Glucose Testing every day????

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heidismom

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Are you supposed to test BG levels every day? My vet didn't tell me to test Heidi every day, just said every one or two weeks to do this Glucose Curve, testing her every 2 hours for 12-14 hours. I'm just wondering what other people have been instructed to do. Maybe it depends on how severe the diabetes is at diagnosis?

Thanks,
Corinne
 
Welcome!

Yes. You test before the shot to determine if it is safe to give insulin. And most people try to take up the food for two hours before testing so it is a true fasting number rather than one elevated by food. Most people would not give insulin to a child without testing why should we not test before giving it to our furbabies?

What insulin are you using?
PZI- you need to test, feed, wait 20-30 minutes and then shoot if the test number is over a certain #. For new cats with no data that number is usually 200.
Lantus and Levemir you test and feed, then can shoot once the cat has eaten enough- you don't have to wait. Same thing about the shoot number, though.

And, me, personally, since I have an unregulated cat, actually test almost 7 times a day (24 hr period). On the weekends I try to do a curve for the AM numbers on Sunday, the only day I am usually home at the +6 hour. Most of my testing happen to be night numbers, so I may get a +6 and I may not, but I can get a feel for how low she drops on her insulin over the 12 hour period.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207
here is the link on how to do the SS and get it into your signature if you don't already have it.

hope this helps!
 
Sorry but I would never shoot insulin into anyone, without a blood test first. It just doesnt make sense to do otherwise.

Welcome to the best site on the planet to help you help your kitty.

jeanne
 
It's best to test at least three times a day--once before each shot to make sure it's safe to give insulin, and one mid-cycle check to see how the insulin is working to lower blood sugar. You can test more than that, of course--the more data you collect the easier it will be to make dosing decisions. A curve once a week (testing every 2 hrs for a 12 hr cycle) is also very useful.

Another reason to test daily is that cats starting insulin tend to "bounce" around in numbers. If you're not testing daily you might test and only see high numbers, and not realize that the cat is actually dropping into normal or too low ranges--and if you increase the dose based on this, you're creating a dangerous overdosing situation.
 
Your answer is the same as the answer to THIS question:

Do HUMANS test their glucose every day?

A doctor that tells their HUMAN diabetes patient to shoot without testing would potentially face a malpractice lawsuit. Diabetes is diabetes regardless of WHO has it. It's beyond me why any vet would discourage testing but I see it repeatedly. I test when I first get up (pm+10-ish), again about 9am before we shoot, again somewhere between +3-+4, again about +7 then maybe +10 or maybe not, last test is pmbg about 9pm. If he's low, I get up at night and test but I have restrictions on that part so don't do it often.

Look at KT's numbers this morning (spreadsheet in sig) and extra numbers in cells with little orange triangles (hover). I would potentially caused him HUGE MAJOR ISSUES if I'd shot the original 42. Our AMPS was still only 95 but I'd tested enough over that prior 1 1/2 hours to know he was rising and would continue to rise until onset in another couple of hours. If I hadn't been testing....let's not think about what might have happened....

HUGS!
 
I'm freaking out a little. I thought I had faith in my vet but why would he not tell me to test before giving insulin? She's on a tiny dose now, just one unit.

I live in California,in the Bay Area. I do have a referral to a local person who helps people when they are having trouble testing their cats. Of course, I don't know how much she charges but maybe I had better call her.

Corinne
 
Don't freak out--most vets don't get every aspect of treating feline diabetes right--you're lucky that you at least have a vet that advocates home testing! Many people show up here without home testing at all and their vets charging them for useless office curves. :YMSIGH: My vet was great about advocating home testing and recommending a commercial, low carb, canned diet but she was also not having me test daily when I started out. I changed that on my own when I found out that the current minimum testing recommendation for Lantus was thrice daily testing.

Like diabetes in humans, feline diabetes is best treated at home, with routine self-adjustments to dose. Many vets don't like the idea of giving owners this sort of control over insulin dosing, but it's the best and safest way to treat the cat. What insulin are you using? I've attached an article for you to print out and give to your vet--it discusses the safety and efficacy of owner adjusted dosing via daily home testing with Lantus (glargine). I would discuss this treatment plan with your vet, and see if he will get on board with you. If he's open to doing things your way, I would stick with him. If he's not, you may need to find a vet who is willing to work with you. That is what you need--finding a vet that is up to date with every detail of feline diabetes is near impossible.



If you're using Prozinc, there's a different dosing protocol for that insulin but it's the same basic concept of adjustment via daily testing.

Also, one unit is not a "tiny" dose. 1u is an average dose--most cats on a low carb, canned diet never need much more than 1u.
 

Attachments

There are several CA members on this board. I know there are a few in the San Diego area. I think there might be someone closer to you. I'm sure there is a member who would be willing to show you how to hometest for no fee at all. If you edit the subject of your first post to include "Bay Area, CA testing help needed", it will catch the attention of those who live in the area.
 
Julia & Bandit said:
Don't freak out--most vets don't get every aspect of treating feline diabetes right--you're lucky that you at least have a vet that advocates home testing! Many people show up here without home testing at all and their vets charging them for useless office curves. :YMSIGH: My vet was great about advocating home testing and recommending a commercial, low carb, canned diet but she was also not having me test daily when I started out. I changed that on my own when I found out that the current minimum testing recommendation for Lantus was thrice daily testing.

Like diabetes in humans, feline diabetes is best treated at home, with routine self-adjustments to dose. Many vets don't like the idea of giving owners this sort of control over insulin dosing, but it's the best and safest way to treat the cat. What insulin are you using? I've attached an article for you to print out and give to your vet--it discusses the safety and efficacy of owner adjusted dosing via daily home testing with Lantus (glargine). I would discuss this treatment plan with your vet, and see if he will get on board with you. If he's open to doing things your way, I would stick with him. If he's not, you may need to find a vet who is willing to work with you. That is what you need--finding a vet that is up to date with every detail of feline diabetes is near impossible.



If you're using Prozinc, there's a different dosing protocol for that insulin but it's the same basic concept of adjustment via daily testing.

Also, one unit is not a "tiny" dose. 1u is an average dose--most cats on a low carb, canned diet never need much more than 1u.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Julia and Bandit.
Yes, Heidi is on Lantus. I feel that my vet is going to be willing to work with me, but if that doesn't happen then I guess I will have to change vets. Heidi may be in a somewhat different situation than some kitties, in that she has been on prednisone for 7 years for irritable bowel disease (her symptom has been frequent vomiting) and we are now trying to taper her off that. I feel that once she is off prednisone, the diabetes may go away, since I feel that the prednisone is what caused it. But again, I don't know. I am new at this.

I didn't know that 1 u was the average dose. I do have Heidi on a low carb, canned only diet.

Thanks for the attachment....will copy it.

Corinne
 
Thanks, squeem, I might do that. I was finally able to get a reading this morning--yay! So maybe I am going to do alright without having to get help. I don't think Heidi was too comfortable being poked but I do give her a nice treat of minced, cooked chicken afterward.

Corinne
 
Corinne,
If you are hoping Heidi goes off insulin when weaned from her meds, how will you know if you don't test her BG?
For all you know, she could be ready now, but the only way to know is by testing, and testing at home where she is relaxed.
Curves and testing at the vet are worth pretty much nothing because of stress.

She may well be fine with testing once she gets used to it; my two pretty much slept through getting poked in the ears, and one actually seemed to know when it was time to test and would remind me!

Don't worry about what the vet says about testing; most vets tell people they should NOT test at all!
I am pretty sure that Heidi is as important to you as a child, and no human dr would ever tell a parent they should not test their child before giving a shot.
 
Gayle Shadoe & Oliver,

I was wondering the same thing, how would I know unless I test. I was also worrying about hypoglycemia. This diabetes seemed to hit her pretty fast, almost without warning, so I'm assuming hypoglycemia could also blindside me. In fact she wasn't even peeing excessively until last week, the week she got diagnosed. She had gradually started drinking more and more water. Actually I think she had been drinking more water for awhile; it was only recently that I would actually see her constantly at the water dish.

Testing at the vet's would be useless. For one thing, she would get so mad after being there a few hours cat(2)_steam , she wouldn't let anyone touch her. And she is not normally like that.

I hope she will get used to testing. Right after the test this morning she looked sort of disgruntled, but now she seems fine.

Both my cats are like children to me and I can't stand to see them suffer. I can't believe there are vets who would not even suggest testing!

Take care,
Corinne
 
heidismom said:
Gayle Shadoe & Oliver,
I was wondering the same thing, how would I know unless I test. I was also worrying about hypoglycemia. This diabetes seemed to hit her pretty fast, almost without warning, so I'm assuming hypoglycemia could also blindside me. In fact she wasn't even peeing excessively until last week, the week she got diagnosed. She had gradually started drinking more and more water. Actually I think she had been drinking more water for awhile; it was only recently that I would actually see her constantly at the water dish.

Testing at the vet's would be useless. For one thing, she would get so mad after being there a few hours cat(2)_steam , she wouldn't let anyone touch her. And she is not normally like that.

I hope she will get used to testing. Right after the test this morning she looked sort of disgruntled, but now she seems fine.

Both my cats are like children to me and I can't stand to see them suffer. I can't believe there are vets who would not even suggest testing!

Take care,
Corinne
Click to expand...

Since you are using Lantus, why don't you post over on the Lantus forum and get the guys over there to set you up with a spreadsheet to track your testing and to help you with dosing as well.... for all you know, Heidi may need more insulin or even less! .... but they will give you a hand, OK?

ETA: for sure, I bet once you are relaxed more with testing, and the 2 of you get settled in a routine, I bet she will be just fine. By testing, you will put yourself at ease because you will know where her numbers are and you will be able to adjust her dose as needed.

Read the info in the Stickys they have over in the Lantus forum and ask all the questions you like; someone will be able to give you the answers you need.
 
Where exactly are you? I'm in Sacramento but that's probably still quite a way from you

BTW many members have a link to their cats glucose testing spreadsheet so you can see how often they're testing and what the results are. I found it really useful and my vet liked it too.
 
Hi,Mooch, I'm in Richmond, but thankfully I mastered the blood glucose monitoring and probably won't need assistance! I think the trick was warming her ear with a rice sock for twenty seconds--I hardly had to pierce the skin and a good bead came up immediately. Thank heavens.

It was lucky that I did not give up on the procedure. Last night Heidi was acting a little odd...about forty-five minutes after her nightly injection, she was lying down on the towel at the foot of the stairs (because she used to throw up pretty often, I started putting towels instead of throw rugs on the floor because towels are easier to clean). She had this spacey look in her eyes and it had me concerned. I was going to test her bg then, but I didn't. A little while later, she started acting more normal. Luckily this morning I followed my instinct (and the voices on the forum!) and tested her bg before giving the injection and her bg was 156. That is just slightly above the high end of normal bg. Her bg has actually dropped from 309 a week ago, to 218 yesterday and now 156 today. Seems like it's dropping at a pretty fast rate.

Heidi's vet is off today, but I did speak to another vet at the practice who advised me to skip this morning's insulin (which I did) and test again this evening. If it's over 170, give 1/2 unit. If under 170, don't give. Someone here had said that 1 unit is NOT a tiny dose, and now I know what you mean. My syringes don't show 1/2 units so I wonder how I am going to figure it out...just estimate?

I probably should have made a whole new subject out of this, but I want to thank this forum and everyone who has responded because if you hadn't been so adamant about testing each time, etc, I don't know if I would have tested her this morning and she might have gone hypoglycemic. I have to say I wasn't testing her each and every time, I've been mainly watching her behavior --which, as we know, is hard to gauge in cats sometimes.

Thanks again.:YMHUG:
Corinne

P.S. Mooch, I should try that spreadsheet idea. Thanks!
 
hmjohnston said:
PZI- you need to test, feed, wait 20-30 minutes and then shoot if the test number is over a certain #. For new cats with no data that number is usually 200.
Lantus and Levemir you test and feed, then can shoot once the cat has eaten enough- you don't have to wait. Same thing about the shoot number, though.
Click to expand...

I seem to be incorrect in this statement about PZI. There is no waiting time from feeding to the shooting insulin with PZI.

Sorry about that.
 
Glad to hear you mastered the home testing. I also found using a warm rice sock to warm Mooch's ear thd trick that made all thd difference. I saw you started another thread in thd Lantus thread so I'll go check that out next
 
Hi Mooch, I couldn't believe how much the rice sock helped. The new Lantus topic is really just a link to the other Heidi topic on the Health page.

Corinne
 
HI Corinne, on the syringes - there are ones that have half unit markings (BD makes one and so does Monojet I think). The half unit syringes are used mostly for children with diabetes. I've heard the best price for syringes is Walmart but I don't have one near me so I use Costco which is $29.00 for a box of 100. Your kitty very well could go "OTJ - off the juice" with stopping prednisone. My cat became diabetic on pred - I got her weaned off and she never needed insulin. Unfortunately she developed inflamatory bowel disease and steroids became mandatory so she is diabetic and on insulin now. Good thing you are testing now and know what her blood glucose level is. Even if she goes OTJ you should keep her on a low carb canned diet to hopefully keep her in remission. Jan
 
nwnews said:
HI Corinne, on the syringes - there are ones that have half unit markings (BD makes one and so does Monojet I think). The half unit syringes are used mostly for children with diabetes. I've heard the best price for syringes is Walmart but I don't have one near me so I use Costco which is $29.00 for a box of 100. Your kitty very well could go "OTJ - off the juice" with stopping prednisone. My cat became diabetic on pred - I got her weaned off and she never needed insulin. Unfortunately she developed inflamatory bowel disease and steroids became mandatory so she is diabetic and on insulin now. Good thing you are testing now and know what her blood glucose level is. Even if she goes OTJ you should keep her on a low carb canned diet to hopefully keep her in remission. Jan
Click to expand...

Jan, you are making me wonder if Heidi could avoid using insulin if she can just get off prednisone? Heidi is on a very small dose of pred now--only 2.5 mg twice a week. She had or has Inflammatory Bowel Disease and that is why she has been on pred for 7 years. She doesn't seem to have IBD now--only has some vomiting episodes once in awhile. Did your kitty just keep eating, drinking and peeing a lot (without taking insulin) until she was weaned off pred? I'm wondering how long it took after she was off pred, to not have diabetes.

Corinne
 
My cat was placed on a large daily dose of Prednisone and became diabetic. I weaned her off the Pred and changed her diet to canned high-protein only--and here we are two months or so later and she has gone into remission from the diabetes...so far so good--she was placed on the Pred for suspected IBD but no firm diagnosis, so we shall see how it goes! I am actually beginning to wonder if diabetes itself in some way could trigger bowel issues.
 
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