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[otismomma]

Hi my name is stephanie my kitty is a male named Otis he is 8 yrs old and was recently diagnosed. He is on prozinc U40 at 3.5 units every 12h.. he is not controlled as of yet..we started at 2.5u every 12 but went up yesterday to the 3.5u every 12 h...he has gained some weight as he had dropped significantly in weight before diagnosis. But his water drinking has not subsided and changing litter every 24 hours due to the urine output...
look forward to any extra advice..

OTIS MOMMA
Stephanie

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Welcome.

Most of us here test our cat's blood glucose at home using a human meter.
Here is a link to home testing blood sugar http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/
We test before each shot and periodically between shots. We record our reading and other info in a spreadsheet. See:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

What are you feeding? A low-carb canned is best. No reason for a prescription food. Here is a list of commercial low-carb canned
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/shortcut-shopping-list-all-8-or-less-updated.117688/

If y ohave any specific question please post in the Health forum

Also cold you edit the title of your post to remove the GA. GA means that a cat has passed (Guardian Angle, Gone Ahead)

 

[otismomma]

Thank you!!! Got it taken off....
Can you accurately test with human meter. .as a nurse I know they are metered differently...being a nurse and his symptoms is how we spotted a problem to begin with. His blood sugar. On day of diagnosis fasting was 485.
He has been on friskies wet and dry...we took him off dry and giving only wet now...

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Human meters usually read lower than pet meters because of the way that the meters measure blood glucose and because the distribution of glucose between the different blood constituents are different between humans and cats.

Blood Glucose Meter for Cats
Facts:
Blood has two constituents, the red and white blood cells and the liquid (serum). Blood plasma is blood serum without the clotting factor
The blood glucose value obtained via laboratory analysis is the glucose level in the serum/plasma constituents of blood
The glucose is in both the serum and red-blood cells (RBC) themselves. However, the distribution of glucose is different between humans and cats (and dog too)1
In Humans 58% is in plasma/serum and 42% in RBCs
In cats 93% is in plasma/serum and 7% in RBCs
In dogs 87.5 % in plasma/serum and 12.5% in RBCs.
The point-of-use blood glucose meters (the ones we use at home) all use whole blood.2 However, what specific blood glucose they measure varies with the manufacturer. Some manufacturers only measure the glucose in the serum/plasma. Others lyse (disrupt the cell walls of the RBCs) and thus mix the glucose that was in the RBC into the liquid and thus measure total glucose. The meters then correct/adjust the reading to be equivalent to human blood plasma
Discussion:
Since the glucose distribution is different n humans and cats/dogs the resulting BG valve obtained from the human meters will be different that lab values and animal-calibrated meters. Also, some manufacturer's meters will be much different that lab values for animals depending upon which method (lyse cells or only use plasma/serum) they use to measure glucose.

Animal calibrated meters correct the value to be equivalent to lab values.

What clouds any BGs obtained from hand-held meter is that they are only accurate to +/- 20 %. That includes the animal-calibrated meter. Also, do not confuse accuracy with reproducibility. It is expected that one meter with one lot of tests strips to be relatively repeatable, that is if you use the same drop of blood, you BG value will be much close than +/- 20%

References:
1 Different Species, Different Blood
http://www.vet-advantage.com/dsr_library/get_file.php?file_id=161
2. Glucose Meters: A Review of Technical Challenges to Obtaining Accurate Results
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2769957/

 

[BJM]

Yes, you can use a human glucometer for a cat, if you have cat-specific reference numbers, which we do in the methods described for each insulin.

When you have a moment, could you add a few tidbits to your signature? It will help us give you feedback.

Editing your Signature

In the upper right corner of the screen, within the dark blue bar, you will see ID, Inbox, and Alerts

Click on your ID.

On the left, under Settings, Click on Signature.
This is where you will put information that helps us give you feedback. You are limited to 2 hard returns, so separate pieces by | or -.
This is where you paste the link for your spreadsheet, once it is set up.
Add any other text, such as your name | cat's name | date of Dx (diagnosis) | insulin | meter general location (city and state/province) any other pertinent issues like if there are any food issues, history of DKA, hepatic lipidosis, pancreatitis, allergies, IBD, etc.

Click the Save Changes button at the bottom.