New data for Copper. What meters are you using?

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owlgal

owlgal

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Copper didn't do well today. Not enough insulin.


https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub ... utput=html

Also, what meters are you all using? I am using freestyle freedom lite. I am comparing to alpha meter from vet which is supposed to me more accurate and is always running 100pts more than my freestyle meter. Just wondered what meters you are all using?

Lori
 
Hi Lori:
We use the FreeStyle Lite meter with the newer wicking strips. It’s a great meter I think. We have an AlphaTrak as backup since that meter was such a pain to use (took so much blood, no wicking strips) and it was super expensive for the strips.
It does indeed read a tiny bit higher than the FreeStyle (we never had a 100 point difference!) but our vet and everyone here says just pick a meter and stick with it. And we test often so had to go with something more economical.
 
I don't why it is reading so much higher. It bothers me. Wondering if he really is in the 300+. The local vet says it is so much more accurate than the human meter. The 100 point difference is so great.

Oh well, thanks for the input. I'm praying i have a better night. I was so worried last night. better today. I just want him to heal and get better so he doesn't have to be on insulin his whole life. Any OTJ stories out there?

Lori
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub ... utput=html
 
I have an "almost" OTJ story!! Beauregard hasn't had insulin since Oct 20, but I'm still trying to bring his numbers down a little more with some diet control (going for ~3% carbs eventually), and we take changes to his diet very, very slowly (see his profile for more info on that). I also use an AlphaTrak, and am very comfortable with the numbers, but not necessarily the cost! My vet indicated that in the higher ranges, the readings tend to be higher, but on the lower end, they tend to be truer - a sliding scale - but she didn't venture to guess what the scale might be. A couple of times Boo tested in the 30s - if we used the subtract 30 assumption, he'd have been at a 1 one time and a 6 another time - and should have been in a coma but he was quite OK! At any rate, since it's the only meter I've used, I'm sticking with it. Most of Boo's numbers are in the blue, but if we do the standard FDMB adjustment for AlphaTrak (subtracting 30), they would be mostly greens.

I would also add that Boo's BG seems to have come under control very, very quickly, particularly after removing all dry food. He seems especially sensitive to corn and wheat.
 
Lori,
I use a relion micro, since the strips are pretty cheap. I ran side by side tests at the vet's against their alpah track twice. 30 points lower on mine both times. So I always kept that in mind when I read Bob's numbrers. And that was with BGs in the 300+ range. I believe it is correct that the lower the reading, the less margin of error too. But a 100 point margin is pretty drastic.

What Donna said is true though. You have to pick a meter and stick with it. Otherwise you'll drive yourself insane, because all it does is fill your head with doubt. I wonder what sort of reading you would get on the alpha track if you were to test him at home.... someone did that, don't remember who. The vet let her borrow the meter for a couple days.

Bob's OTJ story - He was dx'd the beginning of May, BG in the upper 300's. I learned how to home test the next day, and ordered the insulin. It took 2 days to get to me. The day I got it (before the mail came), I had to bring Bob in to the vet. Extreme dehydration, difficulty moving at all, cried all night and half the day. He had a BG of 550ish, and ketones. Dx'd "DKA". He spent 3 days in emergency care, and almost didn't make it. So around the 2nd week of May, I began testing and shooting insulin, 1u BID. Within 4-5 weeks he was up to 4u BID. That's about the time I joined the FDMB and started reading like crazy. I rarely posted, but sure did learn a lot. Over the course of the next 5 weeks, I gradually reduced his dose, and his numbers improved pretty quickly. On July 19th, he got his last shot of PZI (.25u), and I kept testing him every day, twice a day, for 2 weeks. I then proclaimed him "OTJ"! For all but the first week of treatment (when he ate Hills M/D wet and dry that the vet prescribed), he's been eating Fancy Feast classics, with an occasional spoonful of Mullet's Friskees pates. And I test him 3 or 4 times a month, just to reassure myself that he's still okay. The highest number I have seen is a 69 I think.
Tomorrow morning, he's got his first vet visit in two months to go to. Time for the annual checkup and vaccinations. I'm poking his ear tonight, just so I don't get any surprises in the morning!

Carl
 
Lori,
Today's curve is a classic example of an "inverse curve", although not too drastic. Inverse curves usually indicate that the dose is too high. I am hoping that Robin sees this tonight, she's really good with interpreting numbers. If his PMPS is lower than his +7, that'd look like a "frown" instead of a "smile".
I am sure some of the other PZI ladies can verify the shape and what it indicates too. This might mean he actually needs a reduced dose rather than an increase.

Carl
 
I'm using the Relion Confirm from Wal Mart & love it. They sell the same one (I think it's called a Glucocard 01?) on American Diabetes Wholesale website & the strips are even cheaper on there than Wal Mart. I just discovered that site through a post on the board.
 
Does this curve mean i gave too much last night or this am? I am following what Dr. Lisa P told me to do. I'm in constant talk with her concerning copper's case. I'm a mess over this. I don't want to give too much at all. I'm afraid that mly meter is not right. The 100 pt difference in alpha track is a big difference. I am hometesting with the alpha track. About to test the pmps. Will let you know before i shoot.

lori
 
I use the Accu Check Aviva and love it. Even bought a second one as a backup.
 
Every meter, including the alpha track, has a "margin of error". At best, this curve is a flat one. It may be "inverse".
Judging by how low he has gone on a 1u dose so far - which is not drastically low or "not-safe" low, you can stick with 1 unit tonight.
Lori, it just hasn't been long enough collecting data for a definite pattern to emerge. When we advise people to change a dose, or start a dose, we usually tell them to stick with it for 4-5 days at least, so that we can hopefully see a pattern that makes sense to us.
Right now, the only "pattern" I see is that the cycles for two days have been flat. It may take a couple more days to tell. If we see nothing but "flat" and "inverse" after 2 or 3 more days, then it would seem that the dose needs to be adjusted.

I am not trying to stress you out or worry you. But there are no quick answers or fixes with this dance. Patience, although difficult, is a definite requirement.

You can stick with 1u. His numbers are NOT bad. They are just above normal, and below dangerous for sure. A couple more days on 1u is NOT going to hurt him.

Carl
 
Just to clear things up. I am using the freestyle freedom lite for my hometesting and only using the alpha track for comparison at home. That might of been confusing that i was using the alpha track for my posting data.

I know that Copper is in good hands right now with Dr. P advising on what dosage to give. I will keep you updated.

Lori and Copper
 
I agree with Carl; I would consider this more likely flat.than inverse & maybe just new dose wonkiness. I'd stick with 1 u for a few days, maybe curve over the weekend, and then go from there.

I also use relion confirm-cheapest strips with the benefit.of easy and.quick to get when running low.
 
Your curve looks more inverse than flat to me. But flat/inverse it still looks like too much insulin.

I'll agree and say go with 1 unit and get a curve this weekend if you can and that will give us a better picture of what is going on with Copper.

Hang in there, this dance does get easier.
 
Tomorrow morning, he's got his first vet visit in two months to go to. Time for the annual checkup and vaccinations. I'm poking his ear tonight, just so I don't get any surprises in the morning!

Carl
Click to expand...

Yeah, so nervous like every time, I get out the meter, Bob comes running. Embarrassed to say it took me three tries to get blood (no longer expert with 33g lancets free hand I suppose).
So yeah, Bob's +2908 (yes, I'm a geek, I did the math!).................................. 53. Shrimp time!
Whew.
Carl
 
lol, and he may have been lower, but I stressed him out with 3 pokes!
Don't be jealous. I'm just lucky. You're having to work at it a lot harder than me and Bob did. It'll be that much sweeter for you when Cass gets there! Or un-sweet actually ;-)

Carl
 
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