How to understand the readings between a pet glucometer and a human glucometer

Hi this is Paula Nowak with Elvis the cat. I am going to Walmart today to get my glucometer . When I was looking at how to do the spreadsheets I was extremely overwhelmed and wondering if I was going to be able to do it. I think I can. I thought that I knew my way around the computer but spreadsheets is like something that I was very unfamiliar with. Like I said I'm getting a human meter today but I have a pet meter at present time. I just don't know how to determine what the readings for the human meter are going to be because I am used to what the numbers are for the pet glucometer. Is there like an example I mean or a chart of some kind that I can compare to see what I need to be looking for if he's too high or too low because I'm not used to the numbers for the human glucometer. Someone I was reading on here said that their number was 25.5 mmol / DL. Wow that doesn't mean anything to me, I don't know what that would mean as far as a pet glucometer reading. So I'm going to try to tackle this spreadsheet this weekend but when I was reading the instructions, it was very difficult to understand. I'm going to have to do this on my phone because the laptop that I have is having trouble downloading anything and that's probably because it's old and it doesn't respond like it used to in the past of course. I guess I'm going to have to use my roommates phone to see the directions because they are very long and then do the work on my phone. I know that might sound crazy but I can't remember all that stuff for the instructions and then I was wondering also because I did download Google drive, Google sheets and Google... Well I got all three them anyway. It's terrible of me, everyone on here has a spreadsheet and then here comes me along Miss dodo and I don't know about spreadsheets and you think I should by now I mean gosh I'm 63 going on 64. I just never did spreadsheets before. It was something that I never wanted to tackle from the beginning, but I'm going to give it my best try !

 

I'm going to tag @Marje and Gracie to help you in setting up your spreadsheet. I know she will be happy to do it.

Please remember to create your Signature. That is important, because unless you link your spreadsheet to your signature no one here will be able to see the spreadsheet. Go up to the top of the page, click on your user name, and a drop-down box will appear. Select "Signature" and create one. Look at other members' signatures to get an idea of what to include: things like date of diagnosis, type of insulin Elvis is on, whether you are following the TR protocol or the SLGS method, etc.; and, most important--the SPREADSHEET (after you create the spreadsheet you will create a link to it in your signature, so it is good to have a Signature in place so you can link the spreadsheet)..

Good luck at Walmart. Make sure to get U-100 syringes (Lantus is a U-100 insulin).
Please read the "stickies" (informational posts) at the top of this forum. There is a lot of important information there. You don't have to learn everything at once, but it is good to get an idea of what's what!

p.s. You don't have to worry about the differences between the readings of a pet glucometer and a human glucometer. If you have any readings from your old pet glucometer after you set up your spreadsheet, you can put them in and clearly mark that they were with the pet glucometer. When you start putting the readings in from the human glucometer, skip a line in your spreadsheet and indicate that from that point on all numbers are from the human glucometer. Not a problem! The only problem would be if you are trying to convert one to the other: this is pointless and will only confuse everyone (you included!)

 

The only thing you need to compare the two meters is the point we call the take action number, where you give high carb food. For the human meter it’s below 50, and on a pet meter we are using below 68 as the point to give higher carbs. That same number is also the reduction point if following Tight Regulation for dosing. Otherwise, there is no reason to compare or convert the numbers between the two types of meters.
.

 

You can create a spreadsheet in Excel like I did years before I came here. I'd strongly advise against it.
You might also get numbers far from identical with readings only minutes apart. Don't worry about it, by law meters are allowed certain variances that may drive you crazy. The stress and everything that goes with a diabetic cat will slowly fade away as impossible as that seems right now, trust me.

 

It’s overwhelming, but just do one step at a time! You have downloaded the google apps so you are halfway there now! Honestly, it’s not too bad if you just trust in the process and do one step at a time.

 

If you will send me a private message, I’ll get the info I need to set up the SS for you. To send me a private message, click on “Marje and Gracie” to the left and then “start a conversation”.

Thank you, @Ella & Rusty & Stu(GA) Tobey sends his love as do we all.