How Do I Perform a Hometest?
Hometesting may seem very complicated at first. However, as you practice, you and your pet will become accustomed to it and it will take no longer than ten minutes to gather your supplies and be done with the test. To help you, here is a quick picture guide on how to perform a hometest on a cat's ear. There are other options if your pet will not tolerate ears being touched, such as a paw stick or a lip stick for dogs.
These pictures show how to do a hometest using a lancing device, which I find helpful. However, many people also prefer to use the lancet freehand, without loading it into a lancing device. Experiment to see which way works best for you.
Step 1: Heat a rice sock or wet washcloth in the microwave. If you use a wet washcloth, make sure you put it in a plastic bag before touching it to your pet, as the water could dilute the blood and give an inaccurate reading. My rice sock, courtesy of Laura and Bear (GA), is made from two pieces of fleece stiched together and stuffed with rice. I heat mine for around 20 seconds. Use your judgement based on your microwave as to how long to heat. You do not want to burn your pet, but you do want to get the blood flowing in the ear.
Step 2: Gather your supplies. Having your supplies close at hand is very helpful so that you don't have to let your pet go and then try to get him or her situated for testing again. Many owners of cats find it helpful to sit on the floor with the cat in their lap while they test. My Iris is quite easy to test when I sit on the floor. If I have her stand on the counter, she tries to run and sniff all over the place.
The supplies in the picture below include the monitor and test strip, ready to be loaded, the lancet with the lancing device loaded and barrel cocked (or, just the lancet if you choose to try it freehand), a kleenex, and the warm rice sock. Iris likes a kitty treat after her tests, so those are included in our supplies, as well. You may also wish to have some Vaseline handy to apply to the ear before you begin, as it makes the blood bead up instead of flowing into the fur.
Step 3: Use the warm rice sock (or wet cloth in plastic bag) to warm the ear to get the blood flowing. Be careful not to burn your pet! This is the step Iris dislikes the most about the testing process. You may have to heat both the top and bottom parts of the ear - this is something you'll have to experiment with, to see what works best for your pet. Also note that rubbing the ear can also get the blood flowing if you don't have a warm rice sock handy. Some ears bleed thoroughly without rubbing or heating, as well.
Step 4: Load the test strip into the monitor and place it where you can quickly reach it after poking the ear to obtain the blood drop. Note that I am left handed, which accounts for the monitor being placed on my left knee. You may have to adjust accordingly if you are right handed.
Step 5: Place the kleenex behind your pet's ear to keep from poking yourself. Line the loaded and cocked lancing device up to where you want to poke, and press the button. The diagram below, courtesy of Jen and Squeak, may help you decided where to aim. You may also wish to poke with the lancet freehand. I have heard many say to pretend like you are sewing and the needle is the lancet and the fabric is your pet's ear. Go in at an angle if you choose to obtain blood in this manner.
Step 6: Quickly pick up the meter and wait for enough of a blood drop to form. Touch the tip of the test strip to the blood drop to allow the strip to sip the blood in. We generally recommend meters that use test strips which sip the blood, such as the Ascensia Elite XL, which I use and is pictured in this demonstration. However, there are other meters which sip blood, as well.
Step 7: Set the meter aside while it counts down (the Elite takes 30 seconds to give a reading - this gives me time to get Iris cleaned up) and fold the kleenex over your pet's ear. Hold down firmly for a few seconds and then remove the kleenex. If the ear is still bleeding, apply more firm pressure until the ear has stopped bleeding. This should take no more than a minute or two. You may have a harder time stopping the blood flow if you pricked the ear right on the vein. You may wish to aim more between the vein and the outer rim of the ear.
Step 8: Give your pet a treat, if you choose to, and lots of love and praise. Iris waits for her treat and mews at me if I don't give it to her. When I start to give it to her, she "sits pretty" for me like a little puppy dog and takes it right from my hand.
Step 9: Once the meter has finished counting down, it will display your pet's current blood glucose level. Take note of the level before giving your pet any insulin. If the BG is too low, you do not want to give too much insulin, as this could result in a hypoglycemic episode. Record your pet's BG level in the record book which came with the meter, if you choose to do so.
That's all there is to it!
You can find links to other hometesting tutorials by clicking on the "Home Monitoring Links" in Boo's site on the left hand side of your screen. Good luck!
Method #2: Ketostix
Another helpful way to save money is to test your pet's urine for ketones. To paraphrase from petdiabetes.com, ketones occur when there is a lack of insulin in the body (you may be giving too little insulin to your pet). Since insulin enables glucsoe to be used, the body has to find a new supply for energy - and it goes to the body fat to do this. When the body fat is used, waste products, called ketones, are produced. Ketones are toxic to the body, and are usually flushed out in the urine. However, in a diabetic, there can be too many ketones to flush out of the system and the body can go into diabetic ketoacidocis (aka DKA), which is a deadly condition. If ketones are found to be present in your pet's urine, a veterinarian MUST treat your pet. However, by testing regularly and catching ketones early, it is almost guaranteed that treatment will be easier and less expensive than if your pet becomes DKA. Ketones are most likely to happen if your pet's blood glucose level is over 250.
To test for ketones in the urine, go to your local pharmacy and buy some ketostix. You may buy ketodiastix if you wish, but avoid buying only diastix. The "dia" pad on the dipstick tests for glucose in the urine, not ketones. To test, follow your pet to the litter box or outside when going to use the bathroom. You can either collect the urine in a cup or ladle, or place the dipstick right into the urine stream. Some cat owners find it helpful to recognize which area their cat uses in the litter box most often and creating a "trough" of sorts over the litter. Whatever your method, get the stick wet and immediately remove from urine.
Here are charts located on the back of the ketostix and ketodiastix packages. For ketone readings, you must compare the color on the stick and the chart at exactly 15 seconds. Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between negative and trace. However, I have been told that when your pet has trace ketones, the pad will look almost neon to you and you will be able to tell. Thankfully, Iris has never had ketones, so I don't know what this looks like myself.
Method #3: Diet
You may also find that the prescription food your vet has recommended is very pricey. However, it is not necessary for your pet to eat prescription food, unless there are other medical conditions which require it. If your pet simply has diabetes, there are many other options. For cats, the current diet recommended is one that is high in protein, but low in carbs. The carb level is the biggest concern here. Generally, dry food, simply because it is dry, has higher carbs than canned food. Many cat owners choose to feed their cat an all-canned food diet. Many grocery store brands fit the criteria required for a diabetic cat. There are some owners, including me, who choose to feed dry food to their cat. However, the lowest carb dry foods available are Purina DM and Hills M/D - both of which are prescription foods and very pricey. Still other owners choose to feed an all raw food diet. The most important thing to remember, however, is that if your cat is on insulin, it is crucial that s/he is eating! If you have to feed what your cat will eat, that's what you have to do. If your cat doesn't eat, s/he may experience a hypoglycemic episode, which can quickly kill your cat. For more information about the nutrition in feline foods, visit Janet and Binky's page at http://www.sugarcats.net/sites/jmpeerson/ or their back up page at http://geocities.com/jmpeerson/. Scroll down to under "Diet Related Documents" and you will see links to the food tables.
If your diabetic pet is a dog, the diet of choice, I've been told, is one that is low fat, low protein, and high in fiber. I'm sorry I don't know more about diet in dogs, but I do know that many diabetic canine owners choose to homecook foods as there seems to be a shortage of non-prescription foods that fit this criteria.
Click on the following link to continue: Newly Diagnosed, Part 3
