First Glucose Test Success

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Jack the Cat

Jack the Cat

Member Since 2019
Just got through my first glucose test with Jack the Cat. Little stressful for both of us, but he finally relaxed and let me abuse him til we got enough blood!

I bought the ReliOn Macro from Walmart after reading articles and reviews.

Has anyone ever asked their vet to test their monitor against the home monitor for any differences?

Jack's reading was 55 which I am assuming is too low. He doesn't have signs of distress, just incredible hunger which I am resisting to get him off of dry food.

Any advice is most appreciated.

Jane - Jack the Cat
 
How far are you into the cycle for example +1 (one hour after shot)? If it was my cat I would give him a tablespoon of food and retest in half an hour.
 
It was 8.5 hours after his main feeding of wet food, with 1/4 of dry for grazing. Will follow your advice.

It was hard to get the blood out of his ears, and by god he won't let me touch his feet, so this poor mama didn't do so good the first time around.
 
So you gave him his insulin shot 8.5 hours ago? Do I understand that right? Congrats on getting your first test, it does get easier really. Are you new to the group? If so, there are a couple of things you will be asked to do. I'm not really that experienced so forgive me if I get something wrong. You may want to go to the Introduction and introduce yourself and Jack the cat to the groups. Its just an informal way for everyone to get to know you. You should set up your Signature (this is the grey text you see under my avatar), you can do this by going to your name on the top right of the page, this will give you a drop down box. In this you will find signature, its just general information, your name, cats name, age, weight, meter your are using, insulin your are using, any other medical issues and best to add where you are so everyone will know what time zone you are in. We have members all over the world. It helps members help you without having to ask the same questions over and over. When you have time and since you are now testing you will want to set up your spreadsheet. There is a sticky on the board as to how to do this.

Post again when you get the next test in.
 
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I did post an introduction on Monday when I joined. Thanks for the guidance on setting up the avatar will do signature, and the other details as soon a finished with this.

Just did another test half hour after small snack and reading was 123...feel so much better.

Will set up the spreadsheet as well.

I know we can do this now!

Thanks for your support.
 
Congratulations getting your first BSL! 55 is a normal number. Was this after an insulin dose? If so how long after? What type and dose of insulin are you giving?
If you could set up your signature as @Jerry dutchboy suggested, that would be very helpful.
Here is the link to setting up our spreadsheet. If you have any trouble setting it up, post and ask for help.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

Testing the BSL will get easier as you both get used to it and his ears learn to bleed. Are you warming the ear with some rice in a sock first? Just 10 seconds in the microwave and check it isn’t too hot.
Keep asking questions, we are happy to help.
 
Jack the Cat said:
I did post an introduction on Monday when I joined. Thanks for the guidance on setting up the avatar will do signature, and the other details as soon a finished with this.

Just did another test half hour after small snack and reading was 123...feel so much better.

Will set up the spreadsheet as well.

I know we can do this now!

Thanks for your support.
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Well that's a big jump. Well done on getting another test under your belt. Sorry I missed your intro..I'll go check it out. I should have said from the get go Welcome, this is a fantastic community and everyone here has helped me tremendously. You are in the right place to get Jack the cat on the path to better health.:bighug: It's a steep learning curve but its very rewarding ( and frustrating at times) when you see progress. Best of luck on this journey.
 
So what am I doing wrong...I go to signature and fill it in and it says saved, but I don't see it on the posts?
Live in Denver, CO USA

He get's Lantus 2 units every 12 hours. The first test was 8.5 hours post the shot.
Per Jerry's suggestion I gave him a snack and retested and now up to 123.

Thanks for your support.
 
Jack the Cat said:
So what am I doing wrong...I go to signature and fill it in and it says saved, but I don't see it on the posts?
Live in Denver, CO USA

He get's Lantus 2 units every 12 hours. The first test was 8.5 hours post the shot.
Per Jerry's suggestion I gave him a snack and retested and now up to 123.

Thanks for your support.
Click to expand...
Your signature is visible no worries. It's qiute normal for BG to start to go up as you go further in the cycle. He probably had a bit of a food spike after his snack. If you look at my Jerry's SS you will see his curve. Once you get your spreadsheet set up and get some more testing in you will get a better picture of Jack the cat's curve.
 
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I have been feeding Jack and his partner Rufus (3 years old black cat) I and Love and You Purky Turky, Jack for the last 3 years.

I and Love and You is a local company and they make their food close to here in Boulder, CO, so I want to support them if I can.


Here is the analysis from the cat food chart:

Purrky Turkey. 34 Protein. 60 Fat. 5 Carb

The vet, when first diagnosed put him on a diabetic Purina wet food that evidently tasted horrible since he would go near it. I looked up the carb level in that food and it was 18 so I thought what the heck! I'll go back to the food he has eaten for 3 years - at least he is eating.

I know the food is not as high in protein as ideal, so am thinking of supplementing some cooked ground turkey to the food and mix it in with the wet food.

I will add this info to the signature.
 
Oh I did the same thing, bought the food from the vet and found out later that the carb % was higher than his normal food. Ugh. Good that its low carb.
 
I can see your signature!
Did your vet start you off on 2 units?
Are you able to get a couple of tests in during each cycle (both cycles)? 55 is close to the cut off point where we reduce the dose ( under 50 and you reduce).
We increase or decrease in 1/4 unit increments. Are you using syringes to give the insulin ?
Once you get the SS up and running we will be able to see what is happening. Make sure you have some higher carb wet food and some honey or karo at home in case of low numbers.
 
Well yes and no.

Vet started Jack at 2 units, but he wasn't eating. So finally got him to eat, vet said go to 1 unit. Then took back to vet for day long glucose study, which he was too stressed for so they only tested him and said he was high and to go to 2 units. So that is what I have been giving him.

I bought the monitoring kit yesterday because I want to know what is going on with him as trips to the vet are too stressful on Jack and his partner Rufus. Plus I was disappointed that they made us buy this prescription food that was higher I carbs that what I was feeding him...a little suspicious of it all now.

I am going to give his ears a break until Friday for a full study...I have a written log started.

Again, thanks for your support.
 
You can take back the prescription food and just say he won’t eat it. The company will let you take it back.
I’m glad you decided to test. Most cats get very stressed at the vet and the readings are high and not true readings, so often the dose is raised on a falsely high reading.
Please don’t leave testing til Friday. With a reading or 55 in the mix you need to be testing each cycle. Test before the shot to see it is safe to give the insulin and test at least once during the cycle to see how low the insulin is taking Jack. If you are testing like this, there is no real need to do curves. The BSLs fluctuate every day. They don’t stay the same especially when a kitty is not regulated. The day you do a curve might be the day Jack decides he is not going to respond much to the insulin.
 
more likely than not you can return that prescription food to the vet for a refund, simply say the cat refuses to eat it (truth!)

vet is smart enough to know that cat needs to be eating before insulin ..

this is one of our "bibles" -- showing the composition of many of the canned cat foods we might run into--
http://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

several of the varieties from the company you trust, are excellent low carb, some even more so than the Purky Turky

stress at vet often gives a BG value way higher than he would show at home -- my opinion, that 2 u is too much

did I see you have gotten a ReliOn Micro? if so, stock up on the test strips (online at Walmart) or from the actual mfg Arkray, where they're known as the Glucocard 01; because that's been discontinued -- I got the ReliOn Confirm which uses those same strips (I needed the smaller blood sample)
 
Initially, if the BSL is below 200, stall, don’t feed, post and ask for help.. test again 20 minutes later to see if the BSL is rising. We suggest a cut off of 200 in the beginning until we can see how kitty is responding to the insulin. Then you can drop the ‘no shoot’ number to 150 and then lower as more data is gathered. Does that make sense?
 
Thank you all for your responses, advise and support. It's been a rough couple of days, but I think we are getting into a routine. I have been successful in the last 24 hours in getting a AM and PM pre-shot test and then with the bribe of a little food, another test 6 hours post- and pre- shot. I've his number on the spreadsheet and plan to track over the next week this way for sure. Some of the numbers are low - 47 and 22 - I think the 22 could be stress related. Jack has thick skin so hard to get the lancet to give blood even using a 24 and the socking the rice...but am feeling better as I know he and I are progressing.
 
@Jack the Cat
When you see lime green on the spreadsheet you need to intervene. That is your alert to do something now!
(Low numbers are under 50mg/dL or 2.8 mmol/L.)
Depending on how sensitive your cat is, feed approximately a teaspoon or less of gravy from high carb food or high carb food only. (If you have a cat with GI issues, using a couple of drops of syrup plus low carb food is an alternative.)
Test again in 15 – 20 min. Depending on the numbers, give more HC food.
Repeat the above steps every 15 – 20 min. until your cat tests in the 50 mg/dL (2.8 mmol/L) or above range for 2 consecutive tests. Continue to feed in small amounts to keep numbers in a safe range.
Test in 30 - 40 min. and repeat the test and feed process until there are 2 consecutive tests where numbers are stable or rising.
Test in an hour and follow the same steps.
DO NOT become complacent. If number have risen after one or two tests, it’s important to continue testing. Numbers may bobble up and down as the HC food and/or Karo wear off. DO NOT get one test where your cat has risen from low numbers into the 50s and go to sleep or leave the house. You are putting your cat in a risky situation. When in doubt, leave HC food out.
 
I'm worried about Jack the cat. A 22 is too low. When did you get that test? Please test again, if still under 50 you need to feed high carb food or give him a little karo syrup or honey. Test 20 mins after food and post. Please don't become complacent.
 
Jack the Cat said:
Yes, gave Karo syrup and some old kibble food. He didn't eat much but this last test was up to 55. Will test again in half hour.
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Thank you for the update!
That 22 was very low, glad he is up!
please keep testing the Karo effect can wear off before the dry kibble gets in, usually takes a bit longer.
Please post your next test result here.
 
Jack the Cat said:
OK this test was 74.
Click to expand...
Phew!

I think that Karo is gone by now and it is the dry food speaking
but for the safety please do check again within the next two hours with the 1st test ETA: no later than 1 hour. By then when we can reasonably expect the dry effect to go down and to make sure Jack does not dive again. That 22 was very, very low.

In case Jack dips again and you need someone online later on it might be good idea to re-type the title of this post to something closer to the issue at hand. Like

“06/07 Jack AMPS 72, +6 22, +6.5 55”

Just do copy &paste in the title line.

To edit the title click on the Edit on the right hand top of the screen.

This way more people will look in and help if you need it.

I am going offline soon.
 
I can't really advise you on dosage but it seems to me that 2 unites is too much for Jack the Cat if he is dropping to these lows. You had one yesterday as well. I think you should maybe post something requesting advice on what dose to give him this evening. I would hate for this to happen again, it is very dangerous to the poor little kitty. When you edit your thread you will notice Prefix if you click on this you will get a drop down box, select ? and ask for advice.
 
2 units really dose seem to be way to much. One unit might even be enough.. I would really try to get some more guidance on the board.
 
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