Curve questions

This weekend, by hook or by crook, I'm doing Jester's first curve.

So a couple of questions for those in the know.

1. Do you refrain from testing at all the day before and/or the day after (to give kitty a break)?
2. How long have you found is the most useful in the first curve - 12 or 24 hours? Or 18?
3. Every two hours, three hours, four hours, or one hour?
4. How do you present the information to the vet? (Mine has decided I do enough testing that a curve isn't needed.) Or *do* you present the info to the vet?
5. How often do you feel a curve is warranted?

I think that's it for now. I'm sure conversation will generate more questions, along with actually doing the curve. (Sounds like a weird dance from the sixties. *g*)

Thanks!

 

Good morning!! I remember my first curve was really nerve-wracking, but turns out, it was really easy.

1. I test as usual the days before and after. I'd love to give Lou a break, but I still need to know how he's doing. If you are worried about sore ears, definitely pick up some Neosporin ointment with pain relief. I put it on Lou's ears at night and keep it on overnight. I use it after curve days and anytime his ears seem sore. It seems to help him immensely.
2. I think curve lengths depend on insulin. Prozinc is an in-and-out insulin, which means it shouldn't last past the 12-hour cycle. My buddy Lou is on Vetsulin, which is also an in-and-out insulin, and we only do 12-hour curves. I'll let the Prozinc experts chime in, but I'd assume a 12-hour curve would be fine.
3. Generally with curves, you test every 2 hours, but according to the Prozinc manual, you can also do curves with testing every 3 hours. Since it's your first one, I'd go every 2 hours.
4. This is totally up to you. I used to send my spreadsheet weekly, but I stopped doing that after awkward phone calls from my vet who couldn't accept testing with a human glucometer. It wouldn't hurt to send them the spreadsheet and let them know your findings.
5. This depends on the person. I've seen some people don't put much stock in full curves, but others perform them once a week. The Prozinc manual indicates curves can/should be done every few weeks, so doing a curve every week to two weeks would be a decent place to start.

Best of luck this weekend!

 

Personally I’ve cut my vet off regarding his diabetes treatment. Vet doesn’t even know he’s out of remission. I bought the insulin, syringes, testing strips and jumped back on this forum. Vet doesn’t need any input thanks. Don’t trust them at all now.

 

A true curve should include a test at least every two hours for at least 12 hours (24 is awesome, if you can afford to lose the sleep). I do not refrain from testing the day before/after. With very few exceptions, I normally test pre-shot and once at about +6 each cycle (so 4 tests in a day). I do not change that before/after a curve.

Whether or not you share it with your vet is up to you. I have shared some but not others. It just depended on what was going on, why I was doing it, whether or not I wanted their input, etc. I have created a chart (so the actual curve is visible) and shared that; I have also just shared the day from the spreadsheet, just depends.

The AAHA guidelines I shared with you earlier in your other thread give some thoughts on when to do curves. Normally, the point of a curve is to see how a dose is impacting the cat so you can determine whether a dosing change is needed. So, it is good to do one once your cat has been on a dose for maybe a week or two (depends on where you are in the process of getting them regulated.. you are going to do more curves early on than further down the road).

 

Since Jester's never had a curve done at all, even at the beginning, there's nothing to go by. The first vet never mentioned a curve. The second one did, but only after I started talking about testing at home. And his tone seemed to be one that discouraged me from even trying to do it.

I'm still at a point with taking Jester's BG that it's stressful for him. I wish I was more competent and could do the testing outside of the bathroom. But he wriggles and tries to get away. I've used up more test strips because I didn't get enough blood due to Jester shifting and wriggling.

:-<

 

New question about the curve:

Explanatory stuff -
I just started, on my own, giving Jester 1U twice a day, because his BG has been 155 and 168 for AM and PM PS, respectively.

Of course, that may change over the next two days, depending upon his BG between now and Saturday.

Now the question is:
How do I handle Jester's dosages during the curve under these circumstances?
Do I keep him at the same dose all day long, no matter what the most recent BG# is?
Frex, Say his AMPS and PMPS BG are in the 300s and I've upped his insulin back to 2U because of that. But come Saturday morning it's back to AMPS around 150. Would I reduce his insulin that morning back down to 1U and do the curve based upon that?

Or can you all suggest a different option?