What makes BG go up?

[Kris10S]

So I know to get a good reading before a meal no food should be given 2 hours prior to testing, but what else could/would make the number higher?

Examples:
Didn't get enough blood for a test and need to re-stick one or two more times. Would that process make the BG shoot up suddenly?

If Cat is meowing in hunger for an hour before meals, would that skew his number?

My cat seems to be yo-yoing and before I call the vet and asked I thought I would poll others.

Thanks.

 

[FurBabiesMama]

Hi. Is everything entered on your spreadsheet? I am not seeing many test results, not seeing yo-yoing, so I am thinking maybe you have more info that is not there yet?

You do not want him to have food two hours before his pre-shot test. You want to know the glucose level before you give the shot (and you do not want it impacted/elevated by food). Then, you test, feed and give the shot. When you do mid-cycle tests (4-6 hours after shot), you do not have to worry about taking up food if you leave food out for grazing. If you do not take a pre-shot test, you have no reference point for the mid-cycle test. For example, the last result on your spreadsheet right now is +4 after yesterday evenings shot; it was 340 but you have no idea what the number was before the shot, so you do not know how much it went down due to the shot. It looks like you just changed dose. I know that with Mia, anytime there is a dose change that causes her to hit a lower number than her body has seen in a long time, her body seems to react and we see a few higher than normal numbers. It takes a few days for things to level out.

Stress definitely impacts the numbers. I think that is more true if you have a 'skiddish' cat. Mia falls in that category; she is scared of thunderstorms or any loud and/or unusual sounds. Things like vomiting can even affect their results a bit. Anything that causes stress, exertion or excitement. The impact usually is not that great though and with enough testing data, you begin to learn when those things are playing a role. The Purina DM you are feeding him would definitely impact the results. If I am not mistaken, that has up to 18% carbs. You may want to consider Young Again Zero Mature if you want/need to keep feeding a dry food.

Just my two cents. I am sure others with more experience will chime in.

 

[Kris10S]

Hi. Is everything entered on your spreadsheet? I am not seeing many test results, not seeing yo-yoing, so I am thinking maybe you have more info that is not there yet?

You do not want him to have food two hours before his pre-shot test. You want to know the glucose level before you give the shot (and you do not want it impacted/elevated by food). Then, you test, feed and give the shot. When you do mid-cycle tests (4-6 hours after shot), you do not have to worry about taking up food if you leave food out for grazing. If you do not take a pre-shot test, you have no reference point for the mid-cycle test. For example, the last result on your spreadsheet right now is +4 after yesterday evenings shot; it was 340 but you have no idea what the number was before the shot, so you do not know how much it went down due to the shot. It looks like you just changed dose. I know that with Mia, anytime there is a dose change that causes her to hit a lower number than her body has seen in a long time, her body seems to react and we see a few higher than normal numbers. It takes a few days for things to level out.

Stress definitely impacts the numbers. I think that is more true if you have a 'skiddish' cat. Mia falls in that category; she is scared of thunderstorms or any loud and/or unusual sounds. Things like vomiting can even affect their results a bit. Anything that causes stress, exertion or excitement. The impact usually is not that great though and with enough testing data, you begin to learn when those things are playing a role. The Purina DM you are feeding him would definitely impact the results. If I am not mistaken, that has up to 18% carbs. You may want to consider Young Again Zero Mature if you want/need to keep feeding a dry food.

Just my two cents. I am sure others with more experience will chime in.

No, I don't have more data, we are just starting to test and I am not ready to do it daily yet so based on my limited knowledge and vets recommendations we are doing the reading after for now here and there during the week and will do additional on the weekends. He was in the 200's for a couple days and has now jumped back up which is the yoyo I am referring to. I know the DM food is higher carb content, but he isn't eating much and we bought a very large bag and can't afford to not use it. My biggest concern was we are causing his sugar to go up at reading time, but if that would be minimal then I won't be too worried about it. He isn't a hider or someone who runs away. For the most part he let me hold him while my husband tests him. I am 8 months pregnant so I am trying to limit my stress.

I appreciate the feedback. I will update my signature to reflect that we aren't daily testing just yet and we are going to continue to let him graze the DM food to avoid any further confusion.

 

[FurBabiesMama]

Let me share with you that testing completely stressed me out. I so badly did not want to do it, but I quickly came to realize I had to. There is just no way to manage this without knowing their glucose levels. I MADE myself start doing it, and at first, it was horrible - no sugar coating here - it was a nightmare. I felt horrible every time I had to stick my baby, and when I would fumble a bit and have to end up sticking her again or would fail to get enough blood to even get a result after putting her through it, I felt even worse. I just knew I was hurting her and that she was going to hate me. I did my first curve just 4 days after starting testing, and that was a really rough day for us all, BUT that day is when I started to turn a corner. Practice really does make it better. I realized I had to chill out and be very efficient and quick about it, no hesitation at all. I also realized that, in our case, having the husband's help was making it worse. For whatever reason, Mia was less stressed when it was just me. Everyone's suggestions here really do help like having a specific place you always do it and finding a treat your baby really likes to always use as a test reward. As you become more comfortable with the whole thing, so will your baby. If you hardly ever do it, it will always stay awkward and stressful. If you do it frequently enough that it becomes routine, it is no longer stressful. Now, when I start to get Mia's treat ready, she comes to me meowing, and she jumps up in her testing spot on her own. I could not even imagine that ever happening in the beginning.

I feel bad that you are having to deal with all of this while you are pregnant. You get extra credit for that! You have to do what works for you, but I wanted to share this with you in case it can be helpful.

 

[Kris & Teasel]

Let me share with you that testing completely stressed me out. I so badly did not want to do it, but I quickly came to realize I had to. There is just no way to manage this without knowing their glucose levels. I MADE myself start doing it, and at first, it was horrible - no sugar coating here - it was a nightmare. I felt horrible every time I had to stick my baby, and when I would fumble a bit and have to end up sticking her again or would fail to get enough blood to even get a result after putting her through it, I felt even worse. I just knew I was hurting her and that she was going to hate me. I did my first curve just 4 days after starting testing, and that was a really rough day for us all, BUT that day is when I started to turn a corner. Practice really does make it better. I realized I had to chill out and be very efficient and quick about it, no hesitation at all. I also realized that, in our case, having the husband's help was making it worse. For whatever reason, Mia was less stressed when it was just me. Everyone's suggestions here really do help like having a specific place you always do it and finding a treat your baby really likes to always use as a test reward. As you become more comfortable with the whole thing, so will your baby. If you hardly ever do it, it will always stay awkward and stressful. If you do it frequently enough that it becomes routine, it is no longer stressful. Now, when I start to get Mia's treat ready, she comes to me meowing, and she jumps up in her testing spot on her own. I could not even imagine that ever happening in the beginning.

I feel bad that you are having to deal with all of this while you are pregnant. You get extra credit for that! You have to do what works for you, but I wanted to share this with you in case it can be helpful.

This is extremely helpful for new people to read. Thanks a million for writing it!

 

[FurBabiesMama]

This is extremely helpful for new people to read. Thanks a million for writing it!

Awww, that was nice of you to say. I hope it does help. I know quite vividly how overwhelming, terrifying, frustrating, exhausting and even hopeless it can all feel. (I am sure hormones amplify that!) It has only been a month since I started home testing (well, it will be in a couple of days), and the difference between when I started and now is astounding. If I got here, I know anyone/everyone else can!

 

[Sam-cat]

Totally agree with furbabiesmoma. Think we have been BG testing for three months now. I got my head around injections fairly easily but the whole 'ear thing' took a lot longer.

I was shown by a vet nurse a very hard way to do it - looking for a vein along the middle of his ear. Using a torch to find the vein and then getting Lancet right in the vein.

So - tried to juggle tester, strips, torch, Lancet and last but not least sam-cat. No success, lots of stress - Sam's, mine and partners, tears - mine, blood - mine and lots and lots of expensive alphatrak test strips with error messages. Blood not from Sam doing anything but from me becoming very good at misfiring the Lancet into myself...

The stress of feeling that I was hurting him and recognising the need to test him but thinking I wouldn't be able to - aargh. And then i wouldn't be a good sam-cat mum.

And like furbabiesmama it worked better when I just had to do it myself. Poor partner ended up in hospital (fine now!) So I had to just get on with it with no 'help' and was the best way for Sam and me.

Then came here and got advice about how to get blood. Not aiming for vein but outside edge of his ear.

Never thought I would ever manage to do it. But I have, no stress now. Sam does not pause in purring. Practice, perseverance and time does wonders.

And echo furbabiesmama if I can do it anyone can.

 

[FurBabiesMama]

So - tried to juggle tester, strips, torch, Lancet and last but not least sam-cat. No success, lots of stress - Sam's, mine and partners, tears - mine, blood - mine and lots and lots of expensive alphatrak test strips with error messages. Blood not from Sam doing anything but from me becoming very good at misfiring the Lancet into myself...

Oh, my.. that sounds like what is known as a 'hot mess'! haha

This brings up another point though - I do not bother with the lancet device. I just hold the lancet in my hand so that I have complete control over the poke. Who needs something else to juggle!

 

[Sam-cat]

I tried without the Lancet but I just couldn't quite do it. Maybe if be ok now and I can see the advantage? But I'm used to how we are doing and - for now at least - it is working well for us.

Hot mess? Never heard that before but sounds about right