1st Home Test Down - Now What?!!!

Hoping (and I'm sure ya'll won't let me down!) someone can give me some more guidance here. I didn't give Bug a shot this morning, he actually acts like his normal happy playful self without any dose of insulin, so I wanted to give him a break. However, I received my home testing kit from Lori & Tom in the mail today, so I gave him his 1st home test. He shot 296. I know that sounds high to all of you, but thats actually 100 lower than he was at the vet last month, so I expected him to shoot in the hi 300-400's. So, I was actually HAPPY! Anyway, he ate a little after the test, so I decided since he was still over 200, I would only give him .5unit of ProZinc. But it seems like very shortly after his shot, he went to being lathargic and lost his energy! What the heck is going on? Is it possible that some diabetic kitties can be a higher number than other kitties and not have to get a shot? It seems that no matter what dose I give him (.5-1.5units), he loses his energy and just lays around (although still can chase after a bird or a mouse, so I know he's not hypo'ing) But I am thinking maybe he's just not eating enough before he's getting the shot. He's just not a big eater. Very skinny. He eats very small amounts 4-5 times/day. Since he has lost so much weight, I really don't want to withhold food from him when he begs for it, but maybe I should only feed him once in the morning and once in the evening, so he eats more?

Any suggestions?

 

No Tamra, free feeding is best. Don't withold food.
And I think that number was great.
My Tom use to act like a limp noodle in the beginning after his shot.
Can you bring me up to date,,,,,how long have you been shooting?
I may go back and read all your previous posts.
Lori
Also, he'll eat once the insulin kicks in if he needs it. I like it best when they just graze all day, healthier.

 

hard telling what is going on but you can always test to see where blood sugar is if you are worried. testing is our friend when in doubt or you question their reactions. also friend before am and pm shots and mid cycle. this is the only way you will know what effect food/insulin has on your cat. he is lower at home cause most cats stress at the vets. so being higher at vets and lower at home is not unusual. plus, if you switched to wet lo carb, then that will help lower blood sugars

 

The renal threshhold for cats is about 180--so any number higher than that means glucose is spilling from the kidneys into the cat's urine. This causes all sorts of problems--including the excessive urination issues you're having. While a number in the 200s may be lower than what you're used to seeing, this is still a high number and a dangerous range to stay in. Some cats do have higher than typical blood sugar levels--the normal range for Bandit is 80-140 as opposed to 60-120 for a normal cat, but that's about as high as you'll see for a cat that doesn't need insulin.

Remember that insulin is a hormone, not a drug, so the only effect it can have on a cat is to lower blood glucose levels. That's it. If Bug is lethargic, then it's because he's either feeling bad because of high blood sugar, or because the .5u was too much insulin and he had a hypo incident (most of the time when cats hypo, they do not show symptoms. Only in severe hypo situations are they symptomatic).

The only way to know what is going on is to get at least three tests a day--one before each shot, and one about halfway through a cycle. This lets you know how the insulin is working. But you can test any time you'd like. I test Bandit every time I see him drinking from his water dish, because the only time he does that is when he has high numbers.

I agree that you should be feeding Bug right now whatever he wants to eat. Uncontrolled diabeteics are ravenous, and you want to try and get as much weight back on him as you can. Once you have his numbers under better control, he'll eat, drink, and urinate far less.

 

thing is, this may be the "same" number as at the vet. going to the vet, adding stressors to the cat, can raise the bg levels 100-200 points.

so, great that you are now testing and 0.5 is a reasonable amount to shoot. It's low and not one to be worried about. of course you are now armed and dangerous - use it and test him at +2, let's see what's going on.

 

Thank you. Its been 2.5 hrs since his shot. I will try and test him again now.

 

Well. I tried 4 times and couldn't get blood and he was getting too stressed out. Darnit. I feel so bad.

 

It's OK. When I first started, I failed to get a reading more often than I succeeded... :? :? It took almost 2 weeks to develop a system that worked for us. In my case, I found that S'mores prefers if I just poke repeatedly until I get a good blood drop, rather than try to massage or heat his ear to make one poke work better (he doesn't like his ears played with). Watch a few youtube videos to get some ideas.

If it's not working: Stop, take a breath, relax, pet the cat, relax, try again.

Good luck.

 

I hope the testing is getting easier... when we first started, I was getting good blood drops, but in the following few days I found that I needed to use a 26g lancet, or else I ended up poking her a billion times and sometimes still never getting anything.

As to the food, do you think it's possible that he's just not into the FF for some reason? When my cat wasn't eating, I think a couple of foods that were recommended to me were Wellness Kitten and Blue Wilderness because they are high-calorie. Other than that, I have no advice to offer... I'm just not that knowledgeable about this stuff. Just wanted you to know that people were still reading and hoping it's going well for you.