What to do with a good BG home test?

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PJ Brown

Member Since 2016
We just received our first home test result in normal range! OMG! What now? Jett's BG was 573 at the vet's office on July 5th and 615 on July 8th and the vet put him on 2 units of Lantus twice a day (8am and 8pm).

Last Saturday, I bought a Relion Micro at Walmart and had a few days of miserable testing failures but success 4 days ago. His BG on Wed was 497; Thurs 257; Fri 313; today 67. Based on what I have read in the files about hypoglycemia, do I NOT give Jett his evening insulin shot and test again tomorrow morning before his 8am shot? Thanks for your help!!
 
Good job on testing and glad you inquired about NOT shooting. He might be high tomorrow morning from a skipped shot but it is always better to be too high for a day to too low for a moment.

Could we get you too start a Spreadsheet to store the numbers on which will help those helping you. I am going to give you the instructions on how to here.

How to create our spreadsheet

Also, if you start posting in the Lantus forum , the peeps there can help you. So glad that you are home testing! Had you given him 2 units on that low number, it could have had a not so favorable outcome. That link is :
Here
 
You are doing a great job. Welcome to the vampire club. :cat:

For most insulins we suggest using 200 as your "don't shoot" number until you get more data and know how your cat's body adjust to the dose. Good catch on the lower reading and not shooting. As Bobbie said, the next reading may be higher than normal. That is expected. You will still give the same dose. However, if you start seeing several low numbers, you should reduce the dose. Your cat's pancreas may be starting to kick in and working.
 
You guys called it! Jett's BG this morning reads "hi" on the meter, which is over 500! I will give him the 2 units and then test again. How long do I wait to test again? A couple of hours?
 
Testing every couple of hours is fine, if you are able to do that over the course of today and get a spreadsheet set up the experienced Lantus users will be able to have a look and get you back on track. Pre- shot readings are important but so is trying to determine the low point in a cycle which tells us how Jett's body reacts to the insulin. Don't worry if you do get higher readings than normal today - that is to be expected after yesterday. Are you testing the urine for ketones?

Are you able to update your signature? It saves people asking the same questions over and over, you can use mine as a guide.
 
Thank you, Alexi. I just added the spreadsheet to my signature, but I don't have the #s input yet. I will be working on this over the next hour. I notice that you have a link about taking blood from the paws. Do you prefer the paw vs. the ear? I tried Jett's paw originally and never got blood. Jett is getting rather irritated by the ear poke, so I may try his paw next after I review your link. Thanks!
 
My cat doesn't tolerate ear testing so I exclusively use the paws. It is easier and quicker for both of us. One tip - if you do end up paw testing applying vaseline to the pads regularily helps to soften them and makes it easier. I use 28g lancets (the lower the number the bigger the hole it makes), often kits are supplied with 30g lancets which can be the problem as you can't get a good blood drop.
 
Hi there - I tested 4 hours after the morning test that was "hi" and the 12:30pm reading was 471. I have it all in the spreadsheet now. I guess the plan is to pre-test this evening to make sure it hasn't dropped back down to normal. Is that right? Thanks!
 
Yes - you should do a pre-shot test and then post for advice in the Lantus forum, we are in different time zones - how long until the pre-shot test? If you can get any more readings between now and then that will be helpful as this is a jigsaw puzzle and it takes time to fit the pieces together.
 
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