Chloe's rollercoaster

PM read was 94. I was going to give her 1 unit, but then forgot. She still had quite the appetite. I know I need to get some mid-cycles, but is giving her no insulin at all better than giving a small dose?

 

Chloe doesn't seem to get super high after a NS. She could bounce from the lower number and possibly the even lower numbers in the cycle.
I think if you could get a +3 test in you could probably give a reduced dose of 0.5 units and see how she does. You've given 1.5 units on a 116 for the morning cycle but since some cats need less at night I think half a unit would be a good starting point. I think the 94 ps might suggest lowering the dose by 0.25 or 0.5 units. Or maybe try a fat 1.5, just past the line if you have half unit marks.

 

So, the bouncing means the dose is too much? She was over 400 this morning. I'll go back to the 1.5 dose today.

 

Here's a bouncing explanation that might help:

Here's how it works:

1. BG goes low OR lower than usual OR drops too quickly.
2. Kitty's body panics and thinks there's danger (OMG! My BG is too low!).
3. Complex physiologic processes take glycogen stored in the liver (I think of it as "bounce fuel"), convert it to glucose and dump it into the bloodstream to counteract the perceived dangerously low BG.
4. These processes go into overdrive in kitties who are bounce prone and keep the BG propped up varying lengths of time (AKA bouncing).
5. Bounce prone kitty repeats this until his body learns that healthy low numbers are safe. Some kitties are slow learners.
6. Too high a dose of insulin can keep them bouncing over and over until the " bounce fuel" runs out and they crash - ie., have a hypo episode. That's why we worry so much about kitties that have had too high a starting dose prescribed by the vet and the owner isn't home testing.

 

Ouch on that 419! Poor Chloe! I hope she comes down soon!

When does your winter break start? It would be really great if you could get some mid-cycle numbers a few days in a row during break so we can see what the dose is doing. With the pre-shots we can make guesses, but it's the mid-cycle tests that let us know for sure if it's too much or too little. You don't need to do full curves, just a couple of tests at different times towards the middle of the cycle (between +4 and +7 are usually the most helpful hours).

 

Just giving an example of a bounce from a lower than he's used to number. Chuck is bouncing from hitting 100s at +4 last night. He was 400+ at +2.5 this morning.
I think a small reduction might help Chloe but like Djamila said, a few spot tests over a few days would really help give a better idea.
Chloe had Ketones with yellow preshots do keep testing for Ketones too.

 

When does your winter break start?
My break starts after tomorrow, which is not soon enough. I was sick last week and now I'm struggling with bronchitis. I will do midcycles and a curve as soon as I can. Ketone test, too. Merry Christmas!

 

Hooray for vacation! I hope you're able to get some rest and healing while you're off work for a bit!

 

I was just diagnosed with bronchitis too. Not much sleep when the only thing you do when lying down is cough! Hope you feel better soon.

 

I hope you feel better soon, too. I don't have any problems sleeping except that I have nightmares about getting more cats.