Pre shot question

[David - coco]

What can be considered, "ideal" numbers is normal range blood glucose. We use 50 - 120 as normal range. However, until a cat is regulated, numbers may be all over the place.

What you're seeing is a bounce. Coco isn't used to spending time in lower numbers. This is the case for most of our kitties since we rarely know how long they have been diabetic prior to diagnosis. As a result, when their numbers are in a better range, their liver and pancreas overreact by releasing a stored form of glucose along with counterregulatory hormones that cause the numbers to spike upward. Those pre-shot numbers in the 300s are reflecting the drop into the 100s on 12/30. It can take roughly 3 days for a bounce to clear although the duration of the bounce varies. The more time Coco spends in better numbers, the less frequently she will bounce.

Thanks for the explanation. This morning amps she was up to 425. Is this still likely the cause of a bounce? is it worth doing a mini curve today?

Any recommendations on how to take care of kitties ears if I test a lot? I can see a small bruise unfortunately, I may have hit to close or directly in the vein. I use a cool wet paper towel to compress the ear after. I just don’t want to hurt her by testing to much.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

I can't really venture much of a guess as to your AMPS. I would, however, encourage you to get a test every night before you head off to bed (aka a "before bed" test). Not having any data from your PM cycle yesterday means that where the AMPS came from is a mystery. The other reasons for getting PM tests is that you have no idea whether numbers dropped low and you missed a dose reduction or worse, Coco was in low numbers and you needed to intervene. Without any PM tests, you're missing half of your data. It looks like last night may have been an exception but those PM tests are important. Many cats experience lower numbers at night.

I didn't do anything special other than using some pressure on Gabby's ear to stop the bleeding. I'd suggest looking at my cat's spreadsheet. I was a testaholic. Her ears were none the worse for the amount that I tested.

What gauge lancet are you using? If you're using a wider gauge (e.g., 28) lancet and you believe that Coco's ears are bleeding easily, you can use a thinner lancet. I routinely used a 30 gauge. If the capillary bed hasn't quite built up (it takes a couple of weeks), you can eventually switch over to a thinner lancet.