testing BG

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storm

storm

Member Since 2017
I bought the Relion Prime meter, test strips and lancets (Relion 33 gauge lancets was all they had on the shelve at the time, will get a little bigger gauge next time) Cinnamon goes in May 1st for his curve test .. I tested him a few times just to practice, all before his meals, since my purchase and so far he tested low 300s except the first test he was 589. Is it better to test before or after a meal since he isnt on insulin yet?

I usually feed him as soon as I wake up in the AM, then get dressed and ready for work, I leave him 2 bowls of ice cube food, blend 2 FF cans with 3 oz of water in my smoothie mixer, put into stick ice cube trays to freeze over night then put 5 sticks in each bowl and put in different spots in my bedroom, this seems to help so when I come home from work he isn't trying to wolf down his dinner .. on my days off (weekends) I have more flexibility and feed him 2 cans FF or 1 can friskies classic/9 lives meaty pate around noon or 5 hours after he ate breakfast, then he eats dinner at 6 pm or as soon as I get home from work if its after 6pm. He also has a small bowl with a handful of EVO turkey and chicken cat & kitten dry down that he can pick from if he wants .. I bought only a small bag to hold me over until the YA Zero arrives this week as I am not liking that Tapioca Starch is the 3rd ingredient in the EVO ( tapioca starch breaks down into sugar faster than other starches and grains do.)

I have the spread sheet all ready to go once he is finally on insulin. Once he is on insulin, when would/should I be testing? on work days I wouldn't be able to test between shots ( I never work close enough to home to run home on a break) but on my days off I can test more often if needed. Lets just say he is not happy with having his ear poked .. he doesn't mind me touching and rubbing it but soon as I hold it and try to poke the sweet spot, he is trying to get away .. the 300's tests have all been on my bed .. the first test was done on my desk as my kitchen counter is small and has no room. I will have to break down and get one of those Calming diffusers as my cat Idgit has taken to bullying Cinnamon since he became sick, to the point of trapping Cinn behind my toilet and wouldn't let him out so had a big mess to clean behind it, so for now Cinn and his buddy Max are closed up in my bedroom.
 
Great job starting the testing!
Test before meal and ideally with no food 2 hours prior :). Your plan for testing is on point for having a full time job. Mandatory tests are AMPS and PMPS, would highly recommend a before bed test too ;). As you said, on days off grab some more tests :D.He will get used to it, make sure he is getting a treat after each test so he can associate the experience with something positive :cat:. Hope the Feliway will help calm Idgit down, that can obviously stress Cinnamon and raise his BG. Idgit might sense something is not right and his instinct is to pick on the sick kitty, not his fault :bighug:.
 
I would test before feeding as that's the more accurate number.

Glad you are giving the young again food a try. :)
 
That's great that you've started home testing! Which insulin will you be using?

I'm sorry to hear Idgit is giving Cinnamon a hard time. Hopefully as Cinnamon starts feeling better, that will ease up again. And at least he has Max to keep him company!

Kitties get used to the testing. They'll do just about anything for the right treat! My kitty hasn't been the easiest to test, but there are times when he'll hop on the counter and paw/meow at the meter just because he wants a treat so badly! It just takes some time to make it part of the routine. Also, if the 33 gauge lancets are working for you, it's fine to keep using those. We usually just recommend the fatter lancets at the beginning if you're having trouble getting blood.
 
Idgit has always been a mouthy problem child .. he is half Siamese and half Maine Coon .. picture the twins from Lady and the Tramp with tiger stripes and long hair and all the trouble they caused for Lady lol he thinks he is king of the house and becomes highly offended if one of the other cats manages to put him in his place which is usually my long haired Tux, Mischief who is slightly taller and heavier and will sit on him when he gets tired of Idgit getting in his face.

any recommendations for treats? i had some greenies for cats but someone got into the cabinet where they were hidden and tore open the entire bag and ate them all

my vet said they usually prescribe a glargine based insulin so im guessing that will be Lantus
 
Sounds like you've got your hands full with all those kitties!

@Yong , do you have the link to the treats list?

In general, look for freeze-tried meats, with nothing else added. Many people here use bonito flakes, or Cat-Man-Do chicken, or just cook up some plain chicken, turkey, etc. and use that. You just want to make sure that the treats don't add carbs.
 
storm said:
I bought the Relion Prime meter, test strips and lancets (Relion 33 gauge lancets was all they had on the shelve at the time, will get a little bigger gauge next time) Cinnamon goes in May 1st for his curve test .. I tested him a few times just to practice, all before his meals, since my purchase and so far he tested low 300s except the first test he was 589. Is it better to test before or after a meal since he isnt on insulin yet?

I usually feed him as soon as I wake up in the AM, then get dressed and ready for work, I leave him 2 bowls of ice cube food, blend 2 FF cans with 3 oz of water in my smoothie mixer, put into stick ice cube trays to freeze over night then put 5 sticks in each bowl and put in different spots in my bedroom, this seems to help so when I come home from work he isn't trying to wolf down his dinner .. on my days off (weekends) I have more flexibility and feed him 2 cans FF or 1 can friskies classic/9 lives meaty pate around noon or 5 hours after he ate breakfast, then he eats dinner at 6 pm or as soon as I get home from work if its after 6pm. He also has a small bowl with a handful of EVO turkey and chicken cat & kitten dry down that he can pick from if he wants .. I bought only a small bag to hold me over until the YA Zero arrives this week as I am not liking that Tapioca Starch is the 3rd ingredient in the EVO ( tapioca starch breaks down into sugar faster than other starches and grains do.)

I have the spread sheet all ready to go once he is finally on insulin. Once he is on insulin, when would/should I be testing? on work days I wouldn't be able to test between shots ( I never work close enough to home to run home on a break) but on my days off I can test more often if needed. Lets just say he is not happy with having his ear poked .. he doesn't mind me touching and rubbing it but soon as I hold it and try to poke the sweet spot, he is trying to get away .. the 300's tests have all been on my bed .. the first test was done on my desk as my kitchen counter is small and has no room. I will have to break down and get one of those Calming diffusers as my cat Idgit has taken to bullying Cinnamon since he became sick, to the point of trapping Cinn behind my toilet and wouldn't let him out so had a big mess to clean behind it, so for now Cinn and his buddy Max are closed up in my bedroom.
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I'm a newbie to this and never thought Jimmy would be able to handle the testing. He is not a lap kitty and allows petting and snuggles on his own wimsy. However, he is very food motivated. I boil a few chicken breasts and cut them up in to fingernail size pieces and keep in the fridge. I do his testing on the kitchen table...after only 2 days when he hears and smells the chicken being brought out of the fridge he gets up on the table on his own. A few pieces before, during, and testing is key. Also, I take the chicken out at non testing times and put it on the table to reward him just because. Another thing that also worked is filling a sock up with 1/4 cup of rice and warm in microwave for 10 seconds. I rub his ear with it while he nibbles on the chicken. This brings the blood up to his ear. He is so focused on the chicken, the testing process goes by quite quickly. After the reading I pinch his ear a bit to stop bleeding and prevent bruising...all while getting more bits of chicken. I hope this helps- I know it helped us with a pretty standoffish kitteh.
 
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