Home Testers, We Need Your Help!

[We Hope]

Mickey and his mom have some questions for you:

Question... how many times a day do you think it is appropiate to test BG with the meter? I dont want to under or over "poke" Mickey..he's been such a sweetie about all of this,,,stands perfectly still for his shots/ so I give him a little low fat doggy treat right after ( he prefers white chicken ) and in your opinion where is the best place to check him with the least discomfort? Im sure the vet will tell me her opinion on that, but I like the input from people who are actually doing it at home.THANKS!

So if you please, would you post where you do your testing and why you do it at that particular spot along with how many times a day you home test.

[k9diabetes]

Re: Home Testers, We Need Your Help!

Chris gets one meal and injection every six hours so I usually test him before three of his four meals (the 6am is the one I tend to skip cuz we're both sleepy and don't want to!).

Then I spot test any time I'm concerned that he's potentially high or low or if we're going to walk, to make sure his blood sugar is high enough for the drop that exercise causes.

I've got his diet down to a point where I can make minor variations in it without worrying too much about insulin balance so I haven't done a curve in a long long long time.

We have always tested on the inside upper lip about 1/3 inch inside from the edge. Chris doesn't mind a bit, as you can see from his video: www.k9diabetes.com/bgtestvideos.html.

We maintain Chris' BG in the 100s as much as possible. This is very tight regulation but someone is home with Chris most of the time and I leave his BG higher if we will be gone for an extended period of time.

[Gooch]

Re: Home Testers, We Need Your Help!

Hi all (long time no see... I know....)

I don't test Olive that much anymore but when I do I find the fasting bg is most helpful for me, for eg, this morning it was 91, a little too tight for me though I did a little 'yipee' and took her insulin down a wee notch. I do spot checks here and there if I sense something is up or if I get a funky reading at a fasting check.
In the beginning though I did it alot and don't think I over did it because it was something I needed to learn how to do and also how blood glucose/insulin/food work together to better understand my little girl and her needs. Every few months I'll do a curve just to make sure.

We also test inside the lip. BTW, I think you have a super vet, encouraging you to home test and is not against home cooking! Sounds like a keeper

[Mickey'sMom]

Re: Home Testers, We Need Your Help!

Well I find some vets are in it for the money...some for the dogs and thier owners, Ill take the latter......

[Brandy mom]

Re: Home Testers, We Need Your Help!

In the begining I tested more. I need to learn how Brandy was using the insulin and how different food effected her. When we got close to regulation and insulin amounts change less. I only did a curve about 5 days after each change. I know it sould like a lot of test. But for me to help Brandy I needed to learn alot.

Now I only test fastings. I will test more if she get extra exercise or excitment. I test more when she is on medications. Or if she eats something she shouldn't(like pizza of the kitchen counter).

We also test the inner lip. The vet tried to show me how to test the ear. It would never work for me. Everyone was talking about testing the lip. Well here is a laugh I was testing on the outer lip. I even cut off some of her wiskers. LOL Then one day I was reading and saw inner lip. DUH

Dawn and the girls

[k9diabetes]

Re: Home Testers, We Need Your Help!

Actually, Dawn, you were doing fine on the outside of the lip. You can also use the edge. I still find the inside easier cuz no fur.

I think Ginny tests Starz on the outside or toward the edge in between (you can see Ginny testing Starz at www.k9diabetes.com/bgtestvideos.html).

I was told by one of the techs at Chris' office this month that they test dogs' ears because it's safer for the tech, which makes sense. Chris might be fine letting me test his lip but with the vet he's not so relaxed and I'm sure there are plenty of dogs who would bite under those circumstances.

So I can see why the vet uses the ear but I don't think it's ideal for home testing.

She said she shaves a bit of fur off of the outside of the ear near the margin and has good results there, testing the outside ear, rather than the inside.

Natalie

[k9diabetes]

Re: Home Testers, We Need Your Help!

Here's a picture tutorial for the outside of the lip:
http://www.indulgedfurries.com/petdi..._lip_stick.htm

and this is Ginny's very sweet video... http://www.k9diabetes.com/starzliptest.mpg

[We Hope]

Re: Home Testers, We Need Your Help!

We also test the inner lip. The vet tried to show me how to test the ear. It would never work for me. Everyone was talking about testing the lip. Well here is a laugh I was testing on the outer lip. I even cut off some of her wiskers. LOL Then one day I was reading and saw inner lip. DUH

Dawn and the girls

Here's the page on outer lip from the Internet Archives:

http://web.archive.org/web/200601060..._lip_stick.htm


http://www.alphatrakmeter.com/vetPro...ood_Sample.swf

Hee--I found the AlphaTrak Flash files so this is strictly a video on how to take blood samples. Tried uploading this from the URL but the board gave me an error message for that.

[eyelostit]

Re: Home Testers, We Need Your Help!

Nowdays I test as needed if I feel something is going on with Niki, when first diag I tested alot so i could tell how her BG was doing.

Now if I get a real high or a low i am uncomfortable with, I will test 4 x that day.

I would say to newcomers of this disease after you get over the stress of poking your dog for BG and get the knack of doing it.

After that do a curve every 2 hrs, see how that looks.

Let us know on this board what those figures are.

As you get more familiar with DB the home testing will be second nature to you as you get to know your dog's DB better

You know the signs of high BG, excessive water drinking, heavy panting, and leaking pee, so do a test at this time, check and see how many hours have past since you fed and gave shot.

If your dog seems unusually tired and not himself test his BG it could be low.

Once you start testing and get the knack of it and BG's get in a good range you can slow down on testing maybe 2x day AM and PM fast.

I don't test everyday, maybe every other day.

Hope this helps