need clarification on glucose testing

[kidsandliz]

Thanks to a wonderful person on this forum I was given her glucose meter that she (very, very unfortunately) no longer needs. I am a little confused over the glucose testing with respect to my cat eating. Am I supposed to keep him from food (I have more than one cat and only one room so this will not be easy, one of my cats is also old and losing weight and a nibbler who needs to have access all the time) all day or let him eat as he usually does when I test his glucose levels?

He was started on 3 units of Lantus once a day, after the vet did a glucose curve (he dropped only to 213 down from 480 or 465 or something like that - don't have the paper in front of me) so she upped him to 5 units once a day. Someone reminded me that stress at the vet can knock those levels up. So far he has been doing OK on 5 units but I have not tested his glucose yet.

Thanks

 

[BJM]

Testing:
1) Always test before giving insulin to make sure it is safe. This is before feeding.
For now, your no shot level is 200 mg/dL on a human glucometer (230 for pet-specific); this will lower as you collect data around the middle of the cycle to know how low he is going.

2) Mid-cycle tests between shots - whenever possible, test around the nadir (lowest glucose level between shots) for your insulin, to see how low he's going. For Lantus, this often falls between +5 to +7 hours after the shot. Some folks do this on weekends or set a clock for the middle of the night to get this test done as it helps determine dose adjustments. This number should be at or above 50 mg/dL on a human glucometer (68 mg/dL for pet-specific).

3) a before bed test is helpful in determining if you need to break out some higher carb food and steer the glucose level or go to bed with some peace of mind. Steering means giving 1-2 teaspoons of high carb gravy, waiting 30 minutes, and re-testing (repeating as needed) to make sure the glucose stays above 50 mg/dL.

It is OK to let him graze normally. Picking up the food about 2 hours before the evening test will let you see a number uninfluenced by food.

 

[kidsandliz]

Thanks for the info.

So I just tested him now 6 hours and 50 min after he got 5 units of Lantus and his glucose is 116. I need to get faster at messing with his ear for him to tolerate this without trying to rub his paw against his ear or decide he has had enough LOL.

So clearly I need to test tomorrow over time to see what it does over time - or should I test it again in a couple of hours today? AND should I with hold food all day to see what it does without him eating except when he got his shot?

So then how do I transition him to 2 shots a day? Just start the next day with 2 at half dose? Or should I track him for one day at full dose letting him eat as usual before transitioning him to one shot a day?

 

[BJM]

Starting tomorrow with half the dose every 12 hours would be fine. It takes about 3-5 days of consistent dosing to get an established pattern going. Then, do a curve by testing from pre-shot to pre-shot, every 2 hours.

Let him graze as he usually does, just pick up the food 2 hours before the evening shot.