worried about Louie's BG levels~

I'm concerned about Louie's BG levels~ after switching to the Bayer Contour monitor just a week ago (thanks to DCIN) I found out that Louie's numbers were actually much higher for the past 2 months(got lower readings from the Freestyle lite).....was wondering why he was so hungry all the time~ did not seem to be regulated.
I got some fresh Lantus, and upped his dosage to 1 unit. I'm just worried that the numbers are still so high. I'm really trying to be around to feed him more frequently, and just bought some EVO to see if the higher protein wet food might help. (way too expensive for my budget, but I'm trying it out) Any suggestions or ideas?
Tracy & Louie :YMSIGH:

 

He's been on 1u long enough to have settled into it by now, so you may want to try upping it by .25 to 1.25u and hold that for a few days to see how he does there...Sometimes you just have to find that 'break-though' dose. It was a hard concept for me to wrap my brain around with Musette as well, since Maxwell was a much bigger cat but need less insulin than she does.

The other thing is how are his teeth? Any change of infection? Bad teeth or infection both could be keeping his numbers high.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang

 

Hi, Tracy ~

"I found out that Louie's numbers were actually much higher for the past 2 months(got lower readings from the Freestyle lite)....." -- so bummed out for you and Louie, Tracy, that you're having to go through this. But you will get better regulation with him again!

Mel's already given you some good advice to increase Louie's dose to 1.25U (make that 1.50U instead **) and hold that dose for three days to see how it's working.

Hang in there, Tracy!

Eva

** Edited: With Louie's numbers in the 300s and 400s, being more aggressive in increasing his dose to 1.50U BID would be a better way to get his numbers down more quickly as Gayle has suggested if you're comfortable with that increase, Tracy.

 

It's really quite sad how horrible the Freestyle meters are.... I did email the company to let them know how terrible they read, and to let them know that I and others have been informing people to stop using Freestyle meters.
I told them I was paying it forward because that meter's false reading could result in harm to people.

From your ss, it sure looks like the case! It's good to see you have some mid cycle numbers because Lantus is pretty much dosed on the lowest numbers in a cycle. Your tests show that Louie's numbers are high all across the cycle, so you could easily go up to 1.5u BID, and then hold there for about 3days / 6 shots to let the shed settle and to see if Louie starts getting some better numbers.

Until Louie's closer to regulated, you can expect to see a larger appetite. My Ollie was eating close to 30oz a day but now he's closer to maybe 10 or 12oz. The body's got to be able to extract what it needs from the food, so until closer to regulated and better BG numbers, maybe give Louie a wee bit more.

One suggestion I have is to see if you can get a before-bed test because lots of cats go lower in the pm cycle, so it may contribute to a higher type number in the morning. As for catching nadir, that's a tough one because every cat has nadir in a diff spot and nadirs refuse to cooperate and stay put! My Oliver has nadir close to +11 / ps, but my Shadoe is closer to maybe +5. You will find Louie's by just doing the odd curves at home on a weekend and testing every 2 or 3hrs... then you will get an idea of Louie's style, but just looking at 1/15, he seems to maybe have a nadir close to +5 or 6!

Now that you are using a trustworthy meter, you will very soon find what is the good dose for Louie, and you should start to see a happier Louie even sooner!

 

Hello again, Tracy ~

I do think Gayle's dosing suggestion of 1.5U BID makes sense. You do want to get Louie's numbers coming down as quickly as possible. As Gayle stated, hold the 1.5U dose for three days (6 cycles) and then reevaluate whether or not to change his dose. Sorry if you've mentioned this before, Tracy, but are you testing Louie for ketones with either a ketone meter or urine ketone strips?

Tracy, when Butters was first diagnosed, he was starving all of the time. We didn't let him go hungry. We fed him enough to keep him satisfied. Now that he's better regulated, he's not begging for food so much, although he still does love his food.

Gayle, I'm so glad you've reported the Freestyle meter problems to Abbott! They need to be doing a major recall on all of the batches of strips reading so dangerously low...if not the meters, depending on where the problem lies. This is a serious problem for both cats and humans. :-x

Eva

 

Eva,
Yeah, Abbott was clueless. They said to have my friends call them and they could test with Abbott to locate the problem. I told them there is no point in testing because their meters had already been tested against other more reliable meters, like the OneTouch, Bayer, AccuChek, even Relion is more reliable, and everyone has switched to other meters. Who cares why the Freestyle always gives a BG in the mid 200s? People don't, but Abbott should! There was no point in people calling Abbott because people have solved their problem, and now it is only Abbott who has a problem, and I suggested they fix their meters before people get sick after relying on Abbott's horrible meters, and then sues Abbott.
I never heard back from them.

My favorite is the Bayer meters, then the OneTouch, but Relion is good and very affordable.

 

thank you!!!!

wow~ thank you all for such kind and good advice! I so appreciate everyone's input here~ I'm just so relieved that Mel checked in with us, and connected Louie with DCIN, which then brought the Bayer meter into our lives to see where Louie really was all along. Nothing better than hearing from you all and your personal experience~ I don't feel so alone or worried. Louie is such a trooper~ a hungry one~ but he is becoming one of my best teachers......!
will up his dose tonight~
People make the best impact with big companies who are not listening (like Abbott) by spreading the word and refusing to purchase the product. Hopefully that will get their attention~ not healthy for sugar kitties or humans who are diabetic to use the Freestyle lite!
again~ THANKS!!! :smile:
Tracy & Louie

 

Keytones?

Forgot to ask about using the keytone strips~ I bought some at Walmart (Relion) but have no clue how to proceed or what to look for~ would high keytones mean that Louie needed to see a vet? Is there something I can do at home to help him?

any advice would be great~
Tracy

 

With Ketones you don't want to see more than a trace or small..those two you can help him though at home..anything more than that he needs to go to a vet asap especially if they are High..high is a sign that DKA maybe just around the corner and that can kill. Basically with DKA their bodies start canablizing itself to get the nurtrients it needs.

To use the strips you just got to stalk the poor guy when he goes to the litter box to pee...Musette is easy as she likes to go pee in the mornings when I go into the bathroom for the same reason and thankfully we have a small enough bathroom that I can sit on the tolit and reach her in the litter box..lol. But there are several ways to go about it...With Musette I just stick it under her butt while she is peeing and get it in the stream that way, once they start going they usually don't stop until they are done. Other folks use a long handled soup soup/ladle and catch pee that way, you can also put plastic in the litter box to make the urine pool up and dip the strip in that. That one didn't work at all for Musette she would just look at me, like Um mom someone spilled the trash can in my box...lol Or would just kick it out of the way. I think the easiest way is to give them a clean litter box with aquarium gravel in it and then put them and the box in a room alone and just wait them out. The gravel won't absorb the urine and most cats just can't resist marking a clean box...lol. I know everyday when I clean our boxes it looks like a line at a sporting event of cats waiting for the box, half the time they don't even have to go, they just want in them so they can rearrange the litter they way they want it. :lol:

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang

 

louie & keytones

Great information Mel! same thing for Louie every morning~ the bathroom ritual.........plus 4 other kitties file into the bathroom first thing in the morning~ following me in! I have the keytone strips handy and Louie seems to pee for a long time....so it won't be difficult to catch him in mid-stream......or at least I'll try!
:lol: very funny saying "sporing event" about cleaning the litter box!!!
hope Louie is ok~ I'll look for anything above trace or small
Tracy & Louie

 

Good luck with the ketone test, Tracy! And we'll all be following along with you and Louie as you increase his dose and get him back on track.

Thinking of you and Louie this afternoon, Tracy, and wishing better bg days ahead for your dear furguy.

Eva

 

Many thanks Eva! will keep you posted how the higher dose works out~
Tracy & Louie

 

Good Morning, Tracy and Louie ~

Glad to see you've upped Louie's dose to 1.50U, Tracy. Give that dose time to settle in for three days (6 shots/cycles) to see what it does for Louie's numbers. You'll get it figured out, Tracy...just hang in there.

Were you able to do that ketone test for Louie, Tracy? How did it turn out?

Thinking of you and your sweet furguy today,

Eva