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Steph&BigKitty

Steph&BigKitty

Member Since 2017
Thank you everyone for the all the great advice so far. I just did my first in home test. 423. His meal and shot were 6 hours prior. Scared me that he is running so high. So, I called my vet to tell her I did a test and the high BG scared me. I was told to NEVER test my cat at home again! She said I shouldnt use a human meter and he is to only be tested in the office. So...I guess I'll be switching vets. I'm right, right?
I'm so worried about Kitty I feel sick over all of this. Now I'm doubting the food she chose. It's Purina DM. I was wondering if anyone had any input or suggestions on better foods?
 
stephanie horton said:
Thank you everyone for the all the great advice so far. I just did my first in home test. 423. His meal and shot were 6 hours prior. Scared me that he is running so high. So, I called my vet to tell her I did a test and the high BG scared me. I was told to NEVER test my cat at home again! She said I shouldnt use a human meter and he is to only be tested in the office. So...I guess I'll be switching vets. I'm right, right?
I'm so worried about Kitty I feel sick over all of this. Now I'm doubting the food she chose. It's Purina DM. I was wondering if anyone had any input or suggestions on better foods?[/QUOTEwas advised by some. That Fancy Feast classic was good so now have my boy on that. It is palatable to him so he eats. His blood sugar still runs high but increasing insulin over time and it is starting to come down. Also have glucose curves done every 3 weeks until bs down. I was completely overwhelmed but this group calmed me down and had been a huge source of information and support
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I saw your other thread. Not sure why a vet would advise against home testing. To many of us, home testing is a life saver. And it allows us to carefully monitor and adjust dosages over time.

You will benefit from a spreadsheet to help track dosage and BG over time.
 
stephanie horton said:
Thank you everyone for the all the great advice so far. I just did my first in home test. 423. His meal and shot were 6 hours prior. Scared me that he is running so high. So, I called my vet to tell her I did a test and the high BG scared me. I was told to NEVER test my cat at home again! She said I shouldnt use a human meter and he is to only be tested in the office. So...I guess I'll be switching vets. I'm right, right?
I'm so worried about Kitty I feel sick over all of this. Now I'm doubting the food she chose. It's Purina DM. I was wondering if anyone had any input or suggestions on better foods?
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Your vet had no right to forbid you to test your kitty. I think she's a bit confused about who's working for whom. As for DM food, the wet version (pate) is good for diabetics in that it's low carb. However, it's expensive and many people here feed Friskies or Fancy Feast pates.
 
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Wow is your vet a control freak out what? Why the hell would any vet recommend against it? Would a human diabetic shoot without testing? Yeah, time for a new vet. Sorry you were treated that way, but not testing is not as safe


Human meters aren't calibrated for feline blood, but they will still tell you when you are way too low or very high.
 
JeffJ said:
I saw your other thread. Not sure why a vet would advise against home testing. To many of us, home testing is a life saver. And it allows us to carefully monitor and adjust dosages over time.

You will benefit from a spreadsheet to help track dosage and BG over time.
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Is it true that the human meters don't read cat blood correctly?
 
stephanie horton said:
Is it true that the human meters don't read cat blood correctly?
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Human meters read lower than pet-specific meters but you'll soon learn what numbers on a human meter are too high, too low or acceptable. A pet meter will give readings that compare quite closely to what your vet would measure in the office but the test strips are horrendously expensive. Many people here use one of the Walmart ReliOn types because strips are much cheaper and readily available.
 
stephanie horton said:
So, I called my vet to tell her I did a test and the high BG scared me. I was told to NEVER test my cat at home again! She said I shouldnt use a human meter and he is to only be tested in the office. So...I guess I'll be switching vets. I'm right, right?
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Errrrr ... might be an idea. ;)

For starters, it's not her cat. Way too dictatorial.


Mogs
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stephanie horton said:
Is it true that the human meters don't read cat blood correctly?
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The numbers will be different because each meter type is assuming a particular blood chemistry (human vs. cat), so they're not even really measuring the same things.

That said, the only really important number to be precise on is the "too low" (hypo) number: 68 for a pet meter, 50 for a human. Other than that, they have similar ranges for non-diabetic normal (up to low-mid 100's), and outside that range all you really care about is "this number is too high, and it's higher (or lower) than yesterday's", you don't care about whether the value is "accurate" in some kind of ultimate truth sense.
 
stephanie horton said:
Thank you everyone for the all the great advice so far. I just did my first in home test. 423. His meal and shot were 6 hours prior. Scared me that he is running so high. So, I called my vet to tell her I did a test and the high BG scared me. I was told to NEVER test my cat at home again! She said I shouldnt use a human meter and he is to only be tested in the office. So...I guess I'll be switching vets. I'm right, right?
I'm so worried about Kitty I feel sick over all of this. Now I'm doubting the food she chose. It's Purina DM. I was wondering if anyone had any input or suggestions on better foods?
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BTW, wanted to let you know that while high, a number in the 400's is very common for a newly diagnosed diabetic cat. Most of us have had readings much higher than that. It will come down over time with the right care and diet.
 
stephanie horton said:
Is it true that the human meters don't read cat blood correctly?
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There is a difference in the way that glucose is distributed in the blood between cats and humans so feline measurements done on a human meter are typically lower than the reading one would get using pet-calibrated equipment.

You can use a human meter just fine to check a cat's blood glucose levels but you need to use a cat-specific reference range for that type of meter. As measured on a human meter normal BG for a cat is in the range 50-120mg/dL.


Mogs
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It might interest your vet to read the attached journal article co-authored by vet Dr Jacquie Rand (University of Queensland), an internationally recognised leader in the field of feline diabetes research. (Suffice to say, Dr. Rand has no issue with using human meters to home monitor feline diabetics.)


Mogs
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Critter Mom said:
It might interest your vet to read the attached journal article co-authored by vet Dr Jacquie Rand (University of Queensland), an internationally recognised leader in the field of feline diabetes research. (Suffice to say, Dr. Rand has no issue with using human meters to home monitor feline diabetics.)


Mogs
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Thank you. I already called and made an appointment with another vet. Thankfully I have all the blood results and paperwork. We go monday. Of course they want to see Kitty. Hate to stress him out with another visit, but I think I'm doing the right thing.
 
stephanie horton said:
423. His meal and shot were 6 hours prior. Scared me that he is running so high. So, I called my vet to tell her I did a test and the high BG scared me.
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Don't freak out with a 423, many of us have experienced readings of "hi" on our meters which means >600. Our kitties didn't become diabetic overnight and it can take awhile to get to lower numbers. When I did my first home test and got a 472, I freaked out too. Was about to shoot more insulin mid-cycle which I found out later can be deadly, good thing I didn't shoot. Learned so much coming here & the more you spend time here, the more you will be relaxed knowing all of us have been where you are. Patience is key & the turtle will always win the race.
 
I'm sorry you had to go through this. My vet was very excited when I said I wanted to home test. She had me bring my meter and we did side by side testing with her pet meter and my human one. Her's read 107 and mine read 76. So it gave me an idea of what Lucy's BG would actually be. I've not been a member here long but so far I've learned so much.
 
Corie said:
I'm sorry you had to go through this. My vet was very excited when I said I wanted to home test. She had me bring my meter and we did side by side testing with her pet meter and my human one. Her's read 107 and mine read 76. So it gave me an idea of what Lucy's BG would actually be. I've not been a member here long but so far I've learned so much.
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I have learned here that the difference in human to pet meters changes depending on the size of the number. I did a side-by-side test with a ReliOn compared to the vet's AT, mine read 350, her's 430. At lower numbers, the difference is less.
 
Bronx's dad said:
I have learned here that the difference in human to pet meters changes depending on the size of the number. I did a side-by-side test with a ReliOn compared to the vet's AT, mine read 350, her's 430. At lower numbers, the difference is less.
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I'm going to have to investigate these boards more. Thank you, that's good to know.
 
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