10/14 Basic pmps 292 +3 230, questions abt food, home testing, and dosage at the bottom.

[Basic's Mom]

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/10-13-basic-amps-370-4-361-8-308.282518/#post-3113843

The libre is only reading at high, meaning over 400. Three out of four of these have been faulty. I did some research online and this is very common. They don't recall faulty batches. They have been sued. I am simply out the money. They refuse to refund my money. They want to send me another and I'm simply not interested.

I went and purchased a ReliOn. HIS BG is 292, while the libre is reading over 400. I had to buy one of these because my blood ketone meter still isn't here.

I'm thankful that I did.

We both did absolutely fine with the testing. He didn't even flinch, but he got down after looking for more food. I am very proud if how brave he has been through all of this.

That's my next tidbit I want to share. I know it isn't possible for everyone to see my post or respond quickly or at all, even with tags. I have stated that basic is still eating his high carb food. He just started eating again and I wasn't going to stress with. I've ordered the Dr. Easley's clean protein kibble. I read here that it was only one of two approved. He only get 1/4 of a cup per day. Hopefully he likes it. He also is just now starting to eat the FF and not demand the friskies (this just starred today, was refusing it.) I will closely watch his BG while we are transition and I will go slow. If there are pointers, please let me know or attach a link where I can find info.

Also, because I've had a libre this entire time and never had to test myself, how often should I be testing him so that we are safe.

I'm a little panicky because his libre had alarms. I do not have that luxury with home testing, but I do have truthful data about my cat. A faulty libre could get someone or an animal killed and the company simply doesn't care.

1)Is there a proper way to switch food over to low carb food without drastically changing his BG?

2) How often should I be hometesting?

3) When can I start reducing this high dosage if it isn't truly needed, now that I know his actual BG?

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

Hi there. Thank you for the link to your new thread. You are doing fantastic. I’m sorry about the Libre. It is my understanding that they just send replacements in the event of a faulty sensor. Just make the food change gradually as you would normally with any cat to prevent diarrhea from a rapid food change. I would mix in a small amount of food into the existing food once a day at first. Then move to twice a day. I’m talking about starting with just a teaspoon added on top of the current food. Then you gradually increase that amount and decrease the other food by the same amount. All this time you are testing BG to try and catch any low numbers.

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

Are you now following TR instead of SLGS? Either one is fine, but reductions with TR are taken when he falls below 50 and with SLGS reductions are taken when kitty drops below 90.

 

[Basic's Mom]

Hi there. Thank you for the link to your new thread. You are doing fantastic. I’m sorry about the Libre. It is my understanding that they just send replacements in the event of a faulty sensor. Just make the food change gradually as you would normally with any cat to prevent diarrhea from a rapid food change. I would mix in a small amount of food into the existing food once a day at first. Then move to twice a day. I’m talking about starting with just a teaspoon added on top of the current food. Then you gradually increase that amount and decrease the other food by the same amount. All this time you are testing BG to try and catch any low numbers.

Okay. Thank you. I understand all of this. I just tried testing him again and it didn't go as smoothly this time. I've tried searching home testing but I'm not seeing any pointers from that search. Can you or anyone else that reads this link info or tips on home testing. I found the one with the photo of the ear with the sweet spot, but that's all I can find. I'm getting a little.freakrd out because I need to know his BG for him and my peace of mind. I can't be panicked though. I have to be calm about all of this.

Also, I do have hypo stuff set up just in case.

 

[Basic's Mom]

Are you now following TR instead of SLGS? Either one is fine, but reductions with TR are taken when he falls below 50 and with SLGS reductions are taken when kitty drops below 90.

I'm doing TR now. I was doing SLGS, but I left I had to switch because of the increase i thought he needed, which was .25 higher than TR regulations.

I don't want him to be below 50 though. Do you mean if using TR, I can't reduce his insulin unless he drops to 50? Sorry. I didn't know. I'm going to print out all of this tomorrow at my mom's. I need to have a better understanding of both methods. Thank you for explaining this to me. It is so much info and I never feel like I am grasping it all.

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

I cried so many times when I first started home testing. I wasn’t very good at first. In the beginning, it helps a lot to use something to warm the ear before trying to poke the ear. You have seen the sweet spot. It’s important to try to put the lancet in at a 45 degree angle. What size lancet are you using?

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

A lot of people use a “rice sock” that they put in the microwave to warm it and hold against the ear for a minute before trying to poke the ear. It can help a lot. It gets easier as the ears develop better capillaries in that area. Also, many people, including me, found that one ear bleeds better than the other. It takes time.

 

[Basic's Mom]

I cried so many times when I first started home testing. I wasn’t very good at first. In the beginning, it helps a lot to use something to warm the ear before trying to poke the ear. You have seen the sweet spot. It’s important to try to put the lancet in at a 45 degree angle. What size lancet are you using?

I'm so tired of crying. Truly. Hahaha
I read on here to get 26 or 28. They didn't have 28, so I got 26. I threw the 30s away that came with the meter. I don't want to mix up anything.

Okay. I don't have a microwave. I'll have to think of something and not be obvious. 45⁰ angle. Good to know.

 

[Basic's Mom]

A lot of people use a “rice sock” that they put in the microwave to warm it and hold against the ear for a minute before trying to poke the ear. It can help a lot. It gets easier as the ears develop better capillaries in that area. Also, many people, including me, found that one ear bleeds better than the other. It takes time.

Can I poke the outside or is it best to do inside where there isn't hair? I feel like he wouldn't mind the outside as much as the inside.

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

Also, if he will let you, you can gently massage the edge of the ear before poking. I found the warming to help. Be sure to give a treat reward at every attempt- whether you are successful or not.

 

[Basic's Mom]

Also, if he will let you, you can gently massage the edge of the ear before poking. I found the warming to help. Be sure to give a treat reward at every attempt- whether you are successful or not.

He let's me rub them and so I am. Thats how I got the first one so easily. He loves his ears being rubbed.

I'm struggling with treats. He refuses any that are good for him. I have to limit them until I find ones that he will eat. I'll will only give him them during this time so he will associate them with this now.

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

I'm so tired of crying. Truly. Hahaha
I read on here to get 26 or 28. They didn't have 28, so I got 26. I threw the 30s away that came with the meter. I don't want to mix up anything.

Okay. I don't have a microwave. I'll have to think of something and not be obvious. 45⁰ angle. Good to know.

At that time I did not have a microwave either. Mine was broken and I didn’t bother to fix it for two years. You can fill something small like a pill bottle with hot/warm water and use something like that to warm the ear. I had a very small glass bottle that I filled with hot water. If you are having trouble getting the blood to bead up at the beginning, a small amount of Vaseline Petroleum Jelly rubbed on the ear will help the blood to bead up so that you can hold the test strip to the ear and have it suck up the blood.

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

@Diane Tyler's Mom you are good with tips for home testing.

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

Mostly, I had to keep trying (after crying a lot and telling myself that I was never going to be able to do it.). I never have forgotten that time.

 

[Basic's Mom]

At that time I did not have a microwave either. Mine was broken and I didn’t bother to fix it for two years. You can fill something small like a pill bottle with hot/warm water and use something like that to warm the ear. I had a very small glass bottle that I filled with hot water. If you are having trouble getting the blood to bead up at the beginning, a small amount of Vaseline Petroleum Jelly rubbed on the ear will help the blood to bead up so that you can hold the test strip to the ear and have it suck up the blood.

Okay. I'm going to try all of this now. He is back in my lap because I have the treats. His blood made a good ball, but he pulled away, it smeared, and it didn't get enough on the strip.

 

[tiffmaxee]

If you are going to feed kibble , you need to follow SLGS. Get a +2 every cycle you can. If it’s lower than the amps/pmps it might be an active cycle and you want a test later in the cycle. If higher you should be fine.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Hi Sybil
Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up

6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
You can also put a thin layer of vaseline on the ear ,to help the blood bead up
If you look at the lancet under a light you will see one side of the lancet is curved upward, that's the side you want to poke with. I have always free handed. On the lancets I don't have to keep looking for the side that's curved because on the plastic on the lancet there are little holes if you want to call it that, the side on my lancets with the part that's curved upward had smaller holes on it, so when I poke I just look at the lancet for them and poke

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

About how many times to test: with TR, the requirement is to test at every preshot and to also get at least one test mid-cycle for each cycle. You will find for yourself that you will want to test more than this - after you get good at it. But as Elise pointed out, with dry food, the method to follow is SLGS.

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

If you are going to feed kibble , you need to follow SLGS. Get a +2 every cycle you can. If it’s lower than the amps/pmps it might be an active cycle and you want a test later in the cycle. If higher you should be fine.

Oh, thank you, Elise. With the dry food, the method to be followed is SLGS.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Elise is right, I see in your post you are feeding some Dr Elsey's kibble so you will have to follow SLGS method
@Sybil
you can get freeze dried treats and give Basic some of those and then you can follow Tr if you want to
Look at this post #64 there is a whole list
Post numbers are to the right
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-to-this-i-need-advice.269452/#post-3007262

You need to change your signature to read SLGS instead of TR if you are going to feed the kibble , on your spreadsheet you have SLGS which is correct
@Sybil

 

[Basic's Mom]

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/10-13-basic-amps-370-4-361-8-308.282518/#post-3113843

The libre is only reading at high, meaning over 400. Three out of four of these have been faulty. I did some research online and this is very common. They don't recall faulty batches. They have been sued. I am simply out the money. They refuse to refund my money. They want to send me another and I'm simply not interested.

I went and purchased a ReliOn. HIS BG is 292, while the libre is reading over 400. I had to buy one of these because my blood ketone meter still isn't here.

I'm thankful that I did.

We both did absolutely fine with the testing. He didn't even flinch, but he got down after looking for more food. I am very proud if how brave he has been through all of this.

That's my next tidbit I want to share. I know it isn't possible for everyone to see my post or respond quickly or at all, even with tags. I have stated that basic is still eating his high carb food. He just started eating again and I wasn't going to stress with. I've ordered the Dr. Easley's clean protein kibble. I read here that it was only one of two approved. He only get 1/4 of a cup per day. Hopefully he likes it. He also is just now starting to eat the FF and not demand the friskies (this just starred today, was refusing it.) I will closely watch his BG while we are transition and I will go slow. If there are pointers, please let me know or attach a link where I can find info.

Also, because I've had a libre this entire time and never had to test myself, how often should I be testing him so that we are safe.

I'm a little panicky because his libre had alarms. I do not have that luxury with home testing, but I do have truthful data about my cat. A faulty libre could get someone or an animal killed and the company simply doesn't care.

1)Is there a proper way to switch food over to low carb food without drastically changing his BG?

2) How often should I be hometesting?

3) When can I start reducing this high dosage if it isn't truly needed, now that I know his actual BG?

I'm going to update his SS, but wanted to let you know first, his BG is 230 and his libre is reading 396. I finally was able to get more blood and he is still next to me. Thank you so much for helping us.

 

[Basic's Mom]

If you are going to feed kibble , you need to follow SLGS. Get a +2 every cycle you can. If it’s lower than the amps/pmps it might be an active cycle and you want a test later in the cycle. If higher you should be fine.

I have to print out both methods and review them thoroughly before continuing to move around. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Chrispooky12]

I'm so tired of crying. Truly. Hahaha
I read on here to get 26 or 28. They didn't have 28, so I got 26. I threw the 30s away that came with the meter. I don't want to mix up anything.

Okay. I don't have a microwave. I'll have to think of something and not be obvious. 45⁰ angle. Good to know.

I fold up a pieces of paper towel & get it warm with water from the faucet squeeze it out & rub Panzer's ear with it for probably 20 seconds or as long as he will let me then I quickly put a dab of Vaseline on the tip/edge of his ear where I'm going to poke & I poke, sometimes I have to milk his ear like popping a pimple to get the blood to come up other times the blood beads up on it's own. Then I put the test strip in the meter put it up to the blood & it sucks the blood up & counts down front 5 & gives me the number, than I use my cotton pad to stop the blood with a little bit of pressure. I do all of that as quickly as possible so he stays still. He was a hard one to begin with but it gets easier I promise. Try not to be nervous or stressed while your doing it because he will pick up on it & he will be nervous & anxious to. Some people sing to there kitty's I just quietly talk to Panzer & tell him good boy & tell him what I'm doing step by step. I say warmy warmy while I'm rubing his ear with the paper towel than mommy do the Vaseline mommy poke mommy get the test & mommy squeeze using the cotton pad. He usually tries to grab the cotton pad from me playfully so I just let him hit at but he will eat it if he gets it ( imagine that not Panzer) he thought the rice sock was a toy that's why we do the paper towel hope this helps you & Basic.

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

I'm going to update his SS, but wanted to let you know first, his BG is 230 and his libre is reading 396. I finally was able to get more blood and he is still next to me. Thank you so much for helping us.

We will be here for you all the way!

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

So the drop from 292 to 230 in three hours is not bad. I’m not worried about that. I’m very happy to see yellow numbers. Would you be able to test again in 2 more hours from his last test?

 

[Basic's Mom]

So the drop from 292 to 230 in three hours is not bad. I’m not worried about that. I’m very happy to see yellow numbers. Would you be able to test again in 2 more hours from his last test?

Absolutely. I wouldn't be able to sleep if I don't. This isn't going to be easy on me. My cat doesn't really display any of the 'normal' signs when he isn't well. It is terrifying honeslty.

 

[Chrispooky12]

He let's me rub them and so I am. Thats how I got the first one so easily. He loves his ears being rubbed.

I'm struggling with treats. He refuses any that are good for him. I have to limit them until I find ones that he will eat. I'll will only give him them during this time so he will associate them with this now.

I buy chicken breasts & boil one when it's done & done cooling I tear it up into pieces & divide it into Tupperware bowls & start with one & keep it in the refrigerator & feeze the rest & pull them out as needed. It's 0 carbs & he loves it, we call it his chicky.

 

[Basic's Mom]

So the drop from 292 to 230 in three hours is not bad. I’m not worried about that. I’m very happy to see yellow numbers. Would you be able to test again in 2 more hours from his last test?

Also, I noted on his SS, that I'm not sure who much of the past 36 hours of numbers are correct, which is terrifying as well, especially with that increase.

I also fed him fancy feast for dinner and not friskies. That could be helping significantly.

 

[Basic's Mom]

I buy chicken breasts & boil one when it's done & done cooling I tear it up into pieces & divide it into Tupperware bowls & start with one & keep it in the refrigerator & feeze the rest & pull them out as needed. It's 0 carbs & he loves it, we call it his chicky.

Thank you for this. When he first got sick, he ate this really well the first time and then refused, but I think it was because of how sick he was. Thanks for this and the tips on home testing.

 

[Chrispooky12]

Thank you for this. When he first got sick, he ate this really well the first time and then refused, but I think it was because of how sick he was. Thanks for this and the tips on home testing.

You are very welcome like Suzanne said we are here for you & will be with you all the way.

 

[Basic's Mom]

Elise is right, I see in your post you are feeding some Dr Elsey's kibble so you will have to follow SLGS method
@Sybil
you can get freeze dried treats and give Basic some of those and then you can follow Tr if you want to
Look at this post #64 there is a whole list
Post numbers are to the right
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-to-this-i-need-advice.269452/#post-3007262

You need to change your signature to read SLGS instead of TR if you are going to feed the kibble , on your spreadsheet you have SLGS which is correct
@Sybil

He refused the $12 freeze dried treats.

Okay. I'll update my signature to reflect SLGS. I have to choose that for now. I don't want to take chances on him not eating again. We've made a lot of changes, trying to keep some normalcy for him. He hasnt started that kibble yet. I just was reading about food options on here today and aaw that info.

Thanks

 

[Basic's Mom]

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/10-13-basic-amps-370-4-361-8-308.282518/#post-3113843

The libre is only reading at high, meaning over 400. Three out of four of these have been faulty. I did some research online and this is very common. They don't recall faulty batches. They have been sued. I am simply out the money. They refuse to refund my money. They want to send me another and I'm simply not interested.

I went and purchased a ReliOn. HIS BG is 292, while the libre is reading over 400. I had to buy one of these because my blood ketone meter still isn't here.

I'm thankful that I did.

We both did absolutely fine with the testing. He didn't even flinch, but he got down after looking for more food. I am very proud if how brave he has been through all of this.

That's my next tidbit I want to share. I know it isn't possible for everyone to see my post or respond quickly or at all, even with tags. I have stated that basic is still eating his high carb food. He just started eating again and I wasn't going to stress with. I've ordered the Dr. Easley's clean protein kibble. I read here that it was only one of two approved. He only get 1/4 of a cup per day. Hopefully he likes it. He also is just now starting to eat the FF and not demand the friskies (this just starred today, was refusing it.) I will closely watch his BG while we are transition and I will go slow. If there are pointers, please let me know or attach a link where I can find info.

Also, because I've had a libre this entire time and never had to test myself, how often should I be testing him so that we are safe.

I'm a little panicky because his libre had alarms. I do not have that luxury with home testing, but I do have truthful data about my cat. A faulty libre could get someone or an animal killed and the company simply doesn't care.

1)Is there a proper way to switch food over to low carb food without drastically changing his BG?

2) How often should I be hometesting?

3) When can I start reducing this high dosage if it isn't truly needed, now that I know his actual BG?

Also, because he is off all his meds now, except insulin, can I move all that info into my summary and out of the signature? Remove libre too?

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

I've ordered the Dr. Easley's clean protein kibble. I read here that it was only one of two approved. He only get 1/4 of a cup per day.

I thought Basic was eating this already

 

[Basic's Mom]

I thought Basic was eating this already

No, I just ordered because he loves his kibble. If I can give him some that isn't like eating potato chips, I will. The kibble he is eating currently is probably horrible for his BG.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Also, because he is off all his meds now, except insulin, can I move all that info into my summary and out of the signature? Remove libre too?

I would say that's fine

No, I just ordered because he loves his kibble. If I can give him some that isn't like eating potato chips, I will. The kibble he is eating currently is probably horrible for his BG.

He should like the Dr Elsey's Chicken which is low carb


https://www.google.com/url?q=https:...8QFnoECAkQAg&usg=AOvVaw1btO3hygdQ_XQmpOJMpN6i

Also tap on this blue link it's from Dr Elseys site and lists all the carbs for the kibble you can download it

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

If you're using a hand held meter now for good just add the name of the meter to your signature and to your spreadsheet
@Sybil

 

[Basic's Mom]

If you're using a hand held meter now for good just add the name of the meter to your signature and to your spreadsheet
@Sybil

Thanks for the link to the food. I will view it shortly.

Okay. It will change as soon as my blood ketone one arrives. I knew something was off with that libre and I had to get this one before his PM shot. Thanks for telling me to include.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Thanks for the link to the food. I will view it shortly.

Okay. It will change as soon as my blood ketone one arrives. I knew something was off with that libre and I had to get this one before his PM shot. Thanks for telling me to include.

You're very welcome
By the way Basic is adorable!

 

[Wendy&Neko]

• Hometesting Links and Tips - includes numerous links, instructions, pictures, & videos

 

[Basic's Mom]

You're very welcome
By the way Basic is adorable!

Thank you. He's such a love bug. I'm glad that he is getting back to himself each day.

 

[Basic's Mom]

So the drop from 292 to 230 in three hours is not bad. I’m not worried about that. I’m very happy to see yellow numbers. Would you be able to test again in 2 more hours from his last test?

His BG is 184. 230 an hour ago. Not sure if that is drastic or not. I haven't seen these numbers in a long time. Now I'm worried the libre has been off for even longer. He also didn't receive friskies for dinner, only fancy feast.