havent needed insulin for 2 days... a good thing?

Hi everyone! As the title says, I havent injected Gypsy with insulin for 2 days now. She has only been on insulin for less than a month. At first she started on 1 unit twice a day.. but then starting last week shes only needed once a day injections at 1 unit. I called the vet cuz her numbers were borderline injecting around 200, and the vet gave me the okay to adjust her dosage to 0.5 unit as needed if shes above 200 but below 250. The last dose I gave her was 0.5 unit 3 nights ago when she was only at 230. The last dose of 0.5 unit was also only once a day. Since then, Ive tested her numbers am/pm before eating. They have been consistently between 110-160. Hoping maybe she can keep it that way! Any tips/ advice about what to look out for and such?

 

This is good news. I can't really advise on how to keep her moving toward remission. I think it would be a good idea to measure her BG AM and PM before you feed her and post those numbers here in a list that you update daily. The spreadsheet we use here would make that very easy. After a week or two of those results it should be apparent whether she's in remission or not.

 

Great news! I'm with Kris...keep checking AM/PM and let us know what you get. If you want to get a Spreadsheet going, that will really help.

 

Good news . It does sound like she is headed that way but may need a teeny tiny bit of help to set her in but definitely keep us updated with numbers. Spreadsheet would be easiest for us but if it's too much hassle for you, you could post them on this thread and format here.
Date:
AMPS ### (Dose or NS)
PMPS ### (Dose or NS)

You are still using the AT2 meter, correct? Just want to make sure of the numbers you'll post

 

Thanks everyone! really hoping shes trending down into remission. I can update #s in this thread here. Ive been logging her #s with good old pen and paper lol. Its just easier when I'm on the go in the morning. And yes, I'm still using the AT2 meter. Its been a crazy ride so far. Before I called the vet about her dosage, one time I injected her full 1 unit dose at night even though her #s were 213 she went down to a low 47 in like 3 hours... Needless to say that night she got an extra can which she greeedily gobbled up. She wasnt even showing symptoms. I barely got any sleep that night since I was so worried about her dipping again.

 

No worries . I have two paper and pen logs too and just try to update spreadsheet by evening if I'm not around during the day.
Wow she hit 47 on AT2 and no symptoms, although there are some kitties that don't show any symptoms until it's dangerous. Did you by chance retest the 47?

 

Oh I just gave her food right then and there. I tested her an hour later and got a higher # around 60, and in the next hour got 90-100 before I called it a night. She had food available throughout the night just in case though.

 

Looks like she is heading towards remission!
Keeping my fingers crossed.
Marlena

 

Its finally the weekend! aaaaand today we have an all time low without insulin of 112. I called the vet today to update her of Gypsy's current improvement. She was super happy and said its not common for cats to go off insulin so quickly (less than a month). I dont want to jjinx it though lol. How long does it take before a cat is consider OTJ? Also if I test her after she eats, it will raise, and if it raises to an unsafe level what do I do? More like what BG is considered not good after food? Here are the #s from the 3 days since she started not needing insulin. They are all prefood.

6/20: 7pm- 234 (last shot I gave, 0.5 unit-- no insulin given after this day)
6/21: 7am- 135 // 7pm- 167
6/22: 7am- 159 // 7pm- 147
6/23: 7am- 153 // 7pm- 112 (this is tonight)

 

Grats on the new low! Normal BG range on AT2 meter is 68 - 150. Usually you'll do a 14 day trial with not needing any insulin, if you need to give a dose I believe the count restarts. So 14 days without insulin and numbers are in normal ranges (even the 167 could be meter variance ) we would consider Gypsy in remission. You'll still need to keep testing for a bit and spot checking for the rest of her life. If she falls out of remission, you'll want to jump back on as fast as you can . I feel like there was a protocol somewhere but still haven't been able to find it. So this is nothing official but I just wrote it up for another new Prozinc member, also been on insulin for less than a month .

From other trials I've read about (other kitties),
First 14 days you still do AMPS and PMPS, maybe 1 mid cycle (one day take a day reading, another day take an evening mid)
Week 3 - 4: Test a couple days out of the week.
Month 2: Test once every couple weeks.
Month 3: Test once a month
Month 6+: Some will only test once a month every couple months

Personally, I'd probably stay between Month 2 and 3