? New insulin possibly less effective?

A few folks here have been weighing in with me on the changes in Jester's dosages over the last several weeks.

Back in December, I was speculating with an ER vet over the phone as to whether the new vial of insulin (which I received from someone here through the supply closet) might be less effective because it seemed out of the blue that I was having to adjust to higher dosages.

Would anyone be willing to look over the data in Jester's SS from last year to this and speculate on this possibility as well?

We haven't needed a dose as high as 2U since November of last year. And there was speculation on the board at the time that he was being overdosed with his body compensating for the excess insulin.

Jester's numbers had been fairly steady - including some days when I had to reduce the dosage because his BG had been going low.

Most of that seemed to change after 12-20-2017 when I opened the new vial of insulin.

Discussion and speculation would be most welcome.

 

It's hard to compare. In 2017 you weren't testing as much and didn't always have PSs. You had some doses up to 2 u but down as low as 0.5 u - lots of fluctuation. There's a wide array of colours on your SS too. Given all that I can't say with any confidence that things are worse now. Insulin needs can and will fluctuate up and down and data from even a few weeks ago is ancient history. I really don't see anything that points definitively to a problem with the insulin.

 

I agree with Kris - it looks more like fluctuating insulin needs than it does like bad insulin. Sam was on 0.3u six months ago, and now he's is somewhere between 2u and 3u depending on how he's feeling. Their needs change over time, and unfortunately, not always for the better.

Of course if the insulin is old, if it's got floaty things in it, if it's been left out...there are reasons why it might be less effective, but unfortunately, the only way to tell is to buys a new vial, use it for a few cycles, and see if there is a difference. And of course, that's more money than most of us have lying around in the couch cushions

 

Insulin needs change over time. It’s normal.