? 5/21 Jag, PMPS: 137, Question about dosing/eating

My vet increased Jag's Lantus to 4 units last Friday. Two weeks before that, they increased him to 3 units.

I started using the ReliOn meter, mainly due to cost of the strips. The AT was just too expensive to maintain.

I have some questions, I'm hoping the experts here can advise on, since I'm still fairly new to this!


- Jag's levels dropped a lot since giving 4 units, today PMPS he was 137. Do you still shoot 4U when the levels are nearing 100? I'm worried since upping to 4U, he dropped big time from prior 300+ numbers.

- Jag seems to be eating less for the past few days. (Coincides with the increase dose) Is this directly related to having lower glucose levels?

- The vet said to NOT check his glucose as often as I'm doing in my spreadsheet. They said I'm going to end up giving him an infection from so much checking.. They told me to only check it twice a week, at the +6 mark. I do not agree with this...

- The vet wants Jag to lose weight (he's over 20lbs), but said he should only lose up to 2 pounds per year. If his sugar levels drop, causing him to eat less, how do I manage that?

I updated my spreadsheet in my signature with the ReliOn meter figures.

Jag thanks everyone in advance!

 

Glad you don't agree with the vet. After 5 years of checking Neko's blood sugar at least 5 times a day, I never saw an infection. Some people test more than I did.

I also disagree with your vet on the size of dose increase. That is way too large a jump up when you are seeing some yellows. We would have increased by 0.25 units. Those mid cycle tests, when you can get them, are very important. In the beginning, Neko would start in red, drop down to green mid cycle, then pop back up to pink at the end of the cycle. She earned her first below 50 reduction by starting the day at 430. If I hadn't gotten mid cycle tests, I would have thought she needed an increase, when in fact she need a dose reduction. We determine how to change the dose based on how low the dose is taking the cat. Those lows typically happen somewhere in the middle of the cycle, so you need either a curve each week or mid cycle spot checks.

If you cannot stay up and test tonight, I wouldn't give insulin at that 137. Normally that's a safe number to shoot, but only when you have the data to do so and can monitor.

Could you put a line in your spreadsheet, marking when you started using the Relion? That'll make it easy for us to see at a glance.

And yes, cats will be less starved as they get into better numbers. How many calories per day are you feeding him now?

 

Thanks for the info! Jag didn't each much today, so I skipped the PM shot. Didn't want to chance giving him 4U, then it drops even lower due to lack of food intake. I'm wondering if he's feeling funny from the increased dose to 4U which is why he's been barely eating the last 2 days.

My needles only have whole units on them. I could probably try to eyeball a 1/2 unit, but 1/4 would be too hard without getting different ones. I will have to check into this, since I'll need more soon anyway.

For a curve, this is testing every 2 hours for the 12-hour cycle? I did one of these when he first started. By +6, he was already going back up, but this was only on 2U.

My spreadsheet is all ReliOn numbers. In the remarks, I list figures if I used the AT for a reading.

The vet wants him to eat 335 kcal/day. But I can't seem to get him to eat more than 250 or so on average. He's just not interested in consuming that much food. I've been feeding him Tiki Cat. My other cats devour it, but these last 2 days are frustrating since he'll eat for maybe a minute, then he'll do that paw motion where he's covering up his food, then lays down.

 

There are plenty of insulin syringes out there with half unit markings. I suggest trying to find some, so you can dose smaller amounts. Cats are sensitive to small changes.

I would use your scales to determine if he's getting enough calories. My Neko, at 14'lbs, maintained her weight at 200 calories. Have you tried other low carb foods?

 

All these syringes have half unit markings and are available from ADW online:
UtiCare
Monoject
Carepoint
Sure Comfort
B/D

They're also available at WalMart if you have one near you. Their Relion brand 3/10ml, 30 or 31 gauge, 6mm or 8mm insulin syringes all come with half unit markings and are only $12.58 for a box of 100 (although a lot of them don't realize they DO come with half unit markings!)