?Please Help

So I changed Chase's food from Purina DM to Fancy Feast classic. This was last night. His numbers had been ok, and then this morning his BG was 304... the first time it's been this high in 2 weeks. So I gave him 1/2 unit of Lantus this morning. I get home from work and he has thrown up. I check his BG and it's 339. I don't understand. Then I could barely get him to eat enough to give him insulin. It was almost 13.5 hours after his last dose, but I just gave him 1 unit. This is scaring me. I understand that things like this happen but he had been doing fine until I changed his food. And just that quick, the numbers are up. When do I test again... 2 hours after he got his insulin? And I have a loaner laptop while mine is being fixed that is worse than mine was. I'm so upset.

 

This is all my fault. I shouldn't have changed anything until I was going to be home. Can someone please, please tell me when I should test again? He did eat once I put down Purina DM and gave him insulin. He ate the Fancy Feast last night and this morning, but I guess it upset his tummy. Will BG go up after a cat vomits? I think he had just done it before I got home and he last ate at around 6:30 this morning.

Could someone please help me with his spreadsheet, too? Please?

 

Sandi, Deep breathes. Chase will be OK.

It may be that you need to do the food change slowly with Chase or Chase's system doesn't get along with some ingredient in the Fancy Feast. It was Classic Fancy Feast I hope and not the gravy or chunk varieties that have higher carbs. If it was one of the higher carb varieties that could explain the higher BG tonight.

I notice you have skipped some doses due to pre-shot readings. As far as dosing is concerned, it is better to stick with one dose for at period of 6 to 10 cycles depending on whether you are using Tight Regulation or Start Low Go Slow Method. You don't change the dose just because the BG is up for one or two readings.

As for testing, I would test Chase again 2 hours post shot and see what his BG is then. If he's down at all, you may be in for an active cycle and will need to test him again with timing depending on how much he has dropped. Post your reading. I'll check back in a bit later.

What help do you need with the spreadsheet?

 

This is all my fault. I shouldn't have changed anything until I was going to be home. Can someone please, please tell me when I should test again? He did eat once I put down Purina DM and gave him insulin. He ate the Fancy Feast last night and this morning, but I guess it upset his tummy. Will BG go up after a cat vomits? I think he had just done it before I got home and he last ate at around 6:30 this morning.

It is the classics

 

I already gave him 1 unit of insulin because I couldn't get a hold of anyone and didn't know.

Please understand I am battling with a loaner laptop that wasnt working at first, then has shut down on me for no reason 3 times.

 

MrWorfMen's Mom gave you good info. Test 2 hours after shot. He ate his purina DM and kept it down then you gave the 1 unit shot? Or did he vomit that food up too?

 

He kept his food down.I gave him 1 unit of Lantus as soon as he got half of his food down. Then a shot. He hasn't vomited again. I should have mixed the food instead of just switching it. Thank you, everyone so much. Chase ate well and seemed fine. I must have been one exhausted gal, because I totally passed out.

If anyone is reading this, I will take advice, but I want to shoot in 5 minutes, to stay on schedule. Short run down,
02.16.17: 0615 BG 206 No insulin that day
02.16.17: 1826 BG 211
02.17.17: 0551 BG 304 - 1/2 unit Lantus given
02.17.17: 1823 BG 339 - 1unit Lantus given
02.17.17 2120 BG 151

I was going to continue testing but then fell asleep.

Back up this a.m.
02.18.17 0600 BG 183

Do I shoot at 1/2 unit Lanuts or 1 unit Lantus

I'm going to find my directions on how to best post. But for now... if anyone can help, I would be so grateful.

I want to start SLGL today, so I will be testing every 2 hours. Chase had been in the low to mid 200s, with a few readings below 200. I was shooting different amounts and was then told I need to keep it consistent. I was waiting until this weekend to start SLGS, and then last night I freaked out.

Right now, I'm thinking 1 unit, but is that ok with a BG of183

 

Until you can sort out everything stay on the safe side and give 0.5 u of Lantus. Call this a new starting point as you get SLGS under way.

Please put all your data on the SS as soon as you can. Try to stay calm so you can think about your next steps on SLGS. It's a good idea to post today on the Lantus forum with a thread title that says you're just starting SLGS today and need help.

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you Kris. I'm going to give him .05 Lantus right now and will post on the Lantus forum. I just updated his SS the best I knew how to.

 

I agree with Kris. It looks like 1u pulled his numbers down quite a bit last night which suggests that 1u may be too much insulin. When you see a drop that large early in the cycle, re-testing is important to make sure kitty doesn't drop too low. The fact that he is still low this morning suggests he likely did go a lot lower last night.

Start at 0.5u and see how Chase does on that dose but be sure to monitor. With Lantus, there is a depot of insulin which takes a few days to build up and show exactly how a dose is working. Have you read through the sticky for SLGS? It gives you detailed information about when and how to increase/decrease doses based on BG readings.

 

Sandi your SS looks fine but please put 1u into the dose column for last night so it's clear why we've suggested 0.5u today.

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you both for being here for me. I know I can't freak out like I did last night and shoot him with more insulin. I'm finally understanding and will get this down.

 

You are not the first person to freak and won't be the last. This is a marathon not a sprint. You can't treat this like you would a headache where if one aspirin doesn't take the pain away, you take two the next time. Throwing more insulin into the picture can just add to the confusion and actually increase BG levels rather than lower them. Insulin dose increases and decreases both need to be done slowly and methodically so holding doses to allow the body to adjust is often a waiting game. One thing you need for this is a lot of patience.

 

When I gave him more insulin last night it was with the thought that 1 unit would be his dose as I started SLGS. 1 unit is what he has mostly been given, with some NON shot days (which I now understand as being bad, but I was following the advice of a vet), and a few 1.5 unit dose days (at the direction of the vet). But now that I see the 1 unit took his BG down a good bit, I have decided to just do the .5 unit, which I've done a few times and didn't seem to make his BG rise. I freaked out last night because I wasn't really able to communicate with anyone here and... well... it just happened. I picked a BAD time to give my laptop to an IT guy to fix. He gave me a loaner laptop but it is bare bones and it took me an hour to actually get online and stay online, last night. I'd told him that I MUST be able to get online for the one reason that I am being guided as to how to care for my Chase during a crucial time. It was just several things at once that contributed to my "freak out". I got home from work later than I expected, Chase had thrown up in 2 places and it was orange... the color of his food... so I took the time to clean it out of the carpet asap. Then I had to get this loaner computer online and it didn't go smoothly. When Chase BG was higher than it had been in a while, I decided to do the 1 unit. Patience is coming. I posted in the Lantus forum. Thank you for guiding me at such a crucial time. I appreciate it so very much. So does Chase. MEOW.

 

Oh no... his BG is 76... the lowest EVER.

 

Ok Sandi. How many hours ago did you give Chase his insulin? He is getting close to warning number of 68 on your AT2 meter so give Chase a tsp of LC food now to try to steer him and keep his numbers from dipping further. Retest him again in 20 minutes.

 

2 hrs ago. I just put down some food. He is not acting strangely. He is eating. I have Karo Syrup. I can't find the "Toolbox". Where is it on here? I had it printed and can't find it. No one is replying on the Lantus forum.

 

toolbox: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/jojo-and-bunnys-hypo-tool-box.2354/
hypo instructions: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-treat-hypos-they-can-kill-print-this-out.15887/

Linda and I are here to walk you through!

 

Ok the Toobox is HERE but right now just let Chase eat a bit of food. You are going to have to monitor him for awhile now to make sure he doesn't go too low. And don't leave food down for him to graze on. You don't want him getting filled up and unwilling to eat in a couple of hours if he needs to. Again this needs to be handled methodically. Let us know when you test again what his reading is.

ETA link to toolkit

 

I can't offer advice but I will find you the hypoglycaemia protocol

ETA: these folks are fast! Beat me to it!

It will be ok. Everyone here is wonderful

 

Thank you. I am a mess. Couldn't even find the toolbox in the search bar. Why am I freaking out? I'm sitting here crying and so upset. He is up in the window as I have opened it to let fresh air in (there is a screen, of course). He is very alert but is breathing kind of fast. Maybe excited at what's going on outside.

Thank you SO much. He's acting normal. Will test his BG again in a few miinutes.

 

To get attention on the Lantus forum in a situation like this, you would want to change your subject line to include the +2 number (and the information that you are using an AT, so they know how close you are to the line), and maybe put a "?" in the left-hand drop-down choices to get extra eyes.

That said, in this kind of situation, it's probably best to keep only one thread going at a time, so we can just stick with this one for now.

You're doing fine! The first lows are always very stressful on the caregiver (the cat, as you can see, is often having a grand time through the whole thing!).

 

Take a deep breath Sandi. I know this is stressful. I couldn't understand why Glen would just drop and be high 12 hours later. It is very scary when they drop low but you have everything Chase needs and you will take care of him.

It's so hard because we want to do everything we can for our babies and it is super frustrating when it doesn't happen when we want to, even when we think we are doing everything right!

This is the hardest time. Just know that folks here are here to help and you will get through this.

 

Ain't it the truth! We're holding a personal fire drill and they are just chillin!!

Chase is still in safe numbers and all you have to do is keep him there. It's early in the cycle though so be prepared to continue testing him for several hours to ensure he stays up. Do you have plenty of strips available?

 

He's at 65 BG

 

Ok do you have any higher carb food around like Fancy Feast or something with gravy in it? If so open the can and just give him some of the gravy (a tsp or 2 is all). We want to steer him up but not too much. If no gravy food, mix a tiny bit (1 tsp)of karo into another tsp of food and give him that. Retest again in 20 minutes.

 

Thank you. He is eating low carb food. do I put down the gravy? Or give Karo syrup?

 

See Linda's post above. And again, you don't want him to fill up too soon, so don't leave food out to eat-- give him what he needs when he needs it, but only a little at a time.

 

Sandi, you are going to have to steer him for a few hours so please just give him small amounts of food not a whole bowl. You need to be able to get him to eat when you need him to right now and letting him fill up now may cause problems later in the cycle. Use the gravy if you have it or mix a bit of karo into the low carb food (1tsp of food is all).

 

If you don't have any higher carb food, you can drizzle a couple of drops of karo on the low carb food and feed him a teaspoon of that.

 

When are you going to test again?

 

Hi Carla, she should be testing about now I hope!

 

Sandi

He's at an ok number but we do need him to get up but we don't want to fill him up.

the best way to do this as long as he is in lower numbers is after each test, alternate feeding a couple good tsps of HC gravy with a couple of tsps HC food. For example, at +2.25 when he was at 65, I hope you fed him some gravy as was suggested. You should be testing again here and have a new number any moment now. If he's still dropping, feed two good tsps HC food and a drop of Karo. Retest 20 mins later.

We do this alternating of food and gravy until they are up but you must then stay on the testing because the HC will wear off.

 

We all have times like this that test our sanity! It'll get better - I promise!

 

Thank heavens you have these people here to help! I'm just reading all this now.

 

He's up a little. 95 BG

 

He is upt to 95. Do I feed him some HC again? When do I test again?

 

How am I supposed to update my subject line? what should it say?

 

I did. I fed him a couple of spoonfuls of gravy from Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers. Tested again and he is at 95. So now that his number is up, when do I test again?

 

Thank God you posted this. I gave him .5 like you suggested, and he still came down so much.

 

Sandi, Chase is safe right now so retest him again in about 30 minutes without feeding anymore right now. We need to see if he's going to surf (stay in that range) or dip down again because he's got a few hours till likely nadir (lowest point) yet. So you may need to keep steering him for awhile..

ETA you don't need to do anything with your title right now. If he dips too low then we change it to make sure we keep eyes on you and Chase. That said, there are a few of us keeping watch here with you now.

 

Come on Chase boy, surf it out Sorry I can't offer anything more than support right now but checking on updates.

 

Sandi

I would probably feed him now a tsp of low carb food to try and keep the numbers from falling back down when the HC wears off. I'd retest an hour from when you got the 95.

 

Thank you, Marje. One other question. I put a little bit of antibiotic ointment on his poor little ear after I tested last time. Do I now need to clean that off with soap and water before I test on that ear, again? His other ear is a mess and I can't touch it at all right now.

 

It should be okay unless you have trouble getting a blood drop. Then you'd need to wipe any excess ointment off with a tissue or paper towel.

 

Don't use soap and water. Just get a cloth that is barely damp and wipe it off.

If you can't test the other ear, I would put extra neosporin with pain relief ointment on it, rub it in, and keep doing that a couple times a day until it looks better.

 

He's at 124, now. Thank God! And thank you all for staying with me. I just feel so alone in the real world, so having online friends who care is very special to me.

Even with warming his ear I just can't get him to bleed. It's breaking my heart. He and I have always been so very close. I'm afraid this will all jeapordize that because he is afraid of me. He knows when I'm going to hurt him taking his blood.

Thank you all, so much. I'm just going to kick back for a little while and relax.

 

Sandi

Glad he is coming up. Remember that it can take carbs two hours to wear off so I would not go two hours without testing again; it would be best if you could test in an hour or so....we've seen numbers come back down again and it's still early in the cycle.

Normally, you would take a reduction for a drop below 90. However, since you shot 1u last night, it could easily have affected the cycle today. Since you are home this weekend, if he were mine, I'd shoot 0.5u consistently (unless he's too low to shoot....which would be below 90) and get as many random spot checks as you can in consideration of his ears. If at shot time, he is 90-150 and you aren't sure whether to shoot, don't feed him but post and ask for help, ok?

You might also go back to posting on the Lantus and Levemir ISG in the format I gave you. That is the best way to get attention there. I think no one noticed today because there was nothing about the subject line that indicated there was an issue.

Great job today!!!

 

So glad to see he's come up a bit but as Marje said you still need to be vigilant as he could drop again. You did well today catching that low number and dealing with it. The first time is always difficult and you handled it well.

 

Will do, Marje. I posted that "I need help". LOL. I thought that would do it. Can you tell me where that format is posted, again? I haven't had time to do much, today. I've had a migraine all along, while this thing with Chase happened. it really zaps your energy.

I was planning to test every 2 hours today, anyway, but I will try again in another 20 minutes, which will have been an hour since last testing. I just can't get blood out of him without torturing him, by rolling that ear back in forth between my fingers after lancing. And twice today, I've had to lance 2 times in a row because I just wasn't getting anything. I'm going to have to try that other ear and just see if I can find a spot that's not bruised. I think that's why it's worse off, because it seemed easier for me to get blood from before.

Thank you for the encouragement and praise. This was tough.

 

If you aren't getting blood don't roll the ear but rather massage it up from his head toward the puncture site. It may take a few passes but gentle massaging will prevent bruising and coax rather than force a blood bead. His ears will learn to bleed better the more you test so be patient. It will get easier.

 

Thank you, Linda. I didn't feel very good about myself. Cried a lot. But I just can't seem to get Chase to bleed... even using suggestions. So I'm literally torturing him to be able to test. I know it's more important to keep track of his numbers, and hurting his ears with a lancet won't kill him, like diabetes could... but still... it's heart wrenching.

Rolling the ear is what the vet told me to do. I have gotten the worse advice, all the way around, with this vet. I won't be going back.

 

That's what Marje said... about how they will learn to bleed. But my goodness... how long does that take?

 

I understand how much this testing hurts you because of the idea that you're hurting him. You'll get MUCH more proficient at it before long and he'll learn to accept it. I'm sorry that today has been so harrowing. I think the 1 u dose was still having an impact and that's why you got such a dip with 0.5 u today. Lantus has to be dosed very consistently because part of one dose sticks around to influence the next.

We'll get you on the right track! Re getting attention on your thread title: at the left end of the bar where you type in the title there's a little box that contains a small drop down menu if you put the cursor on the box. The menu has a blue "question mark", a red "911" or a "no icon" choice. Click on the blue question mark to add it to the thread title. If you're truly in a hypo panic, use the red 911.

 

It usually doesn't take that long but every cat is different. I find my girl, who has always been pretty easy to get blood from, is more difficult when her numbers are low for some reason but every cat is different. Chase will come to realize that what you are doing is making him feel better and he won't be upset with you. Cat's ears don't have that many nerve endings so they don't feel anything near what we feel if we poke our finger. We just have to be careful to get a clean poke, to massage not squeeze to get a blood bead and make sure to apply light pressure after testing to avoid any bruising. Warming the ear before testing can help too but I'm sure you have tried that.

 

BG is now 132, so it's holding steady. It has been an hour since the last test. I hope I can wait 2 hours to test again, now, so that he and I can have a small break. I would really like to run down the street to the store. And I guess tomorrow will have to be laundry day, as I have to go to the laundry mat. I won't leave him except for a few minutes, today. And I just really need to run to the store. I don't have anyone to help, so I'm it.

 

I did what you said... I massaged it from the base of the ear up. WOW... that makes so much more sense than what the vet said. It didn't bleed much, but it seemed to be less traumatic than what I had been doing. thank you.

 

I think you can wait. When was his last snack?

 

I also think you can wait but you might want to feed him some LC food to keep him flat.

 

His last snack was at around 9:45, soon after finding out that I needed to get his BG up. I only gave him a small bit of gravy... no real food. Chase usually eats once in the morning and once at night, because.... again... it's what the vet said I should do. Feed him before each time I shoot and nothing in between. Now I'm having to re-learn everything. I need to read up on everything here. It's been very difficult to get the chance. There is so much to learn. I had a follow up with that vet tomorrow, and I just canceled the appt. I will never go back there, again.

 

I see no problem waiting a couple of hours to test but leave a bit of food (LC) out for him while you are away just in case he starts to drop at all.

 

I like Marje's idea to give him a little regular low carb food. Give his ears a break though.

Take a deep breath. Today has been very hectic and you're still new at this. It feels like a waterfall of info dropping on you. It won't always be like this. Try to read just a little bit at a time, make notes on things you don't understand and post those questions on here. If the question is very general, post on the main health forum. If it's about Lantus, post on that forum.

 

Here is the thread where I posted it, scroll down to post #13.

 

I can do that. He has NO problem eating. LOL. The only thing I will miss about the vet office is that I can't monitor his weight until I find a scale. And I don't know when that will be. The last time he was weighed was on 1.18.17... the last time he was at the vet office. His first weight was on 1.15.17, at 14015 lbs... the day I took him in and he was so sick... the day they did hos blood work up and found out he was diabetic. Three days later, he weighed 14.63. That was the last time he was weighed on a vet scale. I don't know what his weight is now, but he eats every bit of almost 11 oz of wet food, per day.

 

You're doing a great job of taking care of Chase. We all had to learn as we went along and all had panic attacks dealing with those low numbers at first. I don't mean this as criticism, but just wanted to point out why you probably didn't get help on the Lantus forum this morning. Your subject line said "Starting SLGS Today-Need Help". This made me think you needed help with SLGS. Next time you may want to put "Need help now" or something more specific.

I bought a baby/toddler scale on Amazon for Furball so I could weigh her at home.

 

I gave him about a tablespoon and a half. He is currently cleaning himself and will then nap, as he is on his favorite pillow. I'm going to put some clothes on and run to the store. Will test again at around 2:00 p.m.

 

No offense taken... not at all. I made that my subject line because that's how I was told to make it. LOL. I started the new thread after I tested Chase 1st thing this morning and his BG was at 183, so the thread wasn't urgent. It was when I did his +2 test and saw that alarming number, when I freaked out and couldn't remember ANYTHING! My 2nd post has a question mark at the beginning of it but that's not what they mean when they said put a question mark at the beginning of your post.. I only found that out, today. So I was trying to get attention. LOL

 

Your subject line was fine. It's easy to panic, but next time you may want to try to remember to be more specific on what you need help with or delete what is already in the subject line and just put you need help.

 

Let me give you an example....when you got the +2 and it was a lot lower than AMPS, it would have gotten you more help if you had edited the subject line like this:
2/18 Chase AMPS 182 +2 76 NEED HELP PLS

Anyone looking at it could have seen that was a huge drop and most people who have been around in the L/L group would have known you are new. However, sometimes there aren’t as many experienced people on as at other times. If it is ever urgent and you don’t get help, you can do just as you did today....post in Health.

As Carla, I also saw your post in L/L but there was nothing that made me think there was an urgent issue...only that you needed help with SLGS. But I looked at his SS and saw the lower +2 and then read that post.

You’ll get the hang of it.

 

My fault for suggesting that wording, Sandi! Re weighing: I bought a digital baby scale too and it works really well for kitties. I monitor Teasel of course and also his brother who had to lose a little weight. Teasel goes on it no problem but his brother is very cautious - I had to teach him with treats that the scale wouldn't swallow him up!

 

Where did you get your baby scale?

 

https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&k...hvtargid=kwd-3099903457&ref=pd_sl_x2o1unlc3_e

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/282362044839?lpid=82&chn=ps&ul_noapp=true

 

I bought it from Costco online but it's exactly like the Salter brand scales in the Amazon link Larry gave you.

 

I'm hoping that some of you might still be watching this thread so that you can coach me. Chase's BG is a little bit higher than it was this morning, but not by much, and the time fast approaches for me to give him insulin, again. So naturally I'm scared.

Will someone please look at his SS and tell me what you think? I want to feed him, now, but I don't know how to handle this after what happened this morning. I know I will be giving him his shot, so I'm thinking that feeding him is fine. But how much? If I'm understanding this correctly, I want to make sure that he's hungry, just in case his BG goes low like it did this morning. However, Chase LOVES to eat. Even this morning, he couldn't get enough to eat.

 

I think you are fine to feed your normal meal for your PS meal. He is going up and may bounce tonight. You'll still want to get a +1 and a +2 tonight just to see where he is going. Make sure you add each test to your subject line so people can see where he is headed.

 

I truly understand why you're scared - it's confusing and new and you had an exciting morning. However, with Lantus consistent dosing is important. The effects of that 1 u dose are gone by now. How long before his PM BG test is due? Post here as soon as you do it and tell us the number. Your +11 number is 203 and that's high enough to give 0.5 u again.

Re food: a normal meal is fine. It's great that he's a good eater - very helpful when you need to "steer" him with food as you did today.

Deep breaths ...

 

He gets his shot in 30 minutes. How long after he gets it do I test? My times are a little off because of how things went down this morning. So... he will get his Lantus at 7:00. He got it at 6:50 this morning but I do better when I can keep things closer to being on the hour precisely so I'm going to wait the extra 10 minutes. he just ate about 3 TBL of low carb food but he usually eats a bit more than that.

 

Yes, I agree, he will almost certainly "bounce" upwards after the lows today, and if he's a good eater it's not too much of a worry that you'll get into a situation where you have to steer and he won't eat. If you are really worried, though, you can do something like give him half his meal at the regular time, and then give him the rest once you are confident he's not going to dive again like he did this morning. Again, I'd be very surprised if he did that, but he is, after all, a cat, so you never know!

 

I am confused as to when it's NOT ok to feed him.

 

I think the +2 is the best indicator of where this cycle is going to go, but if you wanted you could get a +1 before that-- the Lantus won't have taken effect yet, so you'd just be seeing the effects of whatever trajectory he's on (again, almost certainly upwards) and possibly a little food spike.

Generally, you want to not feed two hours before the pre-shot test (to make sure you get a number that isn't food-influenced). Other than that, I'd say feed meals as you normally would. If he's a good eater, then anytime he goes into a dive you can probably be assured that he'll eat for you when you need to steer, just as long as you don't free-feed and let him eat his fill at those times.

 

Before today, Chase was eating twice a day. He would eat just before his a.m. shoot, and just before his p.m. shoot. Should I just keep doing that? I have read that people break up the meals throughout the day. Does it matter, since he LOVES to eat? What about how food affects his testing? I'm still very confused how all of these factors work together. His ears are SO bruised. Both of them, now.

 

The sequence is:

• no food for 2 hours before the pre injection BG test (so the BG number isn't food-influenced)
• do the BG pre shot test
• feed a regular meal
• inject insulin while kitty is eating or right after he's finished.

After this, the tests you do are to track:

• when the insulin is starting to lower BG (might start to show at +2 or +3
• when the BG is at its lowest (often around +5. +6 or +7).

All of the extra tracking tests don't have to be done every day.

 

OK... so then it's ok that I fed him AFTER I just tested, right? And he'll be getting his insulin in 30 minutes so I thought it would be ok to not test right before his shot since I just tested.

 

After I give him his insulin, I would prefer to wait 2 hours if that seems safe, at this point. Then I can stay up and do another test 2 hours after that to see where he is. Should I set my alarm for 2 hours after that test to test him again, since I will be sleeping?

 

Many of us feed multiple meals because it's thought that it's easier on the pancreas of a diabetic cat, but if the two meals work for you and Chase it's not necessary to change. This is one of those fine-tuning things.

Yep, that's fine, especially with his ears in kinda rough shape right now. With that, I'd say definitely wait until the +2 to get another number-- I'd even say +3 except that he did such a quick dive this morning (though that might have been partially from the depot of the 1.0 shot yesterday).

 

Let's just wait and see where he is at the +2 and (maybe) +4-- I'm sure you could both use a break tonight, so let's hope he obliges!

 

I know it doesn't seem like it to you right now Sandi, but you are doing a great job!

 

Nan.... what kind of human meter do you use? I really need to get one because I can't afford going through all these Alpha Trak test strips. Someone recommended one to me and said they sold them at Walmart, but my Walmart didn't have that kind when I was there on Thurs night.

 

Thank you, Julie.

 

I was told that most people here who use a human meter use a Reli On micrometer. Walmart had other Reli on meters, but not one that was a micro meter.

 

I think people around here use several different Relions-- the Micro, the Confirm, and the Prime. They differ in the size of blood droplet needed and the price of strips-- I think the Prime needs the biggest drop and cheapest strips, so if you tend to get a decent amount of blood per poke it's fine, but if you get smaller drops you might get errors and wasted strips (so that they aren't as cheap after all). I don't think you can go too far wrong with most human meters, I'd go for the one with the most affordable strips that you can get your hands on at short notice and all hours.

 

I use the Relion Confirm meter. It uses the same test strips as the Micro. I have a Micro too but it seemed less reliable to me than the Confirm.

 

Julie... how much blood do you need for the strip? Chase isn't bleeding much.. not at all.

 

You don't need much, Eleanor still usually doesn't bleed much (unless her BG is really high) and we are fine with the meter.

 

Are you warming Chase's ear before you test?

 

I forgot to post his

Yes... I am.

 

Oops. I think I replied to the wrong person. Yes... I'm warming it.

 

I have no other suggestions for getting blood. Most cats do start bleeding more easily pretty quickly though!

 

Just a couple of quick comments to maybe clarify some things.

• It’s often good to get a +10 or +11 test so you can see where he’s headed as he goes into preshot; certainly, it might be easier to get the +10/+11 tests before the PMPS.
• If you get a +11 test, I’d still test again before I shot because Lantus can get a second dip at the end of the cycle and you don’t want any surprises. You want to be sure you know the number you are shooting and so it is best to test/feed/shoot all within about 15 minutes.
• Insofar as meals, correct that you don’t want to feed the two hours before shot time, if possible, because you don’t want the number food influenced. There are some exceptions but for now, it is a good rule of thumb.
• Generally, you want to try and not feed after nadir; after nadir (the lowest part of the cycle and peak action of the insulin), feeding can put the brakes on the cycle and decrease duration.
• Not everyone here uses ReliOn but most do. I used a Micro because it was very small and easy to deal with. I found it to be as reliable as other human meters I’ve used. It uses the same strips as the Confirm.

 

Did you give him 0.5 u of insulin? What was his BG before you fed/injected. Was the 203 the last number you got? If you can update your spreadsheet when you have a minute that would be very helpful.