Switching from SLGS to TR/AT to human meter: Advice pls

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Katherine&Ruby

Katherine&Ruby

Member Since 2020
It's been barely a month since I started home bg testing and I've already gone through more than 100 Alpha Trak strips because I keep putting the strip in the meter before I have enough blood or Ruby flicks her ear and the blood goes flying before I can catch it. So in the interest of saving tons of money, I am getting a human meter next week with much cheaper strips. I'd also like to go from SLGS to TR because I know that I will be getting many more numbers below 200 with a human meter and I'd like to continue to administer insulin without skipping doses because that sets us all back.

Is this too ambitious? Any words of advice, aside from the fact that I will definitely need to get better about getting more PM numbers? Should I start a completely different spreadsheet for the TR and human meter or continue on the same sheet, marking the change from one to the other?
 
Hi Katherine I'll tag some members for you, you don't have to start a new spreadsheet just mark the change that you will be switching to TR and a human meter and what should your no shoot number be, also on your signature you can put switched to human meter when you do, also no dry food with TR, I see on your SS you said you only give dry if he drops too low.
Why not give him Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers, that's what we all do.
You should have some medium and high carb wet food on hand . I will list some below and you can also look at the food chart

@Chris & China (GA)

@Tomlin

@Wendy&Neko

@Deb & Wink

Thank you ladies what would her no shoot number be when she starts to use the human meter
 
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Diane Tyler's Mom said:
Hi Katherine I'll tag some members for you, you don't have to start a new spreadsheet just mark the change that you will be switching to TR and a human meter and what should your no shoot number be, also on your signature you can put switched to human meter when you do

@Chris & China (GA)

@Tomlin

@Wendy&Neko

Thank you ladies
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Thank you so much Diane! I see you made the change from SLGS to TR as well. Can you tell me what prompted the change?
 
Hi Katherine - I switched from AT to a Human Meter if you want to take a look at my SS as one example.

I recommend downloading the human meter spreadsheet (slightly different coloring formula for the light green) and just copying your AT data over. You would need to manually change the color of your 62 on 10/18 to the light green (using the paint bucket in the tool bar). Add a row above your AT data saying it was AlphaTrak. Start your human meter when you get it and add a row above the first day for that saying you are on a human meter.

I think it's generally advised to NOT have two separate spreadsheets so that all the data can be viewed together. If you have trouble starting the new SS, I think there are some folks that help people combine.

As for switching to TR, you can switch dosing methods. And you'll be nervous but I'm sure you and Ruby will do fantastic. If you are uncertain, I would add a post to your condo on the LBL board and change your title to your question. Here's your condo on LBL from today.
 
PerfumedCatMom said:
Thank you so much Diane! I see you made the change from SLGS to TR as well. Can you tell me what prompted the change?
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I stopped the dry food completely

also on your signature you can put switched to human meter when you do, also no dry food with TR, I see on your SS you said you only give dry if she drops too low.
Why not give him Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers, that's what we all do.
You should have some medium and high carb food on hand . I will list some and you can also look on the food chart


https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-chart.174147/
 
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Besides the FF pates you should also buy at least a couple of high carb and medium carb .This is what you need to feed if she ever drops to low, don't have want a hypo
Such as

You should always have a few can of these on hand in case you need to bring up


Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Beef Feast in Gravy 20% High Carbs


Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Chicken Feast in Gravy. 15% Med Carbs




Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Turkey Feast in Gravy. 15% Med Carbs


Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Chicken and Beef Feast in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

It's really the gravy that has the higher carbs in it. You can give him the actual food,
just don't want to over feed him in case you have to give it to him again.
Don't want to fill him up , Usually a teaspoon at a time with some of the gravy on it


https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-chart.174147/
 
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Diane Tyler's Mom said:
Besides the FF pates you should also buy at least a couple of high carb and medium carb .This is what you need to feed if he ever drops to low, don't have want a hypo
Such as

You should always have a few can of these on hand in case you need to bring up


Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Beef Feast in Gravy 20% High Carbs


Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Chicken Feast in Gravy. 15% Med Carbs




Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Turkey Feast in Gravy. 15% Med Carbs


Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Chicken and Beef Feast in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

It's really the gravy that has the higher carbs in it. You can give him the actual food,
just don't want to over feed him in case you have to give it to him again.
Don't want to fill him up , Usually a teaspoon at a time with some of the gravy on it


https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-chart.174147/
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Thanks Diane! I just have one can of the Purina DM left and I am trying very hard to get her off the Hill's kibbles. I have to get a bag of the Dr. Elsey's--can she snack on that with TR?

I have MC Friskies Prime Filets that Ruby seems to like, but you've reminded me that the reason I keep feeding her dry kibbles is because I have the FF Gravy Lover Beef that Ruby will absolutely not even go near, I have to find another HC alternative.
 
PerfumedCatMom said:
Thanks Diane! I just have one can of the Purina DM left and I am trying very hard to get her off the Hill's kibbles. I have to get a bag of the Dr. Elsey's--can she snack on that with TR?

I have MC Friskies Prime Filets that Ruby seems to like, but you've reminded me that the reason I keep feeding her dry kibbles is because I have the FF Gravy Lover Beef that Ruby will absolutely not even go near, I have to find another HC alternative.
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I don't think you can feed her any dry food with TR at all

Look at the chart and try other med and high carb foods you can try
 
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Diane Tyler's Mom said:
Forgot and have honey or Karo in the house :cat:
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I always have honey and maple syrup on hand.
Diane Tyler's Mom said:
I don't think you can feed her any dry food with TR at all

Look at the chart and try other med and high carb foods you can try
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Got it. I'm going to the pet store later to see what I can get there. Some of the FF Medleys are HC I think.
 
@PerfumedCatMom
Katherine if Ruby wants to snack on something you can try these


As for treats I see some members buy these and they will buy the same one for dogs they are exactly the same just bigger, so break them up, you will get more for your money, check it out on the Chewy site
PureBites Chicken Breast Freeze-Dried Raw Cat Treats


VitalEssentials is also another good freeze dried brand. .One of our members says her cat loves the minnow flavor
 
Katherine hete is another treat I found that Deb had posted awhile back, I copied it thanks Deb


Those Halo Liv-a-Little Freeze Dried Chicken Treats were a sanity saver when I was trying to switch Wink from dry to wet food. They crumble up so much easier than the Pure Bites treats. I'll buy them from Chewy.com when they have a sale going on, like they do right now.

I noticed that Amazon offers these also, but don't buy the 6 pack or 12 pack as it's less expensive to buy 6 of the 2.2 oz individually. Go figure..



Also found this another member posted


Orijen freeze dried treats ordered. :) Hope he likes them! The fancy feast tuna bites are also zero carb because they’re only tuna and he really likes those!
 
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Diane Tyler's Mom said:
@PerfumedCatMom
Katherine if Ruby wants to snack on something you can try these


As for treats I see some members buy these and they will buy the same one for dogs they are exactly the same just bigger, so break them up, you will get more for your money, check it out on the Chewy site
PureBites Chicken Breast Freeze-Dried Raw Cat Treats


VitalEssentials is also another good freeze dried brand. .One of our members says her cat loves the minnow flavor
Click to expand...
Diane Tyler's Mom said:
Katherine hete is another treat I found that Deb had posted awhile back, I copied it thanks Deb


Those Halo Liv-a-Little Freeze Dried Chicken Treats were a sanity saver when I was trying to switch Wink from dry to wet food. They crumble up so much easier than the Pure Bites treats. I'll buy them from Chewy.com when they have a sale going on, like they do right now.

I noticed that Amazon offers these also, but don't buy the 6 pack or 12 pack as it's less expensive to buy 6 of the 2.2 oz individually. Go figure..



Also found this another member posted


Orijen freeze dried treats ordered. :) Hope he likes them! The fancy feast tuna bites are also zero carb because they’re only tuna and he really likes those!
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Sadly, Ruby is NOT into treats. I have bags of Pure Bites and other great looking freeze dried treats that she really will not touch. The only treat she seems to like are the FF Broths.

I will definitely get her off the dry. It's been my fall back in case I can't get her to eat at all, but I will have to find her something else if we will be doing TR.

Thanks for all of your suggestions, Diane. It's so very appreciated! :bighug:
 
PerfumedCatMom said:
Sadly, Ruby is NOT into treats. I have bags of Pure Bites and other great looking freeze dried treats that she really will not touch. The only treat she seems to like are the FF Broths.

I will definitely get her off the dry. It's been my fall back in case I can't get her to eat at all, but I will have to find her something else if we will be doing TR.

Thanks for all of your suggestions, Diane. It's so very appreciated! :bighug:
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You are very welcome Katherine. These cats are so picky lol
Tyler never had treats at all.
 
For a human meter the normal range is US numbers 50-120
Thought this might help, I did a search on human meters and found this but I would still post and ask for advice when you aren't sure






HC is used when BG drops below 50 on a human meter.

  • Below 50: This is considered the “take action” number. If the blood sugar is permitted to go lower, the cat is in danger of experiencing a hypoglycemic event.
    • Retest immediately to determine the reading is accurate
    • Feed high-carb food and recheck blood glucose in 15 minutes
    • Repeat as necessary, testing every 15-20 minutes for at least two hours.
    • Once over 50, follow advice for numbers between 50-70
* Reduce dose by 0.25 units immediately

  • 50 – 70: This is an intervention range. Feed 1-2 tsp of low-carb food and retest in 20-30 minutes.
    • If dropping, offer a little more low-carb food and repeat process
    • If holding, no more food but retest in 30 minutes to be sure they are no longer dropping
    • If rising and over 70, no more food and take a break
    • Retest in an hour to make sure they don’t dip back down again
      1. Kitty must be able to go 2 hours without food propping the numbers up
      2. Every time you have to feed mid/high-carb food, the 2 hour clock starts over
 
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Diane Tyler's Mom said:
For a human meter the normal range is US numbers 50-120
Thought this might help, I did a search on human meters and found this but I would still post and ask for advice when you aren't sure






HC is used when BG drops below 50 on a human meter.

  • Below 50: This is considered the “take action” number. If the blood sugar is permitted to go lower, the cat is in danger of experiencing a hypoglycemic event.
    • Retest immediately to determine the reading is accurate
    • Feed high-carb food and recheck blood glucose in 15 minutes
    • Repeat as necessary, testing every 15-20 minutes for at least two hours.
    • Once over 50, follow advice for numbers between 50-70
* Reduce dose by 0.25 units immediately

  • 50 – 70: This is an intervention range. Feed 1-2 tsp of low-carb food and retest in 20-30 minutes.
    • If dropping, offer a little more low-carb food and repeat process
    • If holding, no more food but retest in 30 minutes to be sure they are no longer dropping
    • If rising and over 70, no more food and take a break
    • Retest in an hour to make sure they don’t dip back down again
      1. Kitty must be able to go 2 hours without food propping the numbers up
      2. Every time you have to feed mid/high-carb food, the 2 hour clock starts over
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Pretty familiar with this protocol at this point, except I was doing it at or around 68 rather than 50. It's the testing part that I find most daunting. I'm at home right now but I hope to be getting a full time job soon so I worry about how I will do TR if I will be away from the house 10 hours a day, but reading this helps me feel a little better: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB...ion-possible-with-a-full-time-job-yes.129378/
 
PerfumedCatMom said:
Pretty familiar with this protocol at this point, except I was doing it at or around 68 rather than 50. It's the testing part that I find most daunting. I'm at home right now but I hope to be getting a full time job soon so I worry about how I will do TR if I will be away from the house 10 hours a day, but reading this helps me feel a little better: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB...ion-possible-with-a-full-time-job-yes.129378/
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Lol I was just going to post that link for you
 
Well that depends... If your kitty is sensitive to carbs its like pouring gasoline onto a fire. Trouble wasnt particularly that sensitive to carbs. Yes his numbers dropped at least 100 points over night , But Trouble was raised by his first family on dry food and a lot of that was dog kibble. Poor cat had his first taste of can food and he devoured a can of FF beef right n front of me. licked the bowl clean.
We had run out of treats and had a whole bag of cat chow waiting to be delivered to the local shelter so in a pinch I used it. Worked like a charm. BTW After a year and a half (approx) Trouble went into remission.

ETA But if cats are very sensitive to dry food I would not use it.
 
jt and trouble (GA) said:
Well that depends... If your kitty is sensitive to carbs its like pouring gasoline onto a fire. Trouble wasnt particularly that sensitive to carbs. Yes his numbers dropped at least 100 points over night , But Trouble was raised by his first family on dry food and a lot of that was dog kibble. Poor cat had his first taste of can food and he devoured a can of FF beef right n front of me. licked the bowl clean.
We had run out of treats and had a whole bag of cat chow waiting to be delivered to the local shelter so in a pinch I used it. Worked like a charm. BTW After a year and a half (approx) Trouble went into remission.

ETA But the cats that are very sensitive to dry food I would not use it.
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To be honest I don't know what her reaction is to small amounts of carbs. What I do know is that since I stopped putting small spoonfuls of dry into her wet a few weeks ago, she's earned three reductions in her dosage. That speaks loads.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
Katherine --

If you're planning on switching to TR, I'd urge you to think about posting over on the Lantus board. There are lots of people there who are very familiar with TR. You won't have to go tracking people down to answer a question.
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Ok. I thought this was a more general question that wasn’t necessarily Lantus specific. I think all of my concerns have been addressed but if I have more I’ll post on the Lantus board.
 
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