? i need new dosing advice.

So Im becoming aware of recent bouncing in Mister's numbers.
I think he is dropping so low and i wasn't catching it ..
that he is suddenly getting high bgs at shot time.
12/12/2015 amp 282 3.0u
+4 20min. Bg 136
preshot pmp 177, 5min later 182, 8 min later 198 3.0u given

12/13/2015 amp 362 3.0u
pmp 300 3.0u -- wasn'table to test through the day

12/14/2015 +4 20min. Bg 76 gave some chicken wellness
i fell asleep till +7 and 37 min. Bg 190
amp 350 3.0u

i started a food change on 11/1/2015
OLD FOOD
5.5oz can of friskies shreds "beef gravy" or "turkey and cheese" with insulin
like "14 CARBS"
and than half a can of friskies "special diet- turkey and giblets" every 6 hrs.
like 2 CARBS

NEW FOOD
only half a 5.5 oz can of friskies shreds "beef and gravy" or "turkey and cheese" with insulin
like "7 CARBS" and wellness "chicken" , "beef and chicken" or "turkey" 1/4 th can "1 CARB"

Im thinking over time he is needing less from food change.
Should i focus on test at +4 and +6 today ?
do you think im wrong?
Thanks ~ Tina

 

Hi, Tina - Am looking over your info & SS right now, and will get back to you on this soon. - Robin

 

First things first: The cans of Friskies "beef in gravy" are 15 carbs; the "turkey & cheese" cans are 14 carbs - both are too high in carbs for a diabetic cat. (Just because you're feeding half of a 5.5 oz. can doesn't mean that your kitty is getting only 7 carbs - the carb level of the food in the can itself remains the same whether you're feeding a full can, a half can or a quarter of a can.) We recommend you feed 10% carbs or less. And the lower the carbs, the better for a diabetic - unless there is an additional medical condition that would require special dietary considerations. (I have no personal experience with Mega-Colon; if this is still a problem you're dealing with, there are others here @ FDMB who can help you with that.)

There are better, much lower carb choices in the Friskies brand than the ones you're currently using - there are good, low-carb choices in both the Friskies "Classic Pates" and the "Special" labels. Another economical low-carb option is the Fancy Feast (3 oz. cans) Classic Pates: The "savory salmon feast" is only 1% carb (please note, though, that it's not recommended that you feed more than the equivalent of about a 5.5 oz can of fish-based food weekly, due to the high mercury content of "fishy" foods). The Fancy Feast "turkey with giblets feast" is only 3% carbs (you'll see it listed in Dr. Pierson's food chart under "Miscellaneous," although it's actually one of the Classic Pate foods.)

Here's that chart for future reference: food chart

The Wellness chicken/ beef & chicken/ turkey varieties you're feeding - IF you're referring to the "grain-free" Wellness canned - are all just fine, as these are only 4% carbs.

But this is very important: As you're switching to even lower carbs, you'll need to do that slowly* AND monitor your kitty's mid-cycle #s, too.
Here's why: You can see a pretty significant shift in the amount of insulin needed when you lower the carbs; a very good thing, but that's why you want to make the change gradually, so that you don't risk putting kitty in a hypo situation at mid-cycle when he drops to his nadir.

*(Like this: 75% current food/ 25% lower-carb food 2-3 days, then 50%/50% for 2-3 days, then 25%/75% for 2-3 days, then 100% the low-carb.)

Yes, that would be great!
I'm not seeing many mid-cycle numbers in your kitty's chart lately (I'm assuming this is because you work during the day cycle?), so I'd suggest that as you start lowering the carb levels on the food, you might want to start that over a weekend or whenever your schedule will allow you to get mid-cycle #s to help you determine how much your kitty's BG# are dropping on the lower-carb food.

Also, in noting that very steep drop to 76 from a PMPS of 300 on 12/11, this may actually be telling you that the 3 unit dose your kitty is getting at present is a little too much ... but again, without more mid-cycle #s it's hard to make that determination with any certainty.

And before I forget: How's Mister's urinary tract doing these days?

 

I agree with Robin on the food. Reducing the crab level is a great idea. Be sure to check out the food chart Robin gave you.

I wonder about doing a bit of a sliding scale. What I am thinking is that on 12/13 3 units on a 300 gave you the steep drop Robin mentioned. So my thinking is that 3 units for a 196 may be too much insulin. Maybe, with your mid cycle numbers, we can give you some guidance about shooting a yellow preshot vs a pink preshot.

 

Ok +4 157 bg

im having a really hard time in regards to cat food.
special diet line has been discontinued.
i cant use fancy feast because whenever he gets food over 250 phosphorous he lays in the litter box for very long periods of time and his bgs go through the roof.
im assuming he has kidneys damage from the diabetes.

im using wellness as a last resort getting 7 12.6 oz cans a week for 22.00
im barely keeping up with money for his supplies as friskies special diet was only .50 a can.
he is so smart when i tried to give him just wellness he yelped and jerked and "i said poor baby your sides are hurting" so i tried the other side same thing..
i started thinking and gave him 1/2 can of shreds and the booger stayed completely still for shot. Not one noise lol!
he is way to smart.. he was saying im not letting you do anything for that crap.

any suggestions on another friskies ? no fish either he had history of crystals blocking bladder.
I have a booklet printed out with the 2012 numbers for food and a fast chart for the 250 or less phosphorous.

 

If you click on Merlin's SS, you will find a tab on food. This list is low carb and low phosphorous food. I got this from someone from the Lantus forum. I try to keep under 200 mg Phos or 1% or close to it.

 

Thank you! Looking now

 

I dont see the list? The very end in comments shows the special diet thats discontinued and the wellness he is eating now.
+6 bg 130, +9 bg 172
pmp 251 3.0u given

 

Here is a low phosphorous list from Tanya's crf site. She has the carbs and phosphorous counts. You might cross check with Dr. Lisa's list for the carb counts.

http://www.felinecrf.org/canned_food_usa.htm

It looks to me like 3 units is too high for the yellow but good for the pinks. I am thinking he is bouncing overnight and that could be part of the amps higher number. The times you have gotten nadirs overnight seem to support that idea. What would you think about 2.5 for the yellows and 3 for the pinks? Get some nadirs overnight if you can to see if he still is dropping low or not.

 

Thank you..
I will try this for sure.

 

I feel really stupid but i dont really understand this chart.
is .20 percent phosphorous actually 200 ?

 

I'll attach the page before. She had a good explanation that I neglected to add. Sorry.

http://www.felinecrf.org/food_data_tables.htm