Need a little help just tested. It says 176.

Ok still super new and inexperienced. Just tested Nermal and it said 176. My vet said not to do insulin and call if below 200. Vet just closed, left message. Hoping not a bad sign. Im pretty sure I did it right. I'm starting to think yesterday when I first tested him and it said 41 it might have been right. So i used a cotton ball under the lancett instead of my stupid finger this time. He did wake up from a good nap(I still watched him) He snuck in just a couple bites of leftover FF before I tested him. So wondering if 176 is good or bad? Any ideas. Also since i switched all of my kitties to this strict FF high protein low carb(less then 5carbs) diet my vet gave my other cat Wednesday (nondiabetic) has hacked up a couple hairballs. Which I have never seen her hack up but maybe once before
By the way I put my other cats on the same diet(my 3 and 1 year old kitties were getting a little chubby)
Any ideas please? I'm sick of being nerve racked about what vet might say.

 

Yes, the food could have raised him to 176

 

Having all ur cats on FF is fine, mine are on it now to. 176 is a number I hate because I never know to shoot or not shoot .
You really need to test 2 hrs after he ate last. You are going to have to put the food away every day ,twice a day to get a “ true” BG reading. Especially since he is so new to getting insulin

 

Why does ur vet want u to call if he is below 200?

 

Hi,

I can't find anywhere what insulin Nermal is using. If you could set up a signature (listing insulin, glucometer, and food) and start a spreadsheet, it will help others help you quickly.

From: http://www.felinediabetes.com/fdmb-faq.htm
Q4.4. My cat's pre-shot level was way below the usual value. Should I give the injection?

A4.4. There's no hard and fast rule, but if you don't have data on how your cat responds to insulin, here are some general guidelines. Below 150 mg/dl (8.3 mmol/L), don't give insulin. Between 150 and 200 (8.3-11.1 mmol/L), you have three options: a.) give nothing; b.) give a token dose (10-25% of the usual dose); c.) feed as usual, test in a couple of hours, and make a decision based on that value. Above 200 (11.1 mmol/L) but below the cat's normal pre-shot value, a reduced dose might be wise. In all cases, if you are reducing or eliminating insulin, it's wise to check for ketones in the urine. Above the normal pre-shot value, give the usual dose, but if the pre-shot value is consistently elevated, it's a good idea to schedule a full glucose curve to see whether a change in dose or insulin is appropriate. In most cases, the target "peak" value should not be below 100 mg/dl (5.6 mmol/L), and for some cats it might be higher. Keep in mind that these are general guidelines, and they should be personalized to your own cat's reactions to insulin. If your experience is that your cat does not became hypoglycemic with a dose which is close to her usual, then your experience should be your guide.

Since this is all new to both of you – for beginners, since the 176 could be food influenced, and since you have switched recently to a low carb food, I'd advise to skip this shot. In the morning, do not feed for 2 hours before shot time. Test and post for advice.

 

My vet told me if I did test and its below 200 to call and they will readjust dosage. I am giving him 1 unit lantus twice a day. However he just started lantus last Friday
He got real skinny and thats why i took him in last week.
So he did have one unit of lantus this morning at 6:50
So I'm guessing the dose the vet told me was too high. She also told me its not necessary to test everytime, but she said if I did it was fine to. She also was afraid of ketoasidosis if I didnt give him any

 

Was there a diagnosis of keytones when Nermal was diagnosed with diabetes?

A change to low carb food can drop a cat's numbers by up to 100 points. This alone can change the dosage of insulin needed. Do mention to the vet that you have changed foods.

And congratulations to you for starting to test. It is the only way that you will be able to keep your cat safe.

 

Not testing him every single time you give him insulin is bad. There have been many , many times that I almost skipped testing and just give insulin BUT I tested and if I had not I would have probably killed my cat. His BG was to low to give insulin.
He has only been on insulin a week, he needs time to adjust. 176 is not real high , but it’s not a “ good” number either . If you put his numbers into the spread sheet that everyone uses here, it’s color coded. Red & black definitely are not good. Blues & greens are good

 

To start a signature, click on your name in the upper right hand corner, then click on signature.

Spreadsheet instructions are here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

If you have any difficulty setting up the spreadsheet (and a lot of us did), ask for help. There are a number of spreadsheety gurus here.

 

Yes I do beleive she was afraid he would go into ketoasidosis if he didnt start insulin. She also told me remission is possible if i give him lantus and a FF diet. He seems fine tonight. I am so confused. I have been keeping a written journal since Friday. Maybe i should show my vet my journal.

 

Head over to the Lantus forum which is a lot busier than this one. There are some very smart people over there who can give you some dosing advice. I suspect a reduction is going to be the first step so you can get 2 shootable numbers, but not being a Lantus expert myself, I don’t want to recommend a dose. Either way, lower is certainly the right direction!

 

Hi Laura. Welcome! I think that 1. you should do a preshot test every time especially right now since there are so many variables like newly diagnosed, switching his diet, going on insulin and how he reacts to the Lantus. Also read up on Lantus on the message board page. It is a "depot" insulin that has a slower onset, flatter curve and somewhat builds up in the system to were there may be overlap when basing your shots 12 hrs apart. 2. 176 is not a terrible # especially since it may have been somewhat food influenced and would have been lower. Remember its safer to have a high BG # then low #!!! 3. Cats often go lower at night for several reasons so be aware that if he is going low during the day it could possibly be very low night.
When Sketch was diagnosed and the first step was changing his diet the vet suggested waiting a week or so to see how his BG numbers reacted to the low carb diet before deciding on the insulin and dosage. We started out at 1/2 U of Lantus twice a day with preshot testing. As it turns out Sketch has turned out to be a fairly high dose cat.
It seems to me given the test numbers you reported that with the diet change the 1U might be a higher dose than he needs. To be a bit safer I might drop down to 1/2U until you can council with your vet regarding your testing results.
Do try to get you signature for the site set up with your spread sheet and dosing info as well as info on your kitty! Hang in there!!! it gets easier and is not as overwhelming as it seems initially.

 

I did a signature page-if you could tell me if I am missing anything. Spreadsheet looks really confusing. I am keeping a handwritten log of food, water intake, insulin dose and location of shot, symptoms. I have wrote down everything. Waiting to hear from vet on dosing. Hoping I don't have to take him in- raining here in Norman, Ok. I have another kitty that hissed at him bc he smelled the vet. Just now comfortable with each other again.

 

The spreadsheet is actually very easy to use once it's set up and you've read this: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/understanding-the-spreadsheet-grid.156606/

There are people here who will set it up for you if you need help: @Chris & China @Marje and Gracie

We need to see your data on the spreadsheet in order to give you the best advice. Many people found that it looked complicated and hard to use until they actually started.

 

Good morning Laura. Its great that you are keeping a journal however the spreadsheet on the FDMB will allow the people here to be able to see your kitty's info quickly to offer more informed advice. If you go to the message board home page I believe the second subject titled something like "Suggestions,testing" has info on how to set up your spread sheet for your tracking and for members to be able to reference. Its actually very simple to use it just looks a bit intimidating: The spread sheet column headings are: Date, AMPS (morning preshot BG test #), the +1 to +12 are the hours represented in the cycle after the shot for testing and BG recording reference (i.e. if you tested 3 hrs after his shot you would record that BG test in the +3 column) then there is the PMPS (evening preshot test), followed by the +1 to +12 for the next twelve hour cycle. Past that there is and area for notes that are relative.
Hope that helps make it a bit less intimidating and easier to understand. Lots of folks here to help if you get stuck.

 

I'd be happy to set it up for you. It really is a lot easier than it looks. All you have to do is enter the numbers in the right place.....the spreadsheet does the rest!

If you'd like me to do it, just send me a private message by clicking on my name and choosing "Start Conversation"

 

So the big problem with doing spreadsheet is I do not have a working computer. I just use my phone to come on here. When I try to pull it up its too small. I did give Nermal his shot earlier bc it said 371 when I took his reading

 

What kind of cell do you have? I have a IPhone and can still use my SS BUT I was having trouble because I was putting the number in the wrong spot . BTW... my SS is not up to date , I have Aug- Oct to add. I used to keep my laptop right beside my testing area & in put my number every single time , but moved and haven’t gotten back into it. I do have anything in a notebook to but using the SS is so much easier especially with the coloring codes