so proud of me... for facing it, for being willing to fumble my way through it, but mostly for catching her when she tried to run off with the dang thing still hanging out of her skin.

And she's eating, thank God, she's eating.

Comments

[jb98.livejournal.com]

Go you! Congrats! I think you're very brave.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm trying to be, because the other choices are bad. :)

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

Yay! Times like that, someone needs a camera. ;-)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

No kidding. What an image!

[sunnydale47.livejournal.com]

Go you! That's a real accomplishment!

I knew you could do it! It will get easier, you'll see. Friday's pilling is getting better to as I (and he!) get used to it.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I hope it gets easier fast. ;-) I'm glad to hear Friday's pilling is getting better! That's got to be a little bit of a relief.

[eeyore-grrl.livejournal.com]

*hug*

a high school friends cat needed to get insulin shots, too. apparently you will both get used to it...

take care of you all!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks! *hugback*

And you get cheerleaders!

[therobbergirl.livejournal.com]

Yay, that's great.

Re: And you get cheerleaders!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Ooo, I like cheerleaders. Do I get to pick the team colors?

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

You are a good cat mom!!!

(As you can tell from the photo, Kathy is a bad cat mom!)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks! *laughter* Kathy is not a bad cat mom! Kathy is a fun and quirky cat mom. Cats have a near-monopoly on quirky so they can hardly complain.

[datagoddess.livejournal.com]

Good!!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks! *phew*

[joedecker.livejournal.com]

Go you!!!!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks! *relief*

[hopeforyou.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad to hear that she's eating. Yay!

I'm sorry that you had to give her the shot. That's gotta be hard. How do you give a cat a shot without her squirming?

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

She's been eating okay, but when I dig out a needle full of insulin I start to get a little more focused on her food intake! Nervous Nellie here will calm down eventually I'm sure.

Quickly, I think is the answer. Also, insulin needles are very teeny. She didn't seem to mind the shot at all. Even so, I didn't succeed at the no-squirming; she darn near took off on me! Silly cat. Inexperienced humans take longer to make sure it's placed right.

[hnybny.livejournal.com]

Yay!!!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :)

[shadopanther.livejournal.com]

Congrats on suceeding with the first dose of insulin (even if Duchess did try to escape)! I'm glad to hear she is eating, that you have a confirmed diagnosis of what's going on, and that you found a GOOD new vet!

Take care & good luck with the next dose!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I am SO pleased with this new vet. I hope it's not just a "honeymoon period" in my perceptions, but at least I know this office is much more responsive than the other one.

[airporter.livejournal.com]

Well, all right! Good on you, love. I had faith - did ya feel it?

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I feeeeeeeeeel the faith! ;-)

[allanh.livejournal.com]

> I'm so proud of me...mostly for catching her
> when she tried to run off with the dang thing
> still hanging out of her skin.

OMG, you actually got me to laugh! I'm on the 13th hour of a scheduled 6-hour network directory tree merge (no, that's not a typo), and I was feeling pretty miserable until I read this entry just now. Thank you for making me laugh, even if it was for all the wrong reasons.

FWIW ... I had to go back to my vet for a replacement syringe the first time I gave my tortoise a shot, because I wasn't holding onto her leg tightly enough, and she moved and the needle bounced off of one her leg scales, bent, and shot its load onto the front of my shirt.

Who knew that oxytocin (reptilian version of pitocin) stained? It's a hormone, so I guess I should have expected it.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

YAY laughter at times when you need some!

Oh man, what a story. I'm glad the tortoise wasn't hurt - there are so many less-pleasant scenarios involving a needle bending. Stains! I never would have thought of that. I wonder if insulin would stain too.

[firecat]

You've been doing such a great job of taking care of your kitties.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Aw, thank you! From a good kittymom like you that means a lot. WAY cute icon, btw. Sleepy kiiiiitteeeeeeens!

[lkeele.livejournal.com]

Good for you, CJ. :)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :) This morning's went better because I put her with her nose to the wall. Except I stabbed myself before drawing the insulin. Oops. I'll get better, really I will!

[hitchhiker.livejournal.com]

yay!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :) The early part of the learning curve is very rewarding.

[rampling.livejournal.com]

[catching up on back LJing...]

Ahhh, the wonderful feeling of success, of working past your fear to help your cherished kitty! Good for you! So brave! Good for Duchess! Yaaaaaay!

I wonder if a lovely side effect of all this needling might be to ultimately lessen your fear of needles somewhat. That'd be quite nice!

*MORE-HUGS* and *kitty-purrs* from mira_kitty

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks muchly!

So far all this needling has suppressed my fear of needles. I deal pretty well when I'm actually doing the deed -- and then all that upset comes out in the anxiety-laden hamster wheel of my mind just before dropping off to sleep. Night before last I spent two hours not getting to sleep and grimly not puking. Fortunately it DOESN'T affect my ability to medicate Duchess, and I have high hopes that it'll get better!

[rampling.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's interesting, that you can supress it but that it does come back like that. Well "interesting" in the "too bad it still sucks" sense, that is. Still, that's a *big* improvement, I'd think -- that you're able to get through it and focus in the moment and do the important deed. I hope these aftershocks diminish -- from what you say not every night has been as bad as that two hour torment. A sign of hope, I'd think.

Ohhh, *STILL-MORE-HUGS*.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Isn't that weird? I was surprised my mind would do that. And yes, not every night was like that, which is hopeful.

*hugsback*!

[harpwolf.livejournal.com]

Congrats, CJ. Giving a shot to a cat, frequently, has got to be a challenge!
As far as running off with needles in, acupuncture patients do that all the time :)
I hope your furry sweetie does OK...

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thank you! She's a very good patient, and I'm getting a bit better at my side of things too. (In particular, I now put down the bait -- um, I mean kitty treats -- in a CORNER so she doesn't have any obvious direction to saunter off.)

[jupiter29.livejournal.com]

That's great! I'm proud of you, too. :) And what a wonderful feeling that it has such immediate effects, that will definitely make it easier to work through the phobia. :)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm relieved that it's going so well so far. She clearly isn't fond of the procedure, but she still likes the kitty treats well enough. I'm *very* glad to be seeing the effects.

[jupiter29.livejournal.com]

No, I can imagine why she wouldn't like it much, but at least it's not too terrible. And, let's face it, cats just randomly pick things to not like. My cat cowers every time there's a thunderstorm. And what can I do except pet him? It's not like it really is good for him or anything. I'd make it stop if I could, I just don't have that power. :)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I certainly wouldn't like it much myself. (I've stabbed myself by mistake twice and those needles aren't painless.) But I don't have the power to make this stop either, not and keep her healthy, so that's just the way it's going to be.

[jupiter29.livejournal.com]

But you ARE keeping her healthy. That's the important thing. :)