How do you know?

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Rebecca Rushing

Member Since 2022
How do you know when your cat doesn't need insulin anymore? Norman has been on 1/2 a unit of Prozinc twice a day for 6 months. Every time he has a glucose test all of his numbers are good and the vet just told us to keep doing that and come back in three more months. We feed him Fancy Feast pate three times a day and give him his shots at 8am and 8pm. I am about to start at-home testing on him - I didn't realize I could do that.
 
Do you have a spreadsheet or data you can share with us. Once you collect some we will be able to help you a lot with dosing and can tell you if you are close to remission.
I am glad you are going to home test these blood glucose. A human glucometer is what you need. If you live in the US you can buy a ReliOn prime meter from Walmart for $17.99. You will also need some lancets .. get size 26 or 28. Also some cotton rounds to hold behind the ear when you test.
I will post a couple of useful links for you. if you have any trouble setting up the spreadsheet let us know and someone will help you.

https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-how-you-can-help-us-help-you.216696/
 
Thank you so much! He's been on insulin since November 2021, but I didn't know we could home test him until recently - I don't remember the vet telling us about it. But my husband was the main contact b/c I was out of town when it happened, so it could have been missed. I got a glucometer and test strips and lancets and we're going to start doing at-home testing tomorrow!
 
Looking forward to seeing some results! .
Let me know if you have trouble setting up the spreadsheet. We use that every time we help you. Good luck with the testing. Don’t be discouraged if you fail a few times in the beginning… look at all the hints.
 
If you can set up your signature that would be greatTo set up your signature which you will see is at the end of everyone's post in gray, click on your name up top and then tap on the word signature and add this information
  • Add info we need to help you:
    • Caregiver & kitty's name
    • DX: Date
    • Name of Insulin (do not include dose or frequency)
    • Name of your meter
    • Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo"
    • Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable)
    • DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable)
    • Acro, IAA, or Cushings (if applicable)
    • Spreadsheet link. Please put the signature link on the bottom line of your signature information, on its own, so it is easy to find.
    • Please do not put any information about your location in the signature for security reasons. If you wish to add your country location, please add it to your profile.
Be sure to click the 'Save Changes' button at the bottom. If you need help urgently it is important we know these things at a glance. We don’t want to waste valuable time finding out information.

Take a look at mine
Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up
c2b8079a-b471-4fa6-ac36-9ac1c8d6dcca-jpeg.57072
fec17d29-5ab4-44a8-912b-3a91944c3954-jpeg.57073

6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
You can also put a thin layer of vaseline on the ear ,to help the blood bead up
A video one of our members posted
VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar

If you bought a human meter it doesn't need to be coded , only a pet meter does like Janet is using
 
Rebecca Rushing said:
What times should I do glucose testing? The spreadsheet says AM/PM but should I do it right before or a few hours?
Click to expand...
You test right before you feed and give insulin. You want to make sure Norman has not eaten for at least two hours before you test since food will affect the glucose reading. Then you also want to test in between doses. This will help you determine how well the dose works to lower the glucose levels. AMPS is your morning preshot test and PMPS is the evening. Tests in between shots are indicated with a +hour. For example +3 means the test was taken 3 hours after insulin
 
If you can set up your signature that would be greatTo set up your signature which you will see is at the end of everyone's post in gray, click on your name up top and then tap on the word signature and add this information
  • Add info we need to help you:
    • Caregiver & kitty's name
    • DX: Date
    • Name of Insulin (do not include dose or frequency)
    • Name of your meter
    • Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo"
    • Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable)
    • DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable)
    • Acro, IAA, or Cushings (if applicable)
    • Spreadsheet link. Please put the signature link on the bottom line of your signature information, on its own, so it is easy to find.
    • Please do not put any information about your location in the signature for security reasons. If you wish to add your country location, please add it to your profile.
Be sure to click the 'Save Changes' button at the bottom. If you need help urgently it is important we know these things at a glance. We don’t want to waste valuable time finding out information.

Take a look at mine
Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up
c2b8079a-b471-4fa6-ac36-9ac1c8d6dcca-jpeg.57072
fec17d29-5ab4-44a8-912b-3a91944c3954-jpeg.57073

6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
You can also put a thin layer of vaseline on the ear ,to help the blood bead up
A video one of our members posted
VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar

If you bought a human meter it doesn't need to be coded , only a pet meter does like Janet is using
 
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