Pls Help-New Diabetic Cat Mom- Is True Test BG Monitor Reliable?

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D Gilman

D Gilman

Member Since 2016
Hi, I am a new diabetic mom to a cat. vet diagnosed my cat to have diabetes. Started her dose at 1 unit 2x per day, then got her BG at the hospital visit this past tuesday. BG level using Alpha Trak was 400, so vet increased her dose to 2 units 2x per day. I got the True Result Blood Monitoring System on Amazon. Tested her today, her BG level is down to 63. she was 400 3 days ago. Can I trust this reading? Pls Help.
 
Glad you found your way here. Did you try the meter on yourself to see if your number is in reasonable range? Also, take another test on your cat.

What kind of insulin? What dose? How long after the shot was this number?
 
yes, I tried the meter on myself. got 87. my cat is on Lantus. 2 units 2x per day according to the vet. she tested 400 with an Alpha Trak just this past tuesday. i just gave her a swab of caro syrup in case she is really hypoglycemic at this point.
 
Glucose levels can raise at the vets because of stress. Something to keep in the back of your mind. Test before your next dose and let us know what you get.

BTW, welcome.
 
thank you. gave her the 2 unit Lantus shot at 6:15AM today. i think i should just skip tonight's 2 unit dose. better to be hyperglycemic than hypoglycemic. It's amazing sent the vet an email about 2 hours ago and still have not heard back.
 
The AlphaTrak meter will always read higher (there are very rare situations where this may not be true but only when dealing with very low numbers) so if you checked your cat with the AT meter, the reading should have been higher than the 63 you got on the human meter.
Unfortunately, BG readings taken at the vet's office are usually elevated due to stress, sometimes by 100 or even 200 points which results in the vet assuming the cat needs a lot more insulin than it does. You increased from 1u to 2u based on the vet's readings and that may be too much. If you can monitor tonight, perhaps you could decrease the dose to 1.25 or 1.5u instead of 2. We recommend small dose increases rather than full units so you don't skip over the best dose for your cat.
 
Hi, tested my cat again 5 minutes ago (6: 15 pm) and BG level using human meter is 120. i swabbed her mouth earlier (at 4:50pm) with Caro syrup because she was reading a 63. now it's dinner time and i am suppose giver her 2 units of Lantus insulin. should i skip, lessen the dose, any suggestions?
 
since she was released from the ICU - June 12 evening, so 13 days. so, do you mean don't give food or shots and wait 20-30 minutes then test again?
 
D Gilman said:
since she was released from the ICU - June 12 evening, so 13 days. so, do you mean don't give food or shots and wait 20-30 minutes then test again?
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Yes, don't give food and wait about 20 minutes to see if she came up. We just crossed posted did you see my post above to direct you to the Lantus and Levemir forum?


ETA no food or shot while you are stalling.
 
yes, i did. lots of info there. since my kit only arrived today with 10 lances and 10 strips, i have consumed 8, i decided to leave the 2 remaining for tomorrow and not give insulin tonight. the lances and strips i ordered should arrive by monday, then i can monitor more closely. i figure 120 BG level is not as alarming as 63 earlier today, then i can test and give her the insulin shot tomorrow AM at breakfast. any thoughts?
 
If you only have 2 strips to test, then yes I would skip the shot tonight. Are you able to get more strips tomorrow at a local retailer? 120 is not a bad number but it's likely that skipping the shot will mean you will see a much higher number in the morning. That said, if you cannot monitor and have never shot at that low a pre-shot (120), skipping is the safest thing to do.
 
Just checked your profile and see that your kitty had ketoacidosis. Do you have ketone test strips?
 
Good catch @Sharon14 . Do you have any AT strips available for testing? If so, I'd go with Bobbi's suggestion of 1u. With a history of ketoacidosis, skipping a shot may not be the best decision.
 
yes. i have keto diastiks. but i can't make her go to the bathroom. she was ketone negative as of this tuesday - june 21st. vet tested her during the hospital visit. does it come back that quickly, if i skip the insulin dosage tonight?
 
I've never dealt with DKA, so I'm not sure of the answer. I just know that one of the risk factors is not enough insulin. Is she eating well?
 
The problem with ketones and urine sticks is that it takes a day or so for ketones to show up in the urine when they might already be present in the blood. Did your vet check the urine or the blood for ketones?
 
the vet checked the urine with the keto diastiks. also the hospital ICU docs tested via the keto diastiks. they were the ones who told me how to test for ketones.
 
You are probably Ok skipping tonight as long as she is eating normally but I wouldn't skip anymore. Some cats are more prone to ketones than others so with a history of ketoacidosis, it would be best to not skip doses until she is closer to being regulated. Do you have any AT2 meter strips left? If you cannot get strips for the True meter tomorrow, and you don't have any AT2 strips left, do you have pharmacy, Walmart or Target nearby? If so, you could pick up some Freestyle strips as they will work in the AT2 meter unless of course you can get the strips for the True meter nearby.
 
Did you shoot 1 unit? Hey there, when you get a chance can you do a signature with pertinent info in it like a recent DKA , glad that Sharon caught that. When a kitty has had DKA it is important for some insulin to get into them. I think you might have been guided by you vet to a dose too high for your cat. The 1 unit is a good starting place. Let's get you up and going with a SS so we can see the doses and trends and the people here can help you with dosing. The Spread Sheet instructions are here. If you need help setting it up let us know and someone will help you. And if you need an explanation of how to read and use it yell and I will send you a comprehensive explanation.
 
thank to all!! I rushed out tonight, found the True Test strips and bought a box of 50 and 50 lancets, so when my shipment arrives on monday, i am well on my way to figuring this out.
So, I did a BG tonight and it was 163.
I gave her a 1 unit dose of insulin.
I will try to figure out the signature with pertinent life info tomorrow. it's 1040 pm here and i'm a little stressed from trying to find the correct strips to match the new meter.
thanks again to everyone ! i could not have done it without your help.
 
BG level pre-shot this morning at 6AM was 102. should i give her the 1 unit dose of Lantus, or wait for the insulin to rise? she is eating well. she now only eats wet food.
 
Good morning. Beautiful number. I can't give dosing advice. You may want to post in the Lantus forum and put a question mark in front of your title.
 
The wet food diet (assume she was on dry prior to diagnosis) can lower BG dramatically and that may be part of what you are seeing in lower numbers. Your post is over an hour old and it sounds like you were planning to go back to your original shot schedule. Not sure when you gave the 1u last night but the morning shot should be 12 hours after the shot last night and it looks like you may have given the insulin later (i.e. maybe around 10:30pm) than usual (6am/pm schedule). Please confirm if my assumption about times is correct or not and if it is and you need to get back onto your regular schedule, we'll help you do that.
 
Hi, gave the last 1 unit insulin shot at 1030pm last night 6/25 (sorry, my mistake, it was not at 9PM as I earlier indicated). I have no history here because this is my first time doing this. it was my first time getting a blood sample yesterday. all I have is this:
1) 6/25 test BG after kit arrived yesterday afternoon with 10 lancets and 10 strips. BG level was 63. panicked a bit since this is all new to me.
2) 6/25 4pm gave caro syrup at mouth since that is what ICU vet told me to do at the hospital, in any event of hypoglycemia. defintely showing signs of hypoglycemia ( wobbly, twitching, but loves to eat her wet food.)
3) 6/25 6pm BG level was 120.
4) 6/25 rushed out to find more strips and more lancets since I was running out.
5) 6/25 1030pm BG level was 163. gave 1 unit Lantus dose.
6) today, 6/26, sunday, 6 AM BG level at 102. gave wet food and clavamox since she has a 14-day urinary tract protocol (14 days will be ending in 2 days).
7) 6/26 935 AM BG level 75.

why is her BG level dropping? pls help.
 
In all likelihood the infection is clearing, you now have her on a wet low carb diet and you are not seeing the vet stress elevation in the BG numbers. Take a deep breath and relax because this is all good even if it is a bit of a shock and scary. Have you given food since the reading of 75? Have you given insulin?
 
thank you. tested her again. 6/26 1045 AM BG level 80. so it went up by 5 points in an hour. have NOT given her insulin dose today. holding off until number rises a bit. she is eating well.
 
Ok when you get a low number, the best thing to do is NOT feed her for 20 minutes and then get another reading. That way you don't have food influencing the BG reading. If her reading is going up and is a safe number to shoot, then you can give insulin. If you feed her, you don't know if her BG is rising or if you are seeing the food influence.

ETA By "low number" I mean one too low to give insulin. Obviously if it's very low you intervene as necessary!

You normally give insulin at 6am and your shot time frame has now moved ahead a fair bit. Is that going to be an issue tomorrow (you have to go to work or whatever)?
 
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