New Diabetic- when do I test his blood?

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Rocky-Romeo

Rocky-Romeo

Member Since 2018
Hello,
So I’m very confused. I’ve read so much. Rocky gets insulin 12 hrs apart. He gets fed wet food two times a day.
So I feed him 3/4 of his food. Wait about 20 minutes and give him his last portion. That is when I give him his insulin, otherwise he is not very happy.
He has only had diabetes one in a half weeks. I just got my glucometer. When do you test his blood? The doctor wants to do a curve in about a week at the vet. But I rather do it at home. I’m just concerned now, because I have no idea what his numbers are and what they are suppose to be.
He was at the hospital when he first got diagnosed because he was very sick. He did not eat for two days in the hospital. Then his appetite came back. After eating, his number was 360. Then we gave him insulin.
Now that he’s home, should I be checking his blood before he eats or after?
Then again a few hrs later to see when it goes down?
Any advice.?
Thanks
Sheila
 
Kia Ora from New Zealand for that is where I live.

Yes. You give the insulin 12 hours apart. Which insulin is it please?

You test his blood glucose before you give the insulin to check that it is safe to do so. Of course you feed before giving the insulin jab. It tends to all happen within a short space of time.

The two BG tests before you give the insulin are fasting tests. No food in the two hours prior.

So, for example if you give insulin at 8am. No food from 6am. 7.50 test the BG. Feed. Then give the insulin jab at 8am if safe to do so.
 
Once you are comfortable with testing, then you will find you do more than just the two fasting tests. You will be testing in between shots during the day , evening and night.

Please look at my signature and then click on where it says spreadsheet SS . This will open my old Tylers spreadsheet where his tests are charted. You will see where and when I have tested him.

You should start a spreadsheet of your own . It will help hugely with knowing where you're at with everything.

Have a read HERE about spreadsheets and how to do this.

When you look at my spreadsheet and you have your own , you will be able to see about the blood glucose numbers and what we all hope to achieve best we can.

Which meter do you have please?

.
 
A curve will mean a bg test every two hours for 12 hours or more.

A test 2 hours after an insulin shot is always a good one to catch. A test somewhere between 4/6 hours after the insulin shot will also be helpful.

What dose will you be giving to start with please?
 
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It is helpful for everyone here - and most of these people really really know their stuff - if you could start a bit of a signature with a few details about your pusscat. His name. Age. Problems. Meter. Diet etc.
You can see the sort of thing from my own signature which appears below all my posts.

Look to the top right of your screen where you will see your username. Click on that and a menu appears. Click on signature and a box will open where you can type in some details . The signature can be altered and updated at any time. :-)
 
The order is test then feed then shoot. No food at least 2 hours prior to the preshot test so the number is not food influenced.

After the shot you want to get a mid cycle number when possible. I work during the day. I get a preshot test morning and night and then a test about 4 hours after the pm shot. On the weekend I am able to get more readings mid day.

A curve is testing every 2 hours for 12 hours.
 
BTW you can feed more frequently than just every 12 hours. Most of us free feed or give several small meals a day.... Just no food 2 hours prior to the preshot test.
 
So I write some information under signature. I’ll write more later on.
So Rocky just ate dinner. How long do I wait before I test his blood? I’ve read so many different times.
Also, I just read that some of you feed your cat a little more often. I would love to do that because he is always hungry.
He is on 3 units Vetsulin 2 x a day. That is what the vet determined after he stayed last weekend with them.
 
This explains some of the lingo: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/understanding-the-spreadsheet-grid.156606/

Here's our recommended basic testing routine:
  1. test every day AM and PM before feeding and injecting (no food at least 2 hours before) to see if the planned dose is safe
  2. test at least once near mid cycle or at bedtime daily to see how low the BG goes
  3. do extra tests on days off to fill in the response picture
  4. if indicated by consistently high numbers on your spreadsheet, increase the dose by no more than 0.25 u at a time so you don't accidentally go right past a good dose
  5. post here for advice whenever you're confused or unsure of what to do.
 
Kris & Teasel said:
This explains some of the lingo: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/understanding-the-spreadsheet-grid.156606/

Here's our recommended basic testing routine:
  1. test every day AM and PM before feeding and injecting (no food at least 2 hours before) to see if the planned dose is safe
  2. test at least once near mid cycle or at bedtime daily to see how low the BG goes
  3. do extra tests on days off to fill in the response picture
  4. if indicated by consistently high numbers on your spreadsheet, increase the dose by no more than 0.25 u at a time so you don't accidentally go right past a good dose
  5. post here for advice whenever you're confused or unsure of what to do.
Click to expand...
Ok, I understand... my only other question is the pretest should show how high his blood sugar is. Then I guess if you track often after the test you’ll find out when his blood sugar gets low. So by feeding him a few bites in the afternoon will that affect his blood sugar in a bad way.
 
Rocky-Romeo said:
Ok, I understand... my only other question is the pretest should show how high his blood sugar is. Then I guess if you track often after the test you’ll find out when his blood sugar gets low. So by feeding him a few bites in the afternoon will that affect his blood sugar in a bad way.
Click to expand...
Many of us split the daily ration into several small meals. Most cats are happier with that and it can help to stabilize their blood glucose.
 
Just so you know, 3 units is a really high starting dose. The recommended starting dose is 1 unit for a newly diagnosed cat. So be careful. Personally I think it's too high a dose.
 
The vet started him on 1 but within one day he was so sick he ended up in the hospital. After they tested him through the weekend they concluded 3 units was best.
Do you know of a chart that tells how much insulin a cat should have.?
I agree its kind of high.
What would be the range on the glucose meter for 3 units, 2 units , 1 unit etc.
I’m going to start charting his blood tonight.
 
Rocky-Romeo said:
The vet started him on 1 but within one day he was so sick he ended up in the hospital. After they tested him through the weekend they concluded 3 units was best.
Do you know of a chart that tells how much insulin a cat should have.?
I agree its kind of high.
What would be the range on the glucose meter for 3 units, 2 units , 1 unit etc.
I’m going to start charting his blood tonight.
Click to expand...
There's no chart because each cat reacts differently. 1 unit might barely impact one cat while having a major effect on another. I do dose on a sliding scale for my own cat, but it's based on a lot of tracking of her numbers so I usually know what a dose will do for her. In your case, if it were my cat, I would reduce to 2 units and test every preshot and get mid cycle numbers whenever possible. If 2 units is not not enough raise it slowly by 0.25-0.5 increments so as to not skip a dose. Sometimes too much insulin can look like not enough.
 
Rocky-Romeo said:
The vet started him on 1 but within one day he was so sick he ended up in the hospital. After they tested him through the weekend they concluded 3 units was best.
Do you know of a chart that tells how much insulin a cat should have.?
I agree its kind of high.
What would be the range on the glucose meter for 3 units, 2 units , 1 unit etc.
I’m going to start charting his blood tonight.
Click to expand...
The hunger could be from very high numbers (so not utilizing the nutrients properly so they are literally starving) or because the dose is too high and he's trying to raise it with food. How much is he eating and what food. (Can you add his food to your signature?)
 
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