Is my glucometer right???

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J

JLFenton

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Hi, I'm new to the forum as my cat Sidney was diagnosed with FD a week and a half ago. Following the instructions of my vet, after 7 days of insulin treatment (1 unit after each meal twice a day) I was to start testing her glucose levels. This morning before food her reading showed 33, which of course was alarming. Seeing that I was a first time glucometer user I tested my other, non-diabetic, cats sugar. His said 28! So then I tested myself out of curiosity and mine said 54 (I ate bowl of cereal about an hour before my test). Those reading seem really low...All 3 of us have a low sugar reading?
I went out and bought a new box of strips to see if maybe I had a bad batch. I tested Sidney when I got home, her reading was 49, which would be about 2 hours after her insulin shot.

Does this sound right to my fellow cat caretakers?

By the way i'm using a Relion Ultima from wal-mart. After inserting the strip it read the lot 00000 number the manual said it should read. But I'm not convinced it's accurate...Or do I not have a solid grasp on reading glucose levels yet... :?:
 
Those reading definitely sound like something is not quite right. Is there any info with the meter about getting a control solution? I'd be tempted to go out and get a relion micro and a small box of strips to compare (the micro and strips are about the lowest cost options out there). The Relion Micro and Confirm use the same strips, while the Ultima uses a different strip.
If you get a reading of less than 200 on your diabetic kitty, at least at the start of treatment, you should not give insulin. I'm thinking that the meter is wonky, because if Sidney read 33, and you gave her 1 unit of insulin, she probably would have "crashed", becoming hypoglycemic, since the 33 is technically already below normal (50-120).
What were her numbers like when she was diagnosed?

Carl
 
Oh, and what type of insulin are you giving her?
And just to fill in the standard "new person" questions... :smile: , what type of food does Sidney eat?
Carl
 
Hi Carl, Sidneys initial reading at the vet was in the 440's. The next day it was 391, that was over a week ago. For the last week she's been eating 3 oz of Merrick or Wellness wet food twice a day. She has been receiving Lantus insulin.

There is a customer service number I can call to get some kind of control solution, but only available mon - fri. I'm tempted to just go buy another glucose meter, perhaps one that you mentioned.
 
yes, the relion micro or confirm work very well. call customer service and tell them the problem and they will send another meter. maybe they will send you one of the others if you ask. can also ask if they will replace the strips since wasted a bunch testing to check for accuracy. do not tell them it is for a cat
 
sure you could get another meter; it's always good to have a backup meter, plus spare batteries for your meters!

what are the numbers like when testing yourself? they are good? You just did the one test on each of the 3 of you, but it seems like you are all OK except Sidney who's too low.

The odd time, people get numbers that just seem wrong, so normally we just test again and the number's either fairly confirmed, or we get a number more like what we expected.

The numbers at the vet office were very likely much higher than normal due to stress, and it could be that the insulin dose is too high or not even needed!

I don't think I'd give more insulin on the off chance that the reading were all correct.
You could try another meter; I like the Bayer contour and also the OneTouch meters, or you could pick up one of the other Relion meters? Or you could get another fresh box of strips and see how it goes.

For sure keep an eye on Sidney as she may go lower when closer to mid-cycle.
 
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