Best way to monitor glucose levels?

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monty_dweezil (GA)

monty_dweezil (GA)

Member Since 2014
So, we are not at this stage yet as this week is the initial week of Dweezil's first ever insulin injections, but I am SO impatient to get into the monitoring process.

I want to see how his numbers are doing NOW, and also once I find some low card wet food I want to compare the numbers after he eats that as opposed to the vet recommended Royal Canin diabetic formula.

So...

1. What is the best WAY to monitor the glucose? I've read blood is way better in terms of accuracy and speed than urine which can be hard to obtain, can be contaminated by cat litter and also will be delayed as opposed to blood.

2. How exactly do you take the blood reading? Is it like those little prick pens people use for testing blood sugar? I've heard people take it from their cat's ears...surely the skin there would be very sensitive and thin! Ow ow ow!

3. How often do you take a reading? I see people talking about 2 hours after insulin, 4 hours, 6 hours and 8 hours. That's fine, but is that every single day? Or only at first to establish the best dosage?

4. Is it ok to kind of use the monitoring for your own peace of mind, like say I was worried about Dweezy having a hypo moment and he had his insulin at 6am and I left for work at 10am but wanted to make sure he'd be ok until I got home at 2pm, could I just do a reading quickly before I went to assure myself his numbers aren't too low?

5. Are there any readers that do NOT require strips? That somehow take the reading without having to do that part of the process?

6. Lastly, after injecting the insulin, I know the lowest reading will be around 5-6 hours after, but what if I wanted to check on the reactions to food? Like as mentioned above, comparing low carb wet food and the diabetic dry food? How long after eating is best to do a reading?

Thank you so much!
 
1. Use an inexpensive human glucometer - ex WalMart ReliOn Confirm or Confirm Micro, aka Glucocard 01 or 01 Mini from American Diabetes Warehouse (see SHOP link above)

2. A quick little prick on the upper outer edge of the ear. I free hand, some folks use the pen. The cat's ear is much LESS sensitive than our ears.

3. Test before feeding; 2 hours afterwards is when you may see a food spike. The nadir, or lowest glucose post shot, is around +5 to +7 hours after the shot in many cats.

4. Test when concerned about anything

5. All home meters require strips

6. see #3.
 
They don't seem to notice the needle part of the procedure. Mine just don't like having to hold still and having their ear held while I get the blood on the strip. I have a very physically strong AND strong willed cat. If it were hurting her, I wouldn't be able to test her at all. :) Occassionally she gets up to leave befire we're done and I give her a firm No and pull her back to the correct position (next to me, on the couch). My other more docile cat has learned that she has to sit still until the machine beeps. This was great until I got a new machine that beeps when you first put the strip in. :roll:

Keep asking questions, everyone here is very helpful. You'll be a pro in no time.

Lori
 
Thank you again!

I think my Dweezy will be a "wanderer" and walk away many times while we try to fiddle with his ear. lol.

I wonder if walmart does online sales.
 
Click on our SHOP link above; there is a link to WalMart's online presence and if you make a purchase, the board gets a little commission for it which helps support it.
 
My other more docile cat has learned that she has to sit still until the machine beeps. This was great until I got a new machine that beeps when you first put the strip in.
Click to expand...
Sorry to :lol: but that's too funny! Just when we think we have them "trained" :-D
The trick for me was bribery. Bob got freeze dried shrimp as a post test treat. In return for shrimp, I could have probably trained Bob to vacuum or clean the bathroom. ;-)
 
HAHAHAA!!!!!! Adorable.

I'll have a look at that shop link. I'm not going to buy anything until we see the vet on Tuesday though. For one thing, it'll take around 2-3 weeks for any order from the US to get here anyway. Blegh.
 
If you are already giving insulin, get a meter bought. Most people here do not give insulin without testing first. You are right in wanting to know what is going on NOW. If he is one that responds quickly to insulin, you want to be testing from day 1. Some cats drop so fast they are off of insulin within a couple of weeks.

All of the diabetics I've had (3 now) became accustomed to the testing without a problem and I was like you, I wanted to know what was going on so we tested a lot.
Smokey took the longest, her ears were sensitive and she ran and hid for a couple of weeks. She got to the point that she'd sleep through a test or if we said "lets go get a poke Smoke" she'd run sit in her testing spot. We actually have to test her and fake giving her a shot for a while after she went OTJ because she would just sit in her testing spot and not go eat waiting for us to do our job.
Cecil was jumping up on the counter and laying down for tests within days. When we brought in ChrisFarley after Cecil was in remission, Cecil would actually lay on top of Chris while I'd be trying to test Chris, he couldn't understand why Chris was getting his stuff. Chris Farley liked to roll over on his back and give me hugs instead of getting tested, but he comes running when he hears the strip canister or meter beep just like Cecil.

Good luck to you and Dweezil!
 
Thank you! I LOVE the name Cecil by the way. It is just gorgeous.

And yes, I want to get a monitor from the vet on Tuesday and if not, we'll order one ASAP. But I don't want to order one yet before we see the vet in case we get one from her too...I will not be at the vet with my partner (work. Again *sigh*) and she will easily be talked into getting one from the vet, however...we've got pet insurance so cost is no problem. It is ALL covered by our insurance, except for any special food. So we will just want to get a monitor as quickly as possible.
 
You can get an over the counter meter for humans; we have reference numbers for cats to use them. See my signature link Glucometer Notes for more details.
 
Thank you, I'm looking at it right now :)

Wow, the number of 15.6 mmol/L which I assume is the Australian numbering being referred to as uncontrolled diabetes is a bit of a worry, since Dweezil's number was 35 when he went to the vet four days ago. Wow...

I hope when we go back for the glucose curve on Tuesday that his number has significantly dropped...if it has not, what does that mean??
 
Those of us outside the US cannot get Relion meters from Walmart and American Diabetes Warehouse doesn't ship outside of the US either. Just pick a meter at a regular pharmacy, and look for one that takes a small blood drop and has cheaper priced test strips.

There are two systems for measuring blood glucose, the US (mg/dl) and the rest of the world (mmol/L). Since I'm in Canada, I use the same number system as you. Just multiply our numbers by 18 to get the mg/dl you'll see most people here refer to.

Vet stress can add significantly to blood glucose numbers. My non-diabetic cat was once around 11.7 at the vet, and 3.0 at home the next day. That's why we recommend doing testing at home. Curves based on numbers at the vet may have inflated numbers are aren't good for making dosing decisions. Once you learn to test at home, your vet may be willing to look at a curve you've done yourself. And you'll save $$$ too.
 
I use the Accu-Check Aviva here in the UK. I bought it at Boots. A pack of 50 strips costs around 25 GBP.

Bribery is definitely key to the whole process. Freeze-dried chicken and other meats work well and is low-carb. If you don't see any in shops you can order on t'internet.

Cheers,
Lori
 
While you might not be able to "train" a cat like you can a dog you can definitely make them think it is their idea. :lol: Bribery is definitely the key here. Find something they really really love and then only give it to them after the test is done. For my 3 that was something different. For Maxwell a good brushing was worth it's weight in gold. All I have to do to this day is show him his favorite brush and he's flying to his testing spot and he's been OTJ for 4+ years, With Autumn it was raw chicken, that girl would crawl across broken glass to get a pinkie fingernail size bite of raw chicken. And with Cassanova it's tuna or seafood/fish of any kind, he's so bonkers for fishy stuff that if I want to make a tuna fish sandwich I have to go outside to open the can. :roll:

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
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