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qtlady77

Member Since 2014
Hello everyone,

I'm not really new to the diabetic cat world, as my cat, Toby, was diagnosed 2 and a half years ago. He is 11.5 years old and weighs about 15 pounds. I went along with my vet's recommendation to have glucose curves every 2 weeks at first, to every month, to more extended periods of time. We have been on 3u/2xday for many months now (we use the Humulin-N from Walmart). He had a glucose curve last week and the vet recommended that I purchase a home test system and start monitoring at home. He eats Hills Prescription Diet m/d and has the entire time. Since we have not been home testing, we don't really know his numbers, unless he has a curve done. We know that he started in the high 300's and this past testing indicated that he was at 142 before food and insulin and maintained at 145 through the entire day, and this was with him eating less than half his food.

We have an appointment this Sat morning to discuss these next steps and for them to show us how to test. They want us to purchase the Alphatrak monitor, which thru research I have discovered is now Alphatrak2. They did say we could purchase them online, so at least they aren't forcing us to purchase from them. I have read through various posts on this forum about the use of a human monitor, so I'm leaning toward probably going this route, but we are still trying to understand and research. I'm assuming we would be testing before he eats or has insulin, as that would make the most sense to me.

I found the link to the spreadsheet that you all use, so this is a great resource- thank you! I will continue to read through posts but just wanted to introduce ourselves!

Thanks!
Gwenn
 
Those are good numbers even while eating Hills which is high in carbs. You know you could get his glucose to drop about 100 points by switching to wet low carb food like Fancy Feast or Friskies. Just be careful because his insulin needs will drop dramatically, so make sure you're home testing before you make the food switch if you choose to do so. Many kitties go into remission by using a good insulin, wet low carb food, and home testing. Dusty did it! :-D
 
Hello Gwenn,

I would go right to Walmart and get one of the Relion meters, that's what most people here use, I think the Relion Prime or Confirm. Those AlphaTrak test strips are so expensive most people can not afford them. I think you can get about 50 test strips for the Relion for about $9.

Terri
 
Walmart suggested meters:

ReliOn brand 'Confirm' or 'Micro' meter - about $16
Strips that fit Confirm and Micro/50 strips - $20

They also have a couple of other meters but when you're first starting, these 2 meters take a very small drop of blood making it a lot easier to test. The ReliOn Prime is about the same price, strips are 50/$9 but it takes almost twice the blood drop.

WELCOME!
 
Thank you for all the great advice! We already go to Walmart for his syringes and insulin, so I'm pretty sure I'll be adding the monitor and strips! Do you also buy the lancets there or get them online?

I found the other links where the difference between human and pet monitors is calculated. So basically, whatever I get on the human monitor would be 30% different on the pet one?
 
You can get lancets there or online. I usually just went there to keep it simple but if you find a better deal online, go for it!

I believe 30% is the difference. There's a chart floating around with this info. I'll try to find it later when I'm not on my phone if no one else posts it. Basically, the important thing is interpreting what the numbers mean on different meters. The chart BJ has will tell you how to interpret numbers on any meter.
 
We suggest using an inexpensive human glucometer with pet-specific reference numbers (below). One many of us use is the WallMart Relion Confirm, or Confirm Micro, which is also sold at American Diabetes Wholesale as as the Arkray USA Glucocard 01 or 01 Mini (same manufacturer - Arkray USA). It uses a tiny blood droplet and the cost is significantly lower for test strips (like $0.36 each).

Comparing a human glucometer to a pet-specific glucometer is like reading temperature in Celsius vs Fahrenheit. Both are correct. You just need to know the reference ranges to interpret what the numbers mean.

[Glucose reference ranges are unsubstantiated and have been removed by Moderator]


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *​
Examples of using the chart:

Ex. You are a new insulin user and you test your cat before giving insulin. The test is 300. It probably is safe to give insulin.

Ex. You are an established user of Lantus, following the Tight Regulation protocol. You've tested around +5 to +7 to spot the nadir. It is 200 mg/dL. You probably need to increase the dose, following the instructions for the protocol.

Ex. Your cat is acting funny. The eyes are a bit dilated. You are concerned and test the glucose. The number is 35 mg/dL. ACK! The cat may be in a hypoglycemic state. You quickly follow the HYPO protocol linked in the glucose reference values chart. (which we really, really, suggest you print out and post on your refrigerator.)
 
Shopping list!

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

Is the M/d wet or dry? Even the wet is too high for diabetic cats if your goal is good regulation or remission. Once you are home testing I would look at changing the food to something lower carb like many of us feed such as Wellness grain free, Friskies pates or Fancy feast classic pates.

Wendy
 
He is eating the m/d dry. And once I have this testing under my belt, I will definitely be looking into buying different food.
 
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