27/07 Milo AMPS 284 +6 306

Good afternoon from Ontario, Canada. I am very new here and still learning a lot. Milo, my 10 year old long-haired kitty, was diagnosed the beginning of July. I switched him from from Caninsulin to Lantus, on the recommendations here (and with approval of my vet) 4 days ago. He had a potential 911 incident on the first dose due to my inexperience and use of u-40 needles (I had no idea about u-100 vs u-40. I am SO green). He made it through without a negative reaction, thank goodness, with lots of support from dedicated volunteers here.

On Caninsulin, I didn't feel he was doing well and took him back to the vet after 3 weeks. There hadn't been any suggestion of monitoring the BG myself but when I made the suggestion, the vet lent me an Alphatrak and it was obvious Milo's BG was not regulated at all. When I started testing him 5 days ago, he was usually in the 300's and as high as 643! I found this group and thank goodness I have gotten some good information to switch insulin and I got a human monitor at the same time.

Here's my question, he's now had 6 consecutive doses of Lantus at 3 units and his number are still in the 200's and up as high as 306 this last time I tested him (+6). I can not always test during the day but I'll try to do more when I am at home. I was reading the Tight Regulation protocol but I'm still confused. Should I be increasing his dose by .25 at this point? I am looking for recommendations.

I also switched Milo to a raw diet with Thrive and herring oil supplements. He seems to love it. Peeing outside the box is getting under control and much easier to manage as he is at least getting close and consistently on the pet pads I have put down. I take this as a positive. He seems happier, for sure, though not a fan of the BG testing. I have a very hard time with the ear and usually have to poke him in the large pad of a back paw as he starts eating. I am open to suggestions on making this easier, too.

Milo's brother, Singha, has been on Caninsulin for a year and has been off of insulin for approx 5 days, at the recommendation of my vet. His BG remains around 75-80 each time I test.

Thank you for your help with Milo!

 

Can you get a night time test just before going to bed? Brush teeth, poke cat, turn out light. Many cats go lower at night, so it helps since we are trying to see how low the dose takes the cat.

As for dose, you hold 5-7 days, depending which dosing method, to build the depot.

Great news in Singha! Now you don’t need to worry about mixing them up.

 

Good evening! Thank you for your response. Milo: PMPS 349, +3 317. Today all of his numbers were in the 300's except AMPS 284. I feel like this is not moving in the right direction at 3 units. Thoughts?
Also, is it normal that he's obsessive about eating? He loves the new raw food but even before this he was eating as much as I could give him in small meals throughout the day. He had lost a lot of weight before his diagnosis, hence the vet appointment and blood work. He has put on a significant amount in a month; is he just still trying to get back to a more normal weight? Singha has always loved to eat, pre- and post-diagnosis. He continues to love his meals both when he was on insulin and now that he's off. This seems different with Milo, who has always been a rather picky eater and easily went off of his food.

 

Hello from Ontario too I bought an auto feeder for Kitten and it’s been great at giving out small meals throughout the day. I just load it up in AM when I give Kitten her breakfast and it’s good to go for the rest of the day (it even has ice packs). Welcome to the forum!

 

Welcome to the forum. Waving to you from Ontario as well.

Butters also wasn't a fan of testing when we were first starting out. It is a struggle at first. Rather than try and do it while she eats, I give her a freeze dried chicken treat just before I test, and then after every test whether I am successful or whether I fail and have to retest. Now she comes running when she hears me open the test strips! She lays down on her blanket that's on my couch, and then I sit next to her, give small treat, test her, give another small treat.

I test Butters' ears. It took me three weeks or so of testing her ears before the blood would come easily. The more you poke the ears, the more capillaries will grow and the easier it becomes.

That's what I do. Check out this link to some tips and videos of home testing

 

That’s very helpful! I will try a bunch of those tips. Thank you!!

 

I used some of your suggestions and tried Milo's ears again with slightly more success. Thank you!