How many Glucose Tests?

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Bryan & Princess

Bryan & Princess

Member Since 2018
Just found out today my Princess has Diabetes (scored a 607 on the vets meter), I am waiting on the Senior Blood Labs to come back after Memorial Day, as well as my vet was out of Insulin and no vets nearby had any so I am waiting until Tuesday (Beyond Drinking and Peeing like crazy my cat has no other signs)

The one thing I have not figured out is how often will I be doing Glucose Testing, I know in the beginning it is like 6 times a day over 12 hours, but will this eventual curve off to once a week, or once a month, or ???? once we have her insulin dosages correct.

Also I am looking at the Relion Glucose Testers (for humans), I see Relion "Confirm" suggested quite a bit, but I also see the test strips are twice the cost over the Relion "Prime" tester, is the advantage of confirm is the need for less blood, I just looked and the Confirm is .3L, but Prime is .5L so I guess that is why.

Anyone been able to sync their Confirm with the Iphone App (I have the Iphone SE) because that would be a great plus for tracking.

Thanks,

Bryan
 
Hi Bryan,
Welcome!
I am not a expert but I will bump this up and hope a expert will pop in with some advice.

Here is what I know-

The most important testing in pre shot and much of the testing also depends on what insulin you are using.
Some are fast acting and others are longer lasting and have a depot.

We try to keep the food under 10% carb and there is a list of many foods in the "sticky" notes.
Wet food is preferred but if you have a dry addict there are a few that are under 10%
Dr Elsey chicken is under 5% and salmon under 10%
Young again I think is about 5 net carbs.

If you change foods while on insulin you will need to monitor closely as glucose can dramatically change with a low carb food.
With that I am bumping you up
:cat:
 
Welcome to the best place you never wanted to be! I'm sorry to hear about your Princess' diagnosis, but you'll definitely find help here. The good bad and the ugly about feline diabetes is there are no absolutes. At bare minimum, you want to test preshot prior to giving insulin, so twice a day (once every 12 hours). Unfortunately, while your kitty is on insulin, you will need to test 2-5 times a day on average. When we test, we test prior to giving insulin to make sure the dose we will be giving is safe. Then we test at various intervals throughout the cycle to see how low the insulin takes your kitty (a cycle is 12 hours). Here's a link to an article with links and tips to help you home test: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/.

I know a lot of people here use the Relion meters, and I think most use the Confirm because of the smaller amount of blood required. Unfortunately, I use a different meter completely so I can't help there, but I do get the strips off of ebay for a steal if you decide to go with another meter. :D
 
Hi and Welcome!

Has your vet mentioned what insulin you are going to be using? There are some differences between the different kinds of insulin and to better help you it would help to know.

Regardless of which one you will be using you will need to always test before giving insulin that means twice a day at least. It is recommended to do spot checks at other times during the day if possible.

Testing every two hours is called a curve and you will probably have to do one maybe once a week but that depends on the insulin and the protocol you will be using.

Insulin is not a medicine that you stablish a dose like x units per pound or something like that is a hormone so you will probably have to make adjustments to the dose very often that's one of the the reasons you need to test often
 
Amanda and a Loudogg said:
Unfortunately, I use a different meter completely so I can't help there, but I do get the strips off of ebay for a steal if you decide to go with another meter. :D
Click to expand...

Amanda, I am most interested in keeping long term costs down (the cost of the test strips), What tester do you use and how much are you getting the test strips for? Thanks!!!!
 
Veronica & Babu-chiri said:
Has your vet mentioned what insulin you are going to be using?
Click to expand...

Yes they did, but I forgot the name and since they did not have it in stock, nor could get it from any other local vets I am on hold until Tuesday to get it and the paper work. (A long weekend of worrying if my baby is going to take a turn for the bad)

I do know it was $60 for a 3 month supply (They had some $175 dollar insulin in stock) and that it the type I was getting is "Long Lasting" and she would get 1 unit twice a day at meals, but just can not remember the name, I even looked up the different kinds to see if any rung a bell. I will hollar back when I get it.
 
PS: Last couple of years she has been eating Friskies but gets a bunch of different kinds (she likes the variety) - Up until today she also got a endless supply of Purina One dry food but maybe had a cup or two a week.

I started researching and I have found many suggest Purina Fancy Feast "classic", but I also see that Friskies Pate's generally pretty low in Carbs too (3-7%) so I am thinking I will for now just keep her on Friskies Pate, (and maybe one Fancy Feast a day???) Here is my current dilemma I will also ask my vet, since she no longer gets dry food, how much wet food to feed her, I read about 30 calories per pound, so 420 calories a day for 14 pounds she weighs, Friskies Pate average 180 calories in a 5.5 ounce can and Fancy Feast Classic is about 90 calories a 3 ounce can = I can not imagine feeding her (2) Full Can's of Friskies a day, or (4) cans of Fancy Feast, so how much should she eat? Again I will ask my Vet, but I am thinking maybe a (1) 5.5oz Can of Friskies at Breakfast, and (1) 3oz can of Fancy Feast for Dinner.

I THOUGHT SINCE WEIGHT was an issue to her getting Diabetes I would be wanting go cut her food intake back, so pull the dry food and split the 5.5oz can of Friskies for the day between her two meals.... so confused.... LOL

Friskies Pate Carbs - http://catinfo.org/chart/index.php?sort=company ASC&carbs="<;7"&company="=;FRISKIES - Classic Pates"
Fancy Feast "Classic" Carbs - http://catinfo.org/chart/index.php?company="=;FANCY FEAST - Classic"&carbs=<;7&sort=company ASC

I was also cautioned that many of the food specs change commonly, so that the charts can be easily off.

I keep researching and trying to learn...... got to be cost efficient but on same token don't want to harm my baby in doing so.

33499938_10211739907561983_4135016778252156928_n.jpg
 
Bryan Webster said:
Yes they did, but I forgot the name and since they did not have it in stock, nor could get it from any other local vets I am on hold until Tuesday to get it and the paper work. (A long weekend of worrying if my baby is going to take a turn for the bad)

I do know it was $60 for a 3 month supply (They had some $175 dollar insulin in stock) and that it the type I was getting is "Long Lasting" and she would get 1 unit twice a day at meals, but just can not remember the name, I even looked up the different kinds to see if any rung a bell. I will hollar back when I get it.
Click to expand...

Does Lantus or Levemir ring a bell?

Let us know once you have the name every insulin is a little bit different so is important to know which one to be able to help you better.

One thing you can do and that will make a whole lot of difference is start testing him that way when you get the insulin you will be able to know how he's doing.

It will help a lot if you start stablishing a routine just like you will have to do once you start giving him his insulin shots this is what we suggest you can do all of it except for the shot of course:

1 Withdraw all food 2 hours before his shooting time(the rest of the day he can eat as he usually does splitting his food during the day is actually better)
2 Test
3 feed and shoot

I think you haven't mentioned what you are feeding? If you are planning on changing him to a wet low carbohydrate food (this is best for diabetics) doing it now before starting insulin is actually better that way the waiting time will be time well spent
 
Veronica & Babu-chiri said:
Does Lantus or Levemir ring a bell? ......... I think you haven't mentioned what you are feeding?
Click to expand...

Neither of those ring a bell, and for last couple of years she has been eating (1) can of Friskies (a wide variety as she likes change) - now it will be Friskies Pate only (3-7% Carbs) and she HAD until today unlimited Dry Purina One which is what was all she ate before having bad teeth and starting to get can food about 2 years ago, Up until now the Purina One dry she only eats a cup or two a week, as of this morning I am not longer feeding it to her, but now I am not sure how much wet cat food to feed her at 14lbs. Better explained in my last post above.
 
I think that for an average cat the calorie intake would be 200-250 calories a day so you may use that for a guideline, take into account that util her diabetes is under control she will be very hungry, that is because the high amount of glucose in her blood won't allow her cells to get the proper nutrition so you may need to allow her a little bit more food.

With the change of food alone you will probably notice some improvement in her since it will help bring down her blood glucose
 
Bryan & Princess said:
Amanda, I am most interested in keeping long term costs down (the cost of the test strips), What tester do you use and how much are you getting the test strips for? Thanks!!!!
Click to expand...
I use a Contour Next meter currently. I buy my strips on eBay in bulk for about $10.75/box of 50 (depending on the listing). I paid $37 or so for a box once at Walmart - never again! I think the Relion meters and strips are actually cheaper, but I went with the Contour Next meter simply because I work at a clinic and I was able to get one free from there.

She's a beautiful kitty! One of the nice things about the delay in starting insulin is you can make the switch to low carb (under 10%) food and see if that helps lower her blood glucose numbers. There are many good options on the Cat Food List (which is sortable and awesomely easy to use). I have the link in my signature below. Just make sure the food is under 10% carbs, but I try to go no higher than 6%. It won't hurt to be concerned about her weight, but I wouldn't worry too much about that right now. Being on higher carb foods like dry kibble is awful for cats, who are obligate carnivores. I think switching to low carb wet food will do wonders for Princess. I agree with Veronica: I think 200-250 cal/day is a good place to start.
 
Bryan & Princess said:
PS: Last couple of years she has been eating Friskies but gets a bunch of different kinds (she likes the variety) - Up until today she also got a endless supply of Purina One dry food but maybe had a cup or two a week.

I started researching and I have found many suggest Purina Fancy Feast "classic", but I also see that Friskies Pate's generally pretty low in Carbs too (3-7%) so I am thinking I will for now just keep her on Friskies Pate, (and maybe one Fancy Feast a day???) Here is my current dilemma I will also ask my vet, since she no longer gets dry food, how much wet food to feed her, I read about 30 calories per pound, so 420 calories a day for 14 pounds she weighs, Friskies Pate average 180 calories in a 5.5 ounce can and Fancy Feast Classic is about 90 calories a 3 ounce can = I can not imagine feeding her (2) Full Can's of Friskies a day, or (4) cans of Fancy Feast, so how much should she eat? Again I will ask my Vet, but I am thinking maybe a (1) 5.5oz Can of Friskies at Breakfast, and (1) 3oz can of Fancy Feast for Dinner.

I THOUGHT SINCE WEIGHT was an issue to her getting Diabetes I would be wanting go cut her food intake back, so pull the dry food and split the 5.5oz can of Friskies for the day between her two meals.... so confused.... LOL

Friskies Pate Carbs - http://catinfo.org/chart/index.php?sort=company ASC&carbs="<;7"&company="=;FRISKIES - Classic Pates"
Fancy Feast "Classic" Carbs - http://catinfo.org/chart/index.php?company="=;FANCY FEAST - Classic"&carbs=<;7&sort=company ASC

I was also cautioned that many of the food specs change commonly, so that the charts can be easily off.

I keep researching and trying to learn...... got to be cost efficient but on same token don't want to harm my baby in doing so.

33499938_10211739907561983_4135016778252156928_n.jpg
Click to expand...
Beautiful
 
Amanda and a Loudogg said:
I use a Contour Next meter currently. I buy my strips on eBay in bulk for about $10.75/box of 50 (depending on the listing). I paid $37 or so for a box once at Walmart - never again! I think the Relion meters and strips are actually cheaper, but I went with the Contour Next meter simply because I work at a clinic and I was able to get one free from there.

She's a beautiful kitty! One of the nice things about the delay in starting insulin is you can make the switch to low carb (under 10%) food and see if that helps lower her blood glucose numbers. There are many good options on the Cat Food List (which is sortable and awesomely easy to use). I have the link in my signature below. Just make sure the food is under 10% carbs, but I try to go no higher than 6%. It won't hurt to be concerned about her weight, but I wouldn't worry too much about that right now. Being on higher carb foods like dry kibble is awful for cats, who are obligate carnivores. I think switching to low carb wet food will do wonders for Princess. I agree with Veronica: I think 200-250 cal/day is a good place to start.
Click to expand...
I use relion prime meter, (its blue) meter was 9.97 and strips of 100 are 17.88. Walmart
 
Until summer (I'm a teacher) I'm working during the day. So weekdays I test in the morning before her shot, in the evening preshot, and one more before bed test about 4 -5 hours after the eve shot. On the weekend I get extra tests or curves in maybe 4-6 tests. I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat CC at home.
 
I had to test a lot more often because Max was doing TR and was tightly regulated. I used tge Relion Micro which also uses a very small amount of blood and bought strips mostly on eBay. You just need to pay attention to expiration dates.
 
Thanks All, I got the Relion "Confirm", Today I was told by vet for now because she is so high (628) by blood test last Friday my vet said to not worry for a couple of weeks checking her glucose. As I posted in a new post today......like an idiot I put her first bottle of insulin (Vetsulin) in the box of needles to carry it home from the vet after her 1st shot and then left it in the box all day on its side (11 hours in home set to 73F ) - I read I should be OK but may have affected how long it stays good (42 Days at 77F or less ok) but I was told this bottle should last me 90 days by my vet.
 
Bryan & Princess said:
Today I was told by vet for now because she is so high (628) by blood test last Friday my vet said to not worry for a couple of weeks checking her glucose
Click to expand...

Please go ahead and start testing!! We have seen cats here that died after only 1 shot. How high their BG is at the vet's isn't a good gauge in the first place. Cat's BG can be up to 200 points higher at the vet just due to stress.

Also, by learning to test now (when theoretically his numbers will be higher), you'll be experienced and ready when his numbers start to come down and it's even more important to be testing!!

We always test before shooting to make sure the number is a safe number to shoot....then if you can get at least 1 test mid-cycle on the AM cycle (4-7 hours after the AM shot) and a "before bed" test on the PM cycle, that will help you learn much quicker how well he's responding to treatment.

Most cats do go lower at night, so getting that "before bed" test in is pretty important for his safety....and your sounder sleep!!
 
Bryan & Princess said:
Thanks All, I got the Relion "Confirm", Today I was told by vet for now because she is so high (628) by blood test last Friday my vet said to not worry for a couple of weeks checking her glucose. As I posted in a new post today......like an idiot I put her first bottle of insulin (Vetsulin) in the box of needles to carry it home from the vet after her 1st shot and then left it in the box all day on its side (11 hours in home set to 73F ) - I read I should be OK but may have affected how long it stays good (42 Days at 77F or less ok) but I was told this bottle should last me 90 days by my vet.
Click to expand...
I've left bottles overnight on a counter and they were fine. 73 isn't that hot. Should be ok.
 
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