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Lisa and Jack

Member Since 2012
Hi. My cat Jack was diagnosed with diabetes in March 2003. It took a long time to get him regulated initially but then he was pretty stable until this last year. I googled feline diabetes yet again hoping to find some answers and I finally found this board. I will be starting Jack on a homemade diet (after consulting with Dr. Pierson)and more closely monitoring his BG at home. He also has kidney issues...and potentially liver and heart issues. First step - getting his blood sugar under control. Thanks for all the helpful info. that has been posted on this board. Hopefully I've successfully posted Jack's chart.
Lisa
 
Hi Lisa & Jack, welcome! I was able to see your spreadsheet just fine, good job. You might also put in your signature that you are using the Alpha Trak - it reads 30 points higher than the human meters many of us use so that's important info. Jack has been diabetic for quite a while, so you must be doing something right! Feel free to ask any questions you have.
 
Thanks for your replies! Jack is currently on Lantus. He is eating Holistic Select Shrimp and Salmon. He was eating a little "low carb" dry food but after doing research I threw it away 2 weeks ago. I had been using the Alpha Track. Last week I bought a Walgreens meter b/c the Alpha Track test strips are so expensive. The AT was showing BGs almost twice what the Walgreens meter was showing so this morning I purchased a ReliOn meter to compare. Based on one test, it and the Walgreens meter are within 2 points of each other and the Alpha Track is, again, is showing a BG nearly twice that of the human meters. I'm switching to the human meters b/c they at least seem more consistent. Anyone have any thoughts?

Another question: Jack's BG has been low all morning so I haven't shot him yet today. How do I record this on his chart? Last night I delayed his shot two hours for the same reason and wasn't sure how to show a +12 or +13 reading on the chart. Thanks!
 
The alphatrak will run higher than a human meter because it's calibrated for cats--so you should be seeing a typically 30ish point difference. But it's best to stick to one meter, and use only that. The dosing protocols for Lantus have been written to compensate for people using human meters, so they are fine to use. You just have to remember that what you considered low on the Alphatrak (about 80 or below) is now going be a lower number (50 or below).

We all go through strips so frequently, it's hard to afford the Alphatrak. Even if you test minimally according to the Lantus protocol (3 tests a day, curve once a week), that's still 30 strips or so a week. They add up!
 
Lisa and Jack said:
Another question: Jack's BG has been low all morning so I haven't shot him yet today. How do I record this on his chart? Last night I delayed his shot two hours for the same reason and wasn't sure how to show a +12 or +13 reading on the chart. Thanks!
Click to expand...

If you didn't give insulin, just record it as N/A or -- in the AM or PM PS column and make a note of it in the Comments section that you did not give insulin.

If you delay insulin, you still record the bg in the AM or PM PS column and make a note that bg and insulin were taken how ever many hours late.

You can add more columns to your spreadsheet. My now GA diabetic cat's SS goes up to +18 because I was doing a SID curve on him one time.
 
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