Converting between human and pet blood glucose readings

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Kathryn Elizabeth

Kathryn Elizabeth

Member Since 2023
I have read somewhere that human glucometers read a little differently than pet ones. I can't remember if higher or lower and have had a good look around to see if there is some conversion chart on the website. Does it depend on the meter? The vet I have been dealing with said i would have to bring the meter in at the same time as cat is having BGC done to calibrate it, but i am wondering what for now is the best way to convert from human readings to pet-applicable readings (or basically something that will be comparable to what the vet clinic results get.

I have found this to be useful https://www.felinediabetes.com/glucometer.htm and presume from what i have managed to find that it really depends on the meter....
 
There is no conversion chart for the pet and human meters.
What we say is if you are using a pet meter you need to reduce the dose if the BG drops under 68 if following tight dosing method.
With the human meter and tight regulation you reduce the dose if it drops under 50.
The pet meter reads a bit higher than the human meter. And the higher the BG the bigger the difference. The lower the reading, the smaller the difference…if that all makes sense.
So if the vet is using a pet meter, and you have a human meter you will not be able to calibrate the two. However that is no reason why you should have to change to a human meter.
Until the last several years, all vets used the human meters.

It is not so much the BG numbers but the trend.
Say you had the BG human numbers for a cycle AMPS 350, +4 250, +6 200, +10 300, PMPS 320
And pet meter numbers AMPS 450, +4 350, +6 300, +10 400, PMPS 460
You can see the trend is the same, the pet meter just runs higher than the human meter.
The main thing you need to be aware of is once you start dropping under 90 on the pet meter, you are closer to the reduction dose BG (68) than the human meter one of 50.
 
Ok thanks this is great and i will save this somewhere to refer to. I thought it was more about the trend myself and once i manage to collect some readings, i can begin to observe that trend.

I just got my first successful result (human meter) 23.6 / 425. So since this meter is running lower than a pet meter his actual reading is probably higher.

Perhaps by calibrating they just meant comparing
 
Kathryn Elizabeth said:
Ok thanks this is great and i will save this somewhere to refer to. I thought it was more about the trend myself and once i manage to collect some readings, i can begin to observe that trend.

I just got my first successful result (human meter) 23.6 / 425. So since this meter is running lower than a pet meter his actual reading is probably higher.

Perhaps by calibrating they just meant comparing
Click to expand...
Well done getting your first test on the human meter!! Fantastic!
23.6 is high not to be having insulin.
Did I ask you if you are testing for ketones in the urine? If not I would get some ketostix from a pharmacy and test at least a couple of times a week and more often if he seems lethargic or not eating.
The risk for a diabetic cat not getting insulin is that they can start to form ketones in the urine which can progress to diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) which is very serious, expensive to treat and can be deadly. The way to combat ketones forming is insulin, food and fluids. So I would make sure he is eating well throughout the day and evening.
How is his weight?

I think you will find they like to have the readings very similar…I don’t know why but that has been my experience and what I have seen here.
You are certainly being his guardian angel. I hope your friends realise what a treasure they have in you.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Well done getting your first test on the human meter!! Fantastic!
23.6 is high not to be having insulin.
Did I ask you if you are testing for ketones in the urine? If not I would get some ketostix from a pharmacy and test at least a couple of times a week and more often if he seems lethargic or not eating.
The risk for a diabetic cat not getting insulin is that they can start to form ketones in the urine which can progress to diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) which is very serious, expensive to treat and can be deadly. The way to combat ketones forming is insulin, food and fluids. So I would make sure he is eating well throughout the day and evening.
How is his weight?

I think you will find they like to have the readings very similar…I don’t know why but that has been my experience and what I have seen here.
You are certainly being his guardian angel. I hope your friends realise what a treasure they have in you.
Click to expand...
Hi, yes, i am going to hopefully pick up some ketostix tomorrow (as ended up going for a meter that doesn't test for ketones - mistake!). He is eating really well and drinking heaps, and i need to recheck his weight but between last two vet visits which were 4 weeks apart he had not lost weight. No other symptoms.

I am hoping to get a few days of consistent readings just to get an idea of how it's moving - i will have to have a look at the doing a curve at home tips :) but Very encouraging how easy it is to do, i had been practicing massaging his ears for a few days first and he wasn't so keen, but once i have all the bits on the table to do the procedure, it's almost as if he knows it is meant to help him, and there is a little resistance but he let me hold him still long enough. Just did another one and got 24. I think he ate a bird in the last hour too, not seen that before!!
 
Yes the SS looks great. Use the remarks column to tell us things like what you feed, how he is, ketones results etc
I only ever tested the urine for ketones.
Sounds like you have mastered the art of home testing very well!
All the data you can get now will be very helpful moving forward. Especially if they start the pill instead of the insulin…you will have data and will be able to show if it is helping. And really even if it is helping the BGs, it is stressing the pancreas not supporting it to heal.
A curve is really only needed if you are not testing much every day.
Vets use a curve for dosing but the drawback of that is, if the cat is bouncing, the dose can be increased when it should in fact be reduced.

Here is an explanation on bouncing for you.
  • Bouncing - Bouncing is simply a natural reaction to what the cat's system perceives as a BG value that is "too low". "Too low" is relative. If a cat is used to BGs in the 200's, 300's, or higher for a long time, then even a BG that drops to 150 can trigger a "bounce". Bouncing can also be triggered if the blood glucose drops too low and/or too fast.The pancreas, then the liver, release glucogon, glycogen and counter-regulatory hormones. The end result is a dumping of "sugar" into the bloodstream to save the cat from going hypoglycemic from a perceived low. The action is often referred to as "liver panic" or "panicky liver". *Usually*, a bounce will clear kitty's system within 3 days (6 cycles).
 
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he started the pills yesterday so i wanted to get practicing and get an idea of things now, though vet said it would take a while to see any (if any) results from them. I will write the pills in there somewhere, soon.
When you wrote
the dose can be realised when it should in fact be reduced."
did you mean
the dose can be increased when it should in fact be reduced.
?

I really wan to get him started on insulin and help get him regulated, gosh. But yes, in meantime it seems like it will be great to get some readings.
The vet disagreed, but my own vet is back in a couple of weeks at which point i am definitely going to be talking to her about this.

Thanks again for your input. It is good to get an understanding of the bouncing. I am still keen to have a go at a curve, even though i dont much will change without insulin it will be interesting to observe how his readings are througout the day..
 
Hi i just wanted to share that I have inputted a few days worth of readings and results are fairly consistent. After i discovered that the neighbour had been feeding high carb biscuits to Gandi on the first day i took any readings, it made me think that it was This that made his BG come out really high on that first day ... i don't believe the glipizide took effect THAT fast. The neighbour has now been informed not to feed him. Interesting that he had reached the point where he was going to other places demanding food, he is so hungry, poor baby!
 
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