information overload . . .

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tsteinbarth

tsteinbarth

Member Since 2014
I'm sure the question I'm about to ask in located within the breadth of information on the MB's however it's too much for me as I'm a skimmer by nature. . . I've posted a couple times since Saturday when my cat, Skinny, insulin bottle broke and due to cost I'm unable to replace it at this moment. He's been without insulin since Sunday PM and I've kept him on a strict 2X a day 3 oz can of fancy feast and he seems ok. I was able to take him to the Vet today for a glucose check and the number was 360. My mom was kind enough to send me her One Touch Ultra she no longer uses and while at the Vet's office we check Skinny's glucose again and it was 339. Vet said she is OK with the numbers and just reminded me to add 20 to the number on the meter. . . well after following the advice from some of the members about checking out Craig's list I was able to purchase 5 lantus solostar pens for $40 (score for me!!).

I'm committed to home monitoring and what my question is . . . . I just tested Skinny and the number is 390 (370 plus 20) and I just fed him. . . question #1: do I test skinny again before I give him the night time 1 unit? question #2 should I always test after eating to see if he actually needs insulin?

Kinda confused about when and if I should just give him his standard 2 units in the AM and 1 unit in PM and if so, what is the point of home testing?
 
I just wanted to welcome you to the best place for you and your sweet Kittie. Some one with greater experience then I should be along to guide.
 
I'm sure you're REALLY going to get lots of info from some very knowledgeable folks here, but since you're a "skimmer", I'm just going to touch on a few points as briefly as possible:

First, you want to shoot a consistent dose. Shooting 2 units in the morning and 1 unite at night is going to result in BGs that are very unpredictable and all over the map. Additionally, you want to be consistent about your shooting times, which should be 12 hours apart.

There are two main points to home testing. The most important is keeping Skinny safe from hypoglycemia, which can kill very quickly. You can't be comfortable with a high starting BG, because many cats here actually can dive from 390 to 60 over the course of a few hours. Testing is what keeps your kitty safe.

The other reason for home testing is so you can see how Skinny is responding to insulin, and therefore you can make adjustments to his dose accordingly and - most importantly - safely.

We always test before shooting insulin to be sure it is safe to actually shoot, and at least one other time during each cycle, which means a minimum of 4 tests per day. Most of us test more than that, and if a cat is dropping quickly or is in low numbers, you will be testing a LOT more than that.

The One Touch is a good meter, but strips for it are very expensive. Many of us here use the Relion from Walmart, or the Arkray from American Diabetes Wholesale (ADW). Both are good meters and the strips are much, much cheaper.

There is no need to add 20 points to the reading on the meter; in fact, doing so will add confusion to folks here who may be trying to help you work through low numbers or dosing advice. We're used to working with numbers from human meters here, so that is how our brains are trained to respond.

That's a starting point....like I said, I am sure you will get a lot more info. Just ask as many questions as you need, and we'll all be happy to help as much as possible!
 
Amy,

Thank you for taking mercy on the skimmer . . . I've had concerns for my poor kitty and me since he was diagnosised last year. . . I work 10-12 hr days and I live alone . . .

We always test before shooting insulin to be sure it is safe to actually shoot, and at least one other time during each cycle, which means a minimum of 4 tests per day. Most of us test more than that, and if a cat is dropping quickly or is in low numbers, you will be testing a LOT more than that.
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Except for the rare Sunday, 4 times a day testing is almost impossible. I work hard to feed him at 12 hr intervals!! LOL
 
Are there days when you can run a full curve - testing every 2 hours for 12 hours? That might be beneficial in getting a general picture on how Skinny responds to insulin given your work schedule, keeping in mind that some kitties' cycles can vary greatly from day to day.
 
Amy,

Would getting the curve done at the Vet's office work for getting a good general idea? I've taken him for it a few times but never asked for the results. I can't see why they wouldn't provide me with the information. They know I'm now home testing.
 
There are two reasons to not do the curves at the vets' office:

1: A kitty's BGs tend to be skewed when they are under stress. Most often this means the BGs are higher than they normally would be, but there are some kitties, like my Trix, who tend to run low when under stress. So, curves at the vet's office usually aren't an accurate representation of what's really going on.

2: The other reason to not do it at the vet's office is because of the expense. Since you're testing at home, there is no reason to give the vetty all that money to run the same curve you can run at home yourself for way way less - and, since Skinny will be at home and not under the stress of being at the vet's office, the results will be far more accurate.

Also, even on days when you can't run full curves, I would strongly suggest you do gather as much data as you can when you're not at work. This will also help with filling in the gaps in figuring out how Skinny responds to insulin. Spot checks are very, very helpful.
 
I just tested Skinny and the number is 390 (370 plus 20) and I just fed him. . . question #1: do I test skinny again before I give him the night time 1 unit? question #2 should I always test after eating to see if he actually needs insulin?
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Here we nearly all use human meters so there is no need to add the extra 20 points to the number, just add them on when you show your vet the results.

How close to shot time did you test and feed? Unlike other insulins which are quicker acting, Lantus doesn't need food on board before you shoot. Usually we test, feed and shoot all within a few minutes, unless you think you need advice before shooting. In that case test, post for advice and DON'T feed if you think you will need to stall the shot. Food will raise the BG in about 20 minutes, feeding while stalling will raise the BG from food and you won't know if it was on the rise on it's own and safe to shoot.
 
Are you the kind of person who could wake up in the middle of the night, do a blood test, and go back to sleep? I get a lot of my tests that way.

I know it sounds kinda crazy but. . you get used to it :?
 
Amy has a good point, the expense of testing is in the strips, not the meter. The Relion Confirm or the Micro meters from Walmart is the same as the Arkray Glucocard 01from ADW. You can use the strips from the Arkray in the Relion (Walmart just rebrands it) and they are much cheaper on ADW, about $14 compared to $20 at Walmart. Be careful, because Walmart has other "Relion" meters and the strips are not interchangeable. You need the Confirm or the Micro meter. There is also a good meter from Target. They call it the Up & Up, it is the same as the AgaMatrix Wavesense Presto on ADW. You can get strips for that for about $10.50 a box. There are deals for free to very low cost meters on both brands at ADW.

Compare that to the One Touch Ultra strips on ADW for $76.99. Many of us order from ADW because they are about the cheapest around for strips.
 
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