I do test at home with a Bayer EZ Contour meter twice a day, her counts range from 15-24, and the vet had said that anything above a 7 requires an insulin shot. I notice alot of people posting numbers in the 100's so I am assuming that this meter I have converts it differently. She has been on 2.5 units for about 4 months, started at 2 units in July of 2015 when she was diagnosed. She was not a heavy cat ever, and I was shocked when this all happened to her. She is a tall and long build of a cat. I have not had her weighed since January, I am noticing when I look at her that her weight is definately down. The last time I had her weighed I believe she was at just around 4.8 or 5 lbs. I feed her just over half a can of diabetic Hills DM cat food twice a day. Hope this is enough info...
Hi Patricia,
The reason you're seeing people talking about numbers in the 100's is because the United States uses a different measurement of blood glucose than we do internationally - they use mg/dL, while we use mmol/L. That is why you're seeing a significant difference in your numbers compared to much of what's talked about on this site. If you're interested in comparing, you can multiply your blood glucose results by 18 to get your result in mg/dL.
I want to mention that I don't have as much experience as others here, but one thing that jumps out at me is the blood glucose range you posted - those numbers look high, especially that 24. Numbers that high would mean to me that, while Kitty is getting regular insulin, her blood sugar is not well regulated on her current dose of Lantus, which could account for her weight loss. Insulin allows the body to use glucose for energy, so when we see high blood sugar numbers, it means the body isn't using up that glucose - this can lead to weight loss, despite being fed what should be enough food.
Do you ever do any additional blood sugar tests on Kitty? Lantus dosing is mostly based on how low it takes a cat's blood sugar during a 12 hour period (lowest point = nadir). Nadir is generally around the mid-point in the cycle (5-7 hours after giving insulin), but can be earlier or later that that as every cat is different. Those mid-cycle tests will help you figure out how the insulin is working and allow others here to help you find the optimal dose for your kitty. I don't give dosing advice at all, so I'd rather leave that to more experienced people.
It may help you to post over on the Lantus board - there are many very knowledgable people over there who will be able to give you a hand.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/lantus-glargine-levemir-detemir.9/ If you do make a post over there, it would help to include a link back to this post so that people can get an idea of what's going on.
In the meantime, hopefully bumping this up will get some additional eyes on things.
