Should we work with vet on home blood sugar testing?

[steveonetwothree]

Hello..

Our cat Max ( 7 y.o.) was recently diagnosed with Diabetes

At first his blood sugar was way too high.. So he went on insulin and
we also put him on very low carb diet.. ( hand made meat meals, etc)

Then his blood went way too low. .
So we reduced insulin ( with vet's help) and increased carbs

But now his sugar is too high again. .. a see-saw effect of
not getting balance of carbs/protein/ insulin right . !

So we feel we better start home blood sugar testing.. which raises the usual questions.
.. the answers seem to be changing all the time.. hence we ask anew !

1) What glucometer should we use ?
2) Should we work with a vet to make sure our readings are accurate?
3) How often do we test?
4) How do we know where our cat is on the glucose curve at any point in the day ?

Many thanks, Steve

 

[Squeaky and KT (GA)]

Hi Steve and extra sweet Max!

The right time to start home testing is when you get the original dx! It's not hard, it's just different. Many vets don't encourage home testing as they only know how to use their pet meters for testing - those usually require a venous vein draw. My vet discouraged it but coming from a family of diabetics, I knew testing was VERY important. We landed here, I learned how - tried to show my vet...he said I was torturing my cat! When I asked why then do they COME TO ME when they hear their meters beep if it were such torture. I did it anyway - my vet cringed, KT just purred. Now our vet knows different!

* Meter - Walmart's ReliOn 'Confirm or Micro' - those take the least drop of blood. The strips are $9/20, $20/50. When their ears learn to bleed better, you can change to the ReliOn Prime which has strips for $9/50.

* When to test - prior to giving insulin in AM or PM and once during the cycle to see how low they're going during each cycle.

* Vet's animal meters read a little differently than human meters. We just adjust the 'normal' range by 30 points - the approximate difference.

* Curve - check out the spreadsheets we use, it will make much more sense!!

Hope this helps a bit - others will chime in too!!!

HUGS and welcome to the Sugar Dance!

 

[BJM]

[Glucose reference ranges are unsubstantiated and have been removed by Moderator]

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *​

Examples of using the chart:

Ex. You are a new insulin user and you test your cat before giving insulin. The test is 300. It probably is safe to give insulin.

Ex. You are an established user of Lantus, following the Tight Regulation protocol. You've tested around +5 to +7 to spot the nadir. It is 200 mg/dL. You probably need to increase the dose, following the instructions for the protocol.

Ex. Your cat is acting funny. The eyes are a bit dilated. You are concerned and test the glucose. The number is 35 mg/dL. ACK! The cat may be in a hypoglycemic state. You quickly follow the HYPO protocol linked in the glucose reference values chart. (which we really, really, suggest you print out and post on your refrigerator.)

 

[KPassa]

Hi Steve!

You've gotten some great general advice already. For more specific advice, what insulin and dose are you giving currently and what foods are you feeding?

 

[steveonetwothree]

@Squeaky and KT . .Thank you for your history.. we were amazed to see how little help the veterinary center gave us in the way of organized knowledge..
so its very reassuring to hear that its ok to charge ahead with home treatment and self education...

you wrote: >> We just adjust the 'normal' range by 30 points - the approximate difference.

It sounds like we have to add 30 points to a human meter to get the equivalent reading on a pet meter.

>> Curve - check out the spreadsheets we use, it will make much more sense!!

I don't see a link to spreadsheets ( probably looking right at it : )

@ BJM.. Thanks very much for the range info.. hugely helpful to have it laid out like that ! .. we have already been to all the points on that range spectrum... so its good to know what it all means in simple terms.

@ KPassa Hello.. thanks for the nice welcome ! .. we were feeding hand made beef / chicken / salmon at first.. Max seemed to do really well on quality protein .. gained weight.. but we were also giving 3 / 3 Humulin.. and so his BG number went down to 25 .. we did not know we should decrease insulin when increasing protein.. so Max nearly died..

More recently.. after some HUGE vet bills.. we have been feeding him Hills dried + prescription wet so he has some carbs to counteract the insulin ( 3 in morning and 2 units at night ) .. crazy that we need to keep his carbs up because he is on insulin ! . .. but that's where we are . . Even though his carbs are up his weight is down and he craves dry food and he drinks too much water. ... . seemed better on lower carbs. IMO

Aslo .. we recently noticed Nature's Variety Instinct - Grain Free .. which looks good but not sure how to fit it into our protocol until we start testing.

Steve

 

[Suzanne & Cobb(GA)]

Hi Steve!

If you're needing to use carbs to keep his numbers propped up, the insulin dose is too high. I'm not familiar with Humulin, but I think it is a harsh in and out insulin. There are other insulin options that might be better for Max.

While it is always nice to have a veterinarian who supports home testing, many of us have found our vets tell us to pick a dose, shoot blind, and curve every now and then. It doesn't give an accurate picture of how the cat is responding to the insulin.

You're in the right place. The people here are AWESOME!! :smile:

~Suzanne

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Hi Steve!

Home testing is very important, so you can really see how your cat is doing. As you've seen, blood glucose can go from way high to too low very quickly! It will also save you money in vet bills in the long run...as well as possibly saving your cats life!

Here's the link to How to get your spreadsheet and link in your signature. The spreadsheet is an invaluable tool in dealing with this....it's every bit as important as insulin and the correct food.

Food---the important thing in food is to feed a low carb diet. It's carbs that increase BG numbers, not really protein. All dry foods are too high in carbs, so you need to transition Max over onto only low carb (less than 10%) wet or raw foods. Here's a list of pretty much any food you can buy that was researched by a vet that shows the carb content for all these foods. Carbs are in column "C" Dr. Lisa Pierson's food chart Don't do this too quickly since you're already giving insulin...as you have seen, you have to know how low they're going and adjust the insulin as you lower the carbs.

What insulin are you using? If it's Humulin, that's not the best insulin for our kitties. Cats metabolism is fast, and the Humulin is very harsh...it drops them quickly and then they bounce back high again, so it's much harder to get them controlled. Lantus, Levemir and ProZinc are the 3 insulins that work best in cats.

"Bouncing" is another thing you'll have to learn about! Max's liver has gotten "Used to" living at those higher blood glucose numbers and thinks they are normal now. When we start bringing the numbers down with insulin, the liver thinks it's now TOO low and reacts by releasing stored sugar and hormones to bring it back up quickly "Bounce!"...It's a leftover survival mechanism from when our cats were wild and times were tough. The liver would release those sugars to keep them alive long enough to hunt again. Now, with the way our cats have us humans trained to feed them, they always have food, but Mr. Liver still thinks that "normal numbers" (50-120) are now too low. After all, he's gotten used to living in those much higher numbers due to the diabetes!

You're in the best place you never wanted to be here on the message board and we can help you get Max better controlled and feeling great again if you let us! Please ask questions! The people here are wonderful about giving their time and advise to help another kitty feel better!