Jasmine

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flyingduster

flyingduster

Member Since 2019
ahhh, day three of this stuff and her AMPS was 5.9 (ummmm, 106?) which has me allllll confused considering it was almost 30 yesterday! I tested again and it was only 0.3 different so i feel it’s pretty accurate despite my out-of-date strips.

But I recall reading somewhere about if it’s under 11 to not shoot so my first port of call is to just stop and wait. It will be ok to wait right? I’m feeling weirded out by this and I hadn’t really read up a whole lot on this scenario yet as I wasn’t expecting this so soon at all!!

She has eaten because I gave her her breakfast as the glucometer counted down as her reward for letting me do it.
She last ate about three hours ago when I got up in the night and fed her too, though I didn’t wait to see if she finished it so it is possible she grazed on leftovers since then too I guess. Would having grazed on some food more recently have changed her levels that much now?

Either way, I will now go reading up on what happens next. And omg I’m feeling sooooo relieved that I test her! Despite what the damn vet said! Ahhh!!!

Amy & Jazz
 
No shot for sure! It's always wise to get a second test immediately when you get a surprise like this so kudos to you for doing that. Try to get new strips ASAP though because you really need to be confident of the numbers you see. And - imagine if you hadn't tested ... :eek:

Skipping insulin isn't ideal after a DKA but that's far too low a BG for you to dose on so early in the game. Test her again in a few hours and definitely before evening shot time. Withhold all food for two hours before that PS test so we have a proper BG number to use for dosing decisions.
 
Ok, so she’s just finishing off her leftover breakfast now, I will lift that and withhold for a couple of hours and test her again.

I have ordered some new strips just now because the fact they’re out of date is making me worried it’s not right, though they do seem to be reading accurately. But regardless that is a huge difference from yesterday. And I tested from the other ear the second time too.

I’m feeling so emotional about it all right now. Relieved that I tested!! Pissed off at my vet for brushing off and even advising against home testing when I asked about it. Worried that I am doing the right thing. Confused and curious and just thrown out. Lol.

Ahh these kitties!
 
Ok, I withheld her food for a solid two hours and tested again and it was 6.1 still! I have new strips on order but I’m considering calling up my vet and getting them to do a test too? Then we can KNOW if my strips are saying anything accurate and feel more confident in continuing home testing with my current strips. She’s eating or asking to eat pretty much hourly right now, which is great for just after the DKA. I’m adding water to the pate too so she’s getting plenty of liquid. Her voice has come back a lot more today; meowing about everything like she used to!
 
flyingduster said:
Ok, I withheld her food for a solid two hours and tested again and it was 6.1 still! I have new strips on order but I’m considering calling up my vet and getting them to do a test too? Then we can KNOW if my strips are saying anything accurate and feel more confident in continuing home testing with my current strips. She’s eating or asking to eat pretty much hourly right now, which is great for just after the DKA. I’m adding water to the pate too so she’s getting plenty of liquid. Her voice has come back a lot more today; meowing about everything like she used to!
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Isn't that interesting! You could take her to the vet for a test or if they have a "clinic cat" (needn't be a diabetic) you could go there with your meter and do a side by side test on that kitty to do a comparison with their meter.

Is it possible to buy some strips for your meter in a human pharmacy for now even if they might not be as cheap as where you've ordered from?
 
You don’t need to hold off on the food for testing during the cycle only for the two hours PRESHOT.
Well done this morning catching the low number. That’s great!
 
Kris & Teasel said:
Isn't that interesting! You could take her to the vet for a test or if they have a "clinic cat" (needn't be a diabetic) you could go there with your meter and do a side by side test on that kitty to do a comparison with their meter.

Is it possible to buy some strips for your meter in a human pharmacy for now even if they might not be as cheap as where you've ordered from?
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Oh yes they do have a clinic cat, that’s such a good idea! I might suggest that one to them!!
I might be able to get strips locally, I will have a look. We are on a very tight budget though so it is possible I cannot afford to get them still, especially ordering some already! Another idea I had was to make a doctors appointment for MYSELF and ask for more strips on prescription... hmm
 
Bron and Sheba said:
You don’t need to hold off on the food for testing during the cycle only for the two hours PRESHOT.
Well done this morning catching the low number. That’s great!
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Yes I know I don’t need to withhold during the day, I was just feeling like I needed reassurance that food was definitely not a factor in her AMPS. And as she still hasn’t had any insulin since last night, I figured doing a definitive withhold for a couple of hours would give a definitive number. Which it did; of pretty much the same as earlier! Haha.

I am soooooo grateful for all of you guys and your help! I’d have one very sick kitty right now otherwise.
 
It is now +5 from the time of her AMPS, though there was no shot then, and her BGL is still at 6.5 !!! She is acting fine, talking lots, eating lots, washing and purring and sunbathing (it’s summer here!) and all the normal kitty stuff. She is still not 100% herself but she’s so much better than she was.
 
And now it’s jumped way up again! I’m at 8.5+ now. So weird. She’s just eaten a little so I might test again in another hour and see what influence that has had. This is all so intriguing and slightly confusing. But we will carry on.

If she has a high level in another hour, should I perhaps do her evening insulin then seeing she will have had absolutely NO insulin for 22.5 hours by then? I can do her morning one within 12.5 hours of then still to bring it back up to a good time. Or should I just wait until the full 24 hours since her last insulin??
 
Jazz has shot up because she hasn’t had insulin.
Because you didn’t give insulin last time, you can give it earlier if you want to change the times to an earlier time. So what are the times you would like to stick to on a regular basis?
If you give it in an hour you would need to give it 12 hours after that. Does that suit?

You will need to test frequently to see she doesn’t drop too low during the cycle. Can you do that?
 
Yeah so I would rather it was at more like 7/7 but if I give it early it’ll be more like 6/6.
I can test frequently up until about 10pm tonight but then I really need bed. I could do another test or two in the night as I do wake, but it wouldn’t be regular.

So I should just leave it to keep spiking up until 7? Or should I do it early at 6 and then have more hours of checking on her before bed and just deal with having to do 6/6 for a while before trying to slowly move it out again???
 
I would do 6pm then you can change the time 15 minutes each cycle to get to desired time. If you can test a couple of times during the night that would be good. Cats often drop lower at night.
Keep SS up to date and I’ll keep an eye on it. It’s only 3 pm here.
 
I missed the first hour because 6-8pm is just chaos of kids dinner and baths and bed. But that’s ok cos the first hour is probably not a big worry. It’s now that we are at 3+ to see if it keeps going down fast or begins to rise again. I am going to head to bed soon because I have had horrible allergies today making life miserable. I will get up to do another quick reading at 10 though and from there I will assess if I want to set my alarm to do another at 11 or not: If it’s still dropping fast then I might. If it’s steadying or rising then I will leave it and just do another random one overnight whenever it is that I get up. Does that sound reasonable??
 
She is certainly dropping fast so I would keep testing until she starts to head back up if you can.
Dropping that fast will probably cause a bounce which means her body releases hormones and glucose into her system pushing up the BSL into high numbers. These bounces can last from one to six cycles.
If you feed during the drop it can help slow down the speed of the drop and help prevent bounces.
If you swapped over to Glargine the insulin is not so harsh and mostly the curves are more gentle and longer lasting.
You are doing s good job juggling kids, baths and kitty:)
I hope you feel better soon
 
It’s just after 10pm now (+4) and it’s going back up again already. Same as the curve I did yesterday that had nadir at only three hours. So for now I will go to bed properly and rest in the night when I get up as I no doubt will.
 
Can you leave some food out for her to eat if she does drop more?
The Vetsulin does have a very short duration for her by the look of things.
 
It’s 3:30am. +9.5.
My sinuses are keeping me awake so I’m up with Jazz. Tested her, and fed her again. Her BGL are well on the rise again. I have no idea what was happening with her BGL yesterday morning??? But it was obviously short lived anyway. I wonder if the flavour of pate she had was a factor?? Would that make SUCH a difference as that though?

I’m sitting up with her to then take the remaining food away once she’s finished to ensure she has a good couple of hours withheld before her 6am test again.
 
flyingduster said:
Ok, I withheld her food for a solid two hours and tested again and it was 6.1 still! I have new strips on order but I’m considering calling up my vet and getting them to do a test too? Then we can KNOW if my strips are saying anything accurate and feel more confident in continuing home testing with my current strips. She’s eating or asking to eat pretty much hourly right now, which is great for just after the DKA. I’m adding water to the pate too so she’s getting plenty of liquid. Her voice has come back a lot more today; meowing about everything like she used to!
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Only thing about taking to the vet to test, she will be stressed and that will raise her BG #’s
 
And now we have the AMPS which was no higher than her +9.5 earlier which is good. I’m glad it’s not just going up and up after the insulin wears off! So I feel as though we are moving towards more control even though it’s still too high.

I am compiling an email to my vet about home testing and continuing it and changing her insulin.
 
sherrib said:
Only thing about taking to the vet to test, she will be stressed and that will raise her BG #’s
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Yeah I realise that, that was yesterday’s idea and the vet never called me back until evening anyway so I don’t really care now. Lol. I am currently compiling an email to them to move forwards.
 
flyingduster said:
And now it’s jumped way up again! I’m at 8.5+ now. So weird. She’s just eaten a little so I might test again in another hour and see what influence that has had. This is all so intriguing and slightly confusing. But we will carry on.

If she has a high level in another hour, should I perhaps do her evening insulin then seeing she will have had absolutely NO insulin for 22.5 hours by then? I can do her morning one within 12.5 hours of then still to bring it back up to a good time. Or should I just wait until the full 24 hours since her last insulin??
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I didn’t read all the comments after this one.
I wanted to tell you that I got my cat into remission in less then 2 months after we found out he had diabetes . Sounds like your baby’s pancreas has starting “ working “. Sometimes the pancreas just needs a little rest and then it starts up working again. It’s so confusing.
 
I thought I would just give her a break from really constant testing today as I don’t want her getting headshy over it all! But then I test now at +5 and it’s way down from 23.3 AMPS to 9.3!!?? She hasn’t eaten in quite a while and I tested her when she came in to eat so maybe that is why. But still a huge drop again. It’s so confusing.

I have emailed my vet about it all and I hope that she will be on board with working with me more. I do think maybe a different insulin will be better and help her keep stable much more. She clearly can come down well, it’s just the staying down!
 
And lower still another couple of hours later! Does anyone have any idea what’s going on?? Why is her insulin seeming to be working on a fast and hard sorta cycle for a few shots and then suddenly seem to be slowing down and gradually bringing it down??

We will see what the next few hours bring I guess. It’s just really confusing to me still.
 
flyingduster said:
And lower still another couple of hours later! Does anyone have any idea what’s going on?? Why is her insulin seeming to be working on a fast and hard sorta cycle for a few shots and then suddenly seem to be slowing down and gradually bringing it down??

We will see what the next few hours bring I guess. It’s just really confusing to me still.
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sounds like her pancreas is kicking off & on
 
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Kris & Teasel said:
Is it possible to buy some strips for your meter in a human pharmacy for now even if they might not be as cheap as where you've ordered from?
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CareSens is NZ Pharmac funded. Strips for a person with a prescription would be around NZD $11 box 50. Buy online within NZ about NZD $14 I think. I would imagine most pharmacies would have supplies but might be puzzled at buying without a prescription. :cat:
 
Remembering that there was a sudden change of carb intake perhaps.
A bounce could well be happening but as Kris states unless it is known the strips and readings are sound it is hard to be sure.
 
NEW STRIPS ARRIVED just now!! Literally as I was typing out a reply there was a knock from the courier! Lol.

It’s only 20 mins since her +7 reading of 7.2, and on the new strip just opened up I got 7.8...

So basically yeah they seem to be reading true. I can’t be sure the HIGH readings were accurate except that the last tests the vet did matched the first high ones I got at home...
 
Still going down. +9 (and a bit) is 6.6! At this rate she won’t get her PM shot unless it suddenly goes up.

Yes I’m using the new strips.

She’s eating now so will close it up soon cos it’s nearly actually +9.5
 
She ate at the PMPS BG, and ate again just now at +2. It has gone up somewhat again as M just posted. Not massive but going upwards. But still too low to do a late shot so now I will be watching her all night long and probably watch her levels zoom back up by morning.

It doesn’t seem to be a “bounce” as I understand what bounces are, cos those send them high normally don’t they? She reacted fast and hard to the insulin on several days and then long and slow other times!!!

She’s currently curled up purring on my lap though, she is a lot healthier than she was this time last Friday when she was in DKA in the vets on a drip. So for now, I will snuggle my kitty and see what the night brings us.
 
Bron and Sheba said:
@Kris & Teasel
What do you think of a lower dose of insulin so she can shoot both AM and PM shots?
I know we have to factor DKA in here as well..
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I am wondering this also now.

It doesn’t seem to be a “bounce” as I understand what bounces are, cos those send them high normally don’t they? She reacted fast and hard to the insulin on several days and then long and slow other times
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A bounce is both up and down. High up. High down.

There has been a change of food very quickly and the intro of insulin. Her body is maybe on a roller coaster right now. We need some cycles to know the length and readings.

Can you get a + 4 or so? Helps fill in the greater picture. Also maybe a + 10 or so. That is two hours before the normal shot time.
 
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I just did a +3 and it’s going up faster now. I will try get more tests through the night to add to the picture but I basically expect it’ll keep going up now as there has been no insulin since 15 hours ago. *shrug*
 
It’s really important to give insulin when DKA is in the picture so I would ask vet about swapping to glargine as it has a slower onset.
Also you will probably need to reduce the dose so you can shoot both times ....AMPS and PMPS@Kris & Teasel Kris knows more about Vetsulin.. I haven’t used that insulin.
 
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Bron and Sheba said:
It’s really important to give insulin when DKA is in the picture so I would ask vet about swapping to glargine as it has a slower onset.
Also you will probably need to reduce the dose so you can shoot both times ....AMPS and PMPS@Kris & Teasel Kris knows more about Vetsulin.. I haven’t used that insulin.
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I concur but I used lanctus.

The basic recipe for developing DKA = an insufficient supply of insulin + inappetance + infection OR other systemic stresses.
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I feel nervous changing the dose!!! But this morning she is back up at 24.3. I didn’t get any overnight readings.
 
Ok so I dropped it to 1U. I feel ok to drop it because more can be done in time but I can unshoot it!! It’s also no real risk of hypo and HOPEFULLY means it keeps her more stable. Ahhh we will see.
 
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