I need help...mostly with food and home testing.

[sockerkatt]

Hi!
I can't get my cat to eat any other wet food than Sheba (I live in Sweden and I read that European Sheba is slightly better than US, but who knows?), and it's really expensive! 1 can of 3.5oz is $1.50 and he eats 6 of those a day, as he's 13 pounds (should be 15-16).

I've tried mixing it with other wet food, but then he won't eat as much and leave a lot in his bowl. He eats small portions, but often (every 2-4 h). To him his food gets "old" pretty quickly, and now he's waking me up 2-4 times a night wanting fresh/better food.

His diet before this consisted of RC kibbles and wet food occasionally as a treat, so this is very new to him as well.
Any ideas are greatly appreciated, I'm starting to get exhausted (and possibly ruined if he continues to only eat Sheba )..



Home testing. My vet yelled at me for wanting to do it (actually she forbid me), she said I'd hurt him and it was not acceptable at all and the meters are way too unreliable. Right. Got myself a meter (Bayer contour xt, if anyone's heard of it), poking device and strips anyway and it arrived 2 days ago. I've poked him maybe 10 times and been successful 3 times, however, the amps test is NOT working out well. He won't sit still if he's hungry, he becomes a furry, but slippery (how?!) little worm.

How fast does food raise bg? Can I feed him a little and then try to get some blood as quickly as I can?

When should I attempt to do a curve? Asap?
He's been on 1u (vet said 2u, but I thought that was too high and scary when I couldn't monitor his bg + I don't trust her) Lantus since 5/29 and missed 3 shots (Wed-Thur) because this vet forgot to send his prescription for syringes to the pharmacy (we aren't allowed to get syringes with needles without prescriptions here).

Ah yes, I'm not going back to said vet anymore, ever.

Thanks.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Not sure how helpful it'll be, but here's a List of available low carb foods in the UK. Maybe some of them are available in Sweden too

Good for you for ignoring your vet's "order" forbidding you to home test! Would she inject her baby with insulin without knowing what her blood glucose was first? Of course not, so it makes no sense why we wouldn't do the same for our furry children!!

It takes at least 15-20 minutes for food to effect the BG...if you need to, put a little food into his bowl and test while he's eating it. The only time this could be a problem is if his BG is low and then he's already had a little food, so it makes the decision whether to shoot a lower number a little more complicated.

Here's some tips on ear testing:

It can be really helpful to establish a routine with testing. Pick one spot that you want your "testing spot" to be (I like the kitchen counter because it's got good light and it's at a good height....it also already blocked 2 escape routes due to the wall and the backsplash) It can be anywhere though...a rug on the floor, a table, a particular spot on the couch...wherever is good for you. Take him there as many times a day as you can and just give his ears a quick rub and then he gets a yummy (low carb) treat.

Most cats aren't objecting so much with the poking..it's the fooling with their ears they don't like, but once they're desensitized to it and learn to associate a certain place with the treats, they usually start to come when they're called! Or even when they hear us opening the test kit!

You also have to remember...you're not poking him to hurt him...you're testing him to keep him safe and understand what's going on inside his body. There's just nothing better than truly understanding what's going on inside your kitty's body and with this disease, the more knowledge you have, the more power you have against it. The edges of the ears have very few pain receptors, so it really doesn't hurt them. Also, if you're nervous and tense, it's going to make your kitty nervous and tense too. As silly as it might seem, try singing! It forces you to use a different part of your brain!

It's also important to make sure his ear is warm. A small sock filled with a little rice and microwaved or a small pill bottle filled with warm water (check temp against your wrist like you would a baby bottle) works well

It'll really help if you get our spreadsheet started so as you get tests in, you can enter them. The spreadsheet is every bit as valuable a tool as a low carb canned diet and a good insulin. Here are Instructions on How to create the spreadsheet . You'd want to use the "World" spreadsheet so the numbers are converted for those of us in the US since those are the ranges we're used to working with.

It's important to always test before each shot so you know if they're high enough to shoot at all. When first starting, we suggest an "ask for help before shooting' limit of 200.(11.11) That means if you get a pre-shot under 200, you "stall", don't feed and post asking for help. Make sure your subject line says something like "Stalling, need help!!" so the people that scan the board know you're looking for help

As you get more tests in, that limit will come down......with enough data, most of us will shoot anything above 50 (2.8)

On the AM cycle, we'd like to see a test somewhere between +5 and +7 (5 to 7 hours after the morning shot)....that's usually in the neighborhood of when Lantus nadir's (the lowest point in the cycle is the "nadir"). Lantus is dosed based on how low it takes them, so that's important to catch. Of course any other tests you can get are welcome too! There's no such thing as too much data!

On the PM cycle, after the Pre-shot test, it's important to at least get a "before bed" test in to make sure they're going to be safe overnight or to decide if you might want to set an alarm to get up to get another test later. Most cats go lower at night

A standard "curve" isn't as important as getting tests sprinkled at different times in the cycles. Think of our spreadsheet like a puzzle. If the only pieces you have filled in are the edges (the Pre-shot tests), it's impossible to see what the puzzle picture is, but if you have pieces sprinkled throughout the puzzle, you can see the picture much clearer!

If you really want to do a standard "curve", that's fine too occasionally (especially if you can't get mid-cycle tests daily on the AM cycle) You test every 2 hours for 12 hours, or every 3 hour for 18 hours

Keep asking questions!! The people here are great about helping out!

 

[BJM]

Readers: the shooting low limit China mentioned is for depot insulins (Lantus, Levemir) and only with test data showing it is safe.
If you are using any other insulin, your no shot limit begins at 200 mg/dL, then with test data showing it is safe, may gradually reduce to 150 mg/dL. This is because non-depot insulins have no overlap and tend to have a steeper drop and rise in glucose.