Home testing questions

So I am planning on starting home testing at the weekend if I can get the monitor. so just have a few questions.

Do I test before injection then after? So I can see what its done.
Before food or after? I am gathering before
Do I test both time he has the jab? I gather yes

Sorry if they are dumb questions, just want to get it right. Anymore advice would be great.

 

Hi there,

The usual order is test feed and shoot(insulin ) but some folks shoot insulin while the cat is busy eating, and some insulins are more forgiving for people that want to free feed (leave canned out all the time)

You always want to test before giving insulin.

When you are testing before you give insulin its called a PreShot. So mornings is AM PS and the evenings is PM PS. You can test an hour or two after you give insulin to give you more information, more data for your spreadsheet, but you dont have to do that every day unless there is reason to such as a low preshot reading.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

Always test before you give the insulin. That way you know what the bg level is and if it is safe to give insulin or not. Newbies should not give insulin if the bg level is under 200 mg/dl (11 mmol). This is to prevent a possible hypo.

You don't need to test immediatley after the insulin injection. Testing randomly once or twice a day is plenty. These are called "spot checks" and gives you an idea of how your cat is doing.

Depends on the insulin. With some short acting insulins, such as Humulin N, you want to test bg first, feed some food, and then about half an hour later give the insulin along with the rest of the food. Having some food in the tummy before the insulin sort of softens the effect of the insulin.

With Lantus or Levemir, possibly ProZinc as well, it doesn't matter when you test. Some people test and give insulin and reward with food. Others just test and give insulin while the cat is distracted by eating.

Yes.

Keep a log of the bg numbers so you can see how your cat is responding. Many people here use a Google spreadsheet template and link it to their signatures. The instructions are over on the Tech board.

 

Hi,

because of the dose your on, I think it would be very beneficial if you could get checks at the following times (Still tad concerned at your dose)

AM PS
+1
+2
+4
+5 (IF +4 was a big drop)
+6
+8
+10
PMPS

This is quite a lot of testing but it's to see what sort of curve your getting with the Caninsulin and if there is/isn't a dramatic drop in bg.
Ideally you are looking for a valley shaped curve.
Caninsulin is classed as an intermediate (though I think miore like short acting) insulin.It means it starts working on BG's immediately and has a short duration.

It works best when worked with food as well-this can extend duration and cushion a drop in numbers (read the stickies in the Caninsulin isg)

From your curve we will be able to give further thoughts on your dose and whether you need to speak to your vet.
Have a look at our spread sheet and you can see how it worked.

You often are forgoing high pre shot bg's to get a better curve (just the way of this insulin).There are some here though who have managed to get OTJ using Caninsulin (just not many and still the concern that the manufacturers them selves have rasied advising vets to transition to alternative insulins).

As preveiousy said, you can set up a spreadsheet-kind of neat with the colour coding pattern, helps spot things as well as keeping track and aids your vet.

Good luck :mrgreen:

Forgot to say- you wouldn't test like this every day. Uusally amps, a +4 (nadir test, lowest bg number in the cycle, it might be +5 in your cat. You work this out over time) and pm ps.Some people can't get mid cycle tests so save dosing till w/e's etc or get up in the night. An absolute minimum is your pre shot tests.

 

While you are waiting, be playing with his ears and using the rice sack! Also you might get your spreadsheet in place: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=16 We'll be waiting to hear about your admission to the Vampire Club!

 

I started testing yesterday. I've just done three because of lack of strips (Just ordered more) I am going to set up a spread sheet, just haven't had chance yet.

Is this on the right track?

Saturday 28th Aug 8.30pm 45 mins after Insulin - 21.3
Sunday 29th Aug 7.45am 15 mins prior to jab - 18.3
Sunday 29th Aug 7.30 just before jab - 15.4

 

Congratulations on your success :mrgreen:

For recording these figures would be recorded as:

Saturday 28th Aug 8.30pm 45 mins after Insulin - 21.3 (383) (+1 everything is usually done in 1hr increments except when you've got an extremely low number and are trying to get the bg up)

Sunday 29th Aug 7.45am 15 mins prior to jab - 18.3 (329) (AMPS-Morning preshot)
Sunday 29th Aug 7.30 just before jab - 15.4 ( 277) (PMPS-Evening preshot)

Some movement in numbers, sorry can't remember off top of my head what your dose is.
A really good spotcheck to get would be around nadir (usually somewhere between +3-6 hrs depending on which insulin you use.It's hard to keep track when your advising several people at a time.Can't remember if you have put it in your signature. E.g Dx....., (diagnosis date) 1u (date started administering insulin) Lantus BID. Once you've got your ss up and running this isn't as important but people will know immediately whether they are in a position to help with any dosing advice your asking for.

Keep up the good work! :mrgreen: