11/03 Comet - Dosing Question

Hello again.
I feel like I’ve been posting on here quite a bit.
I guess my question is this. Are we rushing reducing Comet’s dose too quickly to earn a quick remission, when I should just focus on holding a dose for 3-5 days and then if his numbers are consistent then he earns a reduction? I assumed every day he drops below 80 he earns a reduction, or is that not the case? I just want to make sure we do this the right way.
I worry because there were quite a few days we bounced him around. Mainly because he started Clavamox and his appetite was non-exist and I figured it would be easier to shoot lower or just not shoot while I left him alone for 8 hours without food. But also because honestly low numbers scare me & the lower he’s dropping the more worried I am when I leave for work. Again he is 1 of 3 cats. They are schedule fed & if I leave any food out his sibling would eat it. I just worry about him having a hypo while I’m gone. We got home the other day to find him at 50 which scared me. First time seeing a 50.
Any words of wisdom, advice or any sort of plan I can set in place? I would greatly appreciate any and all advice.

 

Ptevious posts
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/11-02-comet-pm-2-85-reduction-question.255004/#post-2872457
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/11-01-comet-pmps-50.254959/#post-2872106

I'll tag

@Chris & China (GA)

@tiffmaxee

@Bandit's Mom

@Wendy&Neko

@Sienne and Gabby (GA)

 

Is he still taking prednisolone?
See what the experts have to say but since he dropped under 90 today per SLGS it looks like he earned another reduction which would be 0.10 for tonight
Per the dosing method for SLGS
Hold the dose for at least a week:

• Unless your cat won’t eat or you suspect hypoglycemia
• Unless your kitty falls below 90 mg/dL (5 mmol/L). If kitty falls below 90 mg/dL (5 mmol/L) decrease the dose by 0.25 unit immediately.

The last thread I attached a member said
If removing the prednisolone doesn’t work for the IBD you could try budesonide. It’s less likely to raise the bg.

 

Sometimes if a kitty's pancreas starts healing, you can get a fairly quick downward march on the dose. Given that you had a no shot a couple nights ago, that would have helped drain the depot, so you are seeing what 0.25 units can do. Per SLGS, today's numbers do mean another reduction down to 0.1 units because he went below 90. However, it is possible for people following SLGS to change that reduction point a bit, once you have a good understanding on how your cat responds to insulin (onset, nadir, duration) and his response to food (carbs). If you feel comfortable doing so, you could lower the reduction point to 90. Note that people following TR use a reduction point of 50 and not all test as much as you do, so I think lowering to 80 would be a safe thing for you to do. Note for any lurkers, this is a suggestion for Amanda and Comet only.

No worries, this is still fairly new for you and there is a lot to learn at the beginning. Some people post daily, that's OK too.

 

@Wendy&Neko
Hi Wendy wouldn't she reduce the dose to tonight to 0.10 since she was already shooting 0.25? Trying to understand can you please explain it to me
Thank you
@Wendy&Neko

 

Sorry, corrected the typo. She could either stay at 0.25 units if she lowers the reduction point, or reduce to 0.1 if she keeps the reduction point at 90. The first post referred to a reduction point of 80, which would be a modification of SLGS.

 

@Wendy&Neko
Thank you very much Wendy

 

Would it be ok to hold the .25u for 5 days to see where he gets from there, then reduce to .10? Then hold for 5-7 days and then reduce to drop unit?

 

He is still on 2.5mg pred in the am, waiting until I have a chance to talk with my vet about Budesonide in case he gets a IBD flare quitting pred. Then we have a back up

 

If you lower your reduction point to 80, it'd be fine to hold the dose at 0.25 units.

I can totally sympathize with the love/hate relationship with pred.

 

Thank you