Finally home testing

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ErinElizabeth

Member Since 2013
Ok, I got a meter this afternoon!

Had a vet appt. this week, and after 4 weeks of being on 2 units twice a day, chinookie's glucose was 492.
The vet upped it to 4 units twice a day but wouldn't even talk to me about switching from the humulin N or about home testing. Ugh.

So 4 units, twice a day, 7 am and 7 pm. I feed just before 7am shot (approx 3 oz) usually the cat starts meowing for food around lunch time and again around dinner time and then I feed just before the 7pm shot. In the course of a day, the cat is still eatin between 10-12oz of canned food. Now feeding friskies pâté and special kitty (walmart brand pâté)

I tested today at 1pm and got a reading of 300. I tested again at 3pm and got a reading of 325.
This concerns me greatly, because if it keeps going up like that, it'll be sky high by the time I get to the 7pm shot!

So because I've read that humulin only lasts 6-8 hours, should I be trying to do a shot every 8 hours? Should I be feeding at specific times to help this? Chinookie is not a free feeder because of our two dogs, so food is controlled but the cat is always hungry and the vet though I should get him weighing a little more. He was 8lbs 13oz on Tuesday, and I think that sounds fairly normal, right?

On the upside, testing seemed easy enough, and the cat was real good about it. I didn't even get any lancing devices from this parishioner, so I told my kitty I was sorry and just poked him quick right on the side of the ear where there was a visible vein. Perfect blood droplet, no problems, he seemed to care less. More questions to come I'm sure....
 
We use this convention for displaying BGs:
AM PS (preshot) ?, gave 4 units N
+ 6 300
+ 8 325

Those BGs may not be that bad but I can't tell since you did not get a preshot BG or a BG at about +4. What this evening PS would be telling.
 
Thank you Larry! I've been trying to figure out your codes.... :-)
I'm going to test +10 and then let you all know what the PM PS reading is.
Did I say that right?

Also the free meter and lancets and strips I got (enough for months) are Prodigy Autocode.
 
PMPS.

Great job on the testing! A few more tests over the next few days will tell us how the dose is doing. To get a good idea we usually recommend 4 tests a day

- ALWAYS before the shot - you dont want to shoot if he is too low (In your case as a newbie thats currently 200)
- mid cycle - 4-7 hours after morning shot if /when schedule allows
- before bed to see what nighttime plans are - if this number is same or more than 50 points lower than PMPS you might want to set alarm for +4 to 7 because it indicates a possible active cycle.

Then you will want to track your readings on a spreadsheet http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207

Also you need to remember your vet works for you - you pay his salary after all!. You want lantus, levemir or prozinc and if he doesnt do it - fire him! lol. But seriously, humalin is very harsh on cats and hard to manage. If your goal is remission too, then its all the more critical to switch him ASAP.

Wendy
 
Ok, so keep correcting me on my jargon and whatnot.

+6 300, +8 325, +10 297

PMPS was 340
Chinookie then eats about 3oz and gets 4 units.

What do these numbers mean??
Does anyone else use the prodigy Autocode?
Also, I need some low carb treats that kitty wif no teef can eatz! Chinookie seems to be doing well, and on an anti fungal for a yeast infection in his ears.

I'll do a test before bed tonight, and I usually give him more food around then too. That ok?
 
Which anti-fungal? It may have steroids and steroids impact the BG numbers. If you have the name of the anti-fungal, we can look up the ingredients.
 
It's call Entederm.

Another question - I've always read that an all fish diet is not so great for cats, but the lowest carb canned food is often fishy? What do I do? Half chicken half fish? What do other folks do? I'd like to feed walmart special kitty or friskies.
 
Each milliliter contains the following active ingredients in a polyethylene and mineral oil gel base:
• Nystatin, 100,000 Units
• Neomycin Sulfate (equivalent to Neomycin Base), 2.5 mg
• Thiostrepton, 2,500 units
• Triamcinolone Acetonide, 1.0 mg
Click to expand...

The Triamcinolone Acetonide is a steroid.

ACTIONS:
By virtue of its four active ingredients, the ointment provides four basic therapeutic
effects: anti-inflammatory, antipruritic, antifungal and antibacterial. Triamcinolone
acetonide is a potent synthetic corticosteroid providing rapid and prolonged symptomatic
relief on topical administration, inflammation, edema and pruritus promptly subside
and lesions are permitted to heal. Nystatin is the first well tolerated anti-fungal antibiotic
of dependable efficancy for the treatment of cutaneous infections caused by Candida
albicans (monilia). Nystatin is fungistatic in vitro against a variety of yeast and yeast-like
fungi including many fungi pathogenic to animals. No appreciable activity is exhibited
against bacteria. Thiostrepton has a high order of activity against gram-positive
organisms, including many which are resistant to other antibiotics; neomycin exerts
antimicrobial action against a wide range of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.
Together they provide comprehensive therapy against those organisms responsible for
most superficial bacterial infections.
Click to expand...

On the food question, I look for foods where fish is not the main ingredient. Only feed fish Friskies flavors 1 or 2 times a week because of the mercury contamination (not good for people, not good for cats).

I feed the Friskies pates. They all have a little bit of fish, far down the ingredients list. You feed what you can afford and what your cat's will eat.

There are several of the Fancy Feast pates, but they are more expensive to feed multiple cats. Only my sugardude, Wink, gets the Fancy Feast flavors.
 
Yeah deb, I figured it was a steroid. I'm suppose to use it 2x a day for ten days. Is it going to "affect" the diabetes treatment, or just bump up the numbers for 10 days? I hope that this clears up the ear issues, but I'm reading that its complicated with sugarcats. The first vet put us on three different courses of antibiotics for what I a told was a bacterial infection. Then we go to the new vet and its a yeast infection? Sigh.
 
The numbers you are getting are high and flat - probably inflated by the steroid. But an infection ( like an ear infection) will also raise his blood sugar so its catch 22. Good news is that you are more likely to get him into remission once the steroid is done and infection is clear since these issues are only temporary... assuming a move to a better insulin of course.

Wendy
 
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