? New home tester-getting strange readings

Hi, I'm new here!
My cat Benny was diagnosed back in July. We are just now starting home testing. I received my test kit yesterday and was going to attempt a 12 hour curve today.

I tried 3 tests yesterday for practice. He tested back-to-back at 82 and 85. This did not concern me too much as he was showing symptoms of being low earlier in the day.

I tested again around 6 hours later and got a reading off 286.

This morning I tested him directly after feeding and insulin and got readings of 59 & 60. This doesn't seem right to me. I don't know if I'm doing it wrong, maybe I'm not getting enough blood? I'm having a hard time getting a bead. Any suggestions?


-Benny is almost 18 and weighs about 14.5lbs
-he is currently on 3 units of Vetsulin 2x a day

 

Are you using a pet meter or a human meter? The 82/85 yesterday are as low as you want him to be on Vetsulin. The 286 you got 6 hours later could be from the insulin dose wearing off if that 6 hour mark was toward the end of the time between AM and PM doses. It could also be a rebound from the low BGs earlier if it was elsewhere in the cycle (cycle - the 12 hours after a dose is given).

This morning's 59 and 60 are very close so they're likely to be proper readings. We always say to retest when a reading is low or out of place. That said, this is too low and you should not give insulin when his BG is at this level.

It's great that you're now home testing! It's the best way to keep Benny safe and to see what his insulin dose is doing. We can help you figure all this out if you want to try things the FDMB way.

 

I'm using a pet meter, the AlphaTrak 2. Home testing is very frustrating as it takes like 3 pricks to get a blood sample I'm testing again in about 20 minutes so we'll see how it goes.

 

Try to warm the ear first. Some people warm up a sock filled with rice, or you can just massage until it’s warm. You can use just a smear of Vaseline or neosporin ointment that will help the blood to bead. Also after you poke gently massage upwards from the poke to squeeze the blood out.
Definitely get another test ASAP. If the 59-60 were correct and you gave insulin you will need to be on top of him for the entire day to control his drop. Make sure your hypo kit is ready. Karo syrup, honey, even maple syrup will do if you have it. High carb food. Be prepared to intervene with small high carb snacks continuously. Keep them small so he stays hungry and keeps eating for you.
Glad to see you’re home testing!

 

Ugh...just tested again (2x) and he's at 30 so I just fed most of a can of wet and a 1/4 of dry food which is about 2x what he normally eats, even though he usually doesn't get fed again until 5ish. I just don't understand why he is running so low all of a sudden. We were running fructosamine tests on him at the vet prior to home testing and they were always high (his last one was is the 500's as was his spot check at the vet). Since we changed him to wet food 2 weeks ago he seems to be having problems.

I have tried the vaseline, which helped a little, and warming the ear, but it is still taking me at least 2 pricks and he is getting very angry as I have poked him at least 7 times today

I just ordered more test strips and lancets from amazon as I have already used over 10 in less than 24 hours trying to get this right...I didn't realize home testing was going to be so expensive and stressful!

 

I suspect your dose is too high. If you were concerned he was showing signs of being low yesterday that is for sure a sign that you need to lower the dose.

 

How can it be too high if he's running in the 500's? The vet actually upped it from 3u to 4u after the last test due to the high readings, but then we moved it back down after a week as he went low about a week after the change. This is so confusing! We recently changed his diet so maybe that's contributing, but I don't see how that would make it go from 500 to 30.

I'm sorry if I'm rambling, I'm just stressed over all this (and I have a another kitty who just had dental surgery so I'm juggling a lot right now). I do thank you all for your posts.

 

If he’s that low you have to stay on top of him today. You’ll need to check constantly and feed him a lot. I wouldn’t go more than 30min without testing until you start seeing steady safer numbers.
After this, you may want to look into using a human meter. The numbers run a little lower, but the cost is better. A lot better!
The fructosamine test is more of an average. With a dose that’s too high like this, he’s probably bouncing into way higher numbers and that can last several cycles. Testing regularly will show you what’s really going on. Do you have any Karo syrup? Or honey? If the food doesn’t bring him up you need something that will. Also, if he ate that much, but stays too low, he may not want to eat for you over the next few hours and the Karo you can just rub in his mouth for a quick boost.

 

Yes, changing from dry to wet food can dramatically change the amount of insulin needed.

Which wet food are you feeding?

What dry food did you switch from?

 

Heres some info on bouncing that @Kris & Teasel gives out

Here's an explanation of what we call "bouncing". It explains why a kitty's BG can go from low to sky high:

1. BG goes low OR lower than usual OR drops too quickly.
2. Kitty's body panics and thinks there's danger (OMG! My BG is too low!).
3. Complex physiologic processes take glycogen stored in the liver (I think of it as "bounce fuel"), convert it to glucose and dump it into the bloodstream to counteract the perceived dangerously low BG.
4. These processes go into overdrive in kitties who are bounce prone and keep the BG propped up varying lengths of time (AKA bouncing).
5. Bounce prone kitty repeats this until his body learns that healthy low numbers are safe. Some kitties are slow learners.
6. Too high a dose of insulin can keep them bouncing over and over until the " bounce fuel" runs out and they crash - ie., have a hypo episode. That's why we worry so much about kitties that have had too high a starting dose prescribed by the vet and the owner isn't home testing.

 

1. Yes, the vet said it was average which is why she suggested home testing, but his spot check was still really high as well.
2. We do have honey I can give him if needed.
3. I just spent $50 on this meter, so I don't think I want to go though the expense of buying another. I just hope that I can get to the point where I don't have to a) prick him 2-3 times to get blood and b) feel like I have to test 2 times each time. That's 4-6 lancets & strips per test which is what is really adding up.

If I prick him and don't get any blood do I have to use a new lancet or can I use the same one again? I've been using a new one but if I can try again with the same one that would be helpful. I tested him at 8:45 ish so I'll go test him again now.

Thank you so much everyone for sticking by me though my insanity and million questions!

 

30 on a pet meter is far too low. You are probaby going to need to keep feeding him to boost his blood glucose. He's eaten quite a bit so he may not be hungry for a while, so that may mean using straight sugar, in the form of Karo syrup, honey, maple syrup, anything you have.

I know it's a pain to test right now, but please try to get another test 30mins or so after you got that 30. Hopefully he'll have started to move up after his chow-down.

How many hours is it since you gave him his shot?

 

The good news is, now that you're home testing, you are catching these lows! I think Janet is right, Benny likely needs much less insulin than his current dose. If you're very very lucky, he might even be on his way to remission (anti-jinx)!

 

I believe for human meters you can buy 100 strips and they’ll give you a meter free. Lancets can be any brand from any pharmacy Walmart wherever just try to stay in the 26-29 gauge range. They’re bigger like the AT size so you get blood easier.
I’ve poked up to 2-3 times before no harm as long as it’s still sterile not rolling around or rubbing on something. I wouldn’t try more that that- it’ll get dull quickly and be painful. It’s not actually recommended to use more than one poke but if it’s still in my hand and I need to I have. Lancets you can find cheap though like $3-$7 box of 100 I believe? I’m not in the states so I don’t know for sure.

 

He was on Royal Canin Glycobalance 1/4c 4x day
He is now eating fancy feast (different flavors) 1 3oz can 4x/day

For 2 weeks we transitioned so he was eating 1/4 cup dry 2x/day and 1 3oz can wet/2x a day. We just changed to all wet this weekend.

 

I just tested again and he was even lower so I put a little honey on his gums (I wasn't sure how much to use) and gave him some of my other cat's Iams dry cat food as I figured that would bring up his sugar faster. Was that good? I've never dealt with lows before, only highs.

 

Yes good. I would repeat in 10-15 min
How long since you gave insulin?
How close is your vet?
Is he showing any symptoms? Leathargic? Wobbly? Twitchy?

 

Can you go to your post and add the red 911 icon? I want to make sure you get some more people on here to help you out ASAP

 

You're doing great!

The Karo will give the quickest boost, but the dry will help because it will have more staying power.

Please do put the 911 up, it will help attract some more Vetsulin folks here. I believe that you have a couple hours more in which the insulin will be acting strongly, although pretty soon the carbs you fed and Benny's own defenses (the bouncing phenomenon) will probably start to kick in with him going so low.

 

Welcome! When I first joined the group my vet had prescribed to high of a dose 4u 2x a day and I had crazy numbers so we (Kris from forum and i) started all over we began at a lower amount and adjusted till we were getting it closer to right amount, he had went from 4u 2x a day to .5 2x a day, I just recently changed insulin and we are still at .5, it was hard for me to understand how all that worked but by lowering it, it seems to be working out better and the hypo numbers have gone

 

Insulin about 3 hours ago
Emergency vet is about 15 minutes away
He was shaky earlier, but not anymore. No lethargy, he's wobbly, but has atrophy in his back muscles and a bit of arthritis in his back so this is normal and hard to tell what it is from. How much honey should I be giving him?

How do I add the 911?

 

You can edit the thread title up at the top of the thread, to the left of your title there should be a pull-down menu.

 

Okay, I think I found it.

 

It worked! You should see some more people chime in now so stay posted! If he’s not shaken anymore probably that food is starting to kick in!

 

I gave a pea-sized amount of honey, rubbed on the gums. Is that too much, not enough?

 

I honestly don’t know I’m sorry. Thats why I wanted you to post the 911.

 

At this point I wouldn’t worry about too much. You just need to keep him stable until the insulin wears off and he’s in the clear. Then there are people that can help you work on lowering his dose so this doesn’t happen again. High is better than low right now.

 

You definitely don't want to give tons of honey at once, because the risk is they'll throw up, so starting with a pea-sized amount is good. You can probably risk a bit more than that, actually, but let's see where he is at the next test first!

 

I found his discharge ppwrk from when he was firsts diagnosed and it says 1tsp of karo. That seems like a lot to me. He's cat napping
right now and seems okay. I'll recheck him again shortly to see how he is doing.

 

1tsp isn't necessarily unreasonable for some cats, but with luck, the few drops will work in this case!

 

...I have Alphatrak 2 as well... sounds like high dose worked when on dry food BUT not anymore!!!

Sounds like the dose needs to come down and really great you are now feeding wet low carb food. It explains why you previously had such high numbers at the vet and now after changing food and not at the vet, numbers are much lower and kitty doesn’t need that high of a dose

 

On a pet meter, 68 is the cutoff for "take action" and giving high carb. When you get the next reading, if you are higher than that you can relax a bit (but test again in 30), if it's still lower then a bit more karo (especially if it's really low, in the 40's or lower).

 

Oh my goodness. 30 is extremely low on a pet meter. My cat hit 44 and I rushed him to the emergency vet where he stayed on an IV overnight. You are only 3 hours in with potential 3 more hours to drop. Personally if it were my cat I’d bring him in.

 

Have you gotten another test yet?

 

Also have you run the meter test in your kit? That will help reassure you that the meter is accurate

First meter test I ran came in 138. Second meter test (new strips required resetting the code from the strip container). Anyway 2nd meter test with new bottle of strips came in 145

It’s reassuring to test your meter and make sure it’s all within range

 

Btw he may be very sensitive to insulin for the next week so dose very conservatively. When my cat hypoed to 44 two days later I have him less then half what we normally would give and she hypoed a second time.... So 2 er trips in three days.

 

AMPS 56/60 (AlphaTrak)
+2 30 (most of a can of FF + 1/4 c glycobalance dry)
+2.5 lower than 30 (honey, pea-sized amount + dry Iams)

 

Because mid cycle she's too low. Way too low. Then she's bouncing back up to the moon.

 

To get the reading, POKE WITH DETERMINATION. It's OK to poke all the way through.

 

You are going to test every 15 -20 minutes. If under 60 rub karo, honey or maple syrup on gums. Just a little. Give a smidge of cat food (not dry). You don't want to fill him up, you will need to keep feeding until he holds the glucose on his own. You keep doing this until you reach 60, then the process changes just a little.

Do you have cat food in gravy or sauce? Anything other than the rx food?

 

Please update when you can!

 

Please do another test right away and post the number. Testing is saving your cat's life.

Honey and carbs last for a very short time.

 

I know you said he was cat napping in your last post but you’ve got to wake him up and test if you haven’t already. Post as soon as you can. We’re all here with you!

 

When my cat went slightly hypo at 58 on alphatrak she slept comatose-like... it’s a sign of extremely low glucose...

 

Maybe they went to ER?

 

Really hope that's what happened, and that everything is OK.

 

Maybe? It’s been about an hour since we asked her to put up the 911 and she did say her vet was only 15 min away. I hope everything’s alright.

 

I'm still here. I tested and it came up lo he was picking at food so I gave him honey and tested 20 min later. He's up to 35 now and eating dry iams. I'm about to put out wet food and will test again in 20 min. my husband should be home by then and if it is not up we are taking him to ER. Sorry it took so long to post. I had to give other cat pain meds and take care of his dental needs as well so I haven't been able to post. I will update when i can.

 

Please add more Karo to the wet food. He's been running in the 30's for a while now, he needs the boost.

If/when you go to the ER, bring the karo with you in case you need to apply it along the way. These are worrying numbers.

 

It was recommended above keep giving the honey for anything below 40. Keep testing and giving snack and honey and post an update if you go to the vet if you can! It’s after midnight for me but now that I know you’re hanging in there and some other people have checked in I’m going to try to get some sleep.

 

I"m using honey, not karo. I just added it. thx

 

Thank you for all your help!

 

Going up..he's at 46

 

I'd give a bit more honey at this point. If he's still low at the next test when your husband gets home, take him to the ER, he is making you work really really hard and he's not coming up enough. Hopefully soon, with all the food/honey.

Updated numbers:

AMPS 56/60 (AlphaTrak)
+2 30 (most of a can of FF + 1/4 c glycobalance dry)
+2.5 lower than 30 (honey, pea-sized amount + dry Iams)
+3 LO (honey)
+4? 35 (dry Iams)
+4.5 46 (wet food + honey)

 

I am glad it's going up but still scary low. Keep going.... You wanna see him over 70

 

You are looking for 2 hours of stability = above 70... 2 hours after last food/sugar. You need to keep testing every 15 minutes and applying food or honey/karo. And the 2 hour mark needs to be after the nadir (at +6).

 

It's an Alphatrak.... Not human meter. She will want to get at least 70.

 

Good catch!

 

Just tested again, he's at 82

 

Oh thank goodness!!!

 

One thing that really helped me is to warm the ear and then poke on the very edge of the ear, almost on the other side. For my cat, the very edge of the ear seems less sensitive and so it's easier to get the blood and less stressful for both of us.

 

the poor guy has a super red ear. I can't seem to test off his right ear (he is missing a small chunk maybe not great blood flow?) so I'm having to do it all off the left ear

He just walked up the stairs without much problem so that's a good sign. I think He's fooded out as he isn't showing much interest in eating anymore, but I will continue to test and try to get him to eat periodically If he goes back down we will head to ER.

I am planning on skipping his 7pm insulin dose tonight. Thank you everyone.

 

So glad he's starting to come up! Phew!

I hate to say it, but try to get another test in 30mins to make sure he's going up for real (if it's just honey, it wears off quickly).

Great job keeping calm through a long run of scary-low numbers!

 

that's a relief. now you can stop feeding and test in 20-30. if it's holding above 70 that's good. if it dips again, feed again.

 

remember he will be very sensitive to insulin for at least a week.... and obviously you need to lower the dose quite a bit.

 

If you have a little neosporin with pain relief at home you can put a small bit of that on the ear to make it feel better.

 

Oh poor little guy! When you're done testing for the day, dab some neosporin/polysporin on it. They heal up quickly, but this kind of day is really hard on the ears, especially if it's early in hometesting when it's harder to get the blood out.

 

107!!!

@JeanW I tried pricking the edge of the ear and that seemed to work well. Thanks!

 

How should I proceed from here? We normally feed 7am, 5pm, 7pm and 10pm (vet recommended 3-4 feedings/day and as we both work this is the only way we could fit in 4). Should I feed him his normal meals for the next 3 feedings?

 

My guess is yes... but I would love to hear what others says

 

Great on both counts! You're welcome!

Also I meant to add my vet suggests putting the tiniest bit of regular kitchen flour on the poked area in the ear when done testing. It helps to stop the bleeding. I do this only sometimes but it does seem to work.

 

I don't see any reason not to feed normally (other than the fact that he might be full from all the extras today!).

I think you can take the '911' down from the post now, but you can replace it with the '?' for this and other questions. It's not too early to be thinking ahead about tomorrow's shot, too, both the dose and the "no shoot" number. Given how low he went today, and the fact that (I'm guessing) you'll be at work an unable to monitor all day, I'd go very very conservative on both, but you'll want to get input from Vetsulin folks for details. @JanetNJ has already been here and I'm hoping she'll have some thoughts, and @Kris & Teasel is another member who is good with Vetsulin dosing and might be able to help here.

 

Yes, I was going to ask about that too. I don't normally, but I can get home on my lunch break if necessary to take a mid-day test. If I could get an idea of what range to dose him in (and how much) in the morning, that would be awesome. I'm also getting super low on test strips. I think have 6 left *eek* I never imagined I'd go though almost 20 in just a few hours.... I have ordered more but even with expedited shipping they won't be here until Wednesday.

 

Ooh may need a human monito as a backup? I think they’re kinda cheap in cost???

I couldn’t find your spreadsheet for history and dosages and type of insulin? Is it Prozinc?

 

I just joined today so I haven't done any of that yet. sorry! He is on Vetsulin 3u 2x/day

 

I don’t know about that insulin perhaps @Kris & Teasel woukd know? It seems high judging from what just happened. I’m guessing here but I would go 1 or a little more of 1.5 U ( 1 1/2 u) depending on if 40IU or 100IU insulin type - I would be interested in hearing addl responses

 

As, I reported earlier, he recently had a diet change from all dry to all wet so we think that has accounted for the drop in BG

 

Agreed

 

A diet change can make a tremendous difference in BG. And that is just one reason why testing is so important.

Through testing, you more than likely saved Benny's life today. It's too early in the cycle yet to determine what a safe dose is for the next shot. Obviously, 3 units of Vetsulin is too high a dose (and some cats do become insulin sensitive after a hypo experience). Let's wait and see what the Vetsulin veterans have to say about it.

A human meter from Walmart (a lot of people use the Relion Micro or Confirm) works just fine and will save you $$$ over the long haul.

Here is the link to the Vetsulin guide: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/beginners-guide-to-caninsulin-vetsulin.186099/

 

Thank you. I will read though the guide. I literally *just* bought this meter (it came yesterday afternoon) so I really don't want to turn around and buy another at this point. Perhaps later down the line. I appreciate the input!

 

I've been out and have just read about all of today's drama - very scary! The 3 unit dose is far too high and as Janet said above this hypo episode will leave him extra insulin sensitive. If it was my kitty I'd drop the dose down a lot to 0.5 u twice a day for the next couple of days. This might be too low but with the extra sensitivity it's safer. It should get him calmed down some in his responses and it can be very gradually increased as needed.

Here's the new member's hand out I made up:
______________________________________________________________________________________________

It would help us if you set up your signature (light grey text under a post). Here's how:

• click on your name in the upper right corner of this page
• click on "signature" in the men that drops down
• type the following in the box that opens: kitty's name/age/date of diabetes diagnosis/insulin you're using /glucose meter you're using/what he eats/any other meds or health issues he has.

Another thing that will help us help you now that you've started BG testing at home is to set up a spreadsheet like the one we use here. We can all see it and look at it before offering advice: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Here's the basic testing routine we recommend:

1. 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
2. test at least once near mid cycle or at bedtime daily to see how low the BG goes
3. do extra tests on days off to fill in the response picture
4. if indicated by consistently high numbers on your SS, increase the dose by no more than 0.25 u at a time so you don't accidentally go right past a good dose
5. post here for advice whenever you're confused or unsure of what to do.

.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Here's an explanation of what we call "bouncing". It explains why a kitty's BG can go from low to sky high:

1. BG goes low OR lower than usual OR drops too quickly.
2. Kitty's body panics and thinks there's danger (OMG! My BG is too low!).
3. Complex physiologic processes take glycogen stored in the liver (I think of it as "bounce fuel"), convert it to glucose and dump it into the bloodstream to counteract the perceived dangerously low BG.
4. These processes go into overdrive in kitties who are bounce prone and keep the BG propped up varying lengths of time (AKA bouncing).
5. Bounce prone kitty repeats this until his body learns that healthy low numbers are safe. Some kitties are slow learners.
6. Too high a dose of insulin can keep them bouncing over and over until the " bounce fuel" runs out and they crash - ie., have a hypo episode. That's why we worry so much about kitties that have had too high a starting dose prescribed by the vet and the owner isn't home testing.

.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Here are some tips on how to do urine ketone testing (VERY important if BG is high and kitty isn't eating well!):

• put the end of the test strip right in his urine stream as he's peeing
• slip a shallow, long handled spoon under his backside to catch a little pee - you don't need much
• put a double layer of plastic wrap over his favourite part of the litter box and poke some depressions in it too catch pee.

Most test strips have to be dipped and allowed to develop for 15 seconds before viewing the colour change in very good light.
______________________________________________________________________________________________

The systematic testing routine I described above is how you can keep Benny safe. You'll be surprised how quickly it becomes second nature to you. You don't want a repeat of today's stressful situation.

The description of bouncing was posted above by Jessica (and Smokey). This is the reason you've seen some very high BG numbers along with those lows.

Re meters: your vet will likely want you to use the AlphaTrak meter but the strips are very expensive and you've seen how fast you go through them in a low BG situation like today. It's worth considering a human meter backup that uses cheaper strips that you can buy on short notice on weekends, etc. The ReliOn brand from Walmart is popular and two models, the Micro and the Confirm, take only a tiny blood drop to give a reading. Strips are $30+ per 100. You should be testing Benny before any further insulin doses because of what happened today and because you're resetting his dose for safety's sake.

You had a true baptism by fire today and can see why we're huge proponents of home testing. We don't want you to have to go through this again.

 

In the future, amazon ships them next day.

 

I did use amazon. The soonest they can get here is Wednesday, even with expedited shipping.

 

Oh. You must be in a rural area. With prime I get it next day

 

Nope. I'm in a major city.

 

Update...I just tested him and he's at 468. Should I still skip his insulin dose? @Kris & Teasel @JanetNJ anyone else?

ETA, he ate about .5 oz a little over 2 hours ago and I'm about to feed him his 7pm meal

 

Go ahead and feed him while waiting for word from Vetsulin folks, but here's my opinion for what it's worth: if you had a good stockpile of test strips and were willing to stay up tonight if need be, you could probably shoot 0.5U, BUT: by my count, you only have 5 strips left, so if he went low again tonight, you'd be stuck. I think in those circumstances, I'd skip and just see where he was tomorrow morning.

Important exception: if he's ever had ketones or a DKA after his diabetes diagnosis, that would push things more towards the "go ahead and shoot" side.

 

I wouldn’t skip with such a high preshot. I am inclined to tell you to lower the dose to 1-1.5 ... if you can test. you had him on 3, correct? but it would be so incredibly helpful to have a spreadsheet link so we can see the data better. If you need help setting that up we can get someone to set it up for you.

 

To explain my reasoning a bit more (sorry, Janet, I'm going to disagree with you here): the high number right now could be a bit of an artificial high after the super-lows today, not an indication that he's still the kind of diabetic that is running in the 400's and needs insulin to bring him down. I think he may come down on his own. Consider the history of the "practice" tests (82 and 86 in mid-cycle) and the AMPS this morning (59 and 60).

 

Huh. Weird it takes so long then.

 

I am fine with erring on the side of caution... esp given we have no data to look back on.

 

I looked at the spreadsheet earlier today with the instuctions and everything but I don't understand AMPS??

I decided to give him 1 unit as I would rather he be high than low but as he gets another meal I didn't want to leave him with nothing. He ate about .6 oz at 7 and gets fed again at 10. He normally eats more that that but I fed him so much earlier trying to get his numbers up I think he is full.

Here are my numbers from today (1st time I've done home testing so I don't know If I'm missing needed info)

6:45a- ate 3oz wet food
6:58a-3 u insulin
7:04a- 60 mg/dl

8:55a- 32 mg/dl
9:42a 21 mg/dl
10:50a-Lo
11:16a-35 mg/dl
11:39a-46 mg/dl
12:10p-82 mg/dl
12:44p-107 mg/dl
**during this time frame he ate another can of food, 1/4+ of dry food and we treated with honey as well
4:50p- .5 oz wet food
6:52p-468 mg/dl
7:00p-.6 oz wet
My syringes are only in 1 unit increments (I'll see about 1/2 unit ones) so i shot 1 unit.

I will test again before his next scheduled shot.

 

AMPS is "AM pre-shot" (PMPS similar).

Can you test again at 10pm (+3 hrs after the shot)? If he seems to be taking another dive down (below 150, say), instead of using your last few strips to test, you would have the option to abort the cycle by feeding a bunch of high carb food then.

I will not be around at that time, but hopefully others will be if you run into problems.

 

Perhaps a vet clinic would sell you some strips to get you through until Wednesday. You would have to keep them in a proper strip container.

Or …
I must preface this by saying I've no personal experience, some people have success using FreeStyle Lite strips (available at Walmart) in an AlphaTrak as long as the code is set properly.
Thoughts, anyone?

 

Here's a link that explains the spreadsheet:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/understanding-the-spreadsheet-grid.156606/

I like Nan's suggestion to test again at +3 to see what's happening.

 

Normally it doesn't most items I get in 1-2 days but for some reason these aren't scheduled to arrive until Wednesday. Maybe they are back ordered or something?

 

I read the link earlier...still confused. What does AM preshot mean? What would I put there, a time? I can test again at 10 but I was planning on using my last 5 strips to test before each dose on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday morning. This would leave me without a test strip for one of those days. I guess i can skip Wednesday morning as hopefully I will have a handle on this by then.

My husband tried calling a bunch of places, but pet stores don't have them and the vet clinics can't/won't sell. I'm going to check with my vet in the morning to see if I can get them there.

If I try the freestyle strips how would I know what code to set them at? My understanding is there are no cat codes on those just people codes

If I do test at 10 should it be before or after I feed him?

 

Test results go in the actual cells.....so if you test before feeding/shooting at 7am, the test number you get goes in the AMPS cell, and when you test before feeding/shooting at 7pm, that test result goes in the PMPS cell. Take a look at China's spreadsheet (in my signature below this comment) for examples

If I were you, I'd get a Relion Confirm or Micro from WalMart to hold you over until Wednesday. Human meter's aren't that far off from pet meters and it'd be a lot safer than shooting without testing at all. At least you'd know if you were running into trouble.

Thousands of us have used human meters to test our kitties

 

Amps is morning (am) preshots test. The test you give prior to the insulin dose. So if you shoot at say 8 am, your amps test might be at 7:30-7:45. In that column you would put whatever the reading was that you got. No food for at least two hours, then test, then feed, then shoot. The +1, +2, are the number of hours after the shot. Then pmps is the evening (pm) preshot test before the evening dose of insulin.