Insulin increase?

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Rachel

Rachel

Member Since 2013
Do I brought Gypsy to the vet. Her glucose was 307 2 hours after insulin shot and 297 6 hours after. The vet said I should increase by half a unit. We've been doing 2 units twice a day, now 2 and a half. Thoughts? Advice?

I want to start hind testing. I heard the relion meter is good? Are there different types? Any advice on this?
 
Do you mean home testing?

Heres some tips and a shopping list!
Tips for home testing: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13c_CPZVKz27fD_6aVbsguadJKvjSrSAkD7flgPPhEag/pub

Getting started shopping list
1. Meter ie Walmart Relion Confirm or Micro.
2. Matching strips
3. Lancets - little sticks to poke the ear to get blood . new members usually start with a larger gauge lancet such as 28g or 29g until the ear learns to bleed. Optional - lancing tool.
4. Cotton balls to stem the blood
5. Neosporin or Polysporin ointment with pain relief to heal the wound
6. Mini flashlight (optional) - useful to help see the ear veins in dark cats, and to press against
7. Ketone urine test strips ie ketodiastix - Important to check ketones when blood is high
8. Sharps container - to dispose of waste syringes and lancets.
9. Treats for the cat - like freeze dried chicken
10. Karo syrup/corn syrup or honey if you dont have it at home - for hypo emergencies to bring blood sugar up fast
11. A couple of cans of fancy feast gravy lovers or other high carb gravy food- for hypo emergencies to bring blood sugar up fast


One day of data (especially at the vet) isnt that accurate as he could be stressed which inflates the blood sugar, or he could be bouncing where he was in fact low a day or so ago and now his blood is high as a panicked response to that low. Anyway blood testing at home is the way to discover if thats the reason..
Wendy
 
I did mean home testing. Yay autocorrect. Thanks! I'll go get the meter and other things this week. I really appreciate you and this board. It's such a relief to have people to talk to while I figure this all out!
 
Thats why we are here - grab the kit and let us know when you have it and we can go help from there too. Some cats are easier than others so dont be stressed if you cant do it at first - just make sure you give a treat.

While you are waiting on getting the kit you can prepare him for testing. Spend 3-4 times a day rubbing his ears and giving him a treat. Get him used to it.

Wendy
 
Hello Rachel and welcome to the FDMB!!

What are you feeding Gypsy? Switching over to a low carb wet food diet can help with controlling her diabetes. Some cats can even get off insulin completely after getting on low carb foods.

Here's a list of pretty much any food you could buy and the carb percentages (Column C). Dr. Pierson's Food Chart

You want to look for foods that are under 10% carbs, however, since you're already giving insulin, if you change foods, you'll want to do it gradually and learn how to home test. Getting the foods to under 10% can drop the BG numbers 100 points, so you don't want to just switch from something higher since that could result in a hypo.

Good luck to you and Gypsy!
 
Hello Rachel and Gypsy!

I prefer the Relion Confirm or Micro meter because it needs a small 0.3 microliter drop of blood to test. Much easier for people new to home testing. The Relion Prime meter needs 0.5 microliter blood drop. Doesn't seem like much difference, but until your cats ears 'learn to bleed', it can be tricky to get enough blood.

Test strips for the Confirm/Micro are ~$36/100 and test strips for the Prime are $18/100. So, something else to consider.
 
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