1/3/10 Buddy PMPS 336 +1 404 +2 354 AMPS 366 +2 324

Here's yesterday's discussion:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=898

Buddy's latest spreadsheet:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key= ... Gb3c&hl=en

Buddy has been on insulin for about a week now, and his numbers are still pretty high - his lowest I've seen is about 271... Is this normal? Should I be looking to increase his dose? He's getting 2 units 2x a day (12 hrs apart), and eating mostly canned food (0-2% carbs). He's acting pretty normal overall though...

Yesterday's numbers:
AMPS 440 - 2units
+6 400
+8 372
+10 350
PMPS 336 - 2units
+1 404
+2 354
AMPS 366
+2 324

Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

Good morning to you!

Yeah, not loving the numbers here, are you home today? The spot checks from yesterday are mucho helpful....can you maybe get another curve in so you can see if Buddy is pretty much staying in this high range? Have you checked for ketones?

 

I haven't checked for ketones & the vet never did either... I have two cats, so trying to catch one peeing isn't easy & I'm not setup with the litterbox to catch it either.

I'll try to catch most of his numbers again today -- I know the vet said the first two weeks will be kinda crazy with the numbers & had suggested against bothering with any BG tests for the first two weeks (to save my cat's ears), but am consistently seeing high numbers & spikes into the 400s which worries me.

Thanks.

 

Hello CJ
welcome to the lantus forum, I see u came along yesterday by reading your link.

Are you slowly decreasing the need for the dry food? As others have said, this will help with the numbers.
I also agree a bit more dat collected will help too, those spotchecks in the daytime are great! Let's aim for a little bit more in the evening.
One last thing, are you testing for ketones? You can do this at home by picking up a box at your local pharmacy - Ketodiastix I believe it's called.

Oh one more thing, read the stickies up above on how lantus works, if you have, re-read again, it helps to do that every so often.
Hope to see you posting often!

 

And you don't need to set up your litter box for pee.....I used to just stalk Punkin and while she was in mid-stream (sorry to those who might be enjoying their morning juice) I just slipped a ladle under her and got my sample.

Will Buddy go to an all wet diet smoothly? It's kinda tricky to change diet and the dose at the same time. When I switched Punk over, her numbers dropped so I had to test and monitor very closely. And yes, evening spot checks would be delightful!

 

Sounds like a good trick - I'll have to see if I can catch him in the act...

Both my cats love their canned food, but still figuring out just how much is the right amount, so the dry is more for "in case" I under estimated how much canned food to give them.

Thanks!

 

Buddy's numbers are staying in the mid to upper 300s so far today - but came close to the 400s... It seems he's peaking his higher numbers mid-cycle.

Should I look at changing his dose?

 

according to the protocol http://www.tillydiabetes.net/en_6_protocol2.htm

"Most cats need to have their dose increased. Do it in 0.25 IU or 0.5 IU steps (0.25 IU if the cat is getting a low dose and/or relatively low BGs, 0.5 IU if the cat is getting a higher dose and/or relatively high BGs). Hold each dose for 5-7 days. However, if the cat is producing continuously high BGs (nadir always >=300 mg/dl), only hold the dose for 2-3 days before increasing it by 0.5 IU."

This would have you increasing the dose by 0.50 units, to 2.5. This is the protocol most of us here use. Please do start testing for ketones while Buddy is in this number range. Also, be aware that as you decrease the amount of dry food Buddy is getting, his insulin needs may drop very quickly. Keep up the good work with getting lots of spot checks, so if that happens you can spot the change quickly.

Good luck!