New Member - First Day Testing BG

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AZKris

AZKris

Member Since 2021
Our girl, Callie, was diagnosed last week. Her BG at the vet was 398. The vet prescribed 1U of Lantus, twice daily plus switching to rx DM food (wet and dry). I ordered some, but after researching that it's not good stuff, canceled the order and started with canned pate only. Vet also said only twice day feedings, which according to what I've read is unnecessary with Lantus - and impossible with Callie. I've been doing 4 meals a day and she seems fine with it. I had a slow start with ear pricks, but finally got a successful one today (magical rice sock trick!). The first one seemed like a scary 56. She didn't have any signs of being in distress and it was time for a snack, so I fed her and checked again 3 hours later. This time it was 82. I wish I'd done some deeper research, before starting her on Lantus because initial readings make it look like maybe a diet change is all she needed. If I test again before her dinner and the reading is still low, do I skip or reduce?
 
Hi!

I'm not an expert but did your vet run a fructosamine test which gives you a look glucose levels over the past 2 weeks. BG at the vet alone is not reliable as your kitty was under stress.

Also, IMHO 1u is a bit high to start.
 
Thanks for your reply!

I just looked at the lab results and don't see fructosamine listed. Would it be called anything else?
 
AZKris said:
Thanks for your reply!

I just looked at the lab results and don't see fructosamine listed. Would it be called anything else?
Click to expand...

I think it's just fructosamine, and it costs extra to run the test.

Please make sure to hold the food for 2 hours, test, and then decide if you should give insulin. If the number is still low, go here and start a new thread with title like "stalling, need help!".

Considering Callie's numbers seem pretty good, I would lower the dose or even skip. But again I'm a newbie as well. Best of luck!!!
 
Hi there and welcome, I'm so glad to see you were able to start testing. What type of meter are you using? Is it a pet meter, or a human meter? I'm also wondering about the diagnosis, were you seeing symptoms of diabetes which brought you in to the vet's or was the diagnosis just done at a regular vet visit? We have seen cats have stress-induced hyperglycemia which increases the BG levels at time of visit, but the cat isn't actually diabetic. It might be worth getting a copy of all the labs that they ran, since there are other indicators, like glucose in urine, which would be important in diagnosing diabetes, as well as a fructosamine test. The fructosamine would be a separate test, sent out to Idexx.

Most of us find that mini-meals throughout the day work the best.

It may be that a change to wet food only is all that Callie needed if she is indeed diabetic. It may be better to skip until you get a feel for how the diet change is affecting her BG levels, which is what I would suggest, as long as Callie didn't have ketones at time of diagnosis.
 
Hi! Human Meter (Contour Next EZ). She was really hungry and thirsty for a week and it took almost a week to get a vet appt. We had also noticed litter stuck to her "pants" (long-haired Maine Coon) for a few weeks. She peed outside her litter box once and it was sticky when I found it. I have the lab results and they didn't run a fructosamine test (ketones were negative) - the vet just ordered a senior panel.

Thanks for your advice!
 
Thanks for the additional information, that makes me feel a bit better that she didn't have ketones at diagnosis. Being a Maine Coon, I suspect she's got some good weight :D, so 1u is actually not a bad starting point, although with one of the dosing methods we follow here, it is suggested to start at 0.5u if you have switched to wet food in combination with starting insulin. Was Callie on dry food previously before diagnosis?

There is a lot of info to process, we can help with any questions. Here is a good info section for new members:

New? How You can Help Us Help You

Since you are just starting out and with no history of ketones, I wouldn't give any insulin if you get a preshot under 200.

Do you have the U100 3/10 cc insulin syringes with half unit markings? Since you tested and got 56 today, and just recently started insulin, I just want to make sure you are using the right syringes, it has happened that people ended up getting the wrong ones. Also, can you post a pic of what your 1u looks like please? It should be a very small amount. Approximate how many hours after her shot did you get the 56?

See here for some additional info, including pics of correct scales on U100 3/10 cc syringes.

https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB...info-proper-handling-drawing-fine-dosing.151/
 
Nope, she's not overweight at all - the vet made a point to tell us that she's got "more of a dog diabetes (more like our Type I)." Yes, she was a kibble junkie. I've been impressed with how easily she transitioned to all wet. She used to have it once a day and rarely finished it - she used to be more of an all day nibbler.

Yes, using the correct syringes with half unit markings and I've been filling to the first unit line exactly - with readers on, of course! The vet prescribed wet and dry, but I made the decision to go all wet only. Wish I'd known to tell the vet - maybe we would have started lower. Or, not at all!
 
Sorry, didn't mean over weight, just that being a Maine Coon, she'll likely be heavier than a typical female, what is her weight then?

Great, just wanted to make sure. Lantus is dosed based on how low the dose is taking the kitty, so my suggestion is to try and continue with tests, so you can get a better idea of how the dose is working.

How far away are you from this evening's preshot? As I mentioned before, for the time being, if preshot is lower than 200, don't give any insulin. It might be interesting to see where she is at without insulin tonight, if you can test once before bed. Then see where she is at tomorrow morning. With that 56, I'm going to suggest you use those fancy readers, and drop her dose down to 0.75u tomorrow, if she is above 200.

Part of being able to help with dose advice going forward for people will be to have you set up a spreadsheet for Callie. There are instructions in the info I shared, but here is a direct link as well to help get you started.

How to create a spreadsheet

There's more, but I feel like I have flooded you already :). Questions?
 
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