Another crisis/decision

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FluffBunny

FluffBunny

Member Since 2014
I have posted here a couple of times. I am new to feline diabetes and I have been trying for 2 weeks to get my cat regulated. I should add that I had a cat who had a diabetic seizure and I live in fear of an hypo event with Oliver (aka Fluff Bunny.)

I have been using a ReliOn Micro to track his blood glucose. Two night ago, his BG dropped from a pre-injection reading of174 to a +2 reading of 81. (I had given him 2 units.) I then tested him every half hour and he kept dropping - 63 - 54 - 50. During this time I gave him some Gravy Lovers food and it didn't seem to stop the reading from plummeting. I panicked and took him to the Pet ER. When I got there, they checked his BG on an animal meter and it was 107. Before I left, they took it again and it was 124. When I got home, I checked it on my Micro and it was 98.

After this experience, I bought an Alpha Trak to use only when the readings are very low. I also lowered his dosage to 1.5 units.

Oliver's injection was due at 8:00 PM but when I did his pre-injection test, his BG was 70 on the Micro. I used the Alpha Trak and it was 155. ABout 30 minutes later, I retested. 90 on the Micro and 168 on the Alpha Trak. I don't know what to do about his injection. Any advice?

I have a spreadsheet but I haven't figured out how to post it. It appears that his low point after injection is around 6 hours. However, today, his BG has been dropping all day. He started at 339. At +3 he was 174. At +7 he was 100. Then I did the preinjjection readings described above. All of the readings today were with the Micro until I got the low pre-injection readings and brought out the Alpha Trak.
 
What insulin?

Stall 30 min without feeding and test again. If going up, you may be OK to shoot, depending on the insulin.
 
I tested again. 89 on Micro and 161 on the Alpha Trak - so it has gone down a little bit. I think I am going to skip his injection tonight. I hate doing that because I know it is important to get him regulated, but his readings were strange today - dropping all day - and I am afraid to give him the Lantus.
 
Yes, I'd skip.

The dose may be too high.
Lantus starting dose formula:
How much does he weigh?
How much should he weigh?
Takd the lower weight, in kilograms (pounds / 2.2)
Multiply by 0.25
Round down to nearest quarter unit (we eyeball these since syringes don't mark that precisely.
 
The instructions for the standardized color coded google spreadsheet we use include the steps to link it into your signature here on the message board. Directions here.

If you combine human meter and pet meter numbers on your spreadsheet, it can get really confusing. I recommend having a separate line for the 2 different meter types and enter the data in the appropriate row. It's still going to cause confusion so the best thing to do would be to pick one meter type, human or pet, and stick with it. The human meters have much less expensive test strips, but if money is not an issue for you, than go with the Alphatrak meter.

We have reference ranges for the different meter types.

Be sure to always have plenty of test strips on hand, since you'll have a harder time getting test strips for the Alphatrak except from your vet, and they probably aren't open 24/7.
 
Part of my concern here is confusion over the meters. The other night, the Micro was about 20% lower than the meter the vet used. Now the Micro is measuring 40 - 45% lower. Is that normal. How can I know I am getting an accurate reading?
 
I plan to use the Micro on an ongoing basis because the test strips are much more affordable. I only got the Alpha Trak for cases like tonight when the readings are particularly low. But I guess the issue is - do I give an insulin injection when his BG is below 100 on the Micro? I am really nervous about doing that.
 
BTW, I answered my own question about the accuracy of the Alpha Trak. I used control solution to check the meter and I got a reading right in the middle of the range printed on the test strip container. So I guess at least that one is accurate.
 
Oliver weighs 13.8 lbs. Using the formula, the dose should be 1.5 units which is what I have been giving him for the last couple of days.
 
Human meters generally read about 30-40% lower than pet meters. It may be closer to 30% at lower numbers and 40% at higher ones.

Both types of meters have the FDA allowed +/- 20 % of what a lab would get testing the same species blood.

You'll be less stressed if you just pick a meter know to be OK with cats - human or pet meter - and stick with it.

If you decide to double test the same blood droplet with a pet vs human meter, please share the numbers with me for my stats.
 
I double tested this morning. Micro was 336. Alpha Trak was 360. It appears that the numbers are further apart in the lower ranges. The vet I saw at the Pet ER the other night told me that human meters are designed to give lower readings at the low end to scare people into eating a banana. :roll:
 
Alas, a few pairs of data points isn't enough to decide that, due to the +/- 20% range of error all OTC glucometers are allowed to have.

Ex. 50 represents a range of 40 to 60, 20 mg/dl wide
A 500 represents a range of 400 to 600, 200 mg/dL

Its a statistics thing - you need to get hundreds of data pairs, on the same blood specimen, with different cats, at varying levels of glucose, and a given pairing of glucometers, then run a regression program to get a formula you can use for prediction. Hence me collecting whenever someone has data - every little bit helps.

Because higher numbers can vary quite widely, it isn't as important what the number is when you're over 300, you're still going to look for tactics to improve them - food selection, food timing, activity levels, other health conditions to manage, insulin choices/doses/schedule.
 
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