05/22/20 New Member Meter Reading and numbers

[Bekaw17]

Hi All,
My Giovanni (14yr old)was dx 4/17/20. I've been trying to read and learn. We have been doing better with home testing. We use a human meter TruMetrix .5ul and was prescribed ProZinc Insulin at 3u. Which after reading seems to be really high. I actually lowered it to try the SLGS method. Which might have also been wrong.
My biggest question is my vet keeps telling me I have to buy the AlphaTrak meter to properly monitor his numbers. Reading many ppl use human ones. How do the numbers differ from a human one to the one my vet wants me to use. His numbers have been ok I thought. Here is my chart. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...oOsIR4zbS4houz-Aa8iSmBYrQt0/edit?usp=drivesdk
Sometimes I've attempted to get readings and failed and he stops being my willing pin cushion. I have stopped giving him insulin because I don't want to kill him with an overdose! Should I be converting his numbers somehow? I appreciate any help. All they told me at the Vet was the parameters are different and when they tested him tonight he was at 189! I feel so lost. I hope I did this right it's all from my phone. I apologize for any mistakes.
Thank you in advance!
Rebekah

 

[jt and trouble (GA)]

WELCOME TO FDMB I have to tell you i was just leaving for the evening I'm sure more will come to answer your questions. I'm glad you found us!
I must go now, hope to see you tomorrow.
jeanne

 

[Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA)]

Hi and welcome Rebekah!

I’m tagging someone who knows prozync way better than me since I know nothing @Deb & Wink but I do think you shouldn’t stop the insulin. Diabetic cats need insulin and there is a list of other issues that could come up if they’re not on it.

No you don’t need alphatrack. As you said it yourself most of us here use human meters and all the numbers we use for guidance with dosing are based on human meters. I think alphatrak tends to give lower numbers. Like a 90 on a human meter may be a 68 on alphatrak. Tell your vet thanks but no thanks

the 189 you got at the vet means he was probably lower because numbers are higher when they’re stressed. Before or after food?

hang on for Deb to come to the rescue soon and welcome again! You’re in great hands here my friend

 

[Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA)]

I just looked at your ss and his numbers look good off insulin. You were definitely right in decreasing but yes, we recommend smaller adjustments .25 units at the time. What were his numbers when he was diagnosed? And did they happen to do a fructose test to get an average of 3 weeks? Just wondering because typically unregulated diabetic cats BG levels are over 300-400 sometimes even 500... Please also tell us what food he eats. Here’s a link for you to review with some info on how you can set up your signature:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-how-you-can-help-us-help-you.216696/

Congrats on home testing already btw and having your ss. You may want to replace the NS for the days you skipped shots with a “0”

let’s see what the most experienced folks think

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

I think alphatrak tends to give lower numbers. Like a 90 on a human meter may be a 68 on alphatrak.

Other way around...human meter's usually read lower than pet meters.

Should I be converting his numbers somehow? I appreciate any help. All they told me at the Vet was the parameters are different and when they tested him tonight he was at 189!

No, you don't need to convert the numbers. Your vet is somewhat correct in that the parameters are a little different, but at the low numbers (which are the most important ones for safety) they're actually pretty close. Your "time to act" on a human meter is when they drop below 50....On a pet meter it's when they drop below 68 so as you can see, those are pretty close!

As the numbers get higher, there will be more of a difference, but at higher numbers, it really doesn't matter if it's a 350 or 500. "Too high" is too high!

On a human meter, normal blood glucose for cats is 50-120. On a pet meter it's 68 to about 150.

We test to make sure they're high enough for insulin at all and then to see how they're responding to treatment. We look more for "trends" than individual numbers, asking the question "is the current dose getting the results I am looking for"?

Just an FYI...."pet" meters are actually fairly new to the scene. Before somebody decided to put a picture of a dog or cat on the box and charge twice as much for it, the only meter anybody could use was a human meter. All the dosing methods developed here were developed using human meters so we're very comfortable with them.

With all the skipped shots you've had lately, I think I'd do this for the next few days. Test at AMPS and PMPS. If you get a green, go about your day and don't worry about testing. If you get a blue number, go ahead and feed and test again about 3 hours later to see if the number comes down with food. If it does, it means the pancreas has to be doing at least some of the work.

 

[Bekaw17]

Hi and welcome Rebekah!

I’m tagging someone who knows prozync way better than me since I know nothing @Deb & Wink but I do think you shouldn’t stop the insulin. Diabetic cats need insulin and there is a list of other issues that could come up if they’re not on it.

No you don’t need alphatrack. As you said it yourself most of us here use human meters and all the numbers we use for guidance with dosing are based on human meters. I think alphatrak tends to give lower numbers. Like a 90 on a human meter may be a 68 on alphatrak. Tell your vet thanks but no thanks

the 189 you got at the vet means he was probably lower because numbers are higher when they’re stressed. Before or after food?

hang on for Deb to come to the rescue soon and welcome again! You’re in great hands here my friend

Thank you! The 189 was before food. I know his

Other way around...human meter's usually read lower than pet meters.



No, you don't need to convert the numbers. Your vet is somewhat correct in that the parameters are a little different, but at the low numbers (which are the most important ones for safety) they're actually pretty close. Your "time to act" on a human meter is when they drop below 50....On a pet meter it's when they drop below 68 so as you can see, those are pretty close!

As the numbers get higher, there will be more of a difference, but at higher numbers, it really doesn't matter if it's a 350 or 500. "Too high" is too high!

On a human meter, normal blood glucose for cats is 50-120. On a pet meter it's 68 to about 150.

We test to make sure they're high enough for insulin at all and then to see how they're responding to treatment. We look more for "trends" than individual numbers, asking the question "is the current dose getting the results I am looking for"?

Just an FYI...."pet" meters are actually fairly new to the scene. Before somebody decided to put a picture of a dog or cat on the box and charge twice as much for it, the only meter anybody could use was a human meter. All the dosing methods developed here were developed using human meters so we're very comfortable with them.

With all the skipped shots you've had lately, I think I'd do this for the next few days. Test at AMPS and PMPS. If you get a green, go about your day and don't worry about testing. If you get a blue number, go ahead and feed and test again about 3 hours later to see if the number comes down with food. If it does, it means the pancreas has to be doing at least some of the work.

Thank you! I will make sure to test in the morning and evening and see how his sugars are changing. If his numbers stay over 120 after his meals then I'd start with .25u of insulin?
I appreciate the guidance

 

[Bekaw17]

I just looked at your ss and his numbers look good off insulin. You were definitely right in decreasing but yes, we recommend smaller adjustments .25 units at the time. What were his numbers when he was diagnosed? And did they happen to do a fructose test to get an average of 3 weeks? Just wondering because typically unregulated diabetic cars BG levels are over 300-400 sometimes even 500... Please also tell us what food he eats. Here’s a link for you to review with some info on how you can set up your signature:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-how-you-can-help-us-help-you.216696/

Congrats on home testing already btw and having your ss. You may want to replace the NS for the days you skipped shots with a “0”

let’s see what the most experienced folks think

They did not do a fructose test. His original number when dx was 426. Crazy high but he was stressed out then they kept him for 4 days and did dental work. When I took him home he was at 200 range with 3u of insulin. He is eating crave wet food. I will get my signature set up. Thank you for the advice

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

If his numbers stay over 120 after his meals then I'd start with .25u of insulin?

.25 is a good place to start. The best thing you can do for the next few days is post here and let us see how it's going.

It'll be really helpful if you'll fill out your "Signature" too. Up on the top right there's a drop down menu when you click on your user name. Choose "Signature" and a new box will pop up. Enter some basic information like:

Your name/Cat's name, age, sex, date of diagnosis, type of insulin, type of meter, type of food, any other health problems or medications? …...then put the link to your spreadsheet in and click "save".

That way we don't have to keep asking the same questions over and over again. You'll see under all our comments that we have our signatures.

 

[Bekaw17]

.25 is a good place to start. The best thing you can do for the next few days is post here and let us see how it's going.

It'll be really helpful if you'll fill out your "Signature" too. Up on the top right there's a drop down menu when you click on your user name. Choose "Signature" and a new box will pop up. Enter some basic information like:

Your name/Cat's name, age, sex, date of diagnosis, type of insulin, type of meter, type of food, any other health problems or medications? …...then put the link to your spreadsheet in and click "save".

That way we don't have to keep asking the same questions over and over again. You'll see under all our comments that we have our signatures.

Thank you! I have set up my signature. I have a 3 day weekend and plan to stay in touch. Tomorrow morning I'll test him first thing and go from there. I can't tell you how much this has put my mind at ease. Thank you for being so willing to share your knowledge. I'm grateful! I think Gio will be too lol!

 

[jt and trouble (GA)]