Prozinc Question

Hi!
I am new to the forum and had a question about Prozinc. I just received my home testing kit (Alphatrack) yesterday, but I have tested Kami 5 times. When I tested her this morning before I fed her and gave her the insulin, her BG was 210. However, when I tested her last night before I gave her the insulin, it was in the 400s. Throughout the day today it has also continued to rise. My question is is that normal to have your lowest BG in the morning before she is fed and gets her shot? I will continue to track it going forward since I have only had the testing kit for a day and a half, but I am nervous because I am going out of town next week and I am looking at having a pet sitter come and check on kami and her brother twice a day to feed them and give kami her shot, but if her BG is that low, I want to make sure she doesn't end up hypoglycemic because I have noticed her head twitching sporadically before I got the home testing kit. I am going to take her to the vet next Tuesday to get her BG tested there and get some advice from the vet, but I am nervous about having the sitter give her 3 units twice a day from Friday until Monday.
Has anyone dealt with this on Prozinc? And if anyone has a link to the spreadsheet, I would like to start keeping track on that! I have just been writing everything down in the book that came with my glucometer!
Thanks for any input!
Megan

 

Welcome! Home testing is the best tool to keep your kitty safe. When was she diagnosed? Was she started on this 3 unit dose or was it raised from a lower starting dose? Was it raised in whole unit increments?

The head twitching might be a sign of BG going too low but it's hard to know without spreadsheet data. The increase in BG from 210 to 400s could be a sign the dose is too high but, again, we need to see data to know for sure. I'm going to give you the handout I made up for new members. Read it over and ask any questions you have:
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It would help us if you set up your signature (light grey text under a post). Here's how:

• click on your name in the upper right corner of this page
• click on "signature" in the men that drops down
• type the following in the box that opens: kitty's name/age/date of diabetes diagnosis/insulin you're using /glucose meter you're using/what he eats/any other meds or health issues he has.

Another thing that will help us help you now that you've started BG testing at home is to set up a spreadsheet like the one we use here. We can all see it and look at it before offering advice: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

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Here's the basic testing routine we recommend:

1. test every day AM and PM before feeding and injecting (no food at least 2 hours before) to see if the planned dose is safe
2. test at least once near mid cycle or at bedtime daily to see how low the BG goes
3. do extra tests on days off to fill in the response picture
4. if indicated by consistently high numbers on your spreadsheet, increase the dose by no more than 0.25 u at a time so you don't accidentally go right past a good dose
5. post here for advice whenever you're confused or unsure of what to do.

This is useful: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

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Here's an explanation of what we call "bouncing". It explains why a kitty's BG can go from low to sky high:

1. BG goes low OR lower than usual OR drops too quickly.
2. Kitty's body panics and thinks there's danger (OMG! My BG is too low!).
3. Complex physiologic processes take glycogen stored in the liver (I think of it as "bounce fuel"), convert it to glucose and dump it into the bloodstream to counteract the perceived dangerously low BG.
4. These processes go into overdrive in kitties who are bounce prone and keep the BG propped up varying lengths of time (AKA bouncing).
5. Bounce prone kitty repeats this until his body learns that healthy low numbers are safe. Some kitties are slow learners.
6. Too high a dose of insulin can keep them bouncing over and over until the " bounce fuel" runs out and they crash - ie., have a hypo episode. That's why we worry so much about kitties that have had too high a starting dose prescribed by the vet and the owner isn't home testing.

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Here are some tips on how to do urine ketone testing (VERY important if BG is high and kitty isn't eating well!):

• put the end of the test strip right in his urine stream as he's peeing
• slip a shallow, long handled spoon under his backside to catch a little pee - you don't need much
• put a double layer of plastic wrap over his favourite part of the litter box and poke some depressions in it too catch pee.

Most test strips have to be dipped and allowed to develop for 15 seconds before viewing the colour change in very good light.

 

Thank you for your information! I hope that I did my signature correctly!
Kami did not start out at 3 units. When I brought her home from the emergency vet, she was on 1.5 units twice a day and we have gradually been increasing it (0.5 units at a time) because of her consistently high BG levels. The last time I took her to the vet 6 hours after her morning insulin shot, her BG levels were 192, which was extremely low for her. I had been noticing the head twitching on two different occasions prior to her vet visit so I suspected her levels were going to low, but when I brought her back to the vet that night before her PM insulin injection with dinner, her levels were back up in the 400s and the vet told me to keep it at 3 units.
I am going to plug the data I have collected so far into her spreadsheet. She's not a fan of the ear pricks, but I haven't gotten an error yet so I am pretty proud of myself!
Thanks again for the help and support! I am so grateful I found this forum.

 

It’s great that your home testing!
My Smokey did the exact same thing to me the first day I tested. Went up continuously all day. I thought I must’ve done something wrong, like a fur shot or something. The next day though I did the curve again and he went extremely low. It turned out he was getting too much insulin, going nearly hypo, then having a huge bounce cycle where his body was trying to recover and save itself from the dangerous lows. The vet almost gave him more insulin. I found this group and started lowering his dose instead.
Can you repeat the curve tomorrow? If it is in fact a bounce you’ll see it when you keep testing. There are a lot of people here that can help you after you’ve gathered some more info.

 

Hi Megan and welcome! A cat's blood glucose (BG) is usually higher at the vet than it is at home since most cats are stressed when they are at the vet. So numbers you get at the vet aren't as accurate as the ones you are getting at home.

Also, before we get you testing frequently, many/most of us use human meters to test BG in our cats. The reason for that is really about cost. Those AT2 test strips are close to a dollar each, while human meters are closer to 20-25 cents. Since we advocate for regular testing (as you saw in Kris' post), it adds up quick. We are happy to work with whichever meter you decide will work best for you.

Great job getting your spreadsheet and signature set up already!!!

 

I tested Kami before I gave her insulin this morning and she was at 383. I gave her 3 units this morning and tested her as soon as I got home from work (+9 after her insulin) and her numbers were 117. I will test her again before her PM shot. I have also switched out one can of Glycobalance with FF Classic Wet food with each feeding session in an effort to save some money since it sounds like that is actually better than the Glycobalance. I have updated my spreadsheet, but is there a way to update it so that it will automatically save under my signature or do I always have to copy the new link onto my signature?
Thanks again for all your insight!

 

You can enter new data on your spreadsheet and it's saved automatically.