Glucose meter advice and recommendations UK based

Hi All.

I'm newly diagnosed and I'm a bit lost as to what glucose meter to get. I see the UK Info for Diabetic Cats thread mentions Accuchek, SD Codefree and Alphatrak but doesn't say if one is more or less accurate. Does that matter? I really don't know

I did look at SD Codefree on Amazon but when I watched a video review on Youtube the poster said not suitable for dogs or cats. I messaged LinteeBean on Youtube after watching her video on how to take a blood sample and she uses a True Check but said any glucometer will do but get one that requires a small amount of blood and uses the "sipping" strips. Will the SD Codefree meet these requirements?

If anyone has any recommendations, makes and model numbers that would be great.

Thanks in advance.

 

Actually you can use either a pet glucose meter or a human meter, most of us use a human meter because the strips are cheaper and easier to get in most countries, when you buy it it does say is only for humans but the readings you will get are good enough for you to use them , actually the protocols you will find here are written for human meters

You should look for one that needs the smallest drop of blood (I think that the ones that require the smallest would be 2 microlitters)

I can't tell you specifically about one in the UK , the one I use is AccuCheck Active by Roche and I think is available in most countries I love it because I practically just have to smudge some blood not even a drop and it would still read it and because I can take the strips out of the meter to take the sample

 

I’ve just ordered a Bayer Contour Next, having seen on here http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...8/?temp_hash=0703986c4f3f0cd37179bbca7d79227b that it used a reasonably small amount of blood, was reliable and the ongoing costs (for strips) weren’t too high. It arrives tomorrow though, so I can’t tell you what it’s like to use.
(ordered it via Amazon....)

 

Thanks for the PDF. Thats really helpful. I will take a look. Would like to know how you get on with the Bayer.

 

I have ordered one myself through Amazon. Will arrive Thursday. I left it a bit late to order for tomorrow after reading the reviews on Amazon and watching Youtube reviews which have all seemed pretty positive. Let me know how you get on.

 

Finding it very straightforward to use. The key to not wasting strips though, seems to be to get the ‘bead of blood’ on the cat’s ear, before you put the strip into the meter - otherwise you’re working against time, which never goes well, especially with cats and newbie-blood-testers!

 

Very good advice!

 

Hey YogiX, just chiming in as well. I use the SD CodeFree meter for Kitsu and I haven't had any issues with it so far, so if you need to use it as a backup meter, I'd say it's a good choice. The meter and testing strips are on Amazon UK and they are very affordable. Let me know how the Bayer Contour Next works for you, I might end up getting it as a backup meter.

 

Thanks for letting me know. It should be delivered today so when I get home I will have a read up and check it out.

 

Will do!

 

Just reading through the instructions. I have different coloured lancets but it doesn’t say if there is a difference. Did you put your lancing pen on a certain setting?

 

Hi, I don't think there is a difference between the colours - I bought some more and they're various colours too.

As for depth of puncture, trial and error suggests 4 or 5 is most effective. I'm doing 5 with my thumbnail behind her ear because it comes through occasionally. Sounds a bit harsh but a proper puncture first time seems way less stressful
. I suppose it depends a lot on your individual cat's ears though.

 

Just used the glucometer. Was a bit nervous as I have never used one before and wasn't sure how my boy was going to react but he was fine. I tried it on 3 setting first but it didn't appear to do anything so I tried again on 4 and applied a bit more pressure. There was a tiny spot of blood so I did a bit of massaging around the around and got a nice little blob. Managed to do this within 3 minutes so the glucometer was still on!

My reading is 13.5. When he was first diagnosed last Wednesday he was 22. After 8 years of being on dry food recommended by our vet because he was overweight with a heart murmur. Now just on low carb wet food.

I'm not sure how often I should doing to test and I'm not 100% sure about the spreadsheet. Will have to read up and see if I can work it out.

Thanks for recommending the glucometer!

 

I’m putting my readings into the spreadsheet just as a way of keeping a note of them. But I find the ‘automatic colour coding’, when you do enter a reading, quite useful - I’m going to print it out and take it to the vet tomorrow.

I am mainly taking readings before injections, but one morning when I’m about all day, I would like to do a set of 2 hr readings, just to see what goes on. Of course, Jinx may never come near me again afterwards!!

 

Congratulations on your first BG test. If you aren't comfortable with the lancet device, you don't have to use it. Many of us just use the lancet manually. You can use a cotton ball, a cosmetic pad or folded paper towel behind the side of the ear you are poking. Saves your finger, and then after the poke just compress the poke site for a few seconds to staunch the blood and help prevent bruising. As far as when to test, at the very least before every injection to be sure it is safe to do so. Also, it's very helpful to gather BG data at different times of the day, to find the nadir (the time between injections when the BG is the lowest). This is used to determine if a dose increase or decrease is needed. So, depending on when you can with work, life and sleeping, get in as much testing as you can. Also, as you continue testing, the ears develop more capillaries and it gets easier to get the little blood drop. Try using a warmed rice sock to warm the cat's ears, and rub them a bit. Warm ears bleed better.
Be sure to enter all your tests and injections into the spreadsheet.

 

@jaykay and @YogiX , you're both doing really well, do give yourselves some credit (and a beer/glass of wine/bar of chocolate!) This is all a bit tricky to begin with, and everyone has the same questions as you, but very soon it becomes second nature. Part of the knack of testing is to stay as calm as possible yourself - a nervy approach will be picked up by your kitties and they will be nervy too. You want them to trust you and in fact make the whole experience of testing one that can be very bonding. You've had some other good tips here and yes, warming the ear, applying a little pressure and/or massaging fhe ear first is a good way to encourage that little bead of blood that is all you need and therefore makes the operation quick and easy. Once you've got the knack it really is straightforward and the cat won't feel it at all.

Sorry if I've missed this above, but are you giving your kitties treats after tests? We always suggest that caregivers do this, to reward the cat and reinforce the "positive experience" of testing. Some people say that their cats come running to the testing area as soon as they hear the meter coming out, knowing they'll be getting a treat! Commercial supermarket treats in the UK tend to be the Dreamies type, which sadly aren't good for diabetics, too high in carbs. Instead, you can buy freeze-dried tubs of pure chicken such as Thrive or Cosma (often at good prices in Zooplus) or you can simply offer small pieces of cooked chicken, ham or cheese.

Again, repeating what's been said, but as far as frequency of testing is concerned, before every single insulin shot is absolute minimum, to ensure bg is a "shootable" number, ie not too low. And other tests at intervals during the day to gauge how the insulin is working. @YogiX , have you read the Beginners Guide to Caninsulin? It would answer a lot of your questions. And yes, a spreadsheet is highly recommended so you can link it to your signature and we can all see your kitty's bg data at a glance if you have questions. Some of our technically minded people here will gladly help and set a ss up for you, just ask and we'll tag one!

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/beginners-guide-to-caninsulin-vetsulin.186099/

Sorry again for any duplication, have only skim-read posts above in my early morning stupor/rush!

Keep going,you're doing great!

Diana

 

Thanks Diana. I did read about the treats after testing. Will pick something up. Samson will love that!

With the testing we want to try diet only. I'm not sure how regularly we should perform the blood tests. Would weekly be sufficient?

I am a bit confused about the spreadsheet. I'm going to use it solely for recording blood tests and not insulin shots. Maybe I need to adjust my spreadsheet?

 

I am breaking some already tiny treats into miniature pieces, and Jinx is so busy trying to eat them she is barely noticing what I’m up to with her ear

Re the spreadsheet, could you just not fill in the U column (this is the insulin units column) and maybe set a ‘nominal time’ for ‘time zero’ ie say 7am, then if you do a blood test at 9am the result would go in the +2, 11am in the +4 column etc?

 

Hi Mike. I think you might mean you want to try to regulate Samson with diet only, ie not have to give insulin? That's certainly the aim, not always achievable but worth a try as his numbers don't seem too bad. A healthy wet food diet makes a big difference!

Blood tests to check glucose should be done prior to every insulin shot, so normally twice a day. This is mainly to ensure that the bg hasn't dropped TOO LOW to shoot. Giving too much insulin is potentially the most dangerous thing you can do - having high bg isn't great, but controllable to a greater or lesser extent by giving insulin. The dose may vary over time - when you start out, the low 1u dose may not be enough to bring down bg sufficiently, so vets will suggest an increase after a week or so, usually 0.5u. The idea is to test before each shot when bg is likely to be highest, and whenever you can, also test at two-hourly intervals so you can see when the insulin started to take effect, what its lowest point is, and how long it lasts before bg starts to rise again. If you imagine a simple graph with vertical and horizontal lines (sorry don't know what it's actually called!) and draw a curved line that looks like a smile on it, that's what an insulin "curve" looks like... you plot the pre-shot bg number at one end of the "smile", do other tests during the cycle to get the "shape" of the smile, and finally the second pre-shot number of the day to get the other end of the smile. Depending on what the smile looks like, you, your vet and all of us here can ssee at a glance whether you need to increase the dose or not. Does this make sense? Weekly blood tests are fine when a kitty is regulated, but until then you need to test twice a day minimum, to ensure safety, and whenever you can - say one day at a weekend - as well.

I hope this makes sense and if I've said what you already understood, apologies!

As for the spreadsheet, yes it's to record bg numbers and what insulin dose you have given. Those two elements are part of the basic info we need to see in order to suggest a way forward.

You may have to be prepared for this to take a little time, but hopefully you will be one of the lucky ones and get things under control quickly... it's hard to say at this point but you've made a good start.

 

Exactly that!

 

Congratulations on your testing!!!!

On the spreasheet just put NS ( that means no shoot) in the dose column that way whoever looks at it knows you did not gave any insulin and is not that you forgot to put the dose or something else

If you are not going to give any insulin I would still monitor him once a day ( morning and night would be best ) at least for a couple of weeks to really see how he's doing if he´s in normal values the two weeks then you can monitor him less from them on