Salem has relapsed

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AmyB

AmyB

Member Since 2019
Hi all,

It's been a while since I've been on here since Salem was diagnosed 4 years ago in 2019. I got him in remission and he's been okay up until now. I lost my other cat last year to cancer and now I have 2 young cats in addition to Salem. I knew it seemed like he was eating and drinking more but it's just been for the past few weeks since I've had to give them dry food as I've been in and out of the hospital a lot. I took him in yesterday for his annual visit and to see about getting a dental cleaning and we ran bloodwork and his glucose was in the 500s. The vet is doing another test but will then call me again tomorrow to figure out our plan.

I am assuming we will put him back on insulin and try to get his numbers down enough so he can get a dental cleaning because that made a huge difference last time, but I also know he's gotten older and I figured this would happen. I have found my old spreadsheet and I am trying to refresh myself on how to use it. Can anyone tell me if the ReliOn Prime usually runs higher numbers or lower numbers than Alphatrak? I can't remember and they discontinued the Alphatrak I was using so I will just plan on using ReliOn for now. I appreciate all the advice I can get, as it has been a few years since I have done this and I am also dealing with my own health issues right now.
 
Hi there. The Relion and other human meters run lower. For example, the "don't shoot" number for many is 50 on a human meter, but it is 68 on an AT.

At the higher BG numbers, there is a larger difference. A 500 on the AT may come in at a 400 on the Relion for example.
 
AmyB said:
Hi all,

It's been a while since I've been on here since Salem was diagnosed 4 years ago in 2019. I got him in remission and he's been okay up until now. I lost my other cat last year to cancer and now I have 2 young cats in addition to Salem. I knew it seemed like he was eating and drinking more but it's just been for the past few weeks since I've had to give them dry food as I've been in and out of the hospital a lot. I took him in yesterday for his annual visit and to see about getting a dental cleaning and we ran bloodwork and his glucose was in the 500s. The vet is doing another test but will then call me again tomorrow to figure out our plan.

I am assuming we will put him back on insulin and try to get his numbers down enough so he can get a dental cleaning because that made a huge difference last time, but I also know he's gotten older and I figured this would happen. I have found my old spreadsheet and I am trying to refresh myself on how to use it. Can anyone tell me if the ReliOn Prime usually runs higher numbers or lower numbers than Alphatrak? I can't remember and they discontinued the Alphatrak I was using so I will just plan on using ReliOn for now. I appreciate all the advice I can get, as it has been a few years since I have done this and I am also dealing with my own health issues right now.
Click to expand...

how did you know how Salem went into remission?
 
mayte said:
how did you know how Salem went into remission?
Click to expand...
When you’re home testing and your cat’s bg is falling within the normal range 50-120 in a human meter so often he’s starting to need less and less insulin. Take a look at Bobo’s spreadsheet linked in my signature and you’ll see what I mean
 
He was only 4 years old when he was first diagnosed and I slowly adjusted his dosing so it went down to normal levels. He also has bad teeth so he had a tooth infection and I got a dental done and he went into remission after that. I figured it would come back once he got older though which is where we’re at now. The vet said it’s very uncommon but does occasionally happen.

And thanks, I knew there was a difference but couldn’t remember which one was higher. I went ahead and ordered an AlphaTrak 3 just to be more accurate.

And no, he’s been on high protein canned food this whole time. However recently I’ve had to give them a little bit of higher protein dry food because I’ve been in and out of the hospital a lot and unable to feed them all the time. That was just during the past few weeks though and I am back to keeping them on wet only food.
 
I'm aware, but the ReliOn is way off from the vet's numbers so it's throwing me off. Also that meter is 5 years old at this point so I'm not sure how long they last. I'll still be keeping it as a backup though. Going to the vet to get insulin tomorrow and a refresher on all of this. I'm also hoping that getting us back on our normal routine will help, because I imagine he's been stressed since I've been gone so much and he can probably smell that I'm sick. I know dogs can at least sense that sort of thing I assume cats can as well.
 
AmyB said:
I'm aware, but the ReliOn is way off from the vet's numbers so it's throwing me off. Also that meter is 5 years old at this point so I'm not sure how long they last. I'll still be keeping it as a backup though. Going to the vet to get insulin tomorrow and a refresher on all of this. I'm also hoping that getting us back on our normal routine will help, because I imagine he's been stressed since I've been gone so much and he can probably smell that I'm sick. I know dogs can at least sense that sort of thing I assume cats can as well.
Click to expand...
Just remember that your vet's numbers also may not be accurate either. Stress can raise a cat's glucose levels significantly so readings at the vet are often higher than what you will see at home.
 
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