Testing Morning

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amilyn

amilyn

Member Since 2018
Smudge goes in this morning between 7 and 7:30 am for the vet to do his glucose curve. What I've read online says they'll take a sample and then feed him, so I don't give him anything before he leaves, right? They'd told me to take his food up the night before. I forgot to ask if he's supposed to receive his laxative this morning, so I'll take it with me. Today would be the last day he'd be on it anyway.

Also, the article I read says whatever dose he's on after the curve he'll need to be on for 4-7 days to allow his system to adjust. I'm guessing that means he'll go back to the vet in 4-7 days. At what point would I be safest to start testing at home? I'll go with the vet doing the testing for a few weeks without complaint, but no way can I take him EVERY week. I'm already about to drop over $500 for another cat's dental. I love my vet because he is very nice and very good with my kits, always listening to me and taking my thoughts and research into consideration, but that comes at a price. He's the most expensive in the area. LOL!
 
amilyn said:
Smudge goes in this morning between 7 and 7:30 am for the vet to do his glucose curve. What I've read online says they'll take a sample and then feed him, so I don't give him anything before he leaves, right? They'd told me to take his food up the night before. I forgot to ask if he's supposed to receive his laxative this morning, so I'll take it with me. Today would be the last day he'd be on it anyway.

Also, the article I read says whatever dose he's on after the curve he'll need to be on for 4-7 days to allow his system to adjust. I'm guessing that means he'll go back to the vet in 4-7 days. At what point would I be safest to start testing at home? I'll go with the vet doing the testing for a few weeks without complaint, but no way can I take him EVERY week. I'm already about to drop over $500 for another cat's dental. I love my vet because he is very nice and very good with my kits, always listening to me and taking my thoughts and research into consideration, but that comes at a price. He's the most expensive in the area. LOL!
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I would stay doing curves and testing at home right away. As soon as I stated testing I just emailed my vet a copy of her spreadsheet once a month or so. My cat didnt go back to the vet for a year. Testing at home is less stressful and therefore more accurate. Not to mention cheaper. I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat CC at home. It's really no big deal.
 
I'm hoping the fact that Smudge is pretty comfortable at the vet will be helpful. He doesn't like the car ride, but doesn't freak out and squall like some of my others. I'm not scared of doing the testing, I just know so little about this I don't want to try testing at home and end up dosing him wrong. It's already going to be an adjustment for us both if his feeding habits have to change to only when he gets his insulin. He's had dry and wet kept down for him for the last few months with me trying to get him to gain weight... or at least not lose anymore. And don't know yet if his food will have to change or not. He's already on a prescription diet. :/ Just so many changes so fast.
 
amilyn said:
I'm hoping the fact that Smudge is pretty comfortable at the vet will be helpful. He doesn't like the car ride, but doesn't freak out and squall like some of my others. I'm not scared of doing the testing, I just know so little about this I don't want to try testing at home and end up dosing him wrong. It's already going to be an adjustment for us both if his feeding habits have to change to only when he gets his insulin. He's had dry and wet kept down for him for the last few months with me trying to get him to gain weight... or at least not lose anymore. And don't know yet if his food will have to change or not. He's already on a prescription diet. :/ Just so many changes so fast.
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You can still have your vet help with dosing, by sharing the numbers you get. I know it's all a lot to adjust to. When you feel ready we are here to help. I waited 6 weeks before getting up the nerve to test at home so I get it. I will say though that right away I felt like I wish I had started sooner.
 
Start testing right away! It can be difficult in the very beginning, mainly because your nerves are involved and your cat is not used to it, but it becomes easier very quickly. After the curve today, you could take over and do all the testing at home, and there would be no reason to go back in another week. I cannot imagine dealing with this without home testing. It is the only way you can know what is going on with your baby. Frankly, not testing is dangerous. Glucose levels can be crazy. If the level has dropped unexpectedly, and you do not know it, and you give an insulin shot, you can cause Smudge to get way too low which is dangerous. If you test before each shot, you will know that he is high enough to proceed with the planned shot. The routine is: 1) Withhold food for two hours, 2) Do a glucose test, 3) Feed, 4) Give insulin shot. The point of taking up food two hours before the pre-shot test is so that you will get a number that is not inflated due to the impact of the food. In addition to the pre-shot tests, you will want to take mid-cycle tests when you can. Those show you the impact of the insulin you have given. Over time, you will build up enough data to have a good feel for things.

Curves are done to see how a current dose of insulin is working. Based on the results, a decision is made on whether the dose is good to continue or if it needs to change. If the dose is changed, it is a good idea to stay on the new dose a several days to give it a chance before making another change, if needed. (That is where the 4-7 days you mentioned comes in.) I definitely believe in holding a dose for awhile. Don't think that just because you are testing at home you are supposed to be changing the dosing all willy nilly. (You mentioned being afraid to test and get the dosing wrong.) Over time, as you gather data and get more comfortable, you may feel ready to take on dosing change decisions yourself. Unless you are fortunate, and Smudge goes into remission, you will probably be managing this for years. So, even though you feel lost right now, you will not always feel that way. In the meantime, you can absolutely continue to look to your vet for dose change decisions, but you can be the one to gather the testing data upon which those decisions are made.

Regarding feeding... the AAHA guidelines (link in my signature) recommend feeding four times a day, using an auto-feeder if needed. They also say that free-feeding is fine if your cat is underweight. (By the way, they also say home testing is the best way to go.) I feed Mia four times a day. Whatever food is left remains out for her to graze on until the next meal or until two hours before her next pre-shot test. The food should be low-carb wet food (under 10%.. lower is better). If you find it necessary to supplement with dry food, there are a couple of options, one being Young Again Zero which has only trace carbs. It is not usually necessary to use a 'prescription' diet. They are often higher in carbs. I know of someone here who was able to drop the insulin dose in half after transitioning off of Glycobalance dry. Which brings up a good point.. if you are going to change to a low-carb diet, testing is really important since glucose levels can drop just from the food change.
 
Many cats test higher at the vet’s office. The only curve Max ever had done by my vet was after his first shot of insulin. I too sent his spreadsheets to him which he showed to his vet students. He never suggested another curve. We did do a fructosamine once I think year two.
 
We're home. He's very tired. I was told not to free feed. He's currently on prescription d/d but will have to switch a bit later to w/d. I'm to feed him twice a day, wait about 15 minutes, then give him his shot. He's getting half a unit of insulin. OMG why aren't those things easier to read?! Feels like I didn't give him anything. Had to force feed him because he wouldn't eat. He's gotten on his pillow and curled up now. I'll be going Sunday or Monday to get a human meter, strips, and lancets. One thing they told me was to do the testing, they take the blood intravenously. When I asked about doing it at home, the tech lady said it needed to be IV blood, not the ear prick. WTF is up with that?

And where do I learn how do to my signature? I saw a post about what to put, but I don't know all those abbreviations and such.

Thanks for all the help so far!!
 
amilyn said:
We're home. He's very tired. I was told not to free feed. He's currently on prescription d/d but will have to switch a bit later to w/d. I'm to feed him twice a day, wait about 15 minutes, then give him his shot. He's getting half a unit of insulin. OMG why aren't those things easier to read?! Feels like I didn't give him anything. Had to force feed him because he wouldn't eat. He's gotten on his pillow and curled up now. I'll be going Sunday or Monday to get a human meter, strips, and lancets. One thing they told me was to do the testing, they take the blood intravenously. When I asked about doing it at home, the tech lady said it needed to be IV blood, not the ear prick. WTF is up with that?

And where do I learn how do to my signature? I saw a post about what to put, but I don't know all those abbreviations and such.

Thanks for all the help so far!!
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The perscription food is expensive and no better than grocery store foods. Most of us feed fancy feast classic or Friskies pate foods.

You don't have to feed twice a day, just no food at least 2 hours prior to the preshot test so the number is not food influenced.

The tech lady is VERY wrong.

To do your signature click on your name at the top right corner and choose signature.
 
i agree with Janet. I fed Max many small meals. I tried to feed during the first 6 hours of the cycle though. That tech is sooooo wrong.
 
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