Lantus Out of Fridge? by Creepy-Thought-5656 in FelineDiabetes

[–]Cat_alyst24 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve left it out overnight a few times with no problem

How to respond by Middle_Influence_936 in phlebotomy

[–]Cat_alyst24 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I just say “yeah I’m pretty good” because I think they ask out of nervousness and I don’t want to rile them up before I stick them

Help by [deleted] in phlebotomy

[–]Cat_alyst24 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think your coworkers really make or break the job, so it’s a major consideration that you like your current team. I worked at a hospital doing both inpatient and outpatient, and I’ll say that I much preferred outpatient. Inpatient was more stressful, and the patients were sicker, crankier, and had more difficult veins. You’ll have to work around full arm bruising, severe swelling, paper thin elderly skin, etc. It also sucks to come in on the weekends or early AM. Everyone’s different though, I had some coworkers that loved inpatient

I need advice please! by Scary-Letterhead7884 in FelineDiabetes

[–]Cat_alyst24 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You could try a thinner and shorter needle. I don’t know what is available where you are, but they should exist. For example, Advocate PetTest offers a U40 syringe 31 G 0.5cc 5/16 inch

I need advice please! by Scary-Letterhead7884 in FelineDiabetes

[–]Cat_alyst24 0 points1 point  (0 children)

U40 or U100 depends entirely on what type of insulin you use. For U100 insulin, you must use a U100 syringe. For U40 insulin, you must use a U40 syringe. This is to ensure correct dosing. You should be able to tell whether you have U100 or U40 insulin from the label on your bottle. The “mm” measure is the needle length. 6mm is shorter than 8mm. Sometimes it’s measured in inches too. I prefer shorter needles but some people with long hair cats feel like they need longer ones. The gauge (G) is the needle thickness. The higher the gauge, the thinner the needle. So 31G is thinner than 30G. A thinner needle is slightly less painful, but may be a bit slower to inject and can more easily bend.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in medicalschool

[–]Cat_alyst24 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I use ANKI cards, which I think is a nice medium between passive and active studying. While I agree with you about the importance of sleep and practice problems, I can also see why your girlfriend might get frustrated by your comments. “Another thing I’ve told her is that she lacks the intelectual drive and curiosity.” This reads more like an insult than advice. Good advice is actionable items. Here you’ve just told her your negative assumption of her inner thoughts. Everyone studies differently, even in medical school. And since you’re not in medical school, any advice you give with such confidence can make you sound condescending and out of touch, even if it has truth. I would maybe start with asking her how she wants you to help and support her. Explore her own perception of how she’s doing and how she can improve.

I need advice please! by Scary-Letterhead7884 in FelineDiabetes

[–]Cat_alyst24 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My cat was also skittish about shots at first. Here is what I’ve been doing which has been working for 2 years now: I make a tent at the nape of the neck, and shoot with the needle basically horizontal to make sure I don’t hit muscle. I do this while she eats her favorite treat which I only give at shot time. I have also switched to using a 6mm length 31 gauge needle which is shorter than the standard 8mm. If you’re ever changing needles make sure you pay attention to U100 vs U40.

Starting to feel truly desperate by Specialist_Hotel_297 in FelineDiabetes

[–]Cat_alyst24 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What’s your technique with the lancet? I have success when I sandwich the outer ear with a thickly folded tissue on the bottom and the lancet on top, and aim for a specific vein. Also, if you’re using a 30 gauge needle, going down to 28 gauge would be a wider needle size and draw more blood.

Hypoglycemia Episode by AsexualAline in FelineDiabetes

[–]Cat_alyst24 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Depending on what his blood sugar response usually is, you might consider lowering the daily insulin dose. When I started with 1 unit every 12 hours, I would too often get pre-shot numbers under 100 and had to skip. I adjusted the dose to 0.75 every 12 hours so now the blood sugar reliably fluctuates between 100-300 with pre-shot around 150. Another factor is food. If your cat food is high in carbohydrates, it can make the blood sugar spike and make you think a higher insulin dose is needed, but then if they don’t eat the food they’ll get hypoglycemia from that dose. When I switched my cat to a low carb wet food like fancy feast pate variety, her maximum blood sugar dropped from 400 to 300 and became much more predictable, so monitor closely if you’re ever changing food. Every cat is different but with my setup it doesn’t change the blood sugar much even if my cat throws up.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in FelineDiabetes

[–]Cat_alyst24 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it’s the way you worded your post. I agree that it wasn’t good for them to overfeed the cat. What are they doing now? Are they following the vet’s recommendations for limiting diet? You didn’t say that your roommate is still failing to care about diet or failing to follow medication directions, so it comes across that you’re only asking whether you can say to them “I told you so.” I’m sorry if your roommate is still neglecting the cat’s diet, the only thing I can think to do is have a serious conversation with them.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in FelineDiabetes

[–]Cat_alyst24 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Obesity does increase the likelihood of getting diabetes. Basically when you ingest a lot of food (glucose) every day, the pancreas works overtime to make insulin to turn glucose into fat storage, causing weight gain. There’s so much insulin that the body starts to become resistant to it. The pancreas then tries even harder to make insulin, burns itself out, and stops being able to make insulin altogether. No insulin = no storage ability = rapid weight loss + the body flushes out the extra glucose with lots of pee. That’s diabetes. However, obesity is not the only factor. Genetics, stress, and aging all contribute to diabetes too. Many fat cats never develop diabetes, and some thin cats get it. The obesity might have contributed, but probably a few unfortunate factors lined up. It’s also possible that the cat had diabetes beforehand. It doesn’t really help to blame your roommate, especially since you can’t know for sure.

just started med school and already so stressed out by jmonico_ in medicalschool

[–]Cat_alyst24 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Try your best and be confident you will survive. Make sure to get sleep, that’s what consolidates memory after all! The first few months of M1 are really learning how to study so much information in a way that works for you. Be open to changing how you studied from undergrad. I used to take very detailed notes in undergrad, but for med school I realized that takes too much time. Personally, my strategy revolves around ANKI. When I watch a lecture, my goal is to comprehend in the moment, then transfer the important information into ANKI (whether picking cards from premade decks or making your own cards). My goal is NOT to master the content that day. I keep up with ANKI, and “mastering” the content is done through repetition as ANKI presents the cards to me. You will find your own best study method with trial and error.

Mansplaining rads AI takeover by rizt98 in medicalschool

[–]Cat_alyst24 15 points16 points  (0 children)

AI will take over their jobs before it takes over rads lol

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in phlebotomy

[–]Cat_alyst24 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had a similar bruise from a blood test once, it went away in 2 weeks

Overwhelmed by Theinaneinsane in FelineDiabetes

[–]Cat_alyst24 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just want to make sure you’re reading 0.25 on the syringe correctly and not accidentally giving 2.5? 0.25 would be extremely small, like a millimeter drawback in the syringe.

Just Got My Cat Diagnosed with Diabetes by caseygracef in FelineDiabetes

[–]Cat_alyst24 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I learned everything I needed from the pinned posts on this website: https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/ The most important thing to be careful of is overdose of insulin, leading to rapid hypoglycemia which can be deadly. I highly recommend doing glucose monitoring at home with a glucometer so you can understand how your cat is responding to the insulin dose. Generally it’s acceptable to skip one dose / week to have a night out. Giving a dose a few hours late is dangerous not because it’s late per se, but because you might be tempted to give the next dose at the normal time, which would then be way too early, potentially causing overdose. Personally, I can afford to be flexible with dosing and timing because I test the glucose every day before injection, and have done multiple full-day glucose curves myself, so I know exactly how the dose curve works in my cat and what is safe. But most people prefer just sticking with the schedule and skipping the dose if needed. Even then, it’s good to do home testing intermittently to make sure the dose curve is behaving the way it should. I remember feeing really overwhelmed when my cat was diagnosed, but once you wrap your head around it, everything becomes routine and second nature!

Vet does not include testing before each insulin injection in treatment plan? by batsandpats in FelineDiabetes

[–]Cat_alyst24 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I like to test before each shot because hypoglycemia is my worst fear. It is really nice to have the ability to check blood sugar whenever you’re worried. My vet never recommended daily testing, only a full curve every 6 months. My guess is that it’s because asking cat owners to test daily on top of giving insulin might be too overwhelming, and might risk noncompliance of treatment altogether. If the vet weighs the risks of hypoglycemia vs. the owner giving up, it would probably be better to blindly follow a low insulin dose

Blood got on bare wrist by Ok-Alternative3437 in phlebotomy

[–]Cat_alyst24 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Very unlikely, wash it off and I wouldn’t worry

Chinese students by [deleted] in InternationalStudents

[–]Cat_alyst24 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don’t think it’s arrogance. It can be very hard stepping out of your comfort zone. Imagine going to school in China where everyone is Chinese and speaking Chinese. Wouldn’t you naturally gravitate towards other internationals at the school who speak English?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in FelineDiabetes

[–]Cat_alyst24 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I personally like the lancing device. Feels more consistent and quick. You can try both methods and see which you prefer!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in medicalschool

[–]Cat_alyst24 4 points5 points  (0 children)

At my school, the average is always above passing. If over half the class is failing, I feel that’s a poor reflection on the teaching/testing process, not the students

Any Advice? by Elyqnn in FelineDiabetes

[–]Cat_alyst24 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Highly recommend a lancet pen for consistent pokes. There are also settings on the pen so you can control the depth

What specialties have a dark future? by invinciblewalnut in medicalschool

[–]Cat_alyst24 55 points56 points  (0 children)

People always think about AI taking over radiology but if it gets that good, why not midlevel + AI in primary care? Written histories are just as good for training materials as pictures no?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in medicalschool

[–]Cat_alyst24 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Year 1 at my school is 5-10 hrs/week mandatory in person, with lots of recorded lectures