first home BG test -questions

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

millerb

Member
I received my free Relion glucometer this week from you all -- Thank you so much! I did my first test this evening before feeding time. The first reading said "Hi", with no number, so I did it again, with the same result. I called the company and got a helpful customer service person, who told me that meant it was over 600 mg/dl. He also told me that these meters are not calibrated for animals, so it might give a false reading. Has anyone else experienced this?

Skipper has not had much of an appetite the last couple of days. I've tested his urine and he has no ketones. I'm just trying to make it until 11:30 Monday when we see the internal med specialist.

Any guidance you can provide is welcome. Thank you!

Beth and Skipper
 
The human meters are not "approved" for animals and that is all the human meter manufacture's can say.
Yes, the meter can be off as much as or more +/- 20%. The +/- 20 applies to human meters.
Human meter are fin for kitties. It is not unusual to get a Hi on a new kitty.
i the future, when you can a human meter company, do not say it is used a a cat. Just say you are a caretaker.

Are you giving insulin yet?
 
Thank you, Larry.
I have been giving Skipper ProZinc since early December. We are up to 5.5 units 2x a day, but it is not working. We are going to see a specialist Monday, and I'm betting they will change insulins. His blood sugar is always over 500 on a 10+ hour fast, so something's not right. I am trying to get him to eat wet food, but he's never liked it, so it's been a huge adjustment.

Thanks for the advice re: the meter. I'll take it with me to the specialist and see if she has advice.
 
That is a very high dose. Most cats only need between 1 or 2 units. Unless your cat has other medical issues going on, I suspect that you are giving too much insulin. There is a condition called Somogyi Rebound which will cause high BG readings when too much insulin is given. What happens is that when too much insulin is given, the cat's body produces extra glucose to prevent it from becoming hypoglycemic.

I am not sure what your starting dose was, but you may have started too high and missed your optimal dose. One suggestion now that you are hometesting, is to start back at 1 unit twice a day. You will want to keep that dose for at least a week, it takes that long for the body to adjust to any dose changes. If you need to increase the dose, only increase it by 1/2 unit. Again, keep giving that dose for another week before deciding that you need to change it.

Diet also affects glucose readings. If you are not feeding your cat a low carb/high protein canned or raw food diet, that is also contributing to the high BG. All dry food is higher in carbs and will affect the BG readings. However, if you need to change your cats diet, do not change it until you reduce your insulin dose or you risk hypoglycemia. That can be deadly.
 
Welcome Beth & Skipper!

I too have a Relion, and have gotten "HI" a number of times. If it's the preshot time, I treat it like a 500 and give him the shot. A couple of times I retested... and kept getting "HI" - so once you do, you can re-test, but it's not necessary. Feel free to check out my spreadsheet - you'll see what I mean.

You may also want to post on the Prozinc Board under "Insulin Support Groups". There you'll find folks with years of experience (and some of us with only a few months) who'll be able to advise you even more.

I changed food before I started insulin. Grayson wasn't thrilled at first, then decided it was pretty good, although he'd give his right paw for a bowl full of dry kibble! We started at 1.0 unit, and when he was running 20-24 hour cycles on it, an indication that the dose was too large, we cut back more and more. We've since increased again, as we had a ketone scare last week - usually a sign of not enough insulin. So we're at 2.0 and may be increasing again soon. They say ECID - every cat is different... someone coined SCDD - same cat different day! That seems to be where my boy is!!! :smile:

Welcome!

Lu-Ann
 
Thanks for all the replies. Here's our story:
Skipper: male, 15.5 years old, normal weight 11 lbs. Hyperthyroid controlled by oral meds, chronic kidney disease.

We began this journey Dec. 3, when I took him in because he hadn't been eating for a few days, but was drinking and peeing a lot. He already is on methimazole for hyperthyroid, so I didn't think that was it. A quick check of his blood sugar confirmed diabetes. To make a very long story short, we started ProZinc insulin in early December with 1 unit twice a day. But his blood work also showed high calcium and he was losing about 1/2 lb. a week, so we had all kinds of scans and tests for cancer, which thankfully, showed no tumors anywhere. On the January day we had ultrasounds on his abdomen and heart looking for tumors, he went into diabetic ketoacidosis (I monitor his urine at home). I drove him straight from my vet's office to the specialty/emergency hospital, where I checked him into the intensive care unit at 8 lbs. In the ICU, he was on IV insulin for 48+ hours, then they started his ProZinc injections again. He was there for 3.5 days. While on IV insulin, his sugar got down below 300, but when he would eat, it went up over 500 each time, and that's where it has been every week since then, so we have increased 1/2 unit each week. We go to our vet every Thursday evening to get his blood sugar checked. After 10 hours of fasting, it's always 500+. A couple weeks ago he did make some progress with some weight gain, and his sugar was 402. But the next week he lost all the gained weight and his sugar was back over 500. Now we're on 5.5 units of ProZinc twice a day. My vet is out of ideas, so she is sending us to an internal med specialist.

I have literally tried every brand of canned food available in my major metro area. I will find one he'll eat, and after a few days he turns up his nose. I've tried warming it, adding bits of chicken, everything. He's never liked wet food.

I am at my wit's end.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top