8/11 AMPS Muffin 307 +2 274 +5 248 +11 282 PMPS 311 +3 139 +9 126
- Thread starter Julie + Muffin
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Tanya and Ducia
Very Active Member
Hi Julie and Muffin,
I just read this in your yesterday's post: Vet would like us to feed only twice a day 30 minutes after shot, try to do a curve, and hold the dose for 7-14 days.
IMHO, your vet is wrong.
Suppose, you gave the shot and then offer the food and Muffin refused. Sometimes cat's do refused to eat for no reason - mine did just recently so I had gone off schedule for 3 hours waiting until she is eating and I failed at syringe feeding her
. Lantus will kick in in about two hours and you have no food on board... Then what?
The best formula is Test then Feed then Shoot. Also, eating twice a day would mean larger portions per sitting - something not good for the pancreas. Even human diabetics advised to eat smaller portions frequently. But curves are helpful w/ dose evaluation.
I just read this in your yesterday's post: Vet would like us to feed only twice a day 30 minutes after shot, try to do a curve, and hold the dose for 7-14 days.
IMHO, your vet is wrong.
Suppose, you gave the shot and then offer the food and Muffin refused. Sometimes cat's do refused to eat for no reason - mine did just recently so I had gone off schedule for 3 hours waiting until she is eating and I failed at syringe feeding her
. Lantus will kick in in about two hours and you have no food on board... Then what? The best formula is Test then Feed then Shoot. Also, eating twice a day would mean larger portions per sitting - something not good for the pancreas. Even human diabetics advised to eat smaller portions frequently. But curves are helpful w/ dose evaluation.
Marvin's Mom - Nat
Very Active Member
Agree with Tanya, I wouldn't hold the food for 30 minutes. I don't even know what the benefits would be to wait 30 minutes after shot. Hope Muffin is doing well.
Julie + Muffin
Active Member
Hi
I'm having a hard time with this and have made no changes. I really appreciate the input and probably won't change anything except maybe do the curve and possibly hold the dose for a longer time. I am worried about her needing a dental and if that could be causing her numbers to stay high. The vet was not concerned with the 200-300 range. I emailed my vet with your input (no names) to see her response.
I'm having a hard time with this and have made no changes. I really appreciate the input and probably won't change anything except maybe do the curve and possibly hold the dose for a longer time. I am worried about her needing a dental and if that could be causing her numbers to stay high. The vet was not concerned with the 200-300 range. I emailed my vet with your input (no names) to see her response.
Marvin's Mom - Nat
Very Active Member
Hi Julie,
I know that it can be confusing, you are doing great. It is possible that dental will help with the numbers, it really depends on Muffins teeth. There are a lot of thing that can cause number to stay high, however it is also possible that Muffin just needs more time. If she has any gum or teeth issue it maybe contributing to higher numbers. If her teeth are ok, a good cleaning is to her overall benefit and will avoid teeth issue in the future to affect her BG. As for the feeding, to me it just makes sense to feed at the same time as you give insulin for a few reasons. Its easier to give the shot while the cat is eating, Test, Feed, and Shoot all done at the same time so no delays and no need to remember to go back and give food, and avoid any issues where kitty may decide not to eat. In the end you need to do what you think is best for Muffin.
I realise your vet may not be concerned about range of 200 - 300 however the goal I think is to get Muffin regulated and in healing numbers so she can progressively get better, and perhaps into remission. To get there you want her to be closer to a normal range. It won't happen overnight, which maybe what your vet is expressing with range of 200 to 300. However not sure this is in the healing range.
You are doing very well by Muffin, you've taken a lot of time to stay on top of her BG, montior her progress, and learn how she is reacting to increases and decreases. It's a lot in a short period of time, and all done because you love you kitty and want her healthy.
I know that it can be confusing, you are doing great. It is possible that dental will help with the numbers, it really depends on Muffins teeth. There are a lot of thing that can cause number to stay high, however it is also possible that Muffin just needs more time. If she has any gum or teeth issue it maybe contributing to higher numbers. If her teeth are ok, a good cleaning is to her overall benefit and will avoid teeth issue in the future to affect her BG. As for the feeding, to me it just makes sense to feed at the same time as you give insulin for a few reasons. Its easier to give the shot while the cat is eating, Test, Feed, and Shoot all done at the same time so no delays and no need to remember to go back and give food, and avoid any issues where kitty may decide not to eat. In the end you need to do what you think is best for Muffin.
I realise your vet may not be concerned about range of 200 - 300 however the goal I think is to get Muffin regulated and in healing numbers so she can progressively get better, and perhaps into remission. To get there you want her to be closer to a normal range. It won't happen overnight, which maybe what your vet is expressing with range of 200 to 300. However not sure this is in the healing range.
You are doing very well by Muffin, you've taken a lot of time to stay on top of her BG, montior her progress, and learn how she is reacting to increases and decreases. It's a lot in a short period of time, and all done because you love you kitty and want her healthy.
Julie + Muffin
Active Member
Hi Julie and Muffin,
I just read this in your yesterday's post: Vet would like us to feed only twice a day 30 minutes after shot, try to do a curve, and hold the dose for 7-14 days.
IMHO, your vet is wrong.
Suppose, you gave the shot and then offer the food and Muffin refused. Sometimes cat's do refused to eat for no reason - mine did just recently so I had gone off schedule for 3 hours waiting until she is eating and I failed at syringe feeding her
The best formula is Test then Feed then Shoot. Also, eating twice a day would mean larger portions per sitting - something not good for the pancreas. Even human diabetics advised to eat smaller portions frequently. But curves are helpful w/ dose evaluation.
Here is the reply from my vet so I think she is on our same page. Not sure what happened...maybe I misheard what she was saying but I take a lot of notes
So, it looks like we have had a miscommunication. I would absolutely not recommend doing the insulin injections prior to feeding. I always feed at least 30 minutes prior to the insulin shot. The reason for this is that (I agree with the comment below), if Muffin decides not to eat for whatever reason, then we have an animal that will likely drop too low. I typically advise that clients call us if their animal is not eating prior to insulin injections so we do not drive the BG too low. That could be a very dangerous situation.
I did some more research regarding whether we should feed two meals a day (prior to insulin dosing) vs. allowing them to free feed/graze or eat several small meals per day. It seems like the consensus that I am reading is that it is not as important in cats as it is in dogs to feed 2 meals per day. I was taught in school to meal feed cats twice a day, but it seems that there are a lot of people (including internal medicine specialists) that are allowing the cats to graze through the day. It is still important to make sure that there is a meal given prior to the injections. The most important thing will be to ensure that if you guys are offering several meals is that you are not offering more than her needed calories per day as if she gains too much weight, this can cause her diabetes to be more difficult to control.
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