Checking Glucose for the first time

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Christine Hamann

Christine Hamann

Member Since 2015
Well, I got a blood glucose monitor and spent the night figuring out how to use it and talked to my vet about using it. This morning I was ready to give it a go. After Miss Emmy had her breakfast, I waited 30 minutes like instructed and took a sample from her ear. She was so good about letting me take it and didn't flinch at all even tho it took 3 tries to get the blood drop to form. Then I put the strip in the meter and collected the sample. Happy Happy Joy Joy! Her blood sugar was 178! The vet told me last night that for Miss Em if her glucose level was under 200 to not give her insulin. I had a very happy kitty this morning.
 
I checked her again tonight.....4 tries in 2 ears before I got any blood.....and her blood glucose tonight was 175. This was after no insulin this morning. I know my vet thought her high levels were prednisone induced, but could she revert back to normal so quickly or could her high numbers at the vets be just a fluke? She hasn't even been eating low carb food because I was told to keep her on the same diet? Should I take her in and have the vet check her meter against mine?
 
No, but at those blood sugar levels you might be just fine with no insulin and low carb food.
 
I totally agree that it could be steroid induced and just getting tested at the vet can cause enough stress to raise the numbers by quite a bit but I strongly disagree with your vets recommendation to stay on the same food

Low carb canned food may very well be the key to getting (and keeping) your cat in remission if that's where she's going!! I'd start transitioning her over to a low carb food and continue testing...you may be very pleasantly surprised...and it'll help to make sure she'll be as healthy as possible too!

No only are high carb foods bad, but feeding a canned or raw diet gives them the extra water that keeps their kidney's healthy. CKD is one of the biggest things that costs our kitties their lives, so if adding extra water can keep those kidneys healthy, it's well worth it!

There's all kinds of great information about feline nutrition on Dr. Lisa's website "Feeding Your Cat"
 
Em has to eat canned food. She had peridontal issues and lost most of her teeth, so she is physically incapable of chewing dry foods. Low carb may be an issue due to her sensitive stomach, but it is something we are considering.
I have spoken to my vet regarding Emmy's lower numbers and we are looking at a number of different options, one is to try to control it with diet, another would be trying one shot a day rather than 2, and a third would be to try the oral medication on her. Dr Sue said the oral meds don't work as well, but with a cat who needs something, but not much, it might be enough.
 
Emmy's numbers have continued to drop. This morning she was 139 and tonight 132. She has not had an insulin injection in 3 days, and since I was just looking into possible diet changes, her diet has not changed since before she was diagnosed. My vet is thrilled with her numbers and is hopeful that her body is trying to reverse the diabetes. I am going to be in daily contact with my vet while we see how this trend is going.
On a side note, Emmy's new pain meds seem to be working and Em is friskier than she has been in a while now. It's good to see my baby feeling better!
 
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