Glucometer & Curve Question

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Michaelc26

Member Since 2014
Hello again everyone,

I have a quick question, couple days ago I purchased a OneTouch Ultra Mini so I can do my own glucose curve, insteading of dropping $140 at the vet each time. I checked the calibration per instructions, perfectly normal. I tested it on myself, mainly because I wanted to see what it felt like before I used it on my cat, it came out perfectly normal , around 95mg/dl

So this morning I started it on my Cat, (Carol) once right after she ate before her insulin shot, (I had to because trying to get her to be still when she wants food is impossible haha) and every couple hours for the past few times,

So far my Numbers are

7am: Eats
7:10am: 98
7:30am: Shot 3u of Lantus,
9am: 57
11am: 72

This is a bit worrying and releiving me at the same time. I'm worried because 3wks ago her numbers were around 450 and the vet kicked us up to 3 units of lantus twice a day, now they are low, I'm watching to make sure they don't get to low but I'm hoping that perhaps this is the start of remission, or at least the need to cut back on the insulin. I have an appointment in the morning to review the chart...

I know my vet will give me a hard time about doing it at home :roll: , Personally I like it better, than dropping her off all day at the vets. This way she does her thing, gets a prick every couple hrs and a treat and goes on her way, doesn't even mind it at all. I wanted to know if anyone has had any experience using the OneTouch meters, are they accurate? Close to it? Is there some special thing for human to feline? From what I've read its very close to what the vets readings are

Thanks
 
Re: Glucometer Question

I used to use the OneTouch but changed to another brand since the OneTouch strips are expensive. I like the OneTouch and found it accurate but it did require more blood than one I currently use.
Yes, maybe Carol is going into remission.
Are you still giving 3 units of Lantus twice daily?
Also wat were the NGs and times"
PM PS - BG before shot
The you use + to indicate time in hours of subsequent BGs. Like
+2 96
+4 102
 
Re: Glucometer Question

Holy acronyms lol
Yes until I talk to the doc the morning , going to stick with her schedule So far I am this:

7am: 98 (and usual feeding time)
7:30am *Injection 3u Lantus*
9am: 57
11am: 72
1pm: 111
3pm: 133

Her evening is Eating at 7pm then the second shot of 3u lantus at 7:30p

has kind of a funky curve going on with it right now, though have to say I'm happy to see it in the hundreds :-D and not the 400's like a few wks ago, though the 57 does worry me alot :?
 
Can you wait before dosing tonight. We generally urge new diabetics not to shoot under 200 and the dose you are giving is quite high. I don't use your insulin so I'll try to get some Lantus users to weigh in.
 
Hi Michael and supersweet Carol. My vet uses the OneTouch Ultra in her practice and likes it because it correlates quite closely with what she gets from the labs. The only downside (beside the strip price) is that it requires a larger drop of blood than some of the other meters, but it sounds like you are having good success with it. :-D

Sue posted on the Lantus forum, so I came on over. I think you should be reducing Carol's dose. As Sue says, we generally recommend that new users here don't shoot with preshot numbers under 200. Although those are great numbers, a reading of 57 so soon after the injection is worrying. Our Tight Regulation Protocol says that readings under 50 mean a dose reduction. The inverse curve you had today can also mean too much insulin.

If Carol is over 200 at preshot time, how would you feel about lowering her dose to 2.5 units tonight? If she is not 200, one trick you can do is to wait 1/2 hour and test again and see if she is rising. You can't delay too long because your shot tomorrow morning should be around 12 hours after whenever you shoot tonight. If you have questions, do the blood test, then post here for help before feeding her.

Are you giving Carol a treat after her test? Neko wouldn't sit still at first for her test unless I was giving her a treat before and afterwards. Something zero carbs like freeze dried chicken pieces is a good one. It's best to do the test first, then feed, then shoot.
 
Using a human glucometer, we want the glucose to remain above 50 mg/dL.
Normally Lantus results in a nadir - lowest glucose between shots - around +5 to +7. The early low follwed by a high suggests too much insulin.

An initial Lantus dose should have been calculated as follows:
WhT is her current weight?
What is her iideal weight?
Take the lower weight.
Convert to kilograms, if needed (pounds/2.2).
Mutiply by 0.25.
Round down to the nearest quarter unit (we eyeball 0.25 and 0.75 increments).
 
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