How often to test?

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Sorin & Loki

Sorin & Loki

Member Since 2016
We are testing for the first time this evening. I know we test before he eats, but how often/how long after his dinner/insulin do we test again?
 
It depends, on the person doing the testing, and the insulin.

During the week I sometimes only get a Preshot test and maybe a before bed test 3-4 hours after the PM shot. I use prozinc and the nadir is about right at 6 hours so on the weekend I might test sometime between +4 and +7 if I'm not doing a curve. (testing every 2 hours minimum) Some people test more often some less.

If your are using Novilin, Vesulin or Catinsulin then a +3 or a +4 is a good time to retest.
 
What insulin are you using? With some of the faster acting insulin we sometimes advise a test at +1 until you know how your kitty reacts to the insulin

If you are able to and your kitty is cooperative it would be good to do a number of tests to get some data on how he reacts to the insulin.

Of course the preshot test before giving insulin is necessary. Then if you can do a +2 and +4 and +6 test that will give a good overview of how well the insulin works. Of course if you get any low numbers you should post for advice and test again sooner.

The more data you have the better you understand your insulin and your cat.
 
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Prozinc is one of the longer lasting insulins. That is a fairly high dose. If you are able to do a preshot test and +2. +4 and +6 after the shot that will give some good information on how your kitty's body reacts to the Prozinc. Sometimes numbers can be high at preshot but may have dropped much lower during the cycle (time between shots) The more data you have the better. :)
 
seateal said:
He was 437 pre-shot/dinner and 386 2 hours later.
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That is a good start for data. If you give a treat after testing makes sure it is only a small amount of low carb, something like a few little pieces of plain chicken or something similar. That way the test will not be food influenced. Many people using Prozinc find that the nadir (lowest glucose level) comes around +5 or +6 after the shot. If it works out for you to do a +4 and of possible a +6 that will give you a lot of good data as to what is happening. If that doesn't work for timing for you, getting additional tests at varied times between shots will be most useful.
 
Prozinc is what is called an "in and out" insulin, unlike some of the other long lasting insulins, such as Lantus and Levemir (whichis what I use) This is a link to the Prozinc forum where users of Prozinc will post and ask for advise and additional information. There are not as many users as with some other insulins but the people there are well versed in how Prozinc works. You can get some good help and information there.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/prozinc-pzi.24/

Great job of starting home-testing!!
 
He got a very tiny piece of his Lysine chew after the 2 hour mark. He has several other health issues, and he needs his Lysine daily, so he's getting it piecemeal tonight. He'll have the other pieces at 9 and 11 PM.

He is peeing less and has gotten back to a normal weight and just looks the picture of health. But his numbers are yet to be showing that.
 
seateal said:
He got a very tiny piece of his Lysine chew after the 2 hour mark. He has several other health issues, and he needs his Lysine daily, so he's getting it piecemeal tonight. He'll have the other pieces at 9 and 11 PM.

He is peeing less and has gotten back to a normal weight and just looks the picture of health. But his numbers are yet to be showing that.
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Lysine chews should be fine as long as they don;t have any starchy additives, My kitty also uses lysine when he has flair ups. Peeing and drinking less and getting back to normal weight are good clinical signs. With more data you will get a better picture of what is happening with the Prozinc. When kitties get to lower numbers or have big drops this can cause a counter-regulatory process by the body which causes the numbers to go up high temporarily....commonly called "bouncing". If tests are only done when a kitty is bouncing then the numbers will appear as if they are too high and often doses are increased simply because of this. With regular testing you will be able to see if the numbers are high all the time or if they drop down lower and then bounce back up.Unfortunately insulin doesn't work on a straight line basis, it can take some tweaking as well as understanding how it works with each kitty.
 
Sorin & Loki said:
Went down to 306 at +4. Going to test once more before bed.
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You are doing great! Good job on the home testing. Right now you don't know where the nadir is going to be...quite often with Prozinc around +6, but that can bary from cat to cat and from day to day. Nothing is ever written in stone with feline diabetes :)

You have seen some drops but nothing that is falling too fast so that is a good start. It would be best if you could get a preshot reading for both morning and night shots. The more testing you are able to do in between the clearer the picture will be of how well the insulin and dose is working for your kitty.

Considering this is your first start with testing you...and your kitty are doing fantastic
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Most "chews" are like treats...they have to taste good to get the cat to eat them...and we both know what that usually means if the treat is dry or soft/moist!
 
Chris & China said:
Most of those "chews" I think are high carb

You might want to consider using something like these NOW Lysine capsules instead....the powder in the capsules doesn't have any flavor so you can just sprinkle it on top of food
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I have tried that for three months and it did nothing. This treat is the only thing that has helped him at all not have red, puffy eyes and make him claw at his eyes, so I'm not taking him off of it, even it the carbs are high. I can't think that tiny thing once a day is going to do that much. I am putting it in thirds for his testing.
 
Tuxedo Mom said:
You are doing great! Good job on the home testing. Right now you don't know where the nadir is going to be...quite often with Prozinc around +6, but that can bary from cat to cat and from day to day. Nothing is ever written in stone with feline diabetes :)

You have seen some drops but nothing that is falling too fast so that is a good start. It would be best if you could get a preshot reading for both morning and night shots. The more testing you are able to do in between the clearer the picture will be of how well the insulin and dose is working for your kitty.

Considering this is your first start with testing you...and your kitty are doing fantastic
113.gif
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Morning tests won't be happening for a long time. My husband and I have such differing work schedule starts and we need both of us there to test him now - one to hold and one to test. We are only both here for the evening testing.
 
Sorin & Loki said:
I have tried that for three months and it did nothing. This treat is the only thing that has helped him at all not have red, puffy eyes and make him claw at his eyes, so I'm not taking him off of it, even it the carbs are high. I can't think that tiny thing once a day is going to do that much. I am putting it in thirds for his testing.
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When a kitty has other issues you have to deal with them as well as the diabetes. If that is all that will work for you, then even if there are carbs then you have to go with it.

Hopefully once your kitty gets more used to the testing you will be able to do it with one person. When I started testing my guy it was a wrestling match and with there only being me to do it, he was howling and I was in tears the first while. Now I tell him it is "pokey time" and turn the lamp on where I do my tests and he runs over and sits down to wait. I never would have believed that could happen, but it did...and he purrs through it all, since he knows he will be getting a treat after...he is VERY food motivated.;)

I am off to bed..been up 21 hours with a sick kitty so I am beat. Please continue posting how your kitty is doing and definitely post if you have any questions or concerns. :bighug:
 
Sorin & Loki said:
I have tried that for three months and it did nothing. This treat is the only thing that has helped him at all not have red, puffy eyes and make him claw at his eyes, so I'm not taking him off of it, even it the carbs are high. I can't think that tiny thing once a day is going to do that much. I am putting it in thirds for his testing.
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In that case, yes, of course you'd keep him on it!! When "other issues" come up, the diabetes takes a back seat and we just deal with it by increasing the insulin if necessary. Just like if a kitty needed prednisone to have any quality of life....we know it raises the blood glucose, but the quality of life takes precedence.

Glad to hear it seems to help him as much as it does!
 
Unfortunately he has a host of health issues: underdeveloped lungs from having a prolonged URI as a kitten so he wheezes when he runs round too much, plus prone to megacolon and has allergies.

Was 296 at +6, he's never been below 300 at any of the vet tests. He's finally 100% on wet food so hoping that will also help. He loved his dry food too much, took him forever to wean him off of it.

Will be trying a 12 hour test Saturday hopefully...husband has out of town duty the day before and may not be back that evening.
 
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Hi! I'm wondering why the chews would work better when they have so much more inert ingredients than the capsules, but I'm not a chemist so....

The dosage of 5 units is pretty high. Typically the beginning dosage with ProZinc is 1 unit. Goofs bg at the time if his diagnosis was 652, he was started with 1unit. The highest we ever went was 3 units, that lasted less than 2 weeks.

It's possible that the "sweet spot" has been missed and his body is working really hard to handle all of that insulin, thereby keeping his bg higher.

Switching to the low carb good will make a difference too.
 
Mogmom and Goofus said:
Hi! I'm wondering why the chews would work better when they have so much more inert ingredients than the capsules, but I'm not a chemist so....

The dosage of 5 units is pretty high. Typically the beginning dosage with ProZinc is 1 unit. Goofs bg at the time if his diagnosis was 652, he was started with 1unit. The highest we ever went was 3 units, that lasted less than 2 weeks.

It's possible that the "sweet spot" has been missed and his body is working really hard to handle all of that insulin, thereby keeping his bg higher.

Switching to the low carb good will make a difference too.
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He didn't start on 5, he's been getting shots for almost 7 weeks now. He started at 1 twice a day, was being upped one more unit twice a day every week when he was still popping in the 400s at the vet. Vet said to stay at 5 for now, so we are. Been on 5 for 3-ish weeks now. Testing him at home is new, since we didn't know we could do it, and finding time to start is near to impossible between my work schedule, my husband being military and two foster kids in the house. We need two people to do the testings, and the kiddos are not allowed to help.

And I have no idea about the chews. We tried pills, power and other chews. They work, I learn not to question things when they work. Nothing like seeing your cat trying to claw his eye out because it itched that badly to make you want to do anything that makes him stop.
 
I don't give dosing advice but I am going to bump this up after reading that kitty has been raised a full unit at 1 time--it is possible you missed the "good" dose"
Maybe a expert can pop in with some input...:cat:
 
Was down to 257 at 4 hours, passed out after that (time change has not been kind to me) so he didn't get his 6 hour test.
 
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