Confused about BG levels

Status
Not open for further replies.
Mary E. Beavers

Mary E. Beavers

Member Since 2018
I have been reading so much and I am now really confused about the BG levels. I read that the pet meters show higher then what the human meters show so does that mean When my Squeakers is 317 that he is actually 20 to 40% higher then that ? And when he was 41 that he wasn't as low as I thought ? I am extremely confused !!! So what numbers should I actually be looking for with the ReliOn prime meter ???
 
At low numbers, the human and pet meters are pretty close.

The "time to act" with a human meter is when they drop below 50....On a pet meter, it's when they drop below 68

As the numbers get higher, they can be further apart, but too high is too high...doesn't matter if it's a human meter or pet

Normal blood glucose numbers for cats on a human meter are 50-120
 
Mary E. Beavers said:
I have been reading so much and I am now really confused about the BG levels. I read that the pet meters show higher then what the human meters show so does that mean When my Squeakers is 317 that he is actually 20 to 40% higher then that ? And when he was 41 that he wasn't as low as I thought ? I am extremely confused !!! So what numbers should I actually be looking for with the ReliOn prime meter ???
Click to expand...
When you got the 317 it was probably closer to 400 on a pet meter, but the 41 was still low on a pet meter... Probably around 65. There's no exact conversation.
 
Chris & China said:
At low numbers, the human and pet meters are pretty close.

The "time to act" with a human meter is when they drop below 50....On a pet meter, it's when they drop below 68

As the numbers get higher, they can be further apart, but too high is too high...doesn't matter if it's a human meter or pet

Normal blood glucose numbers for cats on a human meter are 50-120
Click to expand...
Thank You that just answered my other question....the vet said to try to keep around 150. He is 472 this morning
 
Oop, didn't see that Chris had that info in her post.

The 472 is pretty high. He may be telling you that he does in fact need a bit of insulin support, but let's see if he brings himself downward. Any chance he got into some more high-carb contraband last night?
 
Mary E. Beavers said:
So what numbers should I shoot for on the ReliOn meter ?
Click to expand...
Nan & Amber said:
Oop, didn't see that Chris had that info in her post.

The 472 is pretty high. He may be telling you that he does in fact need a bit of insulin support, but let's see if he brings himself downward. Any chance he got into some more high-carb contraband last night?
Click to expand...
There is a good possibility he did...I have to free feed my other cats and I am sure he helped his self to a little though it is hard for him to eat....I tried keeping him locked up in another room but he cried for hours which the stress is not good for his BG levels either. What am I to do? I am headed to my Boyfriend's today for the weekend so Squeakers will not have access to any other food. I come home Everyday to the other kitties though so don't think I am neglecting them. :)
 
Hmmm, that's going to be the battle, then, keeping him out of the forbidden food. It's always tough with multiple cats.

The weekend will provide a nice trial to see how he does when he's on strictly LC at all times (and any possible bouncing should have faded by then, too). Let's see what he does!
 
I am really upset ! Just tested his blood at 9:30 and got 299
I thought that went down too fast from the 7:30 reading so immediately retested and got 369
WTH !!! Are these meters off that much ??? Now I am fearful of all readings to come.
 
Well.... sometimes you do get a bad reading (that's why it's always a good idea to do what you did and re-test if something seems wrong). But the fact of the matter is, meters are allowed ±20% variance, which means that at the higher numbers you can get a whole lot of wobble.

If the "real" BG is something like 320, then the 20% is 64 pts, and both those readings are comfortably within tolerance. It's a pain, but the good thing is that meters should show less variance at the lower numbers, where it's really important. At the higher numbers, it's best to just step back and look at overall trends, don't worry about individual numbers.

Easier said than done, of course!
 
Nan & Amber said:
Well.... sometimes you do get a bad reading (that's why it's always a good idea to do what you did and re-test if something seems wrong). But the fact of the matter is, meters are allowed ±20% variance, which means that at the higher numbers you can get a whole lot of wobble.

If the "real" BG is something like 320, then the 20% is 64 pts, and both those readings are comfortably within tolerance. It's a pain, but the good thing is that meters should show less variance at the lower numbers, where it's really important. At the higher numbers, it's best to just step back and look at overall trends, don't worry about individual numbers.

Easier said than done, of course!
Click to expand...
Just scares me because yesterday when he was at 317 I gave him a shot he went way way low so maybe he was below 317 closer to the 250
 
Thing is, 250 should still have been a safe number to shoot 0.5U Novalin. We usually set the "no-shoot" number for newbies at 200, and that's building in a little wiggle room for meter variance.
 
I just got to my Boyfriend's house and did a BG test
11:40 312

I was expecting it to be higher because he was in the cage for a while I went in several stores before getting here. So he did really well with the ride. His poor ears are so bruised from all the sticking
 
Aw.... what a trooper!!!!

If you have a little neosporin gel, you can dab it on his ears to help healing. A little pressure on the poke spot after the poke also helps reduce the bruising, as well as the bleeding in the moment. Poor ears!
 
I just did another test on Squeak and got 417....my boyfriend wants me to give insulin...yelling at me that that is too high. His mother had diabetes and he is very upset with me now
 
Got a question...since the Novolin N seems to drop Squeakers very low hours 4 thru 6 after injection...what if I just gave him a small amount of food with the injection and held full feeding until 3 or 4 hours after injection do you think that will help him from dropping so low ?
 
I'm not all that familiar with Novalin N (tagging @Kris & Teasel , who I think has some more experience), but off the top of my head, I think you'd actually want to have most of his food "on board" earlier than 3 or 4 hours into the cycle. Once you get to the point of maximum effect of the insulin, there can be a lot of momentum (as you saw), so earlier for food is better, to keep things slow and steady throughout.

It's a good question to ponder. I've been wondering if part of why he dropped so low on such a small dose was that he was off his food that day. Food is definitely really really helpful for tamping down insulin reactions.
 
I'm not familiar with Novolin, but I found this sticky for you:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/beginners-guide-to-novolin-humulin-nph.186097/

In a quick read, it looks like Novolin can start to work very fast, so from the sticky, it is suggested to feed one hour before shot. The order for Novolin according to what I read is: test, feed, wait an hour, then shoot. Please read this sticky, it has very important specific information to the insulin you are using. As for your comment about your boyfriend yelling at you to give insulin immediately, all I can say is that cats metabolize insulin differently than humans do, and you need to make sure you can dose Squeakers and keep him safe during the cycle. Please don't feel rushed to make the decision to give insulin without reading the sticky first, just to be prepared.
 
Nan & Amber said:
I'm not all that familiar with Novalin N (tagging @Kris & Teasel , who I think has some more experience), but off the top of my head, I think you'd actually want to have most of his food "on board" earlier than 3 or 4 hours into the cycle. Once you get to the point of maximum effect of the insulin, there can be a lot of momentum (as you saw), so earlier for food is better, to keep things slow and steady throughout.

It's a good question to ponder. I've been wondering if part of why he dropped so low on such a small dose was that he was off his food that day. Food is definitely really really helpful for tamping down insulin reactions.
Click to expand...
When he dropped he ate like a 1/4 of the 22 oz can food after the injection then 4 hours later is when he dropped so low and then kept dropping or stayed low until 6 hours when he was still low but finally started going up. I found out later that he just doesn't like the chiken and tuna food so gave to other cats and once I opened up the Turkey and Giblets he ate like he had never eaten before. So no more tuna foods for him.
 
Christie & Maverick said:
I'm not familiar with Novolin, but I found this sticky for you:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/beginners-guide-to-novolin-humulin-nph.186097/

In a quick read, it looks like Novolin can start to work very fast, so from the sticky, it is suggested to feed one hour before shot. The order for Novolin according to what I read is: test, feed, wait an hour, then shoot. Please read this sticky, it has very important specific information to the insulin you are using. As for your comment about your boyfriend yelling at you to give insulin immediately, all I can say is that cats metabolize insulin differently than humans do, and you need to make sure you can dose Squeakers and keep him safe during the cycle. Please don't feel rushed to make the decision to give insulin without reading the sticky first, just to be prepared.
Click to expand...
 
I will read that right now. Seems to me though that giving some more food when he tends to drop would prevent him from dropping so low....but what do I know...I am new to this but it only seems logical ??????
 
Read it the other day and reread most again. It said
"Generally speaking, for newcomers to N/NPH it’s recommended that no insulin is given if the BG is below 250 [13.8] on a human glucose meter. And you may wish to use a slightly higher ‘no shoot’ number such as 300 mg/dL [16.6 mmol/L] in certain circumstances. (See ‘Blood Glucose Reference Information’ further down the page)."

I gave him his insulin when his fasting BG was 317 and he plummeted after 4 to 6 hours so he must be one of those to no shoot when near 300.
I am going to wait until tomorrow morning to give him any insulin and I will test feed and wait the hour to shoot...I think I will try to only give less then .5 this time though for it scares me that he dropped that low last time. Any suggestions on the dose since his vet won't call me back ?
 
Mary E. Beavers said:
Read it the other day and reread most again. It said
"Generally speaking, for newcomers to N/NPH it’s recommended that no insulin is given if the BG is below 250 [13.8] on a human glucose meter. And you may wish to use a slightly higher ‘no shoot’ number such as 300 mg/dL [16.6 mmol/L] in certain circumstances. (See ‘Blood Glucose Reference Information’ further down the page)."

I gave him his insulin when his fasting BG was 317 and he plummeted after 4 to 6 hours so he must be one of those to no shoot when near 300.
I am going to wait until tomorrow morning to give him any insulin and I will test feed and wait the hour to shoot...I think I will try to only give less then .5 this time though for it scares me that he dropped that low last time. Any suggestions on the dose since his vet won't call me back ?
Click to expand...
If he dropped too low on 0.5, then try 0.25. Can you set up a spreadsheet? Is hard to give dosing advise with no data.
 
JanetNJ said:
If he dropped too low on 0.5, then try 0.25. Can you set up a spreadsheet? Is hard to give dosing advise with no data.
Click to expand...
Hard to draw up 0.25...I do have some 40U needles but Not sure how to convert...would that be 2.5 times ???

As for the SS it Looked too complicated and time consuming right now and don't I have to do that from a computer ???....hard to find time to look after my other 26 babies as it is but I will try....maybe when I go to bed I can work on it....that is if I don't end up falling asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. That is what usually happens. LOL !
 
Last edited:
Mary E. Beavers said:
Hard to draw up 0.25...I do have some 40U needles but Not sure how to convert...would that be 2.5 times ???

As for the SS it Looked too complicated and time consuming right now and don't I have to do that from a computer ???....hard to find time to look after my other 26 babies as it is but I will try....maybe when I go to bed I can work on it....that is if I don't end up falling asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. That is what usually happens. LOL !
Click to expand...
No, opposite. Don't use u40

Do your syringes have half unit markings?
 
JanetNJ said:
No, opposite. Don't use u40

Do your syringes have half unit markings?
Click to expand...
Okay thanks
And yes they do have the 0.5 marking that is what I used the other day. I will try to get as close to 0.25 as I can tomorrow and see what happens. Squeakers is staying close to the 400's today his first reading was the highest because more then likely he ate some kibble in the night or early morning hours
 
Last edited:
Mary E. Beavers said:
I will read that right now. Seems to me though that giving some more food when he tends to drop would prevent him from dropping so low....but what do I know...I am new to this but it only seems logical ??????
Click to expand...
Yes and no. It all depends on how carb sensitive he is, what % carbs and when the carbs are given, and whether he is on a mission to drop low. You don't have enough data to be able to say, and he may be more sensitive to insulin after his very low numbers the other day. There is a lot of info here on the forum, and it does take some time to figure everything out, but you'll get there.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top