1/26 Sullivan AMBG 72, PMBG 134 (no shots). What to do tomorrow AM?

SullivansDad

SullivansDad

Member Since 2020
First successful attempt at hometesting and he's at 72! Test solution tested within range. I really do not believe the 72 number (6 hours after his pm shot he was literally sprinting around the house) but definitely not shooting! Will not shoot again without a test!

Is there a chance something is wrong with my Alphatrak or test strips? Testing him is next to impossible (difficult to get blood, refuses to eat after test, etc.).
 
WOOOT WOOOOOOT!!! First test?? GREAT JOB!!

Yes, 72 is an excellent number! I'm NOT one to give dosing advice, so hopefully someone with more knowledge will pipe in soon. But, I'm assuming you don't have a spreadsheet if you've not been testing, right?

Can you tell us how many units you've been giving?

Again, CONGRATS!!!! That is a sweet number!
 
SullivansDad said:
First successful attempt at hometesting and he's at 72! Test solution tested within range. I really do not believe the 72 number (6 hours after his pm shot he was literally sprinting around the house) but definitely not shooting! Will not shoot again without a test!

Is there a chance something is wrong with my Alphatrak or test strips? Testing him is next to impossible (difficult to get blood, refuses to eat after test, etc.).
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Oh, and I highly doubt there is anything wrong with the meter or strips ;)
 
72 sounds like a reasonable number.

Is this your first post? If so, WELCOME!

Just a little housekeeping note or two: If you could please edit your title to add your kitties name....the typical format here that helps us keep track of all the condos is Date: Kitty Name: AMPS: So yours would be 1/26 Sullivan AMPS 72

Please go ahead and set up your spreadsheet and attach it to a link from within your signature to record today's 72 reading. If you need info on where to find the correct FDMB SS, just post here and someone will help you.

I remember very well how difficult it was getting started with testing. I have a similar tale of woe - I stabbed my Luci five times the first day we tried...and the first drop of blood ended up on the floor...it was a real scene! I promise you it'll get easier...I didn't believe that myself when I started...but I was determined to save Luci's life.

There is a lot of support and helpful advice on this forum - just keep asking questions! :)
 
If you switched Sullivan to low carb food after he was diagnosed, it's entirely possible that his numbers have dropped back into normal range. We've had a number of cats that went into remission after a change to low carb food. I think I recall someone also mentioning that there have also been times when number shift after a bout of low readings.

So now that you've gotten a test in, would it be possible for you to set up a spreadsheet? This is the link to the instructions.

Here's the link to your last post . We link our posts so it's easy to back track if need be.
 
Thanks everyone! I don't have a spreadsheet because this is the first time in 6 attempts that we've been able to draw enough blood to get results, and he's on 2.5 units of Lantus. We don't plan on doing regular testing because we had trouble training our guy to eat timed meals after being allowed to graze for his first 15+ years, and he gets VERY stubborn after blood testing attempts and eats very poorly afterwards. We just tested today to try to finally get our first BGC.

We will definitely test again before his dinner, but should we test again around +6 just to see where he is (and whether it jibes with his morning test)? An attempt at a full BGC seems fruitless today since he had no morning shot.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
If you switched Sullivan to low carb food after he was diagnosed, it's entirely possible that his numbers have dropped back into normal range. We've had a number of cats that went into remission after a change to low carb food. I think I recall someone also mentioning that there have also been times when number shift after a bout of low readings.

So now that you've gotten a test in, would it be possible for you to set up a spreadsheet? This is the link to the instructions.

Here's the link to your last post . We link our posts so it's easy to back track if need be.
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He eats moderate carb food now (Hills m/d dry, 15% carbs) because he refuses to eat wet food.
 
Sullivan certainly likes to give you a challenge!

Have you looked at other lower carb options? 15% is still high carb. Some of the people here use either Young Again Zero Carb or Dr. Elsey's Clean Protein for their kibble addicted cats. There are several brands of freeze dried or air dried raw food that have a crunch factor and are low carb.

There seems to be something wonky on the Hill's site. They list the nutritional values for both the canned food and the kibble as identical. One factor that further suggests that their numbers are off is that there is no moisture content listed for either canned or dry. Moisture content is a values that's typically included in the nutritional analysis. The Hill's site does not indicate that these are guaranteed analysis values versus "as fed." When I used the nutritional analysis that's listed on Chewy's, the M/D dry is estimated as 23.6% carb.
 
SullivansDad said:
Is there a chance something is wrong with my Alphatrak or test strips? Testing him is next to impossible (difficult to get blood, refuses to eat after test, etc.).
Click to expand...
Given that the test with control solution gave a value in the expected range, I think chances are slim that there’s anything wrong with the meter or strips. It never hurts to double check that the meter is coded to match the cat number on the test strip vial.

I always had a second meter as a backup just in case something happened to my main meter or I needed a reality check. My primary meter was a One Touch Ultra human meter but I also have two AlphaTraks and a variety of others I’ve accumulated over the years. Yes there’s an expected variance in the readings between human and pet meters but for a quick reality check, pretty much any backup meter will do.

As for refusing to eat after being tested ... I’m guessing it’s already been suggested that you can feed multiple small meals rather than 2 meals a day. I mostly free fed my diabetics and they actually seemed to do better when they ate at will. Part of it might have been because smaller meals are less taxing on the pancreas, but it might also have had something to do with the fact that not having food available seemed to cause them a bit of stress and stress does seem to elevate BG. At least that was my theory. The internal med doctor, whose specialty happened to be endocrinology, and I used to mull over such things.

If I had to choose between skipping the BG test so my cat would eat on a time schedule and testing the BG but having to leave food down until he relaxed and came back around, I’d choose the latter. But I don’t know all of your circumstances. Food for thought (no pun intended).

Welcome to the Vampire Club, btw!
 
Please, PLEASE plan to continue REGULAR tests :( Realistically, and I don't mean to scare you, but realistically, if you'd given that 2.5 units, you could have lost your cat today. No joke.

Regular testing is CRI.TI.CAL!!!!!

That said, do you have an emergency hypo kit? If you're not going to do regular tests, you NEED to know the signs and be ready if an emergency happens. (If it is any consolation, the ear "learns" to bleed. It DOES get easier. I promise)
 
Darcy and Jonesy said:
Please, PLEASE plan to continue REGULAR tests :( Realistically, and I don't mean to scare you, but realistically, if you'd given that 2.5 units, you could have lost your cat today. No joke.

Regular testing is CRI.TI.CAL!!!!!

That said, do you have an emergency hypo kit? If you're not going to do regular tests, you NEED to know the signs and be ready if an emergency happens. (If it is any consolation, the ear "learns" to bleed. It DOES get easier. I promise)
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We will for sure test more regularly now. Our plan for today is to just test again pre-dinner and not give a shot unless the number has absolutely skyrocketed. I am in disbelief about his 72 (again, his energy levels were very high at +6 last night as well as this morning), but will definitely not be shooting without testing first in the coming days! And yes, we do have a hypo kit. We had a small scare he was going hypo back in December when he was on Vetsulin and we had him up to 115 by the time the ER tested him an hour later (we didn't have hometesting equipment at the time as our old vet said it was unnecessary, grr).

I will be calling his (new) vet first thing tomorrow about this, but if the 72 turns out to not have been an aberration and we stop shooting entirely, I am thinking we should try to convert him to wet food again ASAP (we still have cans of Friskies Pate from previous attempts) to get (keep?!) him in remission. Does that sound like a good plan?
 
I wasn’t planning on testing Max either. He was a very shy cat and I didn’t want to have him hide from me. So my vet had me come to his office around nadir a few times a week. I bought a meter just in case and brought it to his office to make sure it was working. My vet handed me the needle to test and I did. We got a 60 and I was scared he would go hypo. I started testing before every shot and became a testaholic, lol. Max got a special treat, (freeze dried protein that he loved,) after every shot. Turned out once he associated the treat with the test he didn’t mind so much. I learned from home testing that stress at the office caused his bg to read much higher so home testing was crucial for him. Later when he needed fluids he hid from me afterward. I used a special treat just for that and instead of hiding he would wait for the treat!

Welcome. You will get lots of help here and keep your cat safe.
 
Thank you everyone! We tested again before his dinner and it was 134. We once again decided not to shoot.

I will be calling his doctor first thing tomorrow when his office opens, but I was wondering if anyone has any advice on a no-shoot number or dosage for tomorrow morning? Once again, we just started testing this morning for the first time and AMPS was 72 and PMPS was 134 so we gave no shots; his normal dose is 2.5 units of Lantus.
 
SullivansDad said:
First successful attempt at hometesting and he's at 72! Test solution tested within range. I really do not believe the 72 number (6 hours after his pm shot he was literally sprinting around the house) but definitely not shooting! Will not shoot again without a test!

Is there a chance something is wrong with my Alphatrak or test strips? Testing him is next to impossible (difficult to get blood, refuses to eat after test, etc.).
Click to expand...


My Alphatrak2 is very picky about the sample sizes I try to use for testing. If it takes awhile to get a sample, or the sample is small and you smear the blood....sometimes it will give me a lower reading. When I am not sure, I retest if the number changes how much insulin I will be giving. I've gotten and (28 before) and then retested and got a more expected number. We also use paw pads and not ears usually, but I have gotten weird numbers.
Hopefully, that's not the case- just wanted to make sure you knew it was possible.
 
Thanks everyone! He tested at 111 this morning (with a good sized drop of blood), so we once again did not give him his shot and will be calling his doctor later this morning.
 
SullivansDad said:
Thanks everyone! He tested at 111 this morning (with a good sized drop of blood), so we once again did not give him his shot and will be calling his doctor later this morning.
Click to expand...

Please start a new thread this morning with this information on it.

We each start a new thread/condo each day so that this one doesn't get really long, long...one per day; with new date and info.
 
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