6/1 / Dino AMPS=144

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Hi and Welcome. This late on a Friday night (in the US), you probably won't get a lot of responses, but there'll be people around in the morning to help. Meanwhile, have you read the stickies at the top of the previous page? Start with New to the Group?

Basics: You'll need a meter. Most of us use human meters, as the test strips are much less expensive than the Alpha Trak, which is a veterinary meter. They are very accurate at lower numberw and vary as the BG increases. If you have Walmart near you, the Reli-On meters are inexpensive and very good, with reasonable prices for the test strips. To keep your kitty safe, you want to, at a minimum, test at shot time, and then test again 3-6 hours later. You'll need lancets, too, for poking the ear to get the blood. Some of us use a lancing device, and some of us just use the lancet freehand. If your kitty is sensitive to noises, the device might not be a good choice for you, as it makes a clicking sound. You need to warm the ear first to get a good blood flow. If you take a sock and fill it with uncooked rice to form a small ball, you can heat it in the microwave for about 30 seconds (depending on your microwave). Test it on your wrist like a baby bottle. Hold it behind the ear to warm it, and you can leave it there as you poke to provide support. Here is a great post that has tons of info about testing by one of our best experts.

Hopefully someone else will be along to give you more info. But do NOT be afraid to ask questions!!!! We've all been new here and we understand what you're going through. We're glad you're here.
 
Hi. Welcome to LL. as Tricia said the stickies give lots of information. I gradually read all of them and printed out how to handle low numbers when I first joined.
 
Hi there!
When my Tiggy was initially diagnosed with diabetes in April, I was very apprehensive about doing the blood glucose testing at home. I was also very anxious about the whole diabetes thing as well as very weepy. However, with the great advise / resources / fantastic support etc. I was able to get from everyone here, I was soon able to get the right supplies, start my blood glucose spread sheet, and do my blood glucose testing. At first, Tigz was VERY wiggly, but I found he soon calmed down and figured out that the sooner he worked with me, the sooner he'd be able to get a "low-carb" treat after his blood glucose test. He love, love, loves his low-carb treats and will do anything for them. Find out what works best for you and your kitty. What worked for me and Tigz, was to use one particular place to do the blood glucose testing. I use a special wicker stool, that Tiggy sits on just for his blood glucose testing. The stool is the right height for me and Tiggy, so when I do his stick in his ear, he just crouches comfortably on the stool without moving. Once he hears the "beep" after the blood is "wicked up" into the glucose test strip, he knows that it is time for his "treat". Cats are very smart and standardly catch on quickly. Best Wishes and Welcome aboard!
 
Welcome to the group!

Tricia provided some great information. The only thing that I would add is that in the beginning, it's easier to get a sample if you're using a wider gauge lancet -- a 28 or 29 gauge. Once the capillary bed in Dino's ear develops, it becomes easier to get blood and you can switch over to a thinner gauge (30 or 31 gauge).

There's a post on one of the other boards that is full of links regarding home testing. Included are instructions, pictures of where to poke, and videos. If you're comfortable letting people know what city you're in, there may be someone (either here or on the Health board) that lives in your area and they may be able to give you in-person instructions or demonstrations with home testing.

I'd also encourage you to read the sticky notes at the top of the board. They will help you to become familiar with the ins and outs of feline diabetes management.

Please ask questions. The people here are very generous with their time and knowledge.

 
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Welcome to the group! Feline Diabetes can be very overwhelming, but the good news is that this is a great group of people with lots of knowledge to share. If you have a question or are confused about something just ask, someone will share their knowledge with you to help you make your decisions.

One word of advice is try to not follow the suggestions of both your vet and this board. I have found that they usually conflict and it was quite frustrating to decide which way to turn. In my experience, the advice and suggestions here on this board pushed Sammy into remission once before and we are hoping he will get there again soon.
 
Tricia & Cinco said:
Hi and Welcome. This late on a Friday night (in the US), you probably won't get a lot of responses, but there'll be people around in the morning to help. Meanwhile, have you read the stickies at the top of the previous page? Start with New to the Group?

Basics: You'll need a meter. Most of us use human meters, as the test strips are much less expensive than the Alpha Trak, which is a veterinary meter. They are very accurate at lower numberw and vary as the BG increases. If you have Walmart near you, the Reli-On meters are inexpensive and very good, with reasonable prices for the test strips. To keep your kitty safe, you want to, at a minimum, test at shot time, and then test again 3-6 hours later. You'll need lancets, too, for poking the ear to get the blood. Some of us use a lancing device, and some of us just use the lancet freehand. If your kitty is sensitive to noises, the device might not be a good choice for you, as it makes a clicking sound. You need to warm the ear first to get a good blood flow. If you take a sock and fill it with uncooked rice to form a small ball, you can heat it in the microwave for about 30 seconds (depending on your microwave). Test it on your wrist like a baby bottle. Hold it behind the ear to warm it, and you can leave it there as you poke to provide support. Here is a great post that has tons of info about testing by one of our best experts.

Hopefully someone else will be along to give you more info. But do NOT be afraid to ask questions!!!! We've all been new here and we understand what you're going through. We're glad you're here.
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I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help. I must have been living under a rock because I never heard any this before that we can use human testers and do it at home. I will be doing a lot of reading here and I thank you for your help and support.
 
TigzMom said:
Hi there!
When my Tiggy was initially diagnosed with diabetes in April, I was very apprehensive about doing the blood glucose testing at home. I was also very anxious about the whole diabetes thing as well as very weepy. However, with the great advise / resources / fantastic support etc. I was able to get from everyone here, I was soon able to get the right supplies, start my blood glucose spread sheet, and do my blood glucose testing. At first, Tigz was VERY wiggly, but I found he soon calmed down and figured out that the sooner he worked with me, the sooner he'd be able to get a "low-carb" treat after his blood glucose test. He love, love, loves his low-carb treats and will do anything for them. Find out what works best for you and your kitty. What worked for me and Tigz, was to use one particular place to do the blood glucose testing. I use a special wicker stool, that Tiggy sits on just for his blood glucose testing. The stool is the right height for me and Tiggy, so when I do his stick in his ear, he just crouches comfortably on the stool without moving. Once he hears the "beep" after the blood is "wicked up" into the glucose test strip, he knows that it is time for his "treat". Cats are very smart and standardly catch on quickly. Best Wishes and Welcome aboard!
Click to expand...

Many many thanks. This is such helpful information. I love this message board and wonder support.
 
I tend to agree with Tina and Sammy (RE: the vets and advice here may conflict).
With my vets, I felt it was important to be as transparent as possible. I let the vets know I had joined a feline diabetes forum, I was reading up on the subject of feline diabetes, and I also communicated that I felt it was important for me to have some control over my sugar kitty's diabetes care.

I also told my vet that, no, I did not want to bring my baby in for a glucose curve or glucose testing at the vets office as it was too stressful for him. (And me!). I was able to learn how to do the blood glucose testing using all the great advice from everyone on this site and the fantastic resources. I also did a blood glucose curve, in addition to creating a spreadsheet using the super template created by the folks here too.
I took a copy of Tiggy's SS in to my vets and showed them Tigz BG numbers and blood glucose curve. I also let them know about the diet changes I made based on the great cat food info list from this site. (My vets had originally recommended I feed my sugar kitty Purina DM, but my kitty didn't like this at all)..
I'm sure every vets office is different, but my vets were extremely impressed with everything! Although they still say that they are comfortable with diabetic cats having a BG level between 60-170, I prefer to keep my sugar kitty lower (as per the info on this site). Tigz is currently off insulin and doing very well! I credit this due to the exsupport / advice from everyone here.
Best Wishes!
 
Sorry, posted this before I finished typing my last line! Lol
.. "I credit this due to the exceptional support / advice from everyone here.
Best Wishes!"
-TigzMom
 
Welcome to LL land!
As already stated start with the stickys and then post any questions you have.
Folks here are cheerleaders for you and your kitty! They are also really smart!! :)
 
Tricia & Cinco said:
Hi and Welcome. This late on a Friday night (in the US), you probably won't get a lot of responses, but there'll be people around in the morning to help. Meanwhile, have you read the stickies at the top of the previous page? Start with New to the Group?

Basics: You'll need a meter. Most of us use human meters, as the test strips are much less expensive than the Alpha Trak, which is a veterinary meter. They are very accurate at lower numberw and vary as the BG increases. If you have Walmart near you, the Reli-On meters are inexpensive and very good, with reasonable prices for the test strips. To keep your kitty safe, you want to, at a minimum, test at shot time, and then test again 3-6 hours later. You'll need lancets, too, for poking the ear to get the blood. Some of us use a lancing device, and some of us just use the lancet freehand. If your kitty is sensitive to noises, the device might not be a good choice for you, as it makes a clicking sound. You need to warm the ear first to get a good blood flow. If you take a sock and fill it with uncooked rice to form a small ball, you can heat it in the microwave for about 30 seconds (depending on your microwave). Test it on your wrist like a baby bottle. Hold it behind the ear to warm it, and you can leave it there as you poke to provide support. Here is a great post that has tons of info about testing by one of our best experts.

Hopefully someone else will be along to give you more info. But do NOT be afraid to ask questions!!!! We've all been new here and we understand what you're going through. We're glad you're here.
Click to expand...
 
Hi, I bought all the supplies and performed my test today. However I realized I don't know how to read the meter. I did it twice and both times the result read 27. So, does this mean Dino has super low BG?? I am a bit panicked. Or did I do this wrong?
 
Hello and welcome from me too.

Good job getting that first test. What type of meter did you purchase? Some meters will test a little low if you don't get a good sized blood drop. But if you got the same number twice, then it's likely a good value. That's a very low number. Normal range is 50 to 120 when on insulin. I've give Dino some high carb food (wet food) and a couple drops of honey, karo or syrup if you have it. Test again in 20 minutes after he's eaten. We want him higher.
 
Where do you live. In Canada where I am there is a different number system than the US one. Also you could change your title and put a 911 in it to get more attention.
 
In the US, the normal range is 50 to 120 mg/dl, but in the rest of the world, normal range is 2.8 to 6.7 mmol/L. In the US, Dino would be low, in the rest of the world 27 is high.
 
Check the instruction booklet that came w/ your meter. It will walk you through the setup process, during which you can choose mg/dl or mmol/L. When you look at the reading on the meter , mg/dl or mmol/L should be in small type just after or below the number.​
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Hello and welcome from me too.

Good job getting that first test. What type of meter did you purchase? Some meters will test a little low if you don't get a good sized blood drop. But if you got the same number twice, then it's likely a good value. That's a very low number. Normal range is 50 to 120 when on insulin. I've give Dino some high carb food (wet food) and a couple drops of honey, karo or syrup if you have it. Test again in 20 minutes after he's eaten. We want him higher.
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Hi, thank you for your help. I use the Relion meter I tested again and now he's at 34. Still low, but I will probably skip his normal insulin shot for today. When should I test again? Tomorrow?
 
Ann & Tess said:
Check the instruction booklet that came w/ your meter. It will walk you through the setup process, during which you can choose mg/dl or mmol/L. When you look at the reading on the meter , mg/dl or mmol/L should be in small type just after or below the number.​
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Yes, it's mg/dl. So, he just tested low, I gave him honey. Thank u
 
Yes he is low....since you posted about 40 minutes ago...I would test again now....you want to get him over 50....after that you want to keep teating until you get two numbers over 50 that is not influenced by food....

I would say lets work on getting him over 50 first and then talk about the rest.

How is he acting?
 
Half an hour to an hour. You want to make sure that the rise in BG isn't just from the honey. That will wear off quickly, in about 2 hours. Then numbers can drop again.

As for tonight's shot, how far away is it? Numbers can change dramatically in a couple of hours, especially when the go really there can be a bounce.
 
Also, what is the dose he is on? I am thinking the reading in the 20s would be at least a reduction by 0.25, if not maybe 0.50....

Hopefully others will chime in with their thoughts soon
 
FFi if you get a number that low in the future, give the honey or syrup right away! Dino definitely earned a reduction, but see what tonight's number is and post. If he is really bouncing you may want to shoot the old dose through the bounce and reduce tomorrow.

Dino is absolutely gorgeous! Where are you in CA, we're on the Central Coast.
 
Ann & Tess said:
Half an hour to an hour. You want to make sure that the rise in BG isn't just from the honey. That will wear off quickly, in about 2 hours. Then numbers can drop again.

As for tonight's shot, how far away is it? Numbers can change dramatically in a couple of hours, especially when the go really there can be a bounce.
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Sure, I will again soon. I had to test several times in a row because this is so new to me so his ears already look like they have small red polka dots. I don't want to over do this. His normal shot is at 6:30 pm. Thank you for all the info.
 
Ann & Tess said:
FFi if you get a number that low in the future, give the honey or syrup right away! Dino definitely earned a reduction, but see what tonight's number is and post. If he is really bouncing you may want to shoot the old dose through the bounce and reduce tomorrow.

Dino is absolutely gorgeous! Where are you in CA, we're on the Central Coast.
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Aww, aren't you sweet. We live in Santa Clarita. Thank you for help. ❤️
 
Put pressure on the ear for at least 20 seconds after the test, it closes the poke and helps prevent bruising. If you have neosporin w/ pain relief, that can help a lot too.

We usually test about 10 t0 15 minutes before the shot, just to have time to get everything ready. You could test a little earlier than that and post for dosing advice. Several of us are watching, and we'll be here.
 
@Umandino do you know how to change your subject line? It would be helpful if you could post your numbers in the subject line, so when you get numbers in the 20s and 30s it will get people' attention a lot quicker...

If you go to the upper right hand of the page, you will see something that says "Thread Tools" with an down error, click on that and you will see something that says "Edit Title" in blue. You click on that and you can add to your subject line....there are also some icons you can use, a ? if you have a question, a 911, for situations like to day where you want to get eyes on him right away or need help and the GA is used to signify when a cat has Gone Ahead (passed away)....If you title it: date/cat name/amps/+3/+5 etc, s0 for you it would read 05/25 Dino AMPS (whatever his number was) and then all the tests after that.....

I also have to agree, Dino is very handsome!
 
MollynSkooter said:
@Umandino do you know how to change your subject line? It would be helpful if you could post your numbers in the subject line, so when you get numbers in the 20s and 30s it will get people' attention a lot quicker...

If you go to the upper right hand of the page, you will see something that says "Thread Tools" with an down error, click on that and you will see something that says "Edit Title" in blue. You click on that and you can add to your subject line....there are also some icons you can use, a ? if you have a question, a 911, for situations like to day where you want to get eyes on him right away or need help and the GA is used to signify when a cat has Gone Ahead (passed away)....If you title it: date/cat name/amps/+3/+5 etc, s0 for you it would read 05/25 Dino AMPS (whatever his number was) and then all the tests after that.....

I also have to agree, Dino is very handsome!
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Hi, I've looked everywhere but can't where it says Thread Tools.
 
Ann & Tess said:
Put pressure on the ear for at least 20 seconds after the test, it closes the poke and helps prevent bruising. If you have neosporin w/ pain relief, that can help a lot too.

We usually test about 10 t0 15 minutes before the shot, just to have time to get everything ready. You could test a little earlier than that and post for dosing advice. Several of us are watching, and we'll be here.
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Yes, I did that. I used a tissue to apply pressure and rubbed on a bit of Neosporin.
 
AMPS is your am PreShot number...so right before you shoot, you do a reading, which is your pre shot number....we use AMPS for am (morning) preshot and PMPS for pm (evening) preshot. Then throughout the day, you want to update your title with the rest of the readings you take, so if you take a reading two hours after the shot, that would be your "+2" reading, if you do it 7 hours after the shot, it would be your "+7" reading. Does that makes sense?

Also, do you have a spreadsheet set up yet?
 
MollynSkooter said:
AMPS is your am PreShot number...so right before you shoot, you do a reading, which is your pre shot number....we use AMPS for am (morning) preshot and PMPS for pm (evening) preshot. Then throughout the day, you want to update your title with the rest of the readings you take, so if you take a reading two hours after the shot, that would be your "+2" reading, if you do it 7 hours after the shot, it would be your "+7" reading. Does that makes sense?

Also, do you have a spreadsheet set up yet?
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OH, now I get it! I am learning so much it's overwhelming. Thank you. No, I haven't even gotten to the point of reading about that yet.
 
Well you certainly did the trial by fire today on testing at home. You aren't the first that decided to start testing at home and found a low number. :eek: Good thing you took the initiative to start testing at home.

What is Dino's normal Lantus dose? What food is he getting? That'll help us determine what his new dose should be based on today's numbers.

And as Molly said, we use spreadsheets to track out test numbers. We are very data driven here. Here are the instructions on how to create a spreadsheet. If you don't have a spreadsheet yet, could you list the tests you have taken? AM preshot is the number before the morning shot. Then we speak in terms of numbers of hours after the shot, so +4 would be 4 hours after the shot time. Lantus has a type of curve and knowing when numbers occur help us determine what is happening. We all live in different time zones, hence the way of expressing the time. If you took that test of 26 at 1:00PM and your shot time is 6:30 AM, then that 26 was at +6.5, which is around the nadir or low part of the cycle.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Well you certainly did the trial by fire today on testing at home. You aren't the first that decided to start testing at home and found a low number. :eek: Good thing you took the initiative to start testing at home.

What is Dino's normal Lantus dose? What food is he getting? That'll help us determine what his new dose should be based on today's numbers.

And as Molly said, we use spreadsheets to track out test numbers. We are very data driven here. Here are the instructions on how to create a spreadsheet. If you don't have a spreadsheet yet, could you list the tests you have taken? AM preshot is the number before the morning shot. Then we speak in terms of numbers of hours after the shot, so +4 would be 4 hours after the shot time. Lantus has a type of curve and knowing when numbers occur help us determine what is happening. We all live in different time zones, hence the way of expressing the time. If you took that test of 26 at 1:00PM and your shot time is 6:30 AM, then that 26 was at +6.5, which is around the nadir or low part of the cycle.
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Yes, it has certainly been quite a day. Poor Dino has so many pokes. Not only does he have diabetes but he also suffers from urine crystals and for that he needs to be on a strict uriinary diet. He can only eat Royal Canin SO Unrinary canned food which is low carb. He really shouldn't have much carbs and yet he needs that when his number is low. It's a vicious cycle. Not to mention I am at work all day where I cannot do any testing for many hours until I get home. My vet instructed me to give him 2 units twice a day within 15 minutes of food consumption. What I don't understand is why Dino can have a test of 400 at the vet's office and today he's down to 26. Maybe that's normal but she never mentioned to me that he might be super low at times. This process it more technical than I thought it would be. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all your support.
 
Most cats get stressed when they are at the vet's office, which can make their numbers read up to 100 points (sometimes more) higher than at home....that is why we LOVE people willing to home test, it is a more true reading of where they are.

How long has Dino been on insulin and how much does he weight? It is possible that the 2 units is too high of a dose. I believe there is a formula for determining what the starting dose should be, based on the protocol you plan to use.
 
MollynSkooter said:
Most cats get stressed when they are at the vet's office, which can make their numbers read up to 100 points (sometimes more) higher than at home....that is why we LOVE people willing to home test, it is a more true reading of where they are.

How long has Dino been on insulin and how much does he weight? It is possible that the 2 units is too high of a dose. I believe there is a formula for determining what the starting dose should be, based on the protocol you plan to use.
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Yes, I thought this is too high as well. He has been on insulin for about a year. When he started being diabetic he was a chunky little thing but since then he has lost weight and now weighs in at 8lbs 14oz.
 
Cats can test a lot higher at the vet than at home, due to streas. I have a second cat, who is prone to crystal (idiopathic cystitis) and he once tested over 220 at the vet and 53 at home the next day.

Most of us here use this food chart, to select low carb off the shelf foods. We like to use wet food with less than 10% carbs. According to that list (put together by a vet who specializes in feline nutrition, check out www.catinfo.org) the Urinary SO products are over 20% carbs. That same web site has a page on feeding for urinary issues. The key is low carb wet food, preferably one with low phosphorus, and plenty of water added to the food. A low cost option is the Friskies Special Diet, Turkey and Giblets Dinner. But there are several other products that are also acceptable. I feed both my kitties (the diabetic one and the crystals guy), the same food - low carb/low phosphorus raw food. with water added.

However, I wouldn't suggest changing food until you are testing more and see what the numbers are. I think given today's lows, I might go down to 1.5 units for the next dose.
 
@Wendy&Neko if Dino is on 2 units BID, and he got down to 26 today, I am assuming he would need a reduction. Since he went down so low, would a reduction by 0.50 be too much? Or would it be best to stick with the 0.25 reduction?

@Umandino the syringes you are using to give the insulin, do they have full unit or half unit markings on them?
 
I have a list of low carb/ low phosphorus foods on a tab on Tess's SS. More reading for you http://catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth ! This will help you understand your cat's urinary health. If your vet is insistant and you feel better w/ aRx diet, look into Iams Urinary-O Plus, much lower in carbs and phosphorus than the Royal Canin.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Cats can test a lot higher at the vet than at home, due to streas. I have a second cat, who is prone to crystal (idiopathic cystitis) and he once tested over 220 at the vet and 53 at home the next day.

Most of us here use this food chart, to select low carb off the shelf foods. We like to use wet food with less than 10% carbs. According to that list (put together by a vet who specializes in feline nutrition, check out www.catinfo.org) the Urinary SO products are over 20% carbs. That same web site has a page on feeding for urinary issues. The key is low carb wet food, preferably one with low phosphorus, and plenty of water added to the food. A low cost option is the Friskies Special Diet, Turkey and Giblets Dinner. But there are several other products that are also acceptable. I feed both my kitties (the diabetic one and the crystals guy), the same food - low carb/low phosphorus raw food. with water added.

However, I wouldn't suggest changing food until you are testing more and see what the numbers are. I think given today's lows, I might go down to 1.5 units for the next dose.
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OK, done.
 
Ann & Tess said:
It's past your shot time, did you get a preshot test?
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No, I wasn't able to. Once it's feeding time Dino will not stay put. He follows me around or sits by his bowl and meows There is no way he would allow me to test him. Same thing in the morning. As soon as I get up he's meowing all over the place until I fill his bowl. Pre-shots may not be a possibility with this fur baby. I did however test him 2 hours after his meal and he was at 61.
 
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