Missed dose

We had a bout of DKA last week, and the vet has us giving 3 units of Prozinc twice a day......we've been in the mid 300 range until last night......we were at 150......called the vet, twice, and they decided that we could skip one dose, rather than risk him going too low and having a seizure......so I have the vets office (multiple vets) telling us it's ok, we have other people telling us NO!...........please help, as I don't know how much more of this I can take

 

Ruckus is 142 this morning.......there is no way that we can give him 3 units.....waiting for the vet's office to open at 8 and will call......don't know what to do :'(

 

With a DKA kitty is it best not to miss an insulin dose, since the risk of DKA happening again is much higher.

When was the 150 reading...was that the preshot test? Do you have any data on his glucose readings. Any preshot tests and any mid cycle (time between shots) test?

Also if you change your title to something like "DKA cat too low to shoot. What dose should I give?" and add a "?" icon to the title you will get a lot more responses from people experienced in dealing with DKA


ETA: I have posted another message asking for advice on this posting. Please add any glucose readings you have. Post as Preshot number and then the other tests as +3 or +4 or whatever for how many hours after the shot they were done.

 

Becky

Also could you tell us what kind of meter you are using for testing...a human or a pet meter. Are you able to monitor the numbers today? I am thinking that with a history of DKA a small token dose..trying to figure out how much... would be better than no shot. Is your kitty eating well?

 

Hmm... normally one would want to get some insulin into the cat after an episode of DKA, but let's look at the current circumstances...

From what I've read, kitty is eating well and improving every day. Becky is at work and unable to monitor til she gets home tonight. Kitty is receiving prozinc... the usual cut-off number for shooting is 200. 150 with experience. We have no idea if kitty is throwing ketones today... or has been since hospitalization a week ago.

These are BG numbers from an AT meter:
PMPS 150
Retest 3o minutes later 178
AMPS 142

No insulin for 24 hours.

Given the circumstances, I don't think I'd recommend shooting any insulin until tonight unless kitty is over 200 when Becky checks at lunch time.

Just my thoughts...

 

Just tested....he's 150.....and he's hungry......ate a can of fancy feast chicken/liver....purring up a storm, and drinking water like normal......he always drinks after he eats......so, we are going to take the advice of Jill & Alex, and we'll test again at lunch, and we'll see what his #'s are tonight....if he's under 200 we will not shoot, and we'll see what the vet has to say in the morning.......my keytone strips will be here tomorrow, and then we can check that on our own as well......I'm second guessing myself, so please feel free to chime in

 

Your plan makes sense.
In the mean time, if there are any changes (won't eat, acting sickly, hiding, sky-high numbers, etc) grab some ketone sticks from any pharmacy to test for ketones. They run about $10 - $15 and are worth their weight in gold!