6/21 Gobbles BG 72 ? regarding testing ?

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TheBowHuntress

TheBowHuntress

Member Since 2012
Good Morning Lantus Land!!!

Happy first day of summer :-D :-D :-D Everything is peachy here in Gobbles World. He's enjoying his life at The Falls and living the high life, as usual. Here's a recent picture taken of him kicking back on an outing:



I have a few questions regarding hometesting. He's been OTJ for over a month now. 1. When could I stop testing him every day? How often should I test him now that it has been over a month? 2. He's had BG's anywhere from 49-72 lately. Should I be concerned about the lower numbers? Last night he tested 50 about 45 minutes after a very LC snack. Here's some numbers (I try to test him at a different time each day):

6/21/13: 72
6/20/13: 50
6/19/13: 65
6/18/13: 68
6/17/13: 49 and a little later: 63
6/16/13: 67
6/15/13: forgot to test
6/14/13: 70
6/13/13: 55
6/12/13: 67
6/11/13: 62
 
I don't think there's a "rule" regarding how often to test. I would look at Libby/Lucy's and Jill/Alex's spreadsheets as examples.

I wouldn't worry about the low numbers. You're not giving insulin so there's no risk of hypo.
 
So awesome :-D :-D :-D He looks soooooo HAPPY dancing_cat dancing_cat Enjoy you life at The Falls. Hoot will be back at The Falls soon so he can meet Gobbles party_cat Have a great day :YMPEACE:
 
Morning Kat & Gobbles! Just wanted to say "Hi"... ;-) Gobby looks very happy, especially since he's not tied to the bush! haha_smiley Happy Summer to you also Cindy & Sabrina cat_pet_icon

Hi Gobby! I'm so sorry I couldn't meet you @ the lagoon the other night.....no way I could sneak out :roll: Wanna try again tonight, the lagoon is sooooooo..........pretty! HUGS & Scritches , Your Princess
 

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Kat,

I think the BG testing after your cat is in remission is a matter of how comfortable you are with less testing. There are no hard and fast rules but I have settled on testing once a week for Wink. That is my comfort level.

I keep my eyes on the pee patch sizes and urination frequency, appetite, weight, thirst, energy level and all the 5 P's. I want to catch a relapse quickly which is why I am still testing once a week. Also, I have a bottle of open test strips and want to use them up before they go bad! ;-)

AAHA Diabetes Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats advises long term monitoring to include monthly spot checks, twice monthly if possible, but that is with insulin therapy.

This list is basically what I keep my eye on:
Tips to stay OTJ

1. never feed dry - not even treats. If you change wet food types, be 100% sure the new food is also low carb. Don't feed if you aren't sure!
2. Weigh every 2 weeks to 1 month to watch for weight changes
3. Measure blood once a week, indefinitely. You want to catch a relapse quickly.
4. No steroids or oral meds with sugar - remind your vet whenever giving you any medication. Always double check.
5. Monitor food intake, peeing and drinking
6. Regular vet checks for infection such as dental , ear or UTI. And get them treated quick!

If he does fall out of remission you need to be more aggressive and resolve issues/ back on insulin as soon as possible as the window for a second remission is tight if any.
Click to expand...

Hope that helps.
 
When Maui went OTJ, I continued to test daily for two weeks. Then I tested once a week for two weeks, then once a month and now I test when the mood hits me - or when I see her behaving differently - like drinking water - she stopped drinking after eating wet only (I add 1 can of water to 1 can of food) and the other week, she laid by the water dish and drank and came back several times, so that got me thinking something was wrong and I tested.

Nope, nothing wrong, just thirsty girl.....

hope that helps.
 
I test every other day right now. Shadow "was" throwing me numbers right on the edge and then she had a low period for a few weeks....
now she's back in the 100's so I'll probably go back to testing daily.

It's very much what you are comfortable with.
I don't expect I'll ever be one who can go a whole month.... Shadow is too likely to go higher and I don't want her having high numbers for a week or two before I catch it.
 
Hi Kat. Sorry I can't offer any testing advice in this arena. I just wanted to drop by and say hello and congratulations to you and Gobbles for a month OTJ.

Have a great day.
 
Ahhhh I remember those days when Trouble went OTJ..I joined TA..."Hi my name is jeanne and yes, I am a testaholic"....It took me a good month to get over the urge to "test" :lol:
Good luck and best of all wishes to you and Gobbles,
j.
 
How often you test going forward will depend more on you than on Gobbles. You might experience symptoms of withdrawal. :lol: You may need to find something else to poke with sharp objects. A stuffed animal, a piece of fruit, or a voodoo doll might help.

I let Bob tell me if it is warranted. Like if I see him drinking water, which almost never happens. Or if he's just laying around looking like he feels like crap. He hasn't been tested for several months. His next scheduled test is on July 19th and I have it on my FDMB kitty calendar. It's his two-year anniversary.

One thing to do. Check the expiration date on your strips. I have to buy a new batch before I can test him. If you do really need some, you want them to be "good".
 
So beautiful love the numbers, does Gobbles like the water,my cat Harley liked to go swimming. :smile:
 
life is supposed to be easy for the caregiver when kitty is OTJ! :lol: :lol: :lol:

kat, there are no hard and fast "rules" for when kitty is OTJ. my personal preference is not to get too crazy. after a month OTJ, i don't see any reason why you'd have to continue testing daily. i test all my kitties on the first of every month (makes it easy to remember) and/or whenever any one of them appears "off" their game. being "off" can include acts as simple as drinking water, not eating, or any change in usual behavior... or as complex as illness or disease.

once a diabetic, always a diabetic... so i've kept all of mine on a diabetic friendly diet. although, i do know of some caregivers who have reintroduced some dry or foods with a little higher percentage of carbs into kitty's diet for various reasons without a problem. with as sensitive as alex is to carbs, i've never wanted to tempt fate when she was OTJ!

carl mentioned something no one ever told me when alex went OTJ the first time... check the expiration date and details for your strips. oftentimes strips that come in those little plastic cannisters are only good for 3 months once opened. meters with individually wrapped strips are great for OTJ kitties! less waste.

i wouldn't be concerned about numbers in the 40s. two of mine regularly test in the 40s. we've even seen some OTJ kitties test in the 30s. however, if one of mine starting throwing me BG numbers in the 30s (or lower than usual) it would arouse my suspicion. i'd probably take that kitty in for a wellness check-up.

congrats again, enjoy, and may gobbles enjoy the rest of his life at The Falls! :mrgreen:
 
That's a great picture of Gobbles. It's good to hear he's doing well. Sorry, I don't have any advice on the testing.
 
Thank all of you, so much, for your helpful comments. I have to really keep an eye on his weight as he is living up to his name!!!

He feels and looks so much better--maybe even better than his pre-dx self; it is truly amazing how far he has come :-D I am so blessed in so many ways and will always be an active member of FDMB. It brings so much joy to me to see him playful, happy, purry and with a great appy. My wish is for all the sugar kitties to become OTJ :mrgreen: Without FDMB, Gobbles may have not been with us in the past....

I've been so busy here, and apologize for not visiting condos as much as I should be. Happy summer everyone!!!

I'll try to post this evening as we are getting ready to go leave for the better part of the day.

Sending vines and good wishes for all the kitties not feeling well be it appy or LB vines or any other needed vines <3
 
I'm copying what I wrote in another condo recently:

This is just me, but: I maintained taking AM and PM BGs and spot checks for about 2 months. Then I eliminated the AMBG on weekends (ah, sleep!). Then after a month, I eliminated the AMBG altogether. Then after another month, I went to every 2-3 days. After about 9 months of this, I noticed his BGs creeping upward into the high blues with scattered yellows. Donny was never a straight-green boy, so the blues did not alarm me at first. I did not re-start insulin, but scheduled a vet appt with bloodwork. His teeth were really bad, and he ended up having major surgery to remove almost all of them. A few weeks after that, his BGs settled back into his usual high green/low blue range, and I continued to test him twice a week.

Go with your gut with regard to continuing testing, but don't get too complacent either. You may not test as often as I did, but regular spot checks are good for catching things before they get ugly. And as we know, BGs can be indicators of other things -- in Donny's case, infection from his bad teeth. I also happened to have a huge stockpile of testing strips that I had bought before he went OTJ. Thankfully Contour strips work long after the expiration date.

MJ
 
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