BG still high :(

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katlady1974

katlady1974

Member Since 2013
so, i learned how to test Timber lastnight at the vet. the tech showed me and he tested at 27mmol/L at the vet- about an hour after getting his insulin. she said that doesn't correlate to cats and the vet would do the calculation. today i'm doing the curve at home-this morning i tested him before his insulin and he was 29. 2 hours later (and after insulin) he was 21. i remember her initially saying he was 37 when he was diagnosed- so i guess this is improvement, but not quite there yet. and is it true that the numbers aren't "true" for cats on the meters? i did test his brother Giz for comparison and he tested at 4.9! he has no health issues. so i'm thinking they're likely accurate? confused_cat
 
The accuracy of a human meter is fine for insulin dosing. The accuracy of the meter is +/- 20%. Your 21 corresponds to 378 USA. That means 302-454. With such a high number the range makes no difference as to what to do.
 
Insulin does not have an immediate effect. It gradually drops the glucose levels and then gradually wears off between every shot.

If you have Lantus or Levemir insulin, there is usually some overlap between shots.
 
He's on Lantus. the 29 was before i gave him the insulin this morning and the 21 was about 1.5 hours later.
 
This is why you test, to collect the data so you can start to see the trend of his BG levels. Just like with people, the bg will rise and fall for many reasons, including insulin and food, excitement, exercise, fear all can raise/lower the bg too.

don't get hung up on one number or one test. Now that you know how to test, what you want to do is continue testing at various times throughout the 12 hour cycle, start building your spreadsheet (instructions link here - viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207 ) and learn his nadir (lowest point in the cycle) and high point in the cycle.
 
Have you seen this before? It's a typical Lantus curve (more info at the sticky on Lantus:

Example of a typical Lantus curve:
+0 - PreShot number.
+1 - Usually higher than PreShot number because of the last shot wearing off. May see a food spike in this number.
+2 - Often similar to the PreShot number.
+3 - Lower than the PreShot number, onset has started.
+4 - Lower.
+5 - Lower.
+6 - Nadir/Peak (the lowest number of cycle).
+7 - Surf (hang around the nadir number).
+8 - Slight rise.
+9 - Slight rise.
+10 - Rising.
+11 - Rising (may dip around +10 or +11).
+12 - PreShot number.

So getting 21 an hour and a half later is actually pretty good as you wouldn't necessarily even see much change from the 29 by that time. You said you're doing the curve at home, so you will be able to see how much more he goes down later. The lowest point (the "nadir") is what you will use to figure out whether he needs more insulin or not, so it will be interesting to see the numbers you test mid-cycle. And always remember it's more like a marathon than a sprint - it can take a while to get the dose right, but even when numbers aren't ideal at least it's a lot better for your cat to be getting the insulin.
 
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