what am i doing wrong???

[kittymomma_of3]

I have been giving Whiskers his insulin (Lantus .5 units) i know im supposed to give him 2 times a day, 12 hours apart, but when i for example, give him his shot in the morning, by the time i have to give his evening shot, his levels are under 200 and i dont give him his shot. when would i have to give him or test him to see if he needs it again? do i wait till morning again or do i give it to him as soon as it goes up again? i usually test at 7am and 7pm. and when do i go up on his units? what am i doing wrong?
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gFO9XIT4lOwA_sMpNLYwkFRdGy6dUzCEcAgZpKERigM/edit?usp=sharing

 

[BJM]

As you get test data in the +5 to +7 hour post-shot period, when the nadir is likely to happen, you may gradually reduce your no shot limit to 150 mg/dL so long as the nadir remains above 50 mg/dL on a human glucometer or 68 mg/dL on a pet meter. Once you're at that point, you'll want to decide what protocol for Lantus you want to use.

These are the 2 protocols for using Lantus:
Tight Regulation
Start Low, Go Slow

Read them over and see which is the best fit for you.

 

[Blamethecats and Hannah]

So glad to see you are testing prior to giving Whiskers his insulin. Good job! That's so important in keeping him safe! As @BJM suggested, it would be helpful if you could get a few more tests in between his AMPS and PMPS. Would that be possible? Then you will have a better idea of how the insulin is working and when it takes him to his lowest number (nadir). Keep up the good work and best of luck to you and Whiskers.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

I think we really need to come up with something else to call our "no shot" number

When you first start, we say "no shot under 200" but that's not what we really mean. It means "don't shoot without having someone with experience watching over you the first few times" and as you gain confidence (and knowledge about how your cat responds) that number gradually goes down. Most of us who've been at this awhile will shoot anything over 50..but only after we've got plenty of data and really know our cats

Next time you get a Pre-shot less than 200, Stall, don't feed, and post for help. Make sure your subject line says something like "STALLING NEED HELP!" so the people scanning the forums see you need help

I agree with the others too...You need to try to get some mid-cycle tests in. Lantus dosing is based on how low it takes them, not the pre-shot number, so it's important to have that information.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

You're not doing anything wrong Yolanda!! It's only been 2 weeks since you got the diagnosis! You'll hear it a lot around here....this is a marathon, not a sprint. Whiskers didn't become diabetic overnight and he's not going to be regulated overnight either.

You just learned that you really need to be giving his insulin every 12 hours, not once a day, and that means even if he IS below 200, so it's just too soon to know how he's going to respond to this dose. Keep shooting every 12 hours, and test as often as you can.

Post here daily and we'll be happy to help you learn all the steps of the sugardance as well as let you know when to increase if necessary. Read other people's condo's too! You'll learn a lot from others experiences and questions!