Meter Help!

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Islandmomma

Islandmomma

Member Since 2016
Glen has been on lantus since Thursday. He spent the day at the vet for his first dose. I also sent his meter (Freestyle lite) to the vet with him so they could check with their Alphatrak and my Freestyle Lite.

I picked him up after work and have been checking his sugars at home since. He is on Lantus 2u BID.

When I picked him up they said my meter was way off of their meter. So I picked up a Onetouch Ultra2 on my way to pick him up. I wanted to check his sugar one more time with their meter before I left. However, glen was less then cooperative and I couldn't get a sample.

I gave glen his 2 u on Thursday evening.

Friday I checked him and his sugars were around 7.0 (insert fist pump!)

But on December 24 he dipped as low as 3.1. He didn't seem to eat as much so I cut his lantus in half for 2 doses. The next day he ran as high as 24.2 to as low as 14.2. I gave him the 2 units last night, December 25. Today his sugars have been around 20.9.

When I got the 20.9 on the Onetouch I decided to check him with the Freestyle off the same sample and I got 13.1. I am so confused I don't know what is right! I even took the meters to the pharmacy and used their control solution and both were in range.

Help! How do I know what is right?
 
Hi. Welcome. What is your name? It's great that you are testing. Using different meters will drive you crazy. Stick with the One Touch. I found it to be very reliable although most of the time used a Relion Micro as I could get strips cheaper. It also requires less blood. Meters can be off by upnto 20% high or low and there is no way to know. So if one is reading high and the other low you might get very different readings. When in lower numbers the variance isn't as great and that is what we need to know.

I have two suggestions. Start a google spreadsheet. All you need is a google account and the directions are in a sticky at tech support. I am not great with computers so someone set one up for me. If you need help just holler. Second, start posting a condo each day on the lantus forum. You will get lots of experienced eyes on how Glen is doing. Some long timers read here but lots more are there.
 
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There are too many variables going on right now - two different meters and two different Lantus doses.

Meter:
Choose the one you like best and stick with it. You'll learn over time how it reads - what too low is especially. The people in the Lantus forum will help you with that because most of them use human meters.

Insulin Dose:
  • Sometimes the first dose recommended by the vet after kitty has spent the day there is too high. It's a stressful environment and that can raise kitty's BG so that the vet ends up recommending too high a dose of insulin.
  • The Lantus forum people can give you good advice about dosing. I expect they'll tell you that 1 unit BID is recommended to start.
  • A Lantus dose must be held 5 to 7 days at first to build up the insulin depot (think of it like a time release medication). You can't increase and decrease doses within a few days of starting this insulin.
 
tiffmaxee said:
Hi. Welcome. What is your name? It's great that you are testing. Using different meters will drive you crazy. Stick with the One Touch. I found it to be very reliable although most of the time used a Relion Micro as I could get strips cheaper. It also requires less blood. Meters can be off by upnto 20% high or low and there is no way to know. So if one is reading high and the other low you might get very different readings. When in lower numbers the variance isn't as great and that is what we need to know.

I have two suggestions. Start a google spreadsheet. All you need is a google account and the directions are in a sticky at tech support. I am not great with computers so someone set one up for me. If you need help just holler. Second, start posting a condo each day on the lantus forum. You will get lots of experienced eyes on how Glen is doing. Some long timers read here but lots more are there.
Click to expand...

Hi I'm Tammy!
I just created a spreadsheet! I hope it works ok! Sorry what is a condo?
 
Islandmomma said:
I hope it works ok!
Click to expand...

Works fine!!

The one thing I see is that you're not getting any tests on the PM cycle.....most cats go lower at night, so it's important to get at least a "before bed" test on the PM cycle to make sure they're safe and so you're not missing half your data on what Glen is doing!!

We also don't ever do increases in whole units (like going from 1 unit to 2 units)....insulin is a very powerful hormone. We only increase in .25 unit increments and then test to see how they do for at least 3 days before considering increasing.

Too much insulin can look like too little....It forces them too low and then their liver reacts by releasing stored sugars and hormones to bring them back up fast (we call it "bouncing").....they can also bounce from dropping too fast and just from dropping into numbers their body isn't used to anymore.

Lantus also craves consistency, so it's important to give the same dose both morning and night (again, for at least 3 days)....unless they drop below 50 (on a human meter) in which case they "earn" a reduction in dose.

Would you please add that you're using Lantus and a human meter into your signature? It helps to have all that information in one place so we don't have to keep asking or go back and read everything you've posted. If you look below my comment, you'll see I have all our "pertinent" information there so it's easy to see

And Welcome to the FDMB too!!! I agree you should move over to the Lantus forum soon so you'll get the benefit of lots of experienced people watching out for you and Glen!!
 
Chris & China said:
Works fine!!

The one thing I see is that you're not getting any tests on the PM cycle.....most cats go lower at night, so it's important to get at least a "before bed" test on the PM cycle to make sure they're safe and so you're not missing half your data on what Glen is doing!!

We also don't ever do increases in whole units (like going from 1 unit to 2 units)....insulin is a very powerful hormone. We only increase in .25 unit increments and then test to see how they do for at least 3 days before considering increasing.

Too much insulin can look like too little....It forces them too low and then their liver reacts by releasing stored sugars and hormones to bring them back up fast (we call it "bouncing").....they can also bounce from dropping too fast and just from dropping into numbers their body isn't used to anymore.

Lantus also craves consistency, so it's important to give the same dose both morning and night (again, for at least 3 days)....unless they drop below 50 (on a human meter) in which case they "earn" a reduction in dose.

Would you please add that you're using Lantus and a human meter into your signature? It helps to have all that information in one place so we don't have to keep asking or go back and read everything you've posted. If you look below my comment, you'll see I have all our "pertinent" information there so it's easy to see

And Welcome to the FDMB too!!! I agree you should move over to the Lantus forum soon so you'll get the benefit of lots of experienced people watching out for you and Glen!!
Click to expand...

Thank you! I fixed my signature!

Ugh, my vet told me to drop his insulin by half if he didn't eat that much. I thought I was doing the right thing :(
 
Islandmomma said:
Ugh, my vet told me to drop his insulin by half if he didn't eat that much. I thought I was doing the right thing
Click to expand...

Most vets don't know how to treat diabetic cats.....they see a lot more diabetic dogs than cats

The sad truth is that they only get about 5 hours of "formal" training on diabetes when they're in school (and that covers all species!!)....so unless they have a particular interest in feline diabetes, they don't get much in the way of continuing education on the latest treatments. That's why the people here are so great....we have nothing but time to research the latest treatments and we have lots of real life experience in what works and what doesn't

There's actually a "starting dose" for lantus that's based on how much they weigh

Do you have a weight on Glen? And is he overweight, underweight or about right?
 
Chris & China said:
Most vets don't know how to treat diabetic cats.....they see a lot more diabetic dogs than cats

The sad truth is that they only get about 5 hours of "formal" training on diabetes when they're in school (and that covers all species!!)....so unless they have a particular interest in feline diabetes, they don't get much in the way of continuing education on the latest treatments. That's why the people here are so great....we have nothing but time to research the latest treatments and we have lots of real life experience in what works and what doesn't

There's actually a "starting dose" for lantus that's based on how much they weigh

Do you have a weight on Glen? And is he overweight, underweight or about right?
Click to expand...

Well that is concerning!

Glen is 7.3kg (16 lbs). The vet says he should be about 4.3kg.
 
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