Every BG number in 400's last 12 hours

Good morning:

Today is day 3 from being off of dry food. I went to 0.5 units due to my results on Saturday. I fed yesterday before amps, around lunch time cause she was hunry, and pmps. When I took BG at 4:30 am she was picking at what was leftover from the evening, so I let her. Could this be the reason why her numbers are in the 400's? should I go back to 1 unit or maybe a tad below 1 unit? or should I stay with 0.5 this morning and see what happens?

I am going to get Ketone strips today too. Not sure how to do this yet. I am using I will have to follow her to the litter box.

 

Hey Michelle, I took a look at Prudence's spreadsheet.

In your place I know what I'd be doing, but let's review the facts first:

1 unit of your insulin on Saturday did an excellent job, lowering bg to 68 before letting it rise again to 300. If you could get that every day it would be a good start, though a longer-lasting insulin would be better.

Moving down to half a unit was not a good thing, as you saw. It looks like it was simply completely inadequate, though there's a slight possibility of something else going on. There is a very large difference (50%) between 1 unit and half a unit, and the body uses insulin as a CONTROL, not a drug, so expect large differences in effect with a 50% dose change.

There's a reason 40-99 is marked as green on the spreadsheet, rather than some scary color. It's good. Don't fear it. Below 40 is another story, but 68 is just fine. Let it happen. I don't know who has been scaring you off 68 as a number, but if you blood test your other cats it's more or less what you'd see every day. Don't take my word for it, try it.

Now between Saturday and today, you lowered dietary carbs. Most of us see a huge lowering of BG numbers when we do that, but not all. I'm guessing that you didn't.

What I'd do in this case, on a day when you can check at +4 and +5, is immediately go back to 1 unit, or to be safe with the lower carbs, just a slightly 'thin' 1 unit (not quite at the line), and watch those numbers every hour up to +6. You are really close to a good dose, Saturday proves it.

And I'd be aiming, for now, for the exact same results you got Saturday. Whoever is out there scaring Michelle away from sub-100 numbers, please quit it! That type of alarmism is responsible for some serious problems.

 

P.S. -
Since you don't have ketone strips yet, let me just say that despite some of the hysteria you see on this board from time to time, Ketoacidosis (which comes from insulin shortage primarily) is WAY WAY scarier than hypoglycemia.

Though both conditions are potentially fatal,
Hypoglycemia:
* Appears instantly (in minutes)
* Is very easy to treat at home (a bit of syrup!)
* Is guarded against by the cat's body and usually avoided (see "Somogyi Rebound")
* Doesn't require a vet visit
* If treated correctly is generally just fine right away

Diabetic Ketoacidosis:
* Sneaks up over a period of hours
* Is, once in full swing, impossible to treat at home
* Requires a vet visit lasting a day or two including overnight
* Often kills even if treated correctly


So if people are trying to scare you away from hypo, please let me scare you TWICE as loud away from insulin shortage, okay? Don't go wild and start dosing high, but don't drop doses dramatically or forget them either.

 

Thank you Steve. We are thinking the same thing. I did give Prudence below 1 unit and above 0.5. I did like the numbers on Saturday. I just wasn't sure if the canned food was causing her numbers to raise since I am feeding more than twice a day. I am feeding low carb canned too. My goal is to try and get her off insulin if I can. I will be testing her BG throughout the day again... my poor baby, she's a trooper angry(2)_cat

Thanks again for the info and taking the time to look at her spreadsheet!

 

Wow, this is frustrating. I thought I'd be on a good start this morning, but getting crazy numbers again. When I started Prudence out on Saturday - I only fed her before her amps. My plan was to feed her only at amps & pmps, so I could get an idea where her numbers where at. I understand she needs small meals.. I actually fed her after getting those low number on Saturday and kept feeding her small meals throughout the day.

I then went to 0.5 yesterday. This kept me in the 400 range all day.

This morning I went back to... close to 1 unit and only fed at amps. I am trying to get the same results as Saturday, but at +4 today she was at 258 and now at +5 it's back up to 386? I just fed her some lc food. I have no idea what +6 will look like. confused_cat

Has anyone used the Nature's Variety Instinct Grain Free Chicken Dry Cat Food? I am trying to handle 5 kitties, so making this switch to canned food is a challenge.

I also bought the Ketone test strips, so I am guessing I will have to follow her to the litter box.. hmm, this is going to be interesting


BTW - I just saw the posts about Nature's Variety Recalls

 

Michelle - I wish I could offer you some advice but I am not familiar with ProZinc. But I will let you know that you are not alone. Hugs :YMHUG:

 

WOW! thank you for this post... I've been sitting here by the computer waiting for anything and just the fact that you sent this... brought tears to my eyes.

Thank you - this meant a lot to me :YMHUG:

 

Michelle you are on the right track with home testing, diet change and being dedicated to Prudence's health. It is tough on us beans at eh beginning; trying to find the right dose. Don't give up.

I feed LC wet food and it stays out all day (feed one large can in the morning and one large can in he evening). My kitties graze all day, and it is easier on the pancreas to have them eat little meals often instead of large meals at one time.

 

Hi Michelle - big hugs...I know how challenging this is. I'm still trying to get Bashful regulated - he's getting better, but still sometimes all over the place and I had a lot of days in the red, so I really understand the frustration. You're doing great and there are a lot of AMAZING people on this Board who will give you great advice. They have LITERALLY saved Bashful's life several times.

For ketone checking - I have a Precision Xtra meter for which you can buy test strips like the ones you use for BGs (which is just easier for me), so that's what I do now. The strips are spendy, so I get them on ebay. But I did use the ketone strips before that and I have multiple cats also. If you do a search for ketones on the Board you'll probably find a lot of posts which different approaches. The one that worked well for me was I would isolate Bash in my bedroom and put a fresh clean litter box in there, with just a tiny tiny bit of litter, then put a sheet of seran (sp?) wrap over the top of it...he would eventually go in and do his business and the urine would be pooled up on top of the seran wrap, which made it easy to dip the stick in to. Wipe excess urine off on the side of the box, then put next to the strip reader on the side of the ketone strip bottle. I believe it's like "read at exactly 15 seconds" post dip or something like that (it changes color later, so timing is important). This worked really well for me. For me it was hard to get a good sample you know is just his unless you keep him away from the other kitties.

Hope his numbers come down soon for you. You're doing awesome! : )

Theresa & Bashful

 

Paige - Thanks again for the info on feeding. Every bit helps :smile: and Thank you for finding those ppl for me when I first joined! It's awesome that Webber is OTJ :RAHCAT

Theresa - A Big Thank You for all the info for Ketone checking. I will try the litter wrap approach tomorrow. Again, all the information that is shared is so helpful. I am very grateful :YMHUG:

My pmps was a fur-shot tonight :-| but I will be up and ready to go in the morning cat_pet_icon

 

Steve, as far as I know, no one has been trying to scare her off lower #s. A dose reduction was recommended in the PZI forum due to the steepness of the drop she got, and for safety if removing dry food from the picture. I don't recall that the 68 was ever brought up as an issue, nor do I recall any "hypo hysteria" in the PZI forum for her or for other cats.

If someone (myself included) is giving advice that is inappropriate, I hope that you or others would post comments on the thread in which it came up, and/or PM those involved if that seemed appropriate. The assumptions and generalized accusations that you made seem unproductive to me.

If you ever have free time to visit the PZI forum and give people advice, that would be very welcome, we can always use more eyes over there on people's data. Many of us over there do not have extensive experience/knowledge, and those who do often are not able to check in daily.

 

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who's been trying to help me through this process. I do not feel like anyone is scaring me. This whole experience is a learning process for everyone - since every case is not 100 % the same. We can only listen to the advice and pc_work read read read as much as we can without getting overwhelmed and remember to breathe through the learning. I've learned that each one of you that has given me advice etc. I listen, follow my gut and ask my angels to guide me through this process.

I am very thankful for this msg board and you all have found a place in my heart and receive prayers from me everyday :YMHUG: