What is good for a ReliOn prime?

So after my first foray into monitoring bg's this weekend, I'm relieved to see that the insulin is at least doing something. The blood sampling is still hit and miss, so there are times when I feel too strapped for time or feel too bad for Santino meowing for his breakfast to include it in the routine, so I just feed and give insulin. But I did get one pre-insulin metric that was right, and it didn't seem horrible. (Yay?)

It seems there is ongoing debate about the accuracy of human vs animal glucose meters. I've seen the 0.65 conversion factor - divide what the ReliOn says by 0.65. That would mean that Santino's 200's are more like 300's though, and that makes me feel a bit deflated.

Also, as I've been clicking around other people's spreadsheets, I don't tend to see insulin or blood sugar values as high as Santino's. Would you all say that Santino's still in normal territory for a cat who's just started insulin? As a reminder, my vet scared me a bit with this whole insulin resistance talk.

 

Here's one that should make you feel better https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qQD1ekzXVKXXWdMg8H0FjTqpsxJBZNCqCwf2hIvcYJQ/pubhtml

Yes, but without more tests, it's impossible to know what's really going on with him. You might try giving him a small snack of freeze dried meat (or even a little piece of baked chicken) to give him something to do (instead of feeding him) so you can get those Preshot tests in without him going crazy looking for his meals

It takes time to get under any type of "control".....you're only just starting! It was 4-5 months before I started to see some kind of "pattern" from China

 

Meant to address this but forgot.....please don't try to compare the human and pet meters.....just take the number you get at face value and don't try to do any conversions. You'll just drive yourself crazy trying!

Yes, there's been a lot of debate here about a "conversion rate", but we've had lots of people do side by side comparisons and there's just NO way to convert with any regularity.

For one thing, all meters (including the pet meters) are allowed to have a 20% variance from what professional lab equipment would get....even if you're testing the same drop of blood.

The human and pet meters are actually pretty close at lower numbers (where it's most important).....too high is too high whether it's 250 or 400....doesn't matter which meter it's on. The important thing for safety is the low numbers and the only data we have is that 50 on a human meter is the "time to act" point and it's 68 on a pet meter....so only 18 points difference. The higher the numbers go, the more difference there's going to be.

As you get more testing in, what you want to look for is "patterns" more than individual numbers anyway....Is the cat generally coming down? If so, you're heading in the right direction!!.....but again, it takes time before you're going to see anything resembling a "pattern".....our sugarcats didn't become diabetic overnight and it's going to take some time before you're going to get there....but you will!!

 

Santino was clocked at 660 at the vet, and then 700 at a recheck, and yet he was not in dka... Kind of amazing.

When you say lower numbers, are we talking 100-200's? What are we generally aiming for in the long term? My vet said in general they advise loose control at Santino's age (19 y/o), which is in the 200's.

 

Normal blood glucose numbers for cats are 50-120, and that's what we like to aim for.....most vets suggest higher numbers because most people don't home test and they are more concerned with preventing hypo's than gaining regulation.

His age shouldn't factor into it at all....we have lots of cats over 16 here.....and a few over 20!!

 

Thanks, sounds good. Another question. Does a missed insulin shot cause cats to run higher later in the day too? I think Santino's first shot of the day was a fur shot, and this evening he is consistently higher than last night.

 

Yes....anytime you skip or give a furshot, it's totally expected that they'll run higher later....but no matter how sure you are of giving a furshot, you never shoot again!!

 

I've never heard that before. My kitty is 19, he's on Lantus and we follow Tight Regulation protocols; he's pretty well-regulated. I don't think age should really be a factor.

 

Helene, I am right there with you. I am also glad to see the insulin is doing at least something for Luke. I just finished his spreadsheet. You may want to look at it.

 

Thanks Chris! I know you were replying to Helene but this helped me out a lot too! The insulin is bringing Luke's numbers down so I am thankful for that I'm just frustrated that they are going back up so high. I just finished his spreadsheet and it didn't look as bad as I thought it would.

 

Hi Debbie,
I looked at Luke's spreadsheet, and he seems even higher than Santino when he is pre-shot. I also find it interesting that some days he is in the 100s between shots and some days in the 200's, 300's and even 400's. Some people on this forum say that it can take a while before you see any kind of pattern, but you're right, the numbers are generally going down when you give the shot, so at least there is progress.

 

I see a lot of vets say this including mine - that's a 'vet's office' stress number, not what you can shoot for as a stress-free at home number. Dakota travels well and doesn't overly stress at the vet but he still runs about 75-100 points higher than when we left home.

HUGS!