Help with BG interpretation

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ja9390

ja9390

Member Since 2016
Hi all,

You all have been helping me get situated not only with this website but also with my cat's diabetes. I began to hometest two days ago and my data has been limited due to not being home as much as I'd like to be. Today, I will be able to get some pretty consistent readings on him and I just set my spreadsheet up and linked it to my signature. He had insulin at 8:00 but his numbers are going up instead of down?? I will be checking him hourly until hour 5 or 6 and I need some help interpreting why this is happening. This is concerning to the point of tears. As of now, I am instructed to only give 1 unit of Novolin once in the morning until the vet tells me otherwise (I'm supposed to take him for a curve this week but I think I'll just show her this spreadsheet instead and save him the stress). I have called the office right when they opened and expressed my concern with his BG being all over the place and my desire to put him on a second dose and probably a different insulin to help regulate him. I'm waiting on a call back.
 
Can't really tell. maybe a partial fur shot, you did not mix the N good enough before drawing it into the syringe. Also, could Degio have gotten into some dry foo this morning?
More data over more days will beter be able to determine the what do do next.
The 166@+5 on the 14th and 523@+4 do not jive.
 
They have no access to dry food at all, only wet. I literally have no idea and when I gave his shot I felt the resistance so I know I got it in him. I'll start to mix it extra thoroughly but I roll it between my hands for a while before I draw it up. The only off-routine thing about today was that he vomited his meal and ate the rest of the can about 20 minutes later.
 
Hi @ja9390 , I didn't catch your name....sorry if I missed it somewhere....:oops:

You're doing a great job with Diego! It is so great that you want to home test, it will really help with the process of getting him regulated.

Try not to worry about the numbers from this first day of testing too much. It will take some time for his body to "learn" to use insulin properly.

...and Welcome to FDMB!

:):):cat:
 
Hurray for your vet! Glad she is willing to consider your home numbers and that she agrees with twice daily dosing. Today is certainly strange. I would just go ahead and finish the curve, give your shot tonight (unless by some fluke he drops under 200) Sometimes a wonky number is just that; sometimes a wonky cycle is just that. What's important is that you are testing and can stay on top of his numbers and two shots a day should definitely improve things.
 
Thanks y'all. I'm JC btw :)

It's been a roller coaster for sure; more of a roller coaster for me than for him. I am sure that his sugar has been this high for months unnoticed but this is my first time seeing it in black and white and it's horrifying. Thank you so much for the encouragement! It's easy to feel like I caused this and then a day like today makes me feel 10x worse about it. Perhaps his weird numbers are from the fact that he didn't eat his food right away? I tested him, he was in the 500's and against my better judgement I panicked and fed him right then and there while I shot the insulin. Then he proceeds to take maybe a bite of food and walk away. Ate most of the can 20 minutes later, puked, then an hour after that he finished the can of food and kept it down. Since then he's had 1.5 small meals of FF and I am continuing to test. His last reading is at 4pm then I'll call the vet.
 
JC, welcome. Do you think Diego would benefit from smaller meals more often until his routine is established? When high, cats can be super hungry and scarf down their food to fast.
 
Well I've basically made it so that he has access to wet food all the time. In the morning both of the cats vary between 1/2-1 full can of Friskies or 9Lives, and then depending on how much they ate I'll either leave another can of friskies out on plates for them to share or a smaller can of FF. When I get home I'll usually give them either their actual dinner meal (can of friskies or 9lives) or another snack of FF depending on what time I get home. I also stay up late at night to study so around 10:30-11:00 I'll put another small can down for them to nibble on if they get hungry in the middle of the night. Diego usually wakes up and eats at some point in the middle of the night.

Last night, I picked their food up at midnight which isn't their usual routine. I wanted an accurate reading for when I tested Diego this morning. As somebody pointed out, we think the reason he vomited a foamy mucus-y mixture last night and then his food this morning was that he had a build up of stomach acid and no food in his stomach to absorb it. I was also made aware that as long as it's been 2 hours since he last ate, the reading will be accurate so that's what I'll do next time instead of picking the food up for the whole night. I didn't think it would be too much of a stretch for him to go just 6 hours without eating but I guess it was.
 
My cat can't go longer than 3 hrs. If 4 hrs, definitely a vomit is coming. You could try just a small amount 3 hrs before the am and pm tests. Make sure it's picked up at least 2 hrs before test.
 
Woodsywife said:
JC, welcome. Do you think Diego would benefit from smaller meals more often until his routine is established? When high, cats can be super hungry and scarf down their food to fast.
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With a harsh insulin like Novolin N it's vitally important that the cat has a good-sized meal before giving insulin. Novolin N can drop numbers like a rock very early in the cycle so it's necessary to 'pre-load' the food. Similar holds true for Caninsulin/Vetsulin.

If the cat needs to eat regularly to avoid stomach acid build-up then some smaller snacks may need to be given at other stages during the cycle. Saoirse had this problem so when she was on Caninsulin I'd give half her food allowance before giving insulin and split the rest into smaller meals served every three hours thereafter.



Mogs
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Wow. I had no idea that they're supposed to be provided round-the-clock meals. These are the things I wish I'd have been told up-front. Poor baby finally gets over his antibiotic vomiting spells and then it starts again all because I picked the food up! Never again.
 
ja9390 said:
Wow. I had no idea that they're supposed to be provided round-the-clock meals. These are the things I wish I'd have been told up-front. Poor baby finally gets over his antibiotic vomiting spells and then it starts again all because I picked the food up! Never again.
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Oh they don't have to in fact most don't. My Smokey does for a few reasons. I was just wondering if it might help until he is a little more established.
 
ja9390 said:
I had no idea that they're supposed to be provided round-the-clock meals.
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How you feed is very much influenced by the nature of action of the insulin the cat is receiving. As I said above, with harsher insulins like Novolin N and Caninsulin the cat really needs to have a good amount of food on board prior to administration of insulin so that the insulin has carbs to 'work on' when it kicks in.

When Saoirse was first diagnosed she was put on Hill's w/d dry alongside the Caninsulin and our then vet insisted she only be fed twice a day prior to receiving the Caninsulin. I had to stop that after a couple of days because, like Smokey, if she went much more than three hours without food she would vomit as a result of excess stomach acid building up. Out of necessity I fed her every three hours: larger meals earlier in the cycle, then a snack at +9 to keep something in her tummy.

Again, let me stress the importance of feeding Diego a substantial meal about an hour before you give him his insulin.


Mogs
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An afterthought:

As you wander round the site you may see other caregivers feeding their cats mini meals throughout the day. This feeding technique is more suited to cats who are being treated with longer-acting, gentler insulins like Lantus and Levemir, not the likes of Novolin N or Caninsulin.


Mogs
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Would an automatic feeder help? I love my PetSafe5. You can set it to open anytime you want, and to close 2 hours before the pre shot test. It is a little tricky with more than one cat but can be done. Especially useful in the overnight hours, if he was the only kitty who had access to it. (The others could get fed, just not in the same room as he and his feeder are.)
 
Critter Mom said:
Again, let me stress the importance of feeding Diego a substantial meal about an hour before you give him his insulin.


Mogs
.
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Oh in no way do I ever limit the amount of food he eats. I let both of them eat until they're full. With brother, Maestro, he has a habit of inhaling and regurgitating. So I pace him by picking his meals up halfway, letting him settle for 15 minutes and then putting his dish back down. But yes, my cats eat well. Their food is cheap and Diego is underweight as it is. I have no qualms with feeding several cans per day.
 
LOL! Scarf and barf...that's exactly what it is because the food isn't even warm when he pukes it back up. He will literally stuff himself to the point where his own body immediately rejects it if I let him. I'll try the food spreading thing.
 
Sue and Oliver (GA) said:
Would an automatic feeder help? I love my PetSafe5. You can set it to open anytime you want, and to close 2 hours before the pre shot test. It is a little tricky with more than one cat but can be done. Especially useful in the overnight hours, if he was the only kitty who had access to it. (The others could get fed, just not in the same room as he and his feeder are.)
Click to expand...

Can that be used with wet food?
 
Cool!

Yes, I bet. For him to have no access to food for 2 hours before his morning BG test, I would have to wake up way earlier than I ever wanted to in order to pick it up. I'll invest in this asap.
 
I got mine at my PetSmart but I have heard that you can get it on Amazon, or PetSmart will accept Amazon's price. It's a little pricey but it is the only one my cat can't break into.
 
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