First Glucose Curve - Advice Please

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cracker

cracker

Member Since 2015
Yesterday we took our fist curve on our 7 yr old Siamese Cracker.
He initially went to the vet approx. 10 days ago after loosing some weight & produced a blood reading of 576.
After feeding on Royal Canin Diabetic, Hills Prescription Diabetic & cooked chicken for 1 week we got the following results.
We would very much appreciate any comments on these as we are very new to this subject.
The test commenced at 8am, samples taken every 2 hrs & finished at 10pm.

1 97.20
2 331.20
3 151.20
4 160.20
5 185.40
6 185.40
7 214.20
8 205.20
 
Hi, I'm new here and am just learning too. If I remember from your previous thread, Cracker is not yet on insulin? With just a food change his numbers look pretty good. The 331 I'm guessing, is right after feeding? Are the RC Diabetic and the Hills Prescription Diabetic canned or dry? Do you know their carb content? Since Cracker is just coming off steroids, I think his future looks bright. It's still pretty early here so I'm sure someone with way more knowledge than I will check your post soon. Good Luck!
 
I'm pretty new here, too, but I'd say those numbers look pretty encouraging, especially if he's just now coming off steroids. Honestly, if he was my kitty, I would seriously consider discontinuing the "prescription" foods and go to a lower carb, "OTC" canned food. When I took my guy off the expensive Rx foods and put him on Fancy Feast, he went from needing 7 units of insulin twice a day to only 2 , then 1, twice daily. Now he is down to .75, and sometimes I have to adjust that down or skip a shot altogether. I attribute all of this to changing his diet, that's the only thing in his environment that has changed.

You may already have this information but if not, here'a a link to a great article and a list of cat food carb values: www.catinfo.org. It is written and compiled by a veterinarian and gives great guidance.

Keep up the good work with Cracker! :):):)
 
I agree with what the others have mentioned: lower carb wet food might help lower his numbers even more. It would be great if he could just be diet-controlled and not need insulin. My cat had steroid-induced diabetes and she needed insulin for less than 3 weeks to get her numbers back to normal. She was a dry food addict but I wonder if I could have gotten her to eat wet, maybe she wouldn't have needed the insulin at all.

Congrats on home testing and doing a curve. Home testing is often one of the more intimidating parts of the "sugar dance" and you're already there!

Are you testing with an Alphatrak or a human meter? That makes a difference since the pet meters register numbers that are higher. Most people here use human meters. Can you update your signature with that info? Click on your user name at the top left of the page, then on Signature, then put some info in your signature like the name of your meter and that Cracker is not yet on insulin.

Some more people will pop in soon with more advice. :)
 
I think everyone is right on. If you can get the carbs down below the 10% range, he might not need insulin. Check out the food chart and try a smorgasbord to see which he likes : www.catinfo.org. If he is a dry food junkie, we have lots of ideas for making the switch as does the vet on the link.
 
Yeah Crackers!!! Looking good. It is great that you took the time and initiative to test him and wait before putting on insulin. Fingers and Paws crossed here for you.
 
One caveat: I'd recommend you do that diet shift to low-carb in a gradual fashion, just to be on the safe side. (Added bonus is that a gradual transition can help prevent tummy upset, too.)

P.S. Cracker is ADORABLE! My mom used to breed Siamese when I was a kid. Love their "talky" ways. We had our "Mom-Cat"/aka Gypsy until she was 18 years old!
 
After just over 2 weeks of being diagnosed with diabetes, below are figures of our 2nd glucose curve taken at 2 hourly intervals.
We have a few more to do later this evening (now 10.30 pm in UK)
Would appreciate any comments.
We are going to do a first urine test in the next couple of days.
He has been on diabetic food for just over 2 weeks now.
many thanks.
1.... 203.4
2...142.2
3... 81
4...102.60
5...122.40
6...145.80
7...86.40
8...129.6
 
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Hello, glad you are keeping up on the testing. I would like for a more experience member to weigh in also so I am going to tag @BJM and @Robin&BB to see what they think. He has a few numbers a bit over the "normal" range. Wondering how he is doing otherwise, energy levels, eating, playing, preening and peeing all okay?
 
Hi
Thanks for your input.
As far as his general condition, he looks as if there is nothing wrong at all, he is not peeing excessive, playing & chasing his brother as normal, eating well & going out in the garden.
You would not tell any difference from months ago.
thanks.
j.
 

If each of these tests was at exactly 2 hour increments, starting with when insulin was given, we would write it like this:
AMPS.... 203.4
+2...142.2
+4... 81
+6...102.60
+8...122.40
+10...145.80
+12..86.40
+14..129.6


Can we get you started using our grid to record your glucose tests? It will help us give you better feedback. Instructions are here.

Understanding the spreadsheet/grid:

The colored headings at the top are the ranges of glucose values. They are color-coded to clue you in as to meaning.

Each day is 1 row. Each column stores different data for the day.

From left to right, you enter
the Date in the first column
the AMPS (morning, pre-shot, test) in the 2nd column
the Units given (turquoise column)

Then, there are 11 columns labeled +1 through +11
If you test at +5 (5 hours after the shot), you enter the test number in the +5 column
If you test at +7 (7 hours after the shot), you enter the test number in the +7 column
and so on.

Halfway across the page is the column for PMPS (evening, pre-shot, test)
To the right is another turquoise column for Units given at the evening shot.

There is second set of columns labeled +1 through +11
If you snag a before bed test at +3, you enter the test number in the +3 column.

We separate day and night numbers like that because many cats go lower at night.

The nadir is the lowest glucose between shots. There is a general period when it will happen which is specific to the insulin being used and testing then helps make sure your cat doesn't go too low.

It is merely a grid for storing the info; no math required.
 
Bobbie And Bubba said:
Hello, glad you are keeping up on the testing. I would like for a more experience member to weigh in also so I am going to tag @BJM and @Robin&BB to see what they think. He has a few numbers a bit over the "normal" range.
Click to expand...
Those numbers in your latest curve aren't bad at all.

As I am not familiar with the carb content of the prescription diet foods you are currently feeding, all I can add is this: Making certain that all foods consumed are 10% carbs or less should get his BG#s down even further (closer to what is considered "normal" range for a non-diabetic cat.) The renal threshold (the point at which glucose spills into the urine stream) is generally estimated to be at a level of between 250-300 mg/dL. So is helpful for you to know what your kitty's usual BG rise is after consuming a meal, to help you in helping Cracker avoid crossing that threshold as much as humanly possible. (Based on your latest curve, he's not going there at the present time.:))
 
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Hi BJM
Many thanks for your information, It will certainly be useful to us.
I would point out at this time, Cracker is not yet on insulin.
Prior to this he had been eating a lot of Iams dry food & had been having monthly steroid injections for an asthma complaint, both of which we now realise may have contributed to him getting diabetes.
He no longer has the dry food & the injections have been stopped, we have not noticed any great change after stopping these.
 
Since Cracker is not yet on insulin and only been on the new diet a couple weeks, I think the numbers look good. Improved over your last curve. When you say you haven't noticed a change, is Cracker having symptoms?
 
cracker said:
He no longer has the dry food & the injections have been stopped, we have not noticed any great change after stopping these.
Click to expand...
Was just wondering how long it's been since the steroid injections ended; may be that it takes some time for the effects of steroids to disappear entirely?

As mentioned earlier, I'm not sure of the carb content of the Royal Canin & Hill's prescription canned formulas you're using now, but I can tell you I discovered that my own cat is extremely carb-sensitive: If I give her any canned food that is more than 3%-4% carbs, her BG#s go up significantly!

So one of the things you might consider: Finding some low-carb choices in that range that Cracker will eat (many choices are available in the food chart that @Sue and Oliver (GA) mentioned in her post #5 above). Who knows? Is possible it could make a difference ...
 
Cracker had his last steroid injection on the 17th Aug.
it was when he went for his next on the 17th Sept, the vet saw he had lost 10%of his weight & checked his blood to find a level of 576.
we immediately started him on diabetes food & his levels reduced.
he has no symptoms whatsoever.
thank you.
 
Latest update....
Today we did a 3rd glucose curve on Cracker , the previous one was 18 days ago.
He has been fed on a little cooked chicken & mainly wet diabetic food.
The readings ranged from 129.6 to 73.8 with an average of 87.6.
Any comments would be appreciated.
many thanks.
 
Many thanks for your comments Robin.
The crime was that when he was diagnosed, immediately the vet gave him an insulin injection & advised us he would require this twice a day
for the rest of his life. We were very close to having him put to sleep.
 
Thank you for your comments Robin.
We have today done another curve, approx. 5 weeks from the last, with readings between 72 & 86.4.
We are very pleased with these & as they are on the low side, wondering if we could maybe introduce a little
'normal' wet food ??.
Any comments, suggestions would be very much appreciated.
 
cracker said:
We are very pleased with these & as they are on the low side, wondering if we could maybe introduce a little
'normal' wet food ??
Click to expand...

It depends what you mean by "normal" wet food....there are lots of foods that are available at the grocery store and pet food stores that are fine for diabetics...that "prescription" food isn't ever necessary

However, it's important that you keep Cracker on a low carb canned diet for the rest of his life...once a diabetic, always a diabetic!

Here's a list of foods available in the UK that are good choices ...you want to keep him on food that's under 10% carbs
 
cracker said:
Thank you for your comments Robin.
We have today done another curve, approx. 5 weeks from the last, with readings between 72 & 86.4.
We are very pleased with these & as they are on the low side, wondering if we could maybe introduce a little
'normal' wet food ??.
Any comments, suggestions would be very much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Awesome numbers! Congrats :bighug::cat::joyful:
 
Chris & China said:
However, it's important that you keep Cracker on a low carb canned diet for the rest of his life...once a diabetic, always a diabetic!
Click to expand...
Agree with Chris 100% - low-carb canned is so very important for a diabetic kitty; this will help ensure that you continue to see good BG#s like the ones you saw in that curve today.

Congratulations to you & Cracker! Fantastic!!!:)
 
Over the last 3 months we have been doing regular blood tests & all have been between 88 & 101.
Whilst we are no experts on this subject, can we start to think that we have this now under control.
We are very pleased with these Numbers & wondering if we are very fortunate & caught things at an early stage.
During the last month we have been feeing him a quantity of non diabetic food. IE off the shelf non specialised
prescription food, which you would give to a healthy non diabetic animal. This does not appear to of had any adverse reaction
and the readings have remained as above.
Cracker appears healthy & very mobile.
Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
 
Many thanks for your replies.
We have been feeding him a small amount of plain cooked chicken with mainly Purina Gourmet Perle. pouches I don't know the carb rating for this.
 
cracker said:
Many thanks for your replies.
We have been feeding him a small amount of plain cooked chicken with mainly Purina Gourmet Perle. pouches I don't know the carb rating for this.
Click to expand...


I would think the carbs would be quite high on the pouch food, the "gravy" varieties usually are. You'd be better to stick with lower carb food, 10% or less is best.
 
Thanks for your quick reply & I very much appreciate what you say in relation to feeding low carbs, what I cannot understand is that we have now been feeding him on
the Gourmet for several weeks & his readings are still showing low.
With a natural reluctance to return to that vet we are wondering :-
A .. whether Cracker had only recently become diabetic poss due to a combination of monthly steroid injections (for asthma) & a high quantity of dry food diet, both of which have now stopped. have we been able to reverse his condition ?.
B.. Have we not been feeding Gourmet for long enough to get an indication that his condition may have been reversed ?.
 
I guess both both A and B are possible, and how fortunate for you all that it's worked out this way. But, if it were me, I'd err on the side of caution and stick to only low carb foods. It'll only be better for your kitty in the long run. There's a ton of info on cat nutrition on this forum, lots of interesting reading. :cat:
 
For some weeks now we have been testing & it appears he is settled & are getting readings of between 79.2 & 86.4
We are wondering if this is a little on the low side ?. if so is it a problem or is it quite acceptable under his circumstances.
Many Thanks.
 
Hi folks
Many thanks for your comments, we are very pleased also.
Critter.... no he is not Fitz.
 
Hi folks
After gaining great success with Cracker's diabetes problem & now it having under control (fingers crossed)
we are going to turn our attention now to try & do something about his Asthma problem which was diagnosed some years ago.
He was having monthly steroid injections which did appear to help, but we brought these to a halt when we realised that they were possibly detremental & contributing to his diabetes.
His Asthma does appear to be getting worse, breathing is becoming laboured more often & he has bouts of extended coughing after he gets up from being laid down for periods.
We are so thankful for the help we have to date received from this forum & wondered if anyone had any further suggestions concerning his Asthma problem.
Many thanks.
 
Some people use an Aerokat inhaler to treat their asthmatic kitties.

I suggest you post a new thread on Feline Health with a subject line of "Advice Needed - Asthma Treatment for Diabetic Cat" and include the info you've given here in the opening post on the new thread. It will be easier for members with experience to find your question and give you help. :)


Mogs
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