Edit: I figured out how to use the spreadsheets! (I was looking at the US one, so the numbers weren't adding up to what were at the top of the spreadsheet). But now I guess his blood glucose should be 5.6-11.1 if I'm reading the spreadsheet correctly? So if his blood glucose is 21.6, that seems way too high? Original post: I just managed to test Percy's blood for the first time (every other time I couldn't draw blood) and then I realised I have no idea what a "good" number should be. I know for this meter the colours on the bottom mean it's good or not...but it's calibrated for humans. Is 21.6 good, low, high?
Hi! It looks like you are maybe in Canada?? (there are several of us here). Your meter reads in mmol/L for the units. Be aware that the guidelines in the “stickies” are written using different units of measurements—to convert you have to multiply your meter reading by 18. It looks like you entered your number in the US tab of your spreadsheet—if you enter it in the “world” tab it should automatically convert it for you and show up on the US sheet in the units they use there. 21.6 is “high” for mmol/L. (389mg/dL). For Non-USA meters, low is considered less than 2.7mmol/L.
Congratulations on getting your first test! Outside of the US, we use the mmol/l measurements. Basically you multiply our numbers by 18 to get the US ones. So that 21.6 would be 388. Not unusual for a newly diagnosed diabetic cat. If you enter the data on the World tab, the US tab will show the calculation for you. Normal numbers are “green” in the spreadsheet. Non diabetic cats are in the 2.8 to 5.5 range.
21.6 is too high....that's 389 in our measurements. Normal blood glucose for cats is 50-120 on a human meter (2.8-6.7 in your numbers)
How long does it take to get the numbers down to a normal level? And should I be concerned with that test? (This was before I gave his insulin if that makes a difference?)
Should I be concerned? Like should I be taking him to the vet, or should I stay on course and wait until his one month check up?
That number means it is safe to give insulin. We determine how to change the dose based on how low the dose takes the cat. Typically at preshot, the insulin from the previous shot is mostly worn off and the numbers are higher then. But not always. Take. Look at some other members spreadsheets to see what I mean, especially looking for those of new members. The joined date under the profile picture will tell you when they joined. The low points, or nadirs are typically in the middle of the cycle. If you haven’t yet, I encourage you to read the yellow starred sticky notes at the top of this forum.
I am not a super experienced member, but as long as he is acting normal (eating,drinking etc) it isn’t an emergency number I don’t think. The insulin you gave tonight will take a few hours to fully kick in and will slowly bring that number down, and then his blood glucose will start to rise again. For most cats, this cycle repeats. If you look at my spreadsheet, Tucker was up in the 20’s when we started on insulin in September. He took a while to start see good response to the insulin. Be aware that we did “tight regulation” which is more aggressive than the SLGS you indicated on your spreadsheet, so how I adjusted doses is different than the SLGS protocol.
It will take 5-7 days before you'll know how he's going to respond to the 1U dose. It takes that long for the depot that Lantus develops to "fill up". It's kind of like a timed release....until the "depot" is full, it won't release the right amount of insulin in relationship to the dose. Very simplified...since you just started, only some of the insulin is going "to work" ….the majority of it goes into the fat layer and then slowly releases into the bloodstream. Until the depot is full, there's not enough "releasing" to see how the 1U dose is really doing yet. You'll hear this a lot here but it's because it's so true!...This is a marathon, not a sprint!
Thank you so much! There's so much to know I keep thinking I'm caught up then I find something else I need to do. This forum (and the Facebook group) has been so amazingly helpful through all of this!
I'd go further than that....it's VERY overwhelming!!… But just take one step at a time and eventually it'll all start to make sense.
Yeah, I've cried a lot so far. I just keep feeling like I'm making mistakes and letting Percy down. I've stopped crying these past few days so...progress? Also Percy has been astoundingly chill about everything. He's always been a laid back cat, but he was only upset about his insulin shots the first two times. After that he's just like completely fine with it.
I understand that! I was so upset initially and then found this group! There was hope after all...until I started reading all the information...then I cried some more because I thought it was like drinking water from a fire hose! A lot of it went right by me...but then I'd read, and re-read..and sometimes even though I knew I'd read it 'somewhere' I'd just post the question I had - again - and there was help! People on this forum are very supportive and will often direct you to the information - yes, it's in those stickies - somewhere - or will copy/paste the answer into your condo for you. It really helps if you add some of the really important stuff to another tab in your spreadsheets. You can name it whatever you want - I have one named 'Information'. It's just a reference area for me and it's handy... Welcome, again! Don't beat yourself up over mistakes...just being here you're already doing the best thing you can for Percy. Lucky you with a 'chill cat'! Most of us aren't quite that lucky...you'll get it..but it takes time and patience...and lots of reading Have a wonderful day!
Just slightly overwhelming? It's hugely overwhelming!! The front end of this learning curve deserves any number of expletives. That's the bad news. The good news is that this is a collective of people who are very generous with their time and knowledge. We're here to help. This is the best place you never wanted to be! Please keep asking questions. One quick question -- did you delete the US tab from your spreadsheet? If so, can you go through the process of uploading a new spreadsheet. The World template should have both a World and a US tab. As noted above, if you enter your information on the World tab, it will automatically convert the numbers to US format. Unfortunately, there are those of us who don't want to sit and multiply the numbers on your spreadsheet every time we take a look -- and you really don't want us having to do that if you think there's an emergency with Percy. The majority of the members here are from the US and we are metrically impaired.
