? Luke's first insulin shot need dosing help please

Discussion in 'Feline Health - (Welcome & Main Forum)' started by Debbie in Arkansas, Oct 25, 2017.

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  1. Debbie in Arkansas

    Debbie in Arkansas Member

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2017
    We started on Novolin N this morning. I took food away 3 hrs before the pre-shot test.

    8;15 am pre-shot 396
    8;30 am shot
    10 am 245
    11:10 am 126

    He still has until 12:30 for bg to keep going down. What do I need to do? He has eaten some. I even gave him some Whiskas with gravy.
     
  2. Sharon14

    Sharon14 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 16, 2015
    Are you using a human or pet meter? Either way 126 is a nice, safe number.
     
  3. Ella & Rusty & Stu(GA)

    Ella & Rusty & Stu(GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2010
    Hi Debbie,
    I don't know anything about Novolin N, but it looks like that is quite a drop. What dose are you giving? What protocol are you following? Are you following a vet's dosing instructions?? Did your vet recommend that you use Novolin N? It would be good to get some practiced eyes on your post. Please change your subject line to say that help is needed. Use the ? symbol and put in the title something to the effect that it is Luke's first shot of N and you need help with dosing.

    Welcome to the FDMB!
     
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  4. Sharon14

    Sharon14 Well-Known Member

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    Aug 16, 2015
    Yes, I don’t have experience with Novolin either, but I understand it can drop BG fast and nadir is often +3-5. Have you gotten another test? If you can set up our spreadsheet it will help us see how Luke responds. If you need help setting it up, just ask.
     
  5. JanetNJ

    JanetNJ Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 8, 2016
    What was the number at 12:30? If it's too step of a drop give 0.25 less next time. Doesn't look like a hypo number from what you wrote.
     
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  6. Debbie in Arkansas

    Debbie in Arkansas Member

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2017
    Not a good day for Wi-Fi to go out! At least its back now. Here are his numbers from today:
    12p 125
    1p 196
    4:45p 435
    8:30p 384

    At about 11 I was worried that it was 126 and he still had about 1.5 hrs that it was going to drop so I gave him a few temptations treats.
     
  7. Debbie in Arkansas

    Debbie in Arkansas Member

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2017
    I am going to work on the spreadsheet now. Thanks!
     
  8. Debbie in Arkansas

    Debbie in Arkansas Member

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    Oct 22, 2017
    He has a ReliOn Confirm from Wal-Mart. I was just concerned because when he was at 126 he still had about 1.5 hrs it was going to drop.
     
  9. JanetNJ

    JanetNJ Well-Known Member

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    Jun 8, 2016
    Next time instead of temptations, just a little of his regular low carb food would be better to even him out. Save the high carb stuff for when he's close to a hypo. At 126 there was still a big cushion. Remember that normal on a human meter is 50-120
     
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2017
  10. Debbie in Arkansas

    Debbie in Arkansas Member

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2017
    Novolin is not the best insulin for cats although that is what the vet prescribed for Luke's brother Bo. He was on it for the last year of his life. I had just gotten a new vial in Sept. about a week before we lost him. I'm using it right now because I had not been able to get in to see the vet. I called on Mon. and told them Luke needed insulin. She was the one who told me to use Novolin for Bo so she told me I didn't need a prescription for N but that since she has not seen Luke for diabetes she couldn't help me with the dosage. She had started Bo on 3 units and his bg was lower than Luke's has been the past few days. I mentioned in one of my posts that I had some Novolin N and several said go ahead and start him on that since I'm not able to get in to the vet right now. I want to get him on Lantus as soon as I can. Someone said the usual starting dose for N was 1 unit. I gave him a little less than 1 unit but more than a half unit. I havent given him his evening shot yet because I wasn't sure what to do and my Wi-Fi has been out so I couldn't research.
    Thanks! That is what I will do. I just panicked:) Bo would always eat a little before his shot and then when he started feeling his bg going down he would eat more. It seems that Luke is going to do that too. I took his food up about 3 hours before his shot so I could get a bg reading pre shot. I think this helped him to eat more once I gave the food back to him. He had a shot at 2:20 am and at 4:15 his bg was 255. It was 466 pre shot.
     
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  11. JanetNJ

    JanetNJ Well-Known Member

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    Jun 8, 2016
    I JUST saw my typo... I ment 50-120... I fixed it. Since he seems very reactive to insulin maybe try 0.5 units as a starting dose and see what happens. That may help prevent bouncing.
     
  12. Debbie in Arkansas

    Debbie in Arkansas Member

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    Oct 22, 2017
    That's what I did. Three hours after shot it was down to 213. Since starting insulin his bg has not gone over 466.
     
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  13. JanetNJ

    JanetNJ Well-Known Member

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    Jun 8, 2016
    Great let's see what happens.
     
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