Starting testing-confused about numbers

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Missy

Missy

Member Since 2016
First a little update on Sumo(diagnosed last week). He seems to be much happier than last week. We have been researching nutrition and making changes. He was in a pretty bad way last week after a month of loosing weight and having the runs. I feel so bad not having brought him to the vet sooner but monetary constraint prevented me. We did have an emergency pet fund that was quite large but it got depleted this summer by another pet that is tip top now. So we are trying hard to do this within budget and I feel awful for this. I wish I could win the lottery.

We got a one touch ultra 2 today and god lord I hope it's an ok meter. Did not test yet on the cat probably going to start tommorow. Tested myself to figure things out. Good news I don't seems diabetic. At the vet they were using an alpha track and I would like to compare the readings I get to see if it went down any or spikes up that high again. I don't think the alpha track mesures the same way. I was pretty much a wreck at the vet and can't recall too clearly but she was very suprised how high it was. I glanced at the meter and I think I saw 310 or 31.0 as numbers on it. Is this in mg/dl or mmol/L? What would that translate to in a human meter that uses mmol/L? I hope someone is understanding what I'm getting at. I don't think 31 mmol/L is possible so it's probably 310 mg/dl. I could be mistaken I'm very confused.

I am not using the readings to dose insulin he is on glyburide but I want to know if he is getting better. We chose glyburide because it is impossible for us to be here at the same time twice a day. The vet said glyburide is only once a day. I know it is not ideal. If he gets worse or does not stabilize a bit and must have insulin I would have to look into getting a pet sitter or the likes. I do not have any friends or family close to my house(1+ hour away) and we live in a very rural area with no fancy services.

After reading alot on the board I am pretty confident about the whole testing procedure. Plus he is such a friendly cuddly kitty I'm sure he won't mind. You just have to look in his general direction he will start purring and pawing the air, truly a big goof of a cat. I personally think he is enjoying all the extra attention he is getting the past week. He loves getting pills and loves soft food even more. Weird little bugger.

Sorry for the long post. I have so much to ask and say and no one to talk to about this. My husband is understanding but I think his opinion is we should put him to sleep although he has never said that. Thank you for any info on the meter confusion.
 
Hi Missy and Sumo

Can you let us know where you live - if you're in the USA then the reading you saw was most likely 310. If you are outside of the USA, then the 31.0 is the most likely number for you to have seen. 31.0 is absolutely a possible number - it relates back to 558 in US numbers and my Rosa was 680 at diagnosis, so 558 is definitely possible.

It is easier and less crazy-making not to try and relate the numbers from a human glucometer back to an alphatrak. There is no conversion that works reliably, so it is better and easier just to work with the reference range for the meter you are using (I believe the one touch ultra works fine for cats).

The glyburide (unless I'm mistaken, this is similar to metformin) is not something that many people here use for their cats. The reason we prefer insulin for cats is because if a cat's pancreas is allowed to 'rest' by giving insulin support, it is possible that it will resume producing insulin and the cat may be able to be maintained by diet alone at that point. The oral drugs tend to work the other way around and force an already struggling pancreas to work even harder. So while it may appear to produce acceptable results initially, you may well find that you still have to give insulin therapy longer-term and that you will have less chance of remission at that point. I do appreciate that there are time and money concerns for you with insulin, but if there is any way at all you can put him on insulin instead that would be likely to give him a better outcome long-term.

I'm pleased to hear that you are feeling confident about testing - being calm and confident definitely helps especially when you're still learning to test and while kitty's ears are 'learning' to bleed.
 
manxcat419 said:
Hi Missy and Sumo

Can you let us know where you live - if you're in the USA then the reading you saw was most likely 310. If you are outside of the USA, then the 31.0 is the most likely number for you to have seen. 31.0 is absolutely a possible number - it relates back to 558 in US numbers and my Rosa was 680 at diagnosis, so 558 is definitely possible.

It is easier and less crazy-making not to try and relate the numbers from a human glucometer back to an alphatrak. There is no conversion that works reliably, so it is better and easier just to work with the reference range for the meter you are using (I believe the one touch ultra works fine for cats).

The glyburide (unless I'm mistaken, this is similar to metformin) is not something that many people here use for their cats. The reason we prefer insulin for cats is because if a cat's pancreas is allowed to 'rest' by giving insulin support, it is possible that it will resume producing insulin and the cat may be able to be maintained by diet alone at that point. The oral drugs tend to work the other way around and force an already struggling pancreas to work even harder. So while it may appear to produce acceptable results initially, you may well find that you still have to give insulin therapy longer-term and that you will have less chance of remission at that point. I do appreciate that there are time and money concerns for you with insulin, but if there is any way at all you can put him on insulin instead that would be likely to give him a better outcome long-term.

I'm pleased to hear that you are feeling confident about testing - being calm and confident definitely helps especially when you're still learning to test and while kitty's ears are 'learning' to bleed.
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I'm in Canada sorry not to have mentioned that. I did not know glyburide worked like that and I am now very concerned. I will seriously look into insulin for Sumo and see if we can make change to our schedule to make insulin injections possible. Thanks for the info.
 
No worries - it's only because we use different numbers in the US from the rest of the world. So 31 would be a Canadian reading which is pretty high though it could be worse.

If you can rearrange your schedule to do insulin for him that would be great. But if not then any treatment to keep his numbers down and avoid ketones is definitely way better than nothing
 
How long are you all away during the day. Some who use Prozinc do so on an 11/13 schedule or even a 10/14 one.

In fact, it seems like at least once a week I'm quite a bit off giving a shot on a 12 hour timeline. Fern and I have learned to deal.
 
Ferndoc said:
How long are you all away during the day. Some who use Prozinc do so on an 11/13 schedule or even a 10/14 one.

In fact, it seems like at least once a week I'm quite a bit off giving a shot on a 12 hour timeline. Fern and I have learned to deal.
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The problem is not how long I am away but when.Already it's very hard getting his glyburide within an hour or so of the time he is supposed to take it. I wish things could be different.
 
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Well we did our first test and it's not good. He was at 23.3 mmol ! Still lower than when at the vet but way too high to be safe. The kibble is now gone from his reach and he will now be 100% on wet and I don't care about how much he complains. On a funny note the lancet went thru sumo's ear and into my finger. More blood came out of me than the cat. I must praise the one touch meter, very easy to use.
 
I totally get that. I'm see the same thing a lot. I will say just remember even with the glyburide you can only do your best. If it is not perfect so be it. I normally give shots on the 6s; on Wednesday I gave them on the 4s. I will likely be giving a late shot on Sunday night which means I will likely give a shot later on Monday Morning as well. I'm actually on a pretty stable schedule right now. If I go back to a crazy one I will have to take each shot on it's own and adjust the next one to make it the best I can for Fern with what I have to work with.
 
Those readings aren't all that unusual for a newly diagnosed cat to be honest - even with insulin it takes time to get those numbers down. I agree that one of the "P" insulins (Prozinc or PZI) may well work better for an irregular schedule than either Lantus or Levemir - good thinking Jane...I only used Lantus but I do know ProZinc is more forgiving on scheduling because there's no depot with it. I think even with an irregular schedule there will be a way of figuring out something that works for you even if the times do have to change when your schedule changes. And even if you have to skip an occasional shot entirely, you can still only do the best you can do - for many people not working means not affording treatment at all, so having to figure out shot times around work schedules isn't all that unusual a situation. Perfect just doesn't happen for so many different reasons - we all just do the best we can at the time. We did have a kitty on one of the L insulins on the board recently where there were a number of occasions where her owner had to give 18 hour shots instead of 12 because of work commitments.
 
Missy said:
The problem is not how long I am away but when. One week is different from another. I am never home at the same time.
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Can you provide more information on your schedule? the 23.3 (419) is high and likely the glyburide is not working.
For you ProZinc can likely work OK in your situation.
 
Every 2 weeks or so I will leave for 2 to 3 days. Giving the pill is very easy because it is tiny and Sumo will gulp it up in a treat. My husband does not have a very good relationship with Sumo. He has never paid much attention to him and it makes it difficult for him to test his blood. Sumo will not stand still for him even wrapped in a towel. He is trying to build a relationship with him but it did not start on good terms(giving him metronidazol pills for a week)
So as I understand insulin must be given as close as possible to 12 hours apart. Will the prozinc give me at least 2 hours buffer zone? What happens if it has to be early one day late another? My husband will not test the BG with the meter but is willing to poke the cat with the insulin. I am going to the vet on monday and will talk to her about prozinc and what she thinks about it. Thank you for all the help. Hoping we figure this out before it's too late. I have learned so much about cat nutrition and I will never ever make the same mistakes again. This has been an eye opening experience.
I tested all they other kitties in the house and I am happy to say that they all have normal levels. They are now looking at me weird like what has gotten into you :) I think I irritated some of them.
 
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I think if you use ProZinc you would be OK with a 2 hour buffer zone because you can adjust the dose to allow for longer and shorter cycles. @Sue and Oliver (GA) @Elizabeth and Bertie - would this be something either of you could assist with as my knowledge of the "P" insulins is limited to theory only?

Missy said:
They are now looking at me weird like what has gotten into you
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I know that look quite well. I test the other cats in the house on occasion - Rosa's twin gets tested about every 2-3 months (just in case, because they're litter mates and have had identical diets all their lives). And the other cats in the house get tested if I think water is disappearing too fast or any of them seems "not quite right". They all think I'm insane, I'm sure they do...hey - maybe I am! ;) But I'd rather know for sure if there's anything going on with any of them! :)
 
ProZinc does tend to be pretty flexible; shooting 11/13, for example, instead of 12/12 works well for some cats. The important thing would be to be sure the number is rising, not falling (as you don't want to add insulin when the old dose is still working) so testing can be important if you want to shoot off schedule.
 
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