Testing Frequency

[EmilyH]

I've got some questions before I talk to my vet about changing up everything (like home testing, etc.), so breaking out some topics today!

I see that ideally we should be testing twice a day, for each meal. I want to switch to home testing... but this part makes me nervous. There's no way I can do testing twice a day. I work three jobs and have a completely irregular schedule. Dinner time right now is USUALLY between 9-10 pm because I'm often not home until 9, except for the nights I have meetings that don't get over till 11. That makes breakfast around 9, except for the mornings I have to leave early, which ranges from 6-8 am. Whew. (I'm single, and live alone.)

OK. SO... is it still valuable to do the readings irregularly? Obviously, I'd do my best to get what I could, but right now, neither Cosmo nor myself can handle more stress. We're trying to LOWER the stress at the moment.

Certainly there are a billion of us with crazy lives. How do YOU make this whole testing thing work?

 

[JanetNJ]

I've got some questions before I talk to my vet about changing up everything (like home testing, etc.), so breaking out some topics today!

I see that ideally we should be testing twice a day, for each meal. I want to switch to home testing... but this part makes me nervous. There's no way I can do testing twice a day. I work three jobs and have a completely irregular schedule. Dinner time right now is USUALLY between 9-10 pm because I'm often not home until 9, except for the nights I have meetings that don't get over till 11. That makes breakfast around 9, except for the mornings I have to leave early, which ranges from 6-8 am. Whew. (I'm single, and live alone.)

OK. SO... is it still valuable to do the readings irregularly? Obviously, I'd do my best to get what I could, but right now, neither Cosmo nor myself can handle more stress. We're trying to LOWER the stress at the moment.

Certainly there are a billion of us with crazy lives. How do YOU make this whole testing thing work?

Honestly the test takes about 1-2 minutes to do a test once you have the hang of it. it's not a long drawn out process. can you add to your signature which insulin you are using? Some insulines do best keeping as close to 12 hours as you can (such as lantus and levemir) and some are a little more forgiving and you have an hour or so wiggle room here and there such as Vetsulin.

ANY data you get is valuable regardless of the time you get it. Test when you can, even if during the week it's just the preshots and maybe a test just before bed.... then on a day off plan to do a curve whenever possible.

 

[EmilyH]

Honestly the test takes about 1-2 minutes to do a test once you have the hang of it. it's not a long drawn out process. can you add to your signature which insulin you are using? Some insulines do best keeping as close to 12 hours as you can (such as lantus and levemir) and some are a little more forgiving and you have an hour or so wiggle room here and there such as Vetsulin.

ANY data you get is valuable regardless of the time you get it. Test when you can, even if during the week it's just the preshots and maybe a test just before bed.... then on a day off plan to do a curve whenever possible.

I keep imagining this 15 minute process. When I was doing subcutaneous fluids for his brother, it was exhausting and long. We were so tired by the end. I keep envisioning that.

Hoping to go shopping tomorrow since it's a day off and Cosmo and I will learn to play.

 

[EmilyH]

Also, Is there a comparison somewhere between the numbers a vet would get and the numbers we would get on a human meter? That was the main thing my vet was concerned about. If I'm reporting numbers to her, how does she know what they mean?

 

[JanetNJ]

Also, Is there a comparison somewhere between the numbers a vet would get and the numbers we would get on a human meter? That was the main thing my vet was concerned about. If I'm reporting numbers to her, how does she know what they mean?

there's no direct correlation... the numbers are higher apart the higher they are, and closer on the lower end. so on the low end they might just be 20 points apart, (human meters run lower), but a 350 on a human meter might be a 450 on a pet meter . "Normal" on a pet meter is 68-150. "Normal" on a human meter is 50-120. If your vet really insists another thing some people do is test day to day with a human meter to keep costs down, but do a weekly curve with a pet meter for the vet.

 

[JanetNJ]

I keep imagining this 15 minute process. When I was doing subcutaneous fluids for his brother, it was exhausting and long. We were so tired by the end. I keep envisioning that.

Hoping to go shopping tomorrow since it's a day off and Cosmo and I will learn to play.

no no no... literally like 1 minute. watch the video in my signature.

 

[AlphaCat]

no no no... literally like 1 minute. watch the video in my signature.

Janet's video was so helpful when I started testing last month. I recommend it highly!
I can test and treat Fabby in under a minute following Janet's video. She comes to me for the testing, so there's no chasing a cat thing... because she wants her treat.

I know we were talking about a more forgiving insulin on your other thread, like Vetsulin. The time consumption with an insulin like mine is letting her eat after testing, (she's so slow!!!) and then waiting to make sure she doesn't throw it up. (We only had one instance of throwing up, and that was my fault. I began using Neosporin +pain on her ears, and one of the ingredients caused itchy ears and throwing up. But other than that, we don't have an issue... but it is something you want to watch for.)

I've also noticed food plays a big role into Fabby's numbers. If you are gone all day, you may want to look into one of the grazing zero carb foods. (I think Young Again Zero is one I see in a lot of signatures.) It can help your kitty control their diabetes with food while you're not there.