Recent DKA, BG 148, do I still shoot right now?

I have a longer post about her recent DKA situation on here but this is a right now question!

If she reads 148 right now and we have been doing 4u 3x/day... will it be too much? She has been getting some 14% carb wet food to supplement her higher insulin load as was recommended to me.

I know the chart is not set up right now. This is the lowest I have ever seen it. Normally she is 400s or higher.

 

I wouldn't shoot 4U of Novolin into a 148......How long ago was her last shot? How often are you shooting?

 

She's on 4u 3x a day. 8am, 4pm, midnight.

 

My vet recommended moving down to 3.5u Novolin N 3x/day.

I'm giving her some extra food.

 

I know it's important to keep insulin in her, but shooting that much Novolin at only 148 makes me pretty nervous.

I also never used it so I'm no expert, but I know we have others that have used it every 12 hours. I wonder if it might be better to wait until 8pm tonight (so every 12 hours) instead

Or even test every 30 minutes or so and once she goes above 200, shoot then?

 

When she was only taking it twice a day it wasn't lasting long enough. I've never seen better numbers than when we switched this week to 3x/day. Sigh I went ahead and did it but she is getting some 14% carb gravy wet food and some 4% and some water and I'm going to monitor her more. In just as scared not to shoot as I am scared to shoot. It's so tricky. I will be glad when she's on a longer acting and more stable insulin!

 

One thing I looked at when determining if I should shoot, was whether my cats BG was going up or still going down. If going up I was pretty sure shooting was safe. If it was still going down, I did like Chris said and tested every 20-30 min until it started rising enough. I wasn’t dealing with DKA or using Novolin though. Since you can’t use your spreadsheet right now, maybe post her numbers here so we can follow along. I’m glad she’s eating and feeling a little better. The infection is probably clearing and you may find she won’t need as much insulin!

 

If Alice drops low you can add some honey to the 14 carb to get a higher carb food. I'd test frequently until you see what this dose does with the 148 preshot. You are doing an awesome job looking after her.

 

How are things going with Alice?

 

Morning shoot time was BG 392, 4u NN
+3 227
Afternoon shoot BG 148, 3.5u
+2 294
+6 236

Hmmm.

I will say though her ears are just terrible looking and they are so thin and one of the "sweet spots" is interrupted by a notch. It's the struggle. Sigh.

 

Thanks for updating us.

 

Are you holding the ear firmly after the test for a minute with some cotton wool or similar? It will help stop a bruise forming. The ears will improve with time. I used to test Sheba several times a day and her ears looked completely normal. But that was after a lot of practice on my part and her ears toughening up.
You are doing really well! Alice is a lucky girl to have you to look after her.

 

We do hold a cotton to it but the poor thing is so unhappy and wants to wiggle away. I can hold a little longer and more firmly though. I'll work on that, thanks!

 

We are so tired. I am about to go test but I'm just not sure how to balance how much I feed at once, or how long to stay up and do checks, what carb ratio, how long can I sleep... :\

 

For now, feed her as much as she'll eat

It will help us to help you if you'll keep your spreadsheet updated. I know it's a little harder on a 3 times a day shot schedule, but we need to see some numbers

 

How’s Alice? For her ears you can get some neospotin with pain relief ointment.

 

Good afternoon.

I’ve developed a SS for those members needing to shoot three times a day. It would really help you and it would also help those helping you so they could actually see what you are doing and what kind of numbers you are getting.

I sent you a private message so please just check your inbox.

 

I didn't think of looking for a pain relief kind! We have some of the regular though. Her ears are like paper. Delicate.

 

@Chris & China (GA) and @Marje and Gracie , I think I can try tomorrow. I'm going to have to either have another adrenaline burst, or sleep first.

 

You must be exhausted. Looking after a sick kitty is draining and doing 8 hourly insulin can be exhausting because of having to figure out feeding and watching for nadirs. No breaks at all. You must look after yourself otherwise you won’t be able to care for Alice. You need to grab every chance you can to have a nap... set the alarm each time if you are concerned about waking up.

 

I think since her numbers are better that you should probably just plan on starting the Lantus soon...and that's a twice a day only insulin

 

I know and I was thinking that too. She's running higher tonight though. Sigh. :\

 

I have alarms set for everything, for sure! And I'm pretty sure I worry about her in my sleep, because she's already on my mind when I wake up.

 

I know it is really hard when they are sick.