First hometest success! Now what?

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missMeows

missMeows

Member Since 2015
Hi everyone,

So after a LOT of fussing, we got our kitty tested about 20 minutes before her nighttime shot. It was 318 on an Up&Up glucometer. So I know that there is a big difference between human and pet glucometers and I've looked over the link that BJM has on her profile, but I'm still a bit confused. If I'm understanding her instructions correctly, my kitty's BG levels are in the 400's. She was never that high even off of insulin. Last we checked at the vet she was 345, and that was about an hour before her night time shot. And with the added stress of being at the vet. It's all very confusing. Any thoughts?

Thanks so much!
 
Congratulations on joining the Vampire Club!!
vampire smiley.jpg

One test really doesn't tell the whole story. Our cats blood glucose varies from day to day, cycle to cycle, even minute to minute sometimes!! Don't stress out so much about the "difference" in the meters. Think of it like a thermometer....some measure temperature in Celcius, some in Farenheight....both are correct, you just have to understand the scale! 32 degrees C is a whole lot hotter than 32 degrees F!

It will help a lot to get our spreadsheet program too. The spreadsheet is a very valuable tool, just like the right diet and the right insulin! It helps us to help advise you in the days to come. Here's instructions on "How to Create a Spreadsheet"

How long have you been shooting?
 
Thank you for the reassurance, and will definitely check out making that spreadsheet. :) Hopefully she will let us try again tomorrow and there will be more info to add ;-)

I started shooting 9 days ago. I'm not 100% accurate yet though. Just this past Saturday I was supposed to bring her to the vet to get her +6 blood test, but I missed! Not sure how much, could have been the whole bit, but I didn't want to waste a visit (or more money) if it wouldn't be an accurate +6 reading. I'm now taking her next weekend. ::sigh::
 
Well if you can get her home tested, there's really no reason you need to go next weekend either!!

The numbers you get at home are going to be more accurate anyway.

What has worked for a lot of people is to get her conditioned for the testing. Decide on one place in your home that you want her "testing spot" to be. (I chose the kitchen counter because it was at a good level for me and already blocked to escape routes due to the wall and the backsplash)

Take her there as many times a day as you can manage and just give her ears a quick rub and then she gets the yummy treat she loves most....the more you do that, the more she's going to associate that spot with the yummy treat and not give a hoot what you're doing with her ears!!

Most of our cats get to the point where we just have to call them, shake the test strip container or walk towards their "spot" and they come running to get tested!
 
I have something setup on the kitchen table with a favorite towel for her insulin shots (I like its level as well) so we tried that today with the testing. Unfortunately, we can't really give her treats before hand because she gets so darn excited and hyper for them (freeze dried shrimp) that we are better off giving her treats after. Hopefully she'll get the hint that treats will come AFTER her testing :)

We have been playing with her ears a lot lately so she was ok with the process in the beginning. I think the poke hurt her though. My fiance tried first and it didn't work, so I tried and she growled when I got it. It was done freehand (not with the lancet pen) and I had my hand behind her ear so I know I didn't go through all the way. I know she doesn't hate us at least... She is trying to curl up next to me now :)

I didn't use neosporin after, I figured she needed a break so let her go. Do you think that is ok?

Why do you say home testing is more accurate? That's interesting.
 
Once I found this forum, I stopped taking Lulu to the vet for weekly BG readings -- it's just too expensive!! There is so much info on this site, and so many helpful, knowledgeable people here that I feel confident managing her diabetes with the assistance of this forum. Of course I will still take her to the vet for annual checkups, dental work, and vaccinations, or if something comes up for which veterinary intervention is necessary.
Oh....and home testing gets easier, it really does. In just a few short weeks, I've gone from crying every time I tried, to being able to get a readable blood drop every single time.
 
Home testing is more accurate because most cats react to the stress of going to the vet by having their numbers go up...sometimes as much as 200 points

The Neosporin with Pain Relief ointment is great stuff....Until China's ears "learned to bleed", we used it pretty much with every poke to help heal them up
 
Hmmm... I wonder if her reading was so high tonight from her being stressed... This is all very good to know. Thank you both. I'm definitely trusting everyone's experience and advice that it will get easier. It is already getting easier with insulin, I'm sure we'll get this too. Just gotta be patient :)
 
Vet stress may raise the glucose 100-180 mg/dL.

If you haven't already, see my signature link Glucometer Notes for feline specific glucose reference ranges.
 
Hi BJM!

Yes, I looked at your link last night and that was why I was concerned. Wouldn't 318 on my meter be over 400 on an alphatrak? I was worried because she wasn't that high when we had her checked last at the vet before we even put her on insulin. After reading everyone's replies, I'm thinking that we had really stressed her out last night while trying to get a sample. I'm hoping that today will be a little lower.
 
Ah, but remember the whole +/- 20% of lab value thing. That's why there is no point in trying to convert between the glucometer types. You have no way of knowing if your reading was higher or lower than the "true" value. And once you're above 300 mg/dL or so, it really doesn't matter. It is too high.
 
Ok, I think I understand now. We all basically need to know what ranges are good/bad and then just focus on what our meters say and get used to those specific numbers. Thanks for helping to clarify!
 
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