home testing

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Sofiecusion

Sofiecusion

Member Since 2015
Since I am new to having a kitty with diabetes, what is the best home testing product out there to test my kitty's glucose levels at home? Also how often do you test? Do you look for numbers similar to whats normal in humans (around 100 give or take about 20) or a different number? Again sorry for all the questions. Again i am new to all this....
 
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Test before you shoot.
When possible, test during the nadir period which is often +5 to +7 hours post shot.
 
Aren't there stickies somewhere for the optimal numbers on a human meter? Think its 50-120..
 
Did your vet not explain things to you? I'm starting to think that many of them don't as so many people that come here have those same questions. I started with the Alphatrak2 as its easier, but the test strips are really pricey. I just switched to the ReliOn Micro, $15 at Walmart and about $35 for 100 test strips. Your vet should tell you what numbers you want and when or not to shoot. I believe that under 160 is best, but under 200 is a pretty good target.

If your vet doesn't answer your questions very well, please find a new one! :)
 
For the insulin demo, I met with a tech. They didnt mention home testing at all. I have taken my kitties to the same vet for years. They have a feline only practice which has been open for over 20 years. I know my vet has had cats with diabetes as her own personal cats as well as having kitties with other chronic illnesses. Shes even adopted them! I know when an elderly lady could no longer go under the bed to give her kitty insulin, they took the kitty in and ges now one of the kitties thst live at the clinic. She has been in practice over 30 years. My work schedule didnt allow me to meet with her since the diagnosis, however Kira and I will be meeting with her next month. I wont give up on them yet.
 
Sofiecusion said:
Since I am new to having a kitty with diabetes, what is the best home testing product out there to test my kitty's glucose levels at home? Also how often do you test? Do you look for numbers similar to whats normal in humans (around 100 give or take about 20) or a different number? Again sorry for all the questions. Again i am new to all this....
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Welcome, Lacey, to the FDMB. You have come to the right place for answers and advice on how to best care for your sugar kitty. Whenever you have a question, please ask away. Someone will be along to help you. By the way, I love your avatar! Kira is magnificent!

I use an inexpensive ReliOn Micro meter from Walmart for Hannah. I also have an AlphaTrak that I purchased from our vet, but to be honest, I found the cost of the meter itself to be way too pricey... and the strips are ridiculously expensive, as well. It's a great meter, but I test a lot and the cost of the strips was getting way out of hand. It's wonderful that you will be testing at home. It's important that you always test before giving insulin. That way, you will know how much insulin to give and you won't be dosing if Kira's numbers are too low. It's recommended that beginners don't give insulin for a pre-shot number that is less than 200. Once you have gathered numbers and you gain experience, you will get an idea as to how low a particular dose takes her and when it starts to wear off. A few tests throughout the day (and night, too, if you are able) will be very helpful.

You can refer to BJM's Glucometer Notes for reference numbers for both pet and human meters. Be sure to check it out. Best of luck to you and your beautiful sugar baby.
 
I wonder why more vets don't recommend home testing right from the start. We really got lucky with our new vet, ( our previous vet lost her sight in a car wreck) he told me the insulin would be in 2 days later and told me to plan on spending an hour at the office with Goof. He and the tech went over everything and demonstrated testing and shooting.

I'm happy with the ReliOn meter and it's much less expensive to use. Have you been able to test at home yet?
 
Mogmom said:
Did your vet not explain things to you? I'm starting to think that many of them don't as so many people that come here have those same questions. I started with the Alphatrak2 as its easier, but the test strips are really pricey. I just switched to the ReliOn Micro, $15 at Walmart and about $35 for 100 test strips. Your vet should tell you what numbers you want and when or not to shoot. I believe that under 160 is best, but under 200 is a pretty good target.

If your vet doesn't answer your questions very well, please find a new one! :)
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I just re-read my post and it sounded kinda b****y! Sorry, I didn't mean it that way. Lol. I was trying keep my post short and sweet, but the sweet got lost!
 
Mogmom said:
I wonder why more vets don't recommend home testing right from the start. We really got lucky with our new vet, ( our previous vet lost her sight in a car wreck) he told me the insulin would be in 2 days later and told me to plan on spending an hour at the office with Goof. He and the tech went over everything and demonstrated testing and shooting.

I'm happy with the ReliOn meter and it's much less expensive to use. Have you been able to test at home yet?
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What is bad is that different vets within the same office can have a different opinion on hometesting. With my first diabetic cat, Rascal, not only did they show me how to test, they gave me my first meter.

When I had Witn and Spot, one of the vets in the same office kept trying to tell me that I did not need to home test. What was surprising was that she was a new vet and supposedly was up to date on the most current treatments. I liked her, but we made the decision to agree to disagree about hometesting and I was going to continue testing. But she finally realized I actually knew what I was doing, especially when I pointed out a couple abnormal trends with both cats BG readings. In this case, once a week and on different days, each cat would have a low reading. Not hypo low, but too low to shoot. She left to start her own practice and hopefully she now realizes the importance of hometesting.
 
I gave her a shot 12 hours ago. Just did a home test with the new reliOn meter. She tested at 318. Im thinking you guys are right....she will need a nightly dose as well. :(
 
Yup. You want the numbers to be under the renal threshold, the level at which glucose spills into the urine (varies a bit based on the cat and any renal issues).
 
Hi Lacey,

You may find the following info from the FDMB FAQ's helpful in giving a context to the test results you're getting:

"Q6.1. What is regulation?

A6.1. There are different definitions of regulation. As hometesting becomes more common, we've been getting a better understanding of what cats and their humans might be capable of. Janet & Fitzgerald propose the following "regulation continuum":
  • Not treated [blood glucose typically above 300 mg/dl (16.7 mmol/L), poor clinical signs]
  • Treated but not regulated [often above 300 (16.7) and rarely near 100 (5.6), poor clinical signs]
  • Regulated [generally below 300 (16.7) with glucose nadir near 100 (5.6), good clinical signs, no hypoglycemia]
  • Well regulated [generally below 200-250 (11.1-13.9) and often near 100 (5.6), no hypoglycemia]
  • Tightly regulated [generally below 150 (8.3) and usually in the 60-120 (3.3-6.7) range, no hypoglycemia, still receiving insulin]
  • Normalized [60-120 (3.3-6.7) except perhaps directly after meals -- usually not receiving insulin]
There may also be an extra category of "mostly above 300 (16.7) but with good clinical signs" which occurs with some cats who are getting insulin. We don't know why it happens, but such a cat probably should not be considered to be regulated. On the other end of the spectrum, it is possible for a cat who is not getting insulin to have blood glucose as low as 40 mg/dl (2.2 mmol/L) on a home glucometer. If you have a non-diabetic cat, try testing her with the same meter to get a safe comparison figure."

That info is from this document:
http://binkyspage.tripod.com/faq.html#regulation

Eliz
 
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