Question regarding Dosing NPH Insulin

Discussion in 'Caninsulin / Vetsulin and N / NPH' started by MJL, Oct 19, 2019.

  1. MJL

    MJL New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2019
    Hey all,
    Rascal has been doing well and we are noticing his BG staying relatively in the mid to upper 100's lately with a significant reduction in dosage. Though it seems his numbers are a bit all over for the past week.
    Diet has stayed the same (only a few minor adjustments when his BG dropped low, gave him dry tiki cat and within 30-1 hour he was back in safe levels)
    Since I noticed giving any insulin when under 200 caused a very low BG we decided that if <200 BG no insulin. We did do 0.5 unit and it still seems like he likely had a low point during the day only showing 144 Bg after 12 hours.
    Main questions I have for the knowledgeable folks here;
    Could this be caused by the insulin type he is on?
    Is it possible he is actually working towards remission?
    Any suggestions on how to give (or if even feasible) less than 0.5 units as a dosage?

    I am doing a BG Curve at home today and will continue to update his sheet. There was no shot this morning and as of 930 (+4) he is still under 200 BG, and actually lower than he was at +2.
     
  2. Sarah&Soph

    Sarah&Soph Member

    Joined:
    Jun 18, 2019
    I can’t advise on the specific dosage because I have not used NPH, but I would say that Rascal dropping very low if you dose below 200 is definitely due to the insulin he is on. NPH is a harsh insulin for cats and drops their BG very quickly.

    There are a few more doses that are below 0.5 units. Do you have syringes with half units on them? That will make dosing a bit easier. You can also use calipers as well. This picture is from the Lantus thread about 3 doses that are less than 0.5 units

    upload_2019-10-19_10-22-32.jpeg

    And here is the link if you want to read more about it. It’s near the bottom.

    http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...info-proper-handling-drawing-fine-dosing.151/
     
    MJL likes this.
  3. MJL

    MJL New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2019
    Sarah&Soph,
    Thanks for the input. Yes the needles we use do allow for the half unit. The pictures you provided will be very helpful with attempting lower dosage. Overall today he only went above 200 once and that was at +11 from the morning feeding. Then at evening feeding time he was back down to 159. It feels odd to not give a shot for an entire day. I had heard the key to insulin working is consistency, but it seems 3 weeks in his numbers are dropping on their own and dosage is dropping. Perhaps this is just a run of a few good days.
     
  4. Sienne and Gabby (GA)

    Sienne and Gabby (GA) Senior Member Moderator

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    Rascal's numbers are looking very good. It would be helpful if. you could get some additional tests around his nadir both during the AM and PM cycles. I tend to think your kitty may benefit from a bit of insulin to get the numbers to be more consistently in normal range (i.e,, below 120).
     

Share This Page