Number going up!

I just started giving my cat Bryant ProZink 1u yesterday. He’s had 3 doses so far. I’m checking his BG with a AlphaTrak meter and the number has been rising from 420 to 683 a short time ago(after his shot 2+ hours ago!) Should I be worried? I started him on vet prescribed food, Hills and Purina but all the wisdom seems to point to going with Friskies pate and FF(which I’ve bought and researched the lowest carb ratings for the types I bought. I just wondering if the script food is spiking his number. Can I switch up to the cheaper food?

 

It sure wouldn't hurt. I would go with the lowest carb food.

 

Low carb wet food is the way to go. Many of us feed Friskies or Fancy Feast pate style food. Re increase in BG after a meal/shot: this is quite common and is called a "food spike". Higher carb food might cause a more significant spike.

 

It takes a couple of hours before the BG settles down after eating.

 

Is it common for the BGL number to go up in the initial stages of giving insulin? Yesterday’s number before the first dose with an AlphaTrak pet meter was 420 Then after feeding and insulin about 2 hours later it was 521. Today before food and shot 588, and a short time ago, 3 hours after 683! Should I be worried?

 

Hi David,

Welcome to you and Bryant.

Great to see that you're already home testing!

I am assuming that you fed Bryant prior to giving him his insulin injection, in which case the most recent reading is quite likely to be elevated by the food eaten at shot time. The latest insulin dose will probably just be kicking in now (dose onset). As Kris observes above, on higher carb food, spikes may be quite significant (especially if it's a dry diet). Also, it takes a few days for a kitty's body to get acclimatised to receiving insulin when treatment first starts so numbers can initially be a little all over the place before settling into a more normal response pattern.

Home testing is far and away the best thing you can do to track Bryant's response to his treatment and provide feedback to your vet. Don't be shy about calling your vet for extra support and advice in the early days of treatment. Insulin is a powerful hormone and it's always best from a safety standpoint to let the vet know when anything is worrying you. We'll do all we can to help you here as well.

I've not used Prozinc but according to the FDMB Prozinc beginner's guide, the nadir (lowest) blood glucose level typically occurs somewhere between +4 to+7 hours after the insulin dose was administered. As you gather home BG test data you'll be able to get a feel for when Bryant is most likely to be at his lowest BG level in each cycle.

With regard to changing to a low carb diet, for safety you need to adopt a cautious approach to this because Bryant is already receiving insulin. Diet transition needs to be done slowly for all cats in order to reduce risk of GI upsets but it is even more important to go slowly with a diabetic cat on insulin because, as the carb load decreases, the insulin dose may need to be reduced to keep the cat in safe numbers. You need to monitor BG very closely and frequently during the food transition. Here's a vet-authored article covering how to safely transition a diabetic kitty to a lower carb diet:

Feline Diabetes and How to Transition to Low Carb Food Safely - Dr Lisa Pierson DVM

Also, here's a link to the Prozinc Insulin Support Group's board. There is lots of very helpful information about Bryant's insulin type in the 'sticky' posts at the top of the board:

Prozinc ISG Board


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I am assuming here that you've only just started feeding Bryant the vet-prescribed foods since starting insulin.

- What food was Bryant eating before Dx?
- Which Purina food has been prescribed?
- Which Hill's food has been prescribed? (If it's w/d Dry then that is stuffed to the gills with carbs.)

For each of the foods used/prescribed, please can you tell us the brand name and specific variety, and also whether it is a wet or dry formula. This will enable us to check the carb content on our food lists and perhaps give you better responses to your questions about what might be affecting Bryant's BG levels.


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