New here! Help with human glucometer

[jackson_avery16]

Hello, my cat, Jackson, was diagnosed with diabetes. He started off with 2 units of insulin twice a day. After a glucose curve at the vet they suggested he go up to 3 units twice a day.

I bought the relion human glucometer to test his glucose levels at home. The vet was way too expensive. Where can I find resources on how to use this one on a cat and what to look for, what to track, and how to adjust his units accordingly?

Note: he seems to not be as, say, stealthy when he walks and jumps lately.

 

[squeem3]

It's basically the same as for a Human: use the lancet device to get a drop of blood, apply the drop of blood to the test strip, let the meter give you a reading.

With a cat, most people use the edge of the ear. A few use a paw pad.

Hometesting Links and Tips

You'll want to keep track of your cat's numbers. This board recommends a Google based spreadsheet so that members can view it and offer advice and you can share it with the vet. Instructions: https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/

What is the name of the insulin your cat is on? 2 units twice a day is a pretty big dose for most cats to start with. Insulin can pack a punch. This board recommends starting at no more than 1 unit twice a day and increasing no more than 0.25 units at a time based on a curve or anytime numbers drop too low.

Always test before giving insulin. You need to know what the blood glucose level is and if it's at a safe enough level for insulin to be given. Normal cat levels are roughly 60 to 150 mg/dl. Newbies are advised to not give insulin if the level is under 150, at least in the beginning.

Hypoglycemia levels are under 60 and sometimes you see symptoms like staggering, excessive meowing, lethargy. Print these out so you can treat a hypo episode quickly:

Sticky - How to treat HYPOS - THEY CAN KILL! Print this Out!!
Sticky - jojo and bunny's HYPO TOOL BOX

Diet is an important part of managing the diabetes just like it is for Human diabetics. What are you feeding your cat?

 

[jackson_avery16]

It's basically the same as for a Human: use the lancet device to get a drop of blood, apply the drop of blood to the test strip, let the meter give you a reading.

With a cat, most people use the edge of the ear. A few use a paw pad.

Hometesting Links and Tips

You'll want to keep track of your cat's numbers. This board recommends a Google based spreadsheet so that members can view it and offer advice and you can share it with the vet. Instructions: https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/

What is the name of the insulin your cat is on? 2 units twice a day is a pretty big dose for most cats to start with. Insulin can pack a punch. This board recommends starting at no more than 1 unit twice a day and increasing no more than 0.25 units at a time based on a curve or anytime numbers drop too low.

Always test before giving insulin. You need to know what the blood glucose level is and if it's at a safe enough level for insulin to be given. Normal cat levels are roughly 60 to 150 mg/dl. Newbies are advised to not give insulin if the level is under 150, at least in the beginning.

Hypoglycemia levels are under 60 and sometimes you see symptoms like staggering, excessive meowing, lethargy. Print these out so you can treat a hypo episode quickly:

Sticky - How to treat HYPOS - THEY CAN KILL! Print this Out!!
Sticky - jojo and bunny's HYPO TOOL BOX

Diet is an important part of managing the diabetes just like it is for Human diabetics. What are you feeding your cat?

Thank you so much for the quick response!

I am feeding him Hill's Prescription Diet m/d GlucoSupport Chicken Flavor Dry Cat Food.

Type of insulin: insulin glargine yfgn

It took me a while to figure out how to use the glucometer. His reading today seems high based on what i'm reading: 372 mg/dL

I am figuring out how to use the spreadsheet now. Any tips? Linked in Signature!

 

[squeem3]

You don't need the prescription food. There's nothing in it that helps a diabetic cat. You can safely ignore the vet about food. Vets don't get much education on nutrition and how it can affect health. The best diet to feed a diabetic cat is low carb canned food. Raw and home cooked are also options but canned food is easiest for most people The food charts are here:

Links to FOOD CHARTS
Glutenfree - Felinediabetes.com
Cat Food As-Fed Chart

Any food under 10% carbs is good. Do keep some higher carb food on hand to use in case of a hypo.

Freeze dried meat or fish treats are great.

BUT... don't go changing the diet just yet. Doing so may result in the 2 units of insulin being way too much and your cat may hypo. Go very slow with the diet change and closely monitor blood glucose levels.

How many hours after insulin was the 372? One number doesn't tell anything about how the insulin is working. Keep track of the daily numbers in the spreadsheet. AMPS is the morning (AM) pre-insulin blood glucose level. U is for units, the insulin dose given. The + numbers are hours. If you test 3 hours after insulin, you would enter that number in the +3 box for that date. PMPS is the evening (PM) pre-insulin level. And more + numbers for any nighttime blood glucose checks.

Don't worry about high numbers for now. With insulin and diet, you'll get those numbers down. Have patience.

Lantus is a good insulin choice. Read through the info stickies here to understand how Lantus works and which protocol would work for you: Lantus / Levemir / Biosimilars

Do you have half unit marked insulin syringes? Those are the most ideal ones to use because you can eyeball quarter unit and other small doses which cats need.

 

[jackson_avery16]

You don't need the prescription food. There's nothing in it that helps a diabetic cat. You can safely ignore the vet about food. Vets don't get much education on nutrition and how it can affect health. The best diet to feed a diabetic cat is low carb canned food. Raw and home cooked are also options but canned food is easiest for most people The food charts are here:

Links to FOOD CHARTS
Glutenfree - Felinediabetes.com
Cat Food As-Fed Chart

Any food under 10% carbs is good. Do keep some higher carb food on hand to use in case of a hypo.

Freeze dried meat or fish treats are great.

BUT... don't go changing the diet just yet. Doing so may result in the 2 units of insulin being way too much and your cat may hypo. Go very slow with the diet change and closely monitor blood glucose levels.

How many hours after insulin was the 372? One number doesn't tell anything about how the insulin is working. Keep track of the daily numbers in the spreadsheet. AMPS is the morning (AM) pre-insulin blood glucose level. U is for units, the insulin dose given. The + numbers are hours. If you test 3 hours after insulin, you would enter that number in the +3 box for that date. PMPS is the evening (PM) pre-insulin level. And more + numbers for any nighttime blood glucose checks.

Don't worry about high numbers for now. With insulin and diet, you'll get those numbers down. Have patience.

Lantus is a good insulin choice. Read through the info stickies here to understand how Lantus works and which protocol would work for you: Lantus / Levemir / Biosimilars

Do you have half unit marked insulin syringes? Those are the most ideal ones to use because you can eyeball quarter unit and other small doses which cats need.

Thank you for the food links! I'll let him finish the bag of prescription food for now and then transition him over to low carb canned food (will be an adjustment since he hates wet food and he's now 10 years old)

He's actually on 3 units not 2 units 2x per day.

The 372 reading was +8 hours after his morning dose.

Thank you for providing the lantus link re: protocols. So much to learn!

I have the u-100 insulin syringes. It doesn't look like they are half unit marked. I'll ask my pharmacist about them!

 

[Connie & Parker & Moonie]

Thank you for the food links! I'll let him finish the bag of prescription food for now and then transition him over to low carb canned food (will be an adjustment since he hates wet food and he's now 10 years old)

He's actually on 3 units not 2 units 2x per day.

The 372 reading was +8 hours after his morning dose.

Thank you for providing the lantus link re: protocols. So much to learn!

I have the u-100 insulin syringes. It doesn't look like they are half unit marked. I'll ask my pharmacist about them!

If he’s a kibble addict, when you’re ready to transition him over, you could also try nutritionally complete freeze dried proteins - Ziwi Air Dried and Feline Naturals are two options. They’re just freeze dried meat with vitamins so there shouldn’t be any carbs in them. But they have the crunch and texture of dry food. Wet food is still best for the hydration, but figured I’d mention this as an option in case helpful. Kitties can be stubborn.

Edit - you can also buy U-100 syringes with half markings on Chewy or Amazon without a prescription. For example - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009LTE0DO?tag=felinediabetesfdmb-20

 

[squeem3]

Some brands of half unit marked U100 syringes: 5/24/26 - New Member (Basil) - Lantus: How long to see any effects?

You can buy online if your pharmacy doesn't have any (or insist that half unit marked syringes don't exist and what you really want are 1/2cc syringes or 1/2 inch needles). Amazon doesn't require a prescription. Chewy and other sites may depending on what your state law is.

What the half unit markings look like:

Maybe you can slowly start adding canned food to the diet. Offer a spoonful if that's all your cat will eat (or not). Try toppers to make it more yummy. Transitioning your cat from dry to wet food