New Diabetes Mom

[onotomatopea]

Hello folks! My cat Cricket (aka Po, aka Egg, aka Gremlin... I could go on, haha) was diagnosed earlier this year in April after she started pulling my hair at 5am out of hunger from her, as it turned out, high BG.

I have my own chronic health issues and I'm honestly super overwhelmed by this whole ordeal, made worse by having to move away from the vet we both were just getting used to. But she is my treasure, and I want to do what is best for her.

Today specifically, I need to get a BG curve, which is our collective nightmare. She doesn't bleed easily (or maybe I'm just bad at this, despite going for the spot my vet showed me) and while she's not aggressive, and never has been, she definitely hates it and is very wiggly. Refuses to let me have her ears. Which is fair, I wouldn't either.
I still need to get it done though! And it would be ideal to get curves more often than we are right now. So I'm wondering if anyone has any tips? I have tried burritoing her, but she's too wiggly even to get in the towel. I feel horrible making her so stressed, and pricking her so many times.
Thanks c:

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi and welcome to the forum.
It is overwhelming in the beginning but you wil get used to it and it will become routine.
I’ll get to the testing in a minute, just wanted to ask you a few questions first…
What insulin are you using and what is the dose?
Are you feeding a low carb canned diet and giving snacks during the cycles as well as the two main meals?
What type of meter are you using…a human meter or a pet meter?
Are you testing before every dose of insulin?

We can help you with dosing if you will set up our spreadsheet and signature which can be found here HELP US HELP YOU
With the testing I will give you a link with tips, hints and links HERE
Are you warming the ear before trying to test? And are you offering Cricket a treat every time you test? I would let her eat a small low carb treat as you are testing to distract her
Are you using a size 26 or 28 lancet to prick the ear?
Here is a picture of where is the best places to test

 

[onotomatopea]

Hi! Thank you for the reassurance. Today is going to be a stressful day. :')

1. She is on "insuline glargine-yfgn". The previous pen said Lantus. Her dose right now is 2.5 units.
2. She is on a low carb diet, yes. Only canned wet food, usually Tiki Cat, but occasionally the low carb varieties of Weruva if my pet store is out. I get the info according to the catinfo.org chart my vet showed me? She was on canned wet only before her DX, but it wasn't low carb. I wish I had known better! Edit to add: she largely does not get snacks, unless she is acting hungry, besides treats here and there for being a cute darling. She would happily eat whole bags given the chance!
3. I am using an Alphatrak 3 monitor and the lancet that came with it.
4. I'm not testing before every dose. I know I maybe should be, but it's just too difficult/stressful for her. Her shots are one things she is very good with, actually seems to enjoy. I watch her very carefully for signs of hypoglycemia. Her BG has never been low when testing. She is very regularly above 250-300 BG at the times she gets her shots... her levels have been trending up since starting insulin, I think, which doesn't make sense to me. Right after DX she never went into the 300s, but she is now.

I'm going to go take a look at that, and set up a spreadsheet! I might have to finish it after our 9:30 BG test though.
I haven't been warming her ear, I do try to massage it though. She seems to know what I'm up to and flattens it to her head.
She has been getting a treat every test, but they go too quickly - she eats it and is immediately done with my nonsense again, haha. I have had the thought a liquid treat might be good, in a slow feeder dish, but I haven't been able to find a low carb one. I also wasn't sure, I guess, if that would interfere with the BG! In retrospect, typing this now, I realize having a slightly different reading is probably better than none, right?
I'm using the size that came with the meter/lancet, which doesn't say the size.

Thank you for all your help, and apologies if this was long winded.

 

[onotomatopea]

Coming back to report on today's BG curve - thank you so much for the advice on feeding WHILE testing! It was a game changer. Used some low carb wet food in lieu of a treat. She definitely got a few extra calories today, but I will think on that. Look for suitable treats, or perhaps factor in testing 'treats' to her feeding calories.

I've been so stressed, I apparently forgot to order more lancets - I had to run out between test times to grab more at the pharma. But now at least I know the size! They say 33 gauge, and seem to be working better than whatever came with the kit. And they were much cheaper, as well! $12 for a box of 200.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Size 33 lancets are small so I’m amazed they are working well. That’s good. Size 26 or 28 or bigger and easier in the beginning.
Please do try and get those very important Preshot tests in. That test tells you if it’s safe to give the dose. It is not going to hurt if you give a small low carb snack each time you test the BG. It will be much easier for you both. And Cricket needs to eat

 

[onotomatopea]

Size 33 lancets are small so I’m amazed they are working well. That’s good. Size 26 or 28 or bigger and easier in the beginning.
Please do try and get those very important Preshot tests in. That test tells you if it’s safe to give the dose. It is not going to hurt if you give a small low carb snack each time you test the BG. It will be much easier for you both. And Cricket needs to eat

I tried for the first time in a good while this morning to get a preshot test - she finished her whole meal and no blood. Maybe yesterday was just luck. Going to go get some lancets in the size you recommend!
My vet did not seem to think it was too important for her to pretest! But talking here, and doing a bit more reading I am now nervous about it. She is always very alert, positive signs etc, but I would rather know VS think I know, if I can get this down.

She has always been a fast eater, so that's part of it too. She's had the slow feeder bowl for years now. I need to get quicker and better. She had about 70 extra calories yesterday, on top of her usual 180, since it was what I had to hand... I think I can find something she enjoys that is a little bit more in normal range, haha.

Thank you again for all your help! I have chronic medical issues myself, and the stress of helping her, while I would not stop for the world, takes a lot out of me, kicks things off. I truly appreciate it.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

I think the larger size lancets will help a lot. And please do always test Preshot. It is much safer than finding your kitty with a hypo because the Preshot BG was too low. Keep going. You are doing really well!

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

One other option for testing is a Freestyle Libre. You may have seen commercials for continuous glucose monitors. Rather than poking your cat, a sensor is applied to your cat's skin that lasts for 2 weeks (providing your cat doesn't figure out how to remove it). You can read blood glucose levels on your phone. The Libre isn't a perfect solution but if it's difficult to test using a hand held glucometer, it can be very helpful.

I also agree with Bron. It's very important to test before giving a shot.