First time checking blood sugar

[Lianne]

Hello!

My foster cat is currently on caninsulin on 4 units twice a day. I have just bought a blood sugar monitor and I'm not sure where to start.

I do work a mon-fri 9-5pm job so I cannot check the levels throughout the day. Should I start with checking it twice a day before giving the insulin and on the weekend fasting and checking every 2 hours?

Thanks for your help!

 

[FurBabyMamma]

Hi Lianne,

I am new here, so there are so many better people than me to get advice from. My kitty is not doing awesome, but I will say this. All you can do is all you can do.

I think it's a great idea to check twice a day before giving the insulin and doing what you can on the weekend. Any data is better than no data-seriously.

Any other data points you can gather are certainly helpful to track trends (like if you get home at 6 PM and you give your kitty insulin at 8 PM, you could check at 6 PM and have another 2 hour data point to compare to), but doing what you can will make you feel better and give you something to go on and share with your vet.

 

[Andy & Pimp]

Should I start with checking it twice a day before giving the insulin and on the weekend fasting and checking every 2 hours?

That sounds like a great plan. If you can grab a "before bed" test at night, that can also help a lot. Fasting and checking every 2 hours on the weekend would be considered a curve.

This video helps a lot of people when they're starting out. You'll want to get the ear nice and warm, almost hot to the touch. After a few weeks, the ears will "learn" to bleed and it becomes easier. Please ask any questions!

Also, here's a great diagram of the "sweet spot"

 

[LaraB]

It's a challenge when you're working a full-time job. I would definitely love to get more data points on a day to basis so I could see more detailed trends a lot earlier in Joshi's treatment, but I've had to settle for doing preshot tests in the morning before work and in the evening, with a reading before I go to bed. Weekends are when I try to take advantage of getting more data. Thankfully, it's worked out okay so far. I do live with my mom, so Joshi's not alone all day, but my mom hasn't worked up the confidence to try BG testing on her own. So...it is what is.

Yet, whatever data I have gathered from testing has been extremely helpful. That preshot number is definitely the most important so you know if your sugarkitty's glucose is too low to shoot.