? Frequency of BG monitoring.

[Amy Dobson]

Hi Everyone,

I'm interested to know how often people check BG.

Before every injection? Before every injection and at Nadal point? Every day or every few days?

And how often do you do a curve?

Many thanks!

Amy

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Always before shooting to make sure they're high enough to have insulin at all

I'm not that familiar with Caninsulin since most here don't use it, but it generally doesn't last a full 12 hours, so it's nadir is probably in the +4 to +5 area (so 4-5 hours after the shot) so you'd want to get a test in about then to try to catch how low it's taking Murphy

You want to get at least 2 tests in on each cycle every day (so 4 tests/day) The Pre-shot tests, and on the AM cycle a test around nadir and at least a test at night "before bed" to make sure it's safe to go to sleep (most cats go lower at night)

As for curves, you don't really have to do a perfect "curve" but of course you can....maybe once a week get a test every 2 hours for 12 hours or every 3 hours for 18 hours....otherwise, if you just get spot checks at different times, you're going to get the information you need without scheduling a specific "curve"

Think of the spreadsheet like it's a puzzle. If the only pieces you have filled in are along the edges, it makes it impossible to tell what the picture is....the more "pieces" you have sprinkled throughout the puzzle, the easier it is to see a clear picture of "the puzzle"

 

[BJM]

Testing:
1) Always test before giving insulin to make sure it is safe.
For now, your no shot level is 200 mg/dL on a human glucometer (230 for pet-specific); this will lower as you collect data around the middle of the cycle to know how low he is going.

2) Mid-cycle tests between shots - whenever possible, test around the nadir (lowest glucose level between shots) for your insulin, to see how low he's going. For Lantus, this often falls between +5 to +7 hours after the shot. Some folks do this on weekends or set a clock for the middle of the night to get this test done as it helps determine dose adjustments. This number should be at or above 50 mg/dL on a human glucometer (80 mg/dL for pet-specific).

3) a before bed test is helpful in determining if you need to break out some higher carb food and steer the glucose level or go to bed with some peace of mind. Steering means giving 1-2 teaspoons of high carb gravy, waiting 30 minutes, and re-testing (repeating as needed) to make sure the glucose stays above 50 mg/dL.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

I always test before each shot. When starting insulin or th-ngs like pre-shot BG are not looking right I will test between shots. Frequently at +3 and +6 hours after shot. After god control I very infrequently test between shots. I adopted Patches II in December and I think I have only tested between shots three times. so far. I test my MurrFee and Badger more frequently between shots. maybe one a week.

 

[Sue484]

@Amy Dobson. My second diabetic kitty, Romulus, is on Caninsulin and his nadir is +6. You need to check your kitty to find out where his nadir is, as every cat is different.

 

[Melanie and Smokey]

I test preshot and get 1-3 tests during each cycle depending on the schedule. When we had cats on Vetsulin for a short time I usually tested within the first 3 hrs because that is when they'd drop the most and I'd want to watch for low numbers. Once we've gotten to understand their onset and nadir (low-point) we test less often, but always try to test around 2 hrs or 3 hrs after shot if we can to see where they are going with the insulin.