Confusion about BG testers

So I picked up the Contour Next BG tester cause it seemed to get pretty good reviews, but when I went to my vet today with Nashi to get trained on giving him insulin I showed them the meter I had bought and they knew nothing about it. They didn't know anything about using a human meter to test a cat's blood sugar cause apparently there is some conversion you have to do to the number?

I'm just really confused, do I need to convert the reading on the human BG meter to something for my cat?
What am I really looking for when I test his blood, what are good numbers?

The vet told me to start giving him insulin tonight, even though I don't really know what I am looking for in his BG number.

 

(sigh) -- unfortunately many vets know very little about managing a diabetic cat 24/7

read all about it here !

no conversion necessary -- the procedures and protocols shown here were worked out using meters originally marketed for human use -- those special "pet meters" are actually fairly recent innovations, yet many vets know nothing about "what was and still is" -- they get much of their information from manufacturers' reps

you'll hear a lot about food -- testing -- data -- so read all the yellow sticky notes

which insulin are you going to be using? and what dosage was recommended? there is a forum here for each of the different types --

NOT a good idea to inject insulin without testing the blood glucose first --

videos here on testing, and injecting, and LOTS of people who've been doing this for years ...

welcome!

 

He will be on Lantus, 1 unit twice a day

 

good ! (that's what we are on at the moment) --- be sure to read all the sticky notes at the top of the Lantus forum, there is a world of information there, and a lot of people who are wonderfully helpful

 

Just FYI:
Human meters do read lower than pet meters, and BG range in the dosing protocols are adjusted accordingly. For example, a normal range on a human meter is 50-120, while on a pet meter it is 68-150. You cannot compare numbers from a human to a pet meter because you're using a different point of reference for them. It's more important that a meter be consistent, (we are generally looking for trends in data to adjust the dose, not single, exact numbers). There is also a +/- 20% variable allowed in any glucose meter, including pet meters.
You can't translate numbers from a human meter to what they would be on a pet meter. Then are no studies which provide a correlation between the two. However, it's equally important to note that 50 on a human meter does not equal 68 on a pet meter. Those are the numbers which have been determined to provide a safety net.

 

So really I’m just looking to track whether the number is high or low at the moment? And if they are high I give him his dose of insulin, but only that twice a day?

I believe his number was in the 500s when the vet checked it today, but I can not remember exactly cause I can not find my paperwork from his appointment.

 

Here's the basic testing routine we recommend: (do what you can on work days - before bed is useful along with the essential pre shots)
test every day AM and PM before feeding and injecting (no food at least 2 hours before) to see if the planned dose is safe
test at least once near mid cycle or at bedtime daily to see how low the BG goes
do extra tests on days off to fill in the response picture
if indicated by consistently high numbers on your spreadsheet,with advice from an experienced member, increase the dose by no more than 0.25 u at a time so you don't accidentally go right past a good dose
post here for advice whenever you're confused or unsure of what to do.
This is useful: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

 

Please read and re-read the stickies at the top of the Lantus forum HERE
There is a lot of information, but you need to read it to learn how Lantus works and how you can get the most out of it for effective treatment for Nashi. Every time I read the information again, I see something new or that I forgot from a previous read through.

 

You do want to track the BG, always test before a shot, always! Then try to get the mid cycle tests and one or two more if you can during the cycle to see how low the BG goes. Lantus is dosed on the lowest BG of the cycle, not the preshot number.

Generally speaking if the BG is 200, and you don't have much data, stall, don't shoot, post here and ask for help.

Q4.4. My cat's pre-shot level was way below the usual value. Should I give the injection?
A4.4. There's no hard and fast rule, but if you don't have data on how your cat responds to insulin, here are some general guidelines.

• Below 150 mg/dl (8.3 mmol/L), don't give insulin.
• Between 150 and 200 (8.3-11.1 mmol/L), you have three options:
  • a.) give nothing
  • b.) give a token dose (10-25% of the usual dose)
  • c.) feed as usual, test in a couple of hours, and make a decision based on that value
• Above 200 (11.1 mmol/L) but below the cat's normal pre-shot value, a reduced dose might be wise.

@Bron and Sheba (GA)

 

what they said !!!!

 

So the best thing to do right now would be to test, feed him dinner, and then test again in a few hours to see how the food affected his BG?

And then see what his test is at in the morning and possibly give him insulin after he has eaten, depending on what the tests from tonight say?
Or should I wait on the insulin till Saturday or Sunday when I can try and test his BG every few hours?

 

First, plug in any data you have so far into the spreadsheet. You can't record data using the link in your signature, that's just for us to view your spreadsheet. If you haven't gotten any tests done yet, just put in the insulin dose you shot in the appropriate cell for the appropriate date.

Yes, always test before giving an insulin shot. Lantus users advise test/feed/shoot all within about 10 or 15 minutes. If Nashi is very hungry before a meal and is not wanting to wait for you to test, then offer some food, let him feel better then test. I always gave Idjit his shot while his head was in the food bowl, so you could finish up that way perhaps.

Then, yes, test again at least once during the 12 hour cycle between shots, perhaps at +5 and then again maybe a couple hours later if you can.

Let's wait for instructions for tomorrow until tomorrow. We need to see how low the insulin is taking Nashi's BG during the day today and what the evening pre-shot test is.

Be sure to start reading that information at the top of the Lantus forum, ask lots of questions there in that forum. Every member posting there was new once and they will help you.

 

Thank you, this helped a lot.

I haven’t gotten any test results from Nashi yet cause I was waiting for my appointment at the vet yesterday to get some training on stuff like the BG tester and giving him insulin.
I tried testing this morning on my own, but Nashi was not enjoying it and I didn’t want to poke him a thousand times trying to get enough of a sample. I will try the testing again tonight, might try testing from his paw, I did see a video about that somewhere, for him that might be easier than his ear.

 

Thank you, this helped a lot.

I haven’t gotten any test results from Nashi yet cause I was waiting for my appointment at the vet yesterday to get some training on stuff like the BG tester and giving him insulin.
I tried testing this morning on my own, but Nashi was not enjoying it and I didn’t want to poke him a thousand times trying to get enough of a sample. I will try the testing again tonight, might try testing from his paw, I did see a video about that somewhere, for him that might be easier than his ear.

 

Caitlin, try conditioning (de-sensitizing) Nashi to the testing process. Choose a testing station that is comfortable for both of you, and has good lighting. Take him there, give a low carb treat, pet, praise and handle his ears. Just lightly stroke and rub his ears. If you have a little cotton sock, put about a 1/4 cup of raw rice in it, warm in MW for 15 - 20 seconds and rub that over his head, chin, ears etc. You will be able to use the rice bag to warm his ears and get blood to the surface for the "poke" while testing. Then give another low carb treat and let him go.

Do this as many times a day as you can. Most of our fur babies begin to associate testing with a treat and it really helps. Testing is a process of practice and patience, not many of our puddies are cooperative at first, but they come around.

I would think it's easier to get the blood sample from the ear, rather than the paw. The paw pad skin is much thicker and there is the consideration of what he's going to walk in after the test. There are actually fewer nerve endings in a cat ear, mostly they just don't want to have their ears messed with.

 

Some cats are resistant to being tested initially. Here are some things that will help.

1. Reward your cat with a low carb treat every time you test, even if you are not successful. Freeze dried chicken is a great treat. You want to get your cat to associate testing with getting a reward.
2. If your cat does not like it's ears touched or are having a hard time getting blood, massage the ears from the base towards the tip. Also reward your cat for letting you massage it's ears.
3. A warm rice sock also can help get the blood flowing.
4. Some people prefer to use the lancets freehand instead of using the device. I feel like I have more control over when doing it freehand.
5. For testing a thicker lancet usually is better to get the blood flowing. The lower the guage, the thicker the lancet.

Hopefully these tips will help you test

 

Forum member JanetNJ made a great video on testing: There are lots of videos on Youtube for testing and giving insulin shots. Watch several of them; each will have some different tips that might work with Finnegan. I don't see any numbers in your spreadsheet yet. Do you have additional questions?