Update: Back up to 308 as of 5:16 pm MST! BG 76, have to go back to work

Discussion in 'Feline Health - (Welcome & Main Forum)' started by HaileyandTulip, Oct 9, 2019.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. HaileyandTulip

    HaileyandTulip Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2019
    I ran home for something and decided to test Tulip because I was curious. No symptoms. First test read 76. Thought I didn't get enough blood at first. Second test 85. Same as the first, smaller amount of blood. Third test 76. Had enough blood on the stick. Using Relion Prime.

    Just fed like 6 treats and some of her dry food. I need to go back to work ASAP, I don't know what to do
     
  2. HaileyandTulip

    HaileyandTulip Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2019
    20191009_141622.jpg 20191009_141618.jpg 20191009_141539.jpg Treats are Blue Buffalo Wilderness Chicken and Salmon, kibble is Blue Buffalo Healthy Aging for Mature Cats
     
  3. Red & Rover (GA)

    Red & Rover (GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2016
    Do you have honey/karo?
    How long until you leave the house?
     
  4. Sarah&Soph

    Sarah&Soph Member

    Joined:
    Jun 18, 2019
    How long has it been since her shot?
     
  5. HaileyandTulip

    HaileyandTulip Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2019
    I do have Karo. Gave her shot this morning at 7:08 am. Tested last at 2:03pm and it was 76. Going to test again now.

    I need to get back to work as soon as I can
     
  6. Sarah&Soph

    Sarah&Soph Member

    Joined:
    Jun 18, 2019
    So you’re at +7? 76 is still a safe number on a human meter, it’s just lower than you want her to be on an insulin like Prozinc
     
    HaileyandTulip likes this.
  7. HaileyandTulip

    HaileyandTulip Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2019
    It's at 89 now (2:27)
     
  8. Sarah&Soph

    Sarah&Soph Member

    Joined:
    Jun 18, 2019
    Do you know when her nadir usually is? You might not if you’ve just started testing. Prozinc is usually around +6 or +7 I think, so it’s possible she may okay, but it also depends on your specific cat
     
    HaileyandTulip likes this.
  9. Sarah&Soph

    Sarah&Soph Member

    Joined:
    Jun 18, 2019
  10. HaileyandTulip

    HaileyandTulip Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2019
    @Sarah&Soph Unfortunately I don't know her nadir yet because I started Insulin therapy last Sunday so less than a week ago.
     
  11. Red & Rover (GA)

    Red & Rover (GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2016
    AMPS 7:08 388 1u Prozinc
    +7 76 fed 6 treats + dry food
    +7.3 (20 minutes later) 89

    Tulip is in safe numbers (the take action number is 50), but since you need to get back to work and will not be able to test, you were right to take action.

    The 89 could be carb influenced depending on how long it has been since she ate.
    The problem is, you do not know if the numbers you took mean that Tulip is on her way up or will continue going down.
    Can you guarantee that Tulip will eat more dry food and treats if you leave?
     
    HaileyandTulip and Sarah&Soph like this.
  12. Sarah&Soph

    Sarah&Soph Member

    Joined:
    Jun 18, 2019
    The numbers you’re getting are still plenty safe and it’s likely she at or near the peak of her cycle, but if you can’t stay and keep testing, you could always give her some high carb food to bump her up. Do you have any canned HC or just the dry kibble?
     
  13. HaileyandTulip

    HaileyandTulip Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2019
    @Red & Rover (GA) Okay thank you. I can't guarantee she will eat more after I leave.

    @Sarah&Soph i do have Fancy Feast Grilled in Gravy which I will try to feed her some of right now
     
  14. Red & Rover (GA)

    Red & Rover (GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2016
    It is the gravy part that is high in carbs. You may want to add a 1/4 tsp of honey or karo to the gravy.
    I'm looking up the actual percentage carbs now.
     
  15. Red & Rover (GA)

    Red & Rover (GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2016
    Fancy Feast Grilled in Gravy runs 12-15% carbs, making it MC to low HC carbs.

    Add the bit of honey.
     
    HaileyandTulip likes this.
  16. Sarah&Soph

    Sarah&Soph Member

    Joined:
    Jun 18, 2019
    You’re doing great! It’s definitely nerve wracking the first time you see those lower numbers, and of course they do it at the most inconvenient time possible :p
     
  17. HaileyandTulip

    HaileyandTulip Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2019
    Added the Karo to it. She was refusing to eat the wet food before I added it though. Called my vet and they said that her numbers were normal and to just keep an eye on her when I get home.

    I have to go back to work now but she has plenty of wet food with Karo, dry kibble, and water out. I will update as soon as I get back home
     
  18. Red & Rover (GA)

    Red & Rover (GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2016
    How much dry food did she eat after the 79?
     
  19. Red & Rover (GA)

    Red & Rover (GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2016
    If you leave the house, can you take down the 911 from your thread title. Seeing a 911 on the forum gives us all heart in our throats palpations.

    I'm tagging @MrWorfMen's Mom and @FurBabiesMama for dosing advice tonight. You need to have a dosage that you can shoot safely.
     
    HaileyandTulip and Sarah&Soph like this.
  20. Sarah&Soph

    Sarah&Soph Member

    Joined:
    Jun 18, 2019
    Definitely keep us updated! Great catch with that BG reading. It’s possible her numbers might be much higher tonight as a result of a lower reading that her body isn’t used to. It might be good to post for dosing advice to see what experienced Prozinc users think of her BG today
     
  21. Red & Rover (GA)

    Red & Rover (GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2016
    When you get home tonight, please ask for shooting advice before giving Tulip her shot.
     
    HaileyandTulip likes this.
  22. FurBabiesMama

    FurBabiesMama Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2017
    It's hard to give dosing advice when there is so little data to go on. We do not know when nadir usually occurs for Tulip. That very well could have been her nadir, and if so, those numbers are good. It will be interesting to see what PMPS is. If it is low, I would see that as an indicator that the dose may be a bit high.

    When does Tulip eat? In addition to meals at shot times, you may want to consider having mid-cycle meals, if you don't already. A lot of people use auto feeders for that.
     
  23. MrWorfMen's Mom

    MrWorfMen's Mom Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2015
    Just seeing this now. Tulip did stay in technically safe numbers all cycle which is great but when in the early days of using ProZinc at least until there is more data, we usually suggest aiming to have kitty drop no lower than 90. Once more data is available, then a little lower like today is fine. My question is whether you are decreasing the dry food and whether that may have caused this sudden drop to lower numbers although with so little data, we really don't know what Tulip has been doing mid cycle other days/nights up to now. Am I correct to assume there was no shot given last night? Sorry if all this has been covered but I haven't had an opportunity to go back and trace past posts just yet. .

    Purely for safety, with little data and mid cycle testing not possible daily, I'd suggest reducing the dose to 0.75u and then on the weekend if time permits, get more mid cycle tests to see what mid cycle BG is and how low that dose is taking Tulip. It may be that 1u is just fine but we don't know if she has been going that low or lower up till now so better to err on the side of caution. Chances are she may be higher tonight but that may be a bounce from the lower BG and wouldn't influence my suggestion to reduce.

    When you get a chance please remove the 911. It really gets our adrenalin flowing! ;)
     
  24. HaileyandTulip

    HaileyandTulip Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2019
    Hello everyone! I am so sorry for forgetting to remove the 911 before I went back to work. I appreciate everyone's help SO MUCH. You all are truly keeping me from going crazy. <3

    Just got home and tested Tulip. She is currently at 308! :cat:
    Tulip normally eats between 7 and 7:30am, and 7 to 7:30pm. She was just diagnosed this past Saturday, and I have been trying to transition her to a wet food diet from a dry food diet. It has been a little difficult trying to get her to eat enough of the wet food before her shot. She is a grazer and she is very used to eating kibble. I have been leaving a bit of kibble out for her in case she is hungry during the day and I am not around to feed her. I plan to make a separate post asking for advice about food. I will look into ordering an auto feeder online!


    Yes I have been trying to, and I think you are right.

    Yes. I did not give her a shot last night. This morning, I gave her shot at 7:08 am.

    Will do! I will test her on my lunch breaks tomorrow and Friday, and test as much as I can on the weekend to see what's up.

    Tulip has a follow up appointment with the vet Friday evening, and I will show them her spreadsheet.

    Again, thanks a million to all you wonderful people!! :D
     
    MrWorfMen's Mom likes this.
  25. HaileyandTulip

    HaileyandTulip Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2019
    Tested at 6:39pm and she's at 370. I'm going to try to get her to eat, and then give her a 0.75u dose.
     
  26. Idjit's mom

    Idjit's mom Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 3, 2018
    Hailey, it's Saturday-Caturday. What's up with Tulip? How are you two managing these last few days? Just checking in.
     
    HaileyandTulip likes this.
  27. HaileyandTulip

    HaileyandTulip Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2019
    Hello Lou, thanks for checking in!

    Tulip had a follow up appointment at the vet on Friday. She weighed in at 8.5 pounds so she gained about 0.2 pounds since last Saturday! Vet said her blood panel looked good.

    They wanted to do an additional test to see if she has hyperthyroidism because her level was a little higher than they generally see in cats her age. (I forget what the hormone is called but they told me it was a 2.9. She said usually they expect mature kitties to have a level closer to 1. A 2.5 is normal for younger kitties. 4 is the threshold for hyperthyroidism.) So they're doing a t4 test (I think) to see if there's any cause for concern.

    Got the results of her fructosamine levels, vet said they were in the 700s :(

    Tulip has had a lot more energy recently and seems in better spirits.

    I have been giving 0.75u every 12 hours as @MrWorfMen's Mom suggested. Tulip'sBG has been higher in general since then. She's also drinking more water than earlier in the week when she was on 1u.

    I showed the vet Tulip's spreadsheet. She told me to keep Tulip on 0.75u and to do a BGC on Sunday, then email the details of the BGC to her so we can determine what to do about her PZI dose.

    It seems to me that going back up to 1u will benefit Tulip but I am going to wait until doing the BGC and hearing from the vet on Monday. I tested her BG a little while ago at 6:33pm (it's now 6:58pm where I am) and it was at 500 which worries me a bit.

    Thoughts?
     
  28. MrWorfMen's Mom

    MrWorfMen's Mom Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2015
    On the 9th Tulip dropped low on 1u which is why I suggested dropping the dose to 0.75u. It may be that was just a blip but without mid cycle tests to see how low the 0.75u dose is taking Tulip's BG it's impossible to know if the dose needs to be increased back to 1u. Hopefully the curve will help to shed some light on matters but getting mid cycle tests daily and always getting at a bare minimum a test before bed every night as best you can is usually the most accurate way to see what is truly going on. If Tulip is dropping more than you are aware of, it sets off bouncing and curves done in the middle of a bounce don't provide any useful information.
     
  29. Idjit's mom

    Idjit's mom Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 3, 2018
    So glad you are providing an update. Going forward you can create a new thread each day, and link the previous thread in the first message of the day.

    1. Click on Post New Thread;
    2. Call up your previous condo (which is today's one) and go to the very top line of your browser's screen, where you will see the URL for the condo (www. felinediabetes.com etc. etc). Highlight this URL (right click on a PC; control click on a Mac). Click the "Edit" button and click "copy" (on some browsers, "copy" will automatically appear, so you don't have to click the Edit button).
    3. In your today's condo write at the top of your post something like "Previous Condo", or "Yesterday". Highlight the word(s) you just wrote.
    4. Go to the function bar at the top of the message window and click on the symbol that looks like a chain link (7th symbol from the left). A dropdown box will appear asking for the URL. Go back up to "Edit" on your browser and click "paste". The URL will appear in the box.
    5. Click on "insert".

    I am wondering about looking at the diet now that you are testing and getting that data. Dry food is high in carbs and drives up blood sugar, same with higher carb canned food. We recommend gradual transitioning from the higher carb food to low carb varieties and that does have an impact on blood sugar. I am not certain of just what Tulip is eating now. Can you give more detail on that please?
     
    MrWorfMen's Mom likes this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page