Higher numbers

Am I heading in the right direction? I recently got a few low numbers, but now they jumped back up to higher numbers. I don't understand why? It was mentioned that it probably was a bounce from being so low, but is there something I did wrong? Did I change the dose too fast? I feel like I'm taking a step back. On the 12th I feel like I was getting somewhere, but then he throws me for a loop and starting getting higher. Did I do something wrong? He's not acting extra hungry and if anything he's eating less wet. I think he's getting bored with his food. I just raised his does to 2 units tonight after suggested. I guess I was expecting to see lower numbers. Also, is it normal for the numbers to go high, then low or just stay flat?

 

Well, there are a few things to consider. One might be that Tuffy simply needs more insulin. You've done just fine raising the dose carefully, so it's possible that you just need to keep doing what you're doing and be patient.

However, before we assume that....is there any chance that Tuffy is getting any dry food? Or any higher carb foods? Are there any other pets that he could be stealing food from? Or sneaking any human food? Even just a couple of pieces of kibble can make a difference for many cats.

Another possibility could be a secondary health issue like teeth needing to be cleaned or arthritis -- anything that causes inflammation can inflate numbers.

An one more: fur shots? It can be really easy to think the insulin is going in, but actually end up shooting all the way through. If you sniff the shot site when you're done and smell bandaids

Do any of those seem possible? If not, then keep monitoring, and systematically raising the dose every few days.

 

First off, I never thought of smelling the site, but I definitely will. Does insulin smell like Band-Aids?

He does have need a cleaning, but I have to wait on clearance from a heart specialist because he has a murmur. Speaking of, would insulin make a murmur more pronounced? It was a 1, but now it's a 3.

It is possible that he has a little dry. He gets a small amount of DM dry, but pretty much all wet. Sometimes he might get a couple of kibbles that he's left. He isn't snacking on wet like he use too and I think it's because he's getting tired of the same food. So what I do is I give you half a can of wet and a small handful of dry. Then what he doesn't eat here since on throughout the day he can snack wet. Occasionally he eats dry kibbles left. I usually pick up that, but if he doesn't eat so much wet I let him eat dry that remains so he eats. He hasn't been eating the wet as much lately. I really just give him a tiny amount, but maybe slightly more lately because he lack of wet food interest.

 

Yup, smells like bandaids. Once you smell it, you'll never forget.

Even a little try - even just a few pieces - will have a significant impact on BG. You might consider trying other LC foods. There are tons on the food list. I'm sure you can find something that he'll take to, but it can be a process. And a cat with access to kibble usually won't snack on wet.

 

He only gets like a tsp, but I'm trying to ween him off it completely. I gave him something different and he seemed to like it better today. I was trying not to completely mess up his numbers, but I guess what use to work isn't so much anymore.

I just don't get how he can have 2 good numbers, then back to higher than before.

 

Here's an explanation of bouncing I wrote a while back:

1. BG goes low OR lower than usual OR drops too quickly.
2. Kitty's body panics and thinks there's danger (OMG! My BG is too low!).
3. Complex physiologic processes take glycogen stored in the liver (I think of it as "bounce fuel"), convert it to glucose and dump it into the bloodstream to counteract the perceived dangerously low BG.
4. These processes go into overdrive in kitties who are bounce prone and keep the BG propped up varying lengths of time (AKA bouncing).
5. Bounce prone kitty repeats this until his body learns that healthy low numbers are safe. Some kitties are slow learners.
6. Too high a dose of insulin can keep them bouncing over and over until the " bounce fuel" runs out and they crash - ie., have a hypo episode. That's why we worry so much about kitties that have had too high a starting dose prescribed by the vet and the owner isn't home testing.

If the good numbers are not what his body is used to it can set off a bounce. This is frustrating but very common.

 

Okay, so the first bounce he was on 1.75. I was advised to up it to 2 units. Should I have kept him on 1.75? Thank you for the explanation. So then, is it safe to say that I am headed in the right direction and I should hold my dose now? I hope he learns quick! Lol.

Also, a concern of mine is that I dose him, but then he doesn't eat enough through the day or something and I would have ended up giving him too much insulin. Is that an issue, because I pretest him and does to tgat.?

 

You want to get him into lower numbers, which means that you do have to increase the dose...volatile kitties will often bounce no matter what when that happens. Making smaller changes can sometimes help with that, but it's tough to do more than you are without u100 needles. So yes, I'd hold your dose for a bit and see what happens.

Does he often not eat well? Is that a concern for him? A lot of our cats only have a tablespoon or so of food at shot time....they just aren't hungry. But most of them will continue to eat through the day. Are you able to leave food for him during the day? Sometimes if kitties feel themselves going low, they will grab a snack to help (not always, but a lot of the times they do).

 

Okay, so that's what I do. I leave wet food with added water so it says wet all day. He eats at 6 am and what he does not eat it gets left out and he snacks. He gets VERY little dry at his insulin times and now I'm thinking I may only give him a little in the morning. He does snack, however, he doesn't eat as much in the am as I feel like he use to. I could just be overreacting because it sounds like he eats a normal amount. He's not as "eager" as he use to be anf I feel he's tired of the same food types. I'm going to get some new types this weekend. I will hold him at 2 units and do another curve Friday.