Hi! I haven't posted before. I'm fairly new. I've been reading and reading and reading on the form for weeks. There is so much useful information on here that my vet was unable to provide me with. I've recently started testing Big Cat, we've been at home testing for less than a month. Honestly until I found this form, I didn't even know it was an option! I'd be grateful if someone could look at my boy's spread sheet and advise on dosing. I'm unsure if I should skip his dose since his PMPS was 98. This morning his AMPS was only 84 so I skipped I was gone all day and didn't want him to go hypo. Any advice would be great! Thanks!
I ended up stalling a half hour and retesting and got 85. I wonder why he would go down more? Since my second reading was 85. I skipped. I guess high is better than low.
Absolutely. And although I am not an expert here I wouldn’t have shot at 98 either so you did the right thing. I am unable to see any numbers in your SS.
Hmm. I wonder why you can't see any numbers. The beginning of the spread sheet only has doses that I went back and listed before I was home testing but as you scroll down there should be numbers. I wonder if I shared it wrong?
Hi there, and welcome! I can see the spreadsheet, so either google was just having a glitch earlier, or you got it fixed. It looks like your kitty might be heading off of insulin...time will tell. For now, I wouldn't shoot anything below 150 since you are using an AT2, , and if he goes above 150, you could maybe try the dose we call "a drop": You push the plunger in hard, then while you hold it in, insert the needle into the vial, invert the vial, and let go of the plunger. It will suck up a drop of insulin. It won't look like anything. When you inject it, it won't feel like anything, but it can make a difference for kitties that are towards the end of their insulin journey. You want to see Big Cat spending most of his time in the dark greens now, with just occasional numbers in the blues. He got a lime green number on 0.25u the other day which tells you that that dose is a little too much for him right now. If he goes 28 cycles (14 days) without insulin, he's considered a diet controlled diabetic.
Thank you! I wasn't sure exactly how high/low of a number to not dose at. I've seen don't dose below 200 but ever since I started testing he's been below 200 so I wasn't sure. I knew we wanted to see lots of dark greens but I wasn't sure if the blue was okay too. Obviously not as desirable as the dark geeens but blue isn't as bad as I thought. I was so unsure of wether to dose him when he was in the low 100's. I didn't want to dose him too much and I didn't want to not dose when I should be dosing. I was making myself sick worrying about it! My internets been down all day so I didn't get to update his spread sheet but tonight his PMPS was 113 and I didn't give insultin. From what you said, that seemed like the right thing to do. I worry so much about not doing what is best for him. As I keep leaning more, I just keep telling myself as I learn and know better I can do better! It just shocks me how little experience so many vets seems to have with feline diabetes.
We have all experienced vets with little experience. This site was a life saver for me and while I am still learning -these guys have taught me so much.
If he stays in blues for the next day or so, but not high enough to shoot, post again and we can talk about micro-dosing. Sometimes a cat will get stuck in between - hanging out in low-ish numbers, but not going into remission. If that happens, some micro-doses can help nudge him down a little lower.
I have a few more questions. Sorry if they seem redundant! My anxiety has a need to clarify everything lol So if he goes 28 cycles (14 days) without insulin he's considered diet controlled. Does this mean if his numbers stay below 150? Or is this only if he had mostly dark green numbers and a few blues? He was at 110 this morning again so I didn't dose him. I just don't want to get my hopes up too much and realize I miss understood lol Also, I've seen a lot of information about testing for ketones. I've read about the urine test strips and the blood test meter and strips for ketones. Understandably the urine test strips are more exconomical. My question is, is one method more reliable than the other? My guy isn't too keen on me lurking around his littler box while he's doing his business. I was wondering if the blood testing method was as reliable? Thanks!
I can definitely understand this! My kitty got down to 0.3u, hung out there for a couple of months, and never went into remission. Sigh. Fingers crossed that Big Cat gets it done for you! Ketones aren't a very big risk in the numbers you're seeing - they're more likely in cats who are yellows and higher. That being said, the blood test gives a more fine-detailed idea of the ketone level than the urine sticks. Although yes, much more expensive. The blood test also makes it a lot easier as you aren't having to stalk your kitty to the litter box. Not a big deal for cats like mine who like to announce they are heading there, and then lifts his butt for me when he sees me coming with the test strip! But again, ketones are a bigger issue with higher numbers, so I don't know that it would be worth the investment in the blood meter/strips at this point in your journey. If BC doesn't like having a companion in the litter box, you can wrinkle up some plastic wrap in the corners of the box where he is most likely to aim, and then test in the pee that gets caught in the wrinkles. The trick is you have to interrupt him before he starts kicking litter over it!
He spent all of Tuesday in the blues and yesterday rode the green train all day! Now this morning he was back at 113. Do we consider micro-dosing? Or do I put on my patient pants and wait a few more days?
It's a tough call. If you decide to try a 0.1u or a drop, make sure it's a cycle (or a couple of cycles) you can monitor carefully so you can catch the nadir and see how much it is impacting him. He's looking really good. I'm honestly not sure if I would try to nudge him a little lower, or just ride it out. Do you have a mama-sense of what is best here?
I'm thinking maybe we ride it out a little longer and see where he's going. He had all greens when we tested again today! He likes to keep me guessing lol. I'm hopeful!
