I am at a loss ...

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Marylou and Malika

Marylou and Malika

Member Since 2018
Using AlphaTrak. I see other SS amd posts with these low numbers under 100 and it doesn't make sense why this is a goal. Question 1: Education on why this low is good? My vet says 120 - 180 is ideal.
She was at 164 this morning, give her .5 minus one drop. She has been a bit in a funk today, and just threw up and it's her PMPS and she's at 122. She's showing no interest in food. Questions 2: Do I shoot her tonight?
This is nerve racking ....
 
Marylou and Malika said:
Using AlphaTrak. I see other SS amd posts with these low numbers under 100 and it doesn't make sense why this is a goal. Question 1: Education on why this low is good? My vet says 120 - 180 is ideal.
She was at 164 this morning, give her .5 minus one drop. She has been a bit in a funk today, and just threw up and it's her PMPS and she's at 122. She's showing no interest in food. Questions 2: Do I shoot her tonight?
This is nerve racking ....
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I don't use an AlphaTrak so I don't know the numbers but I do know vets like to err on the high side. Have you considered switching to a human meter? It will be easier to follow the protocols if on a human meter.
 
Juliet said:
I don't use an AlphaTrak so I don't know the numbers but I do know vets like to err on the high side. Have you considered switching to a human meter? It will be easier to follow the protocols if on a human meter.
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<sigh>. I bought one and then decided to buy the AlphaTrak to match my vet. But I can’t find the darned thing. I’ll keep looking
 
Vets are uncomfortable with lower numbers, because most of their clients don't home test. Having a higher range gives some safety margin if there is no home testing. With dry food in the picture, your ideal range on this forum would be nadirs of 90-150, regardless if the AT or a human meter.

The reason for the dosing methods here wanting lower overall numbers is that the majority of people here are hoping for diabetic remission for their cats. The pancreatic beta cells can only recover with insulin support that brings their blood sugar into the normal number range.

As for tonight, from the spreadsheet it looks like you can't do any testing at night? One option is to delay 1/2 hour without feeding, and see if she'll come up to a number you feel more comfortable shooting.
 
Marylou and Malika said:
Using AlphaTrak. I see other SS amd posts with these low numbers under 100 and it doesn't make sense why this is a goal. Question 1: Education on why this low is good? My vet says 120 - 180 is ideal.
She was at 164 this morning, give her .5 minus one drop. She has been a bit in a funk today, and just threw up and it's her PMPS and she's at 122. She's showing no interest in food. Questions 2: Do I shoot her tonight?
This is nerve racking ....
Click to expand...
Most on here are using a human meter, and they run lower. Normal on a human meter is 50-120. You (and I) are using a pet meter. (Like you I feel better having the same readings as my vet). Normal on a pet meter is 68-150. I'm happy when I see my cats lowest point around 80-120.
 
JanetNJ said:
Most on here are using a human meter, and they run lower. Normal on a human meter is 50-120. You (and I) are using a pet meter. (Like you I feel better having the same readings as my vet). Normal on a pet meter is 68-150. I'm happy when I see my cats lowest point around 80-120.
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Thanks. I was hoping someone would jump in who knew the AlphaTrak numbers.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Vets are uncomfortable with lower numbers, because most of their clients don't home test. Having a higher range gives some safety margin if there is no home testing. With dry food in the picture, your ideal range on this forum would be nadirs of 90-150, regardless if the AT or a human meter.

The reason for the dosing methods here wanting lower overall numbers is that the majority of people here are hoping for diabetic remission for their cats. The pancreatic beta cells can only recover with insulin support that brings their blood sugar into the normal number range.

As for tonight, from the spreadsheet it looks like you can't do any testing at night? One option is to delay 1/2 hour without feeding, and see if she'll come up to a number you feel more comfortable shooting.
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I tested again an hour and a half later. 154. Going to hold off. She goes to vet/kitty Kennel for 5 days. I’ll ask them to do a solid curve including nights if they can.
 
JanetNJ said:
You aren't in the USA. Nothing is free here. Lol
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ADW (American Diabetes Wholesale) always has free meter deals: you get the meter kit with purchase of strips. I like the Arkray Glucocard 01 meter kit. This link is for the kit with 100 strips. You can also get the kit with 200 strips for $72. The Arkray Glucocard 01 meter is the same meter as the Walmart Confirm (Walmart puts its brand name on thte Arkray).
 
Juliet said:
Thanks. I was hoping someone would jump in who knew the AlphaTrak numbers.
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I use alphatrack 2 as well, as I have personally had found it more precise than the human meter I tried first. I agree with Juliet, I love seeing numbers 80-120 as the lowest point on the curve.

I think for those of us who like to err on the higher side, the Start Low, Go Slow regimen may be more right , as you won’t have to aim for numbers AS low. Have you read about the different methods? I know when I first started I also let the vet do the first curve, but then realized that it was cheaper (and easier) to them myself.

Hope this helps!
 
@Juliet - Meters are occasionally free and come with a small number of strips. Strips are not free forever -- or even for a month. I think my meter came with 25 strips. The manufacturers make their money on strips.

In addition to the information that Wendy posted, we aim for lower numbers for 2 reasons. If remission doesn't happen, you want to be sure your cat is below renal threshold. Diabetes is hard on the kidneys (as is age). If a cat is spending a good deal of time above renal threshold, it is more taxing on the kidneys. In addition, if you want to keep your cat more regulated, the goal is to get numbers into normal range. On a human meter, this is between 50 - 120. At the lower end of the numbers on a human vs AlphaTrack, there's about an 18 point difference between the meters (AT being higher so 50 = 68). However, as numbers get higher, the variability between the meters is less. There is no direct point-to-point way to know the difference. (There's probably a mathematical formula but I've never seen it.)
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
@Juliet - Meters are occasionally free and come with a small number of strips. Strips are not free forever -- or even for a month. I think my meter came with 25 strips. The manufacturers make their money on strips.

In addition to the information that Wendy posted, we aim for lower numbers for 2 reasons. If remission doesn't happen, you want to be sure your cat is below renal threshold. Diabetes is hard on the kidneys (as is age). If a cat is spending a good deal of time above renal threshold, it is more taxing on the kidneys. In addition, if you want to keep your cat more regulated, the goal is to get numbers into normal range. On a human meter, this is between 50 - 120. At the lower end of the numbers on a human vs AlphaTrack, there's about an 18 point difference between the meters (AT being higher so 50 = 68). However, as numbers get higher, the variability between the meters is less. There is no direct point-to-point way to know the difference. (There's probably a mathematical formula but I've never seen it.)
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All meters are free if you go to the right website and I didn't say the strips were free. Meters are free WITH a purchase of strips.
 
Ana and Frosty said:
I use alphatrack 2 as well, as I have personally had found it more precise than the human meter I tried first. I agree with Juliet, I love seeing numbers 80-120 as the lowest point on the curve.

I think for those of us who like to err on the higher side, the Start Low, Go Slow regimen may be more right , as you won’t have to aim for numbers AS low. Have you read about the different methods? I know when I first started I also let the vet do the first curve, but then realized that it was cheaper (and easier) to them myself.

Hope this helps!
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Thanks for sharing your experience and insight. I'll have to re-read the regimens, as I obviously haven't retained enough in my brain yet! I home test during the day, but not so much at night because I go to bed early and sleep like a rock. I must need it. I retire soon and can adjust better. She was at 246 this morning with no shot. I'm not totally unhappy with that, not sure if I should be either! She was certainly more chipper that yesterday!
 
Juliet said:
They ARE free in the US as well. You just need to go to the supplier website. I use freestyle lite. Here is the link to FS US website.

https://www.myfreestyle.com//get-a-free-meter/?responseTrackingCode=GetAFreeMeter&cid=GetAFreeMeter&icid=www.myfreestyle.com
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Sheesh even I may get one of these free ones and test myself as well - ;)

I have seriously been thinking about that and love this free style lite deal THANK YOU!!!!

Any recommendations on which meter to get? There are a plethora of meters on that link! I feel like a kid in a candy store...
 
Diabetes, specifically higher than normal blood sugar, plays havoc on most internal organs and body systems. In addition to the reasons listed above, most diabetic complications can be prevented, reversed or held at their current state of decline if the blood sugar numbers are kept at euglycemic (normal, non diabetic numbers). This is true for humans, we can only assume it would be true for cats. We already run them a tad higher (even on TR, many non diabetic cats test in the 40s on a human meter) as a safety precaution to catch and prevent hypoglycemia, which, regardless of SLGS or TR, requires ample home testing to monitor. Renal threshold numbers vary by cat, and nobody knows exactly which number is too high where complications start setting in, but certainly over renal threshold is too high.
 
Marylou and Malika said:
Thanks for sharing your experience and insight. I'll have to re-read the regimens, as I obviously haven't retained enough in my brain yet! I home test during the day, but not so much at night because I go to bed early and sleep like a rock. I must need it. I retire soon and can adjust better. She was at 246 this morning with no shot. I'm not totally unhappy with that, not sure if I should be either! She was certainly more chipper that yesterday!
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That’s a great pre-shot order from my perspective! Haha. Everyone on here is like “fluffy amps 150! Whiskers, amps 70!” And we are like... Frosty, amps 621 it’s awful lol. But I’m trying to hold the dose for a few cycles to see if he stops bouncing, and do spot checks to find out the nadir so I know if I need to adjust. I had the same thought as you that maybe I’m givng more insulin than he needs? esp because he did well on a lower dose in the past. But then again, because insulin is a hormone, it’s very feasible that his needs simply changed. Hopefully I’ll figure it out too :)
 
Getting a test before bed, even if it's just two or three hours after the PM shot will provide a lot of information about how a dose is doing,that should still give you a good 8+ hours sleep.
 
Juliet said:
Check the vendor websites
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Well I tried the link and went all the way through to the end and I gotta have a prescription while the vet has Magic off of her insulin it’s gonna be really hard for me to explain two meters and all

I decided I gotta go to the dentist this afternoon an ima hit up Walmart over near there after - easier for me to just pay the few bucks then to try and get the vet to write another prescription which she had originally called into Costco for insulin
 
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