3/7 Mia, AMPS 10.6

Billyjoe A

Billyjoe A

Member Since 2021
Very new to testing and giving Insulin.
This is only Mia's fourth dose of Lantus. 2 units 2xdaily.
AMPS is 10.6.
I know that Lantus is a depot, but I am worried about low BG.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13GLMk00TW6VFCOZ0IBiBvQckYW43XNn3CbKB5NbgpoE/edit?usp=sharing

view
 
Welcome.
What type of meter are you using? Pet? Human?
Did you shoot? If not, stall without feeding for 15 minutes and get another test.
Can you put any BG tests you've gotten so far into your spreadsheet?
Any history of ketones for Mia?
 
Sue and Luci said:
Good morning Billy. Is this your first time posting?

If so, have you visited this page? https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/feline-health-welcome-main-forum.28/ This is usually where newbies post the first time so you can get your SS set up correctly, signature and avatar.

If not, here's a helpful page for getting started: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/the-basics-new-to-the-group-start-here.18139/

Looking forward to seeing you around here on the LB&L forum! WELCOME!!
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Will do. I just joined and had a low BG this morning. We just got the diagnosis and this is only our fourth shot.
 
Billyjoe A said:
Will do. I just joined and had a low BG this morning. We just got the diagnosis and this is only our fourth shot.
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I understand. I was a new member once and there's a lot of information and how-to's around here.

Help us help you...

Skipping a shot when you're not sure is the safest thing to do...so take a breath, try to read up on some of the information and then and only then should you give insulin. Skipping a day won't hurt as much as having to deal with a hypoglycemic situation....just take a beat and hang in there...it'll all come together for you I promise!
 
Butters & Lyla said:
Welcome.
What type of meter are you using? Pet? Human?
Did you shoot? If not, stall without feeding for 15 minutes and get another test.
Can you put any BG tests you've gotten so far into your spreadsheet?
Any history of ketones for Mia?
Click to expand...


Meter- Human: Freestyle Lite.
Did not shoot. Will have to wait a few mins to retest.
Uploaded the file, hopefully you can see it. It's on the second page. Will delete first page. Should see it now.https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13GLMk00TW6VFCOZ0IBiBvQckYW43XNn3CbKB5NbgpoE/edit?usp=sharing

No keytones when tested (new diagnoses at the end of feb- tested blood and urine)

EDIT: Mia ate, I waited 15 mins. BG = 11.6
 
Wow...Mia is getting into normal numbers after only two doses of insulin. The depot hasn't even been fully established yet. 2u looks like it is too high a starting dose imo. Generally we recommend starting at 1u unless you've got some data.
What are you feeding Mia?
 
Butters & Lyla said:
Wow...Mia is getting into normal numbers after only two doses of insulin. The depot hasn't even been fully established yet. 2u looks like it is too high a starting dose imo. Generally we recommend starting at 1u unless you've got some data.
What are you feeding Mia?
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Feeding for the last week: Wet food only.
Low Card High Protein.

1 6 oz can of Weruva BFF and 1 2.5 can Fancy Feast Daily (approx 300 calories). She is 5.2 kg (gone up .2kg since our diagnosis).

She has had 3 doses of Lantus (started Friday night).
 
Without ketones in the picture, I agree with sue that skipping wouldn't be a bad idea. Until we can help you establish a safer starting dose. I don't do that. @Bandit's Mom might be able to help with that and with your spreadsheet. It should open to a page with US numbers on it but it doesn't.

Have you set up a hypo kit yet? This sticky explains how: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/jojo-and-bunnys-hypo-tool-box.2354/
You want to do this as a priority, so that if Mia goes into lower numbers, you have the tools you need to keep her safe. You always want to make sure you have plenty of test strips on hand, along with some honey/syrup and some medium carb and high carb foods. That way, you can bring her numbers up to a safe range if needed.
With the freestyle lite (human meter), the "take action" number is 2.7 (=50...we go by US numbers here). Meaning, you would feed Mia some carbs to get her above 50 and you would test every 30 minutes (every 20 minutes if using syrup) until you are certain she is going to stay above 50 and not drop back down again.

You shouldn't need to worry about this if you skip insulin today. But it is the most important information for you to have, for Mia's safety.
 
Butters & Lyla said:
Without ketones in the picture, I agree with sue that skipping wouldn't be a bad idea. Until we can help you establish a safer starting dose. I don't do that. @Bandit's Mom might be able to help with that and with your spreadsheet. It should open to a page with US numbers on it but it doesn't.

Have you set up a hypo kit yet? This sticky explains how: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/jojo-and-bunnys-hypo-tool-box.2354/
You want to do this as a priority, so that if Mia goes into lower numbers, you have the tools you need to keep her safe. You always want to make sure you have plenty of test strips on hand, along with some honey/syrup and some medium carb and high carb foods. That way, you can bring her numbers up to a safe range if needed.
With the freestyle lite (human meter), the "take action" number is 2.7 (=50...we go by US numbers here). Meaning, you would feed Mia some carbs to get her above 50 and you would test every 30 minutes (every 20 minutes if using syrup) until you are certain she is going to stay above 50 and not drop back down again.

You shouldn't need to worry about this if you skip insulin today. But it is the most important information for you to have, for Mia's safety.
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Thank you! I do have a hypo kit- honey and fancy feast with gravy. I will skip this mornings dose.
 
Perfect. As Bhooma said, we will help you figure out what dose to try for Mia starting tonight.
About your spreadsheet, I'm wondering if it's the FDMB spreadsheet? It doesn't look quite right to me. Here is the link to set up a FDMB spreadsheet. You want to set up a "world" spreadsheet. But Bhooma can help you with that later if you want. https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/

So with a skipped shot, you would enter "NS" (for No Shot) or "skip" in the cell where you normally enter the dose. That way everyone knows that insulin wasn't given.
 
Billyjoe A said:
Thank you! I do have a hypo kit- honey and fancy feast with gravy. I will skip this mornings dose.
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Thank you for that! I saw that Mia was at 62 after 4 hours post insulin. That's quite a drop for a new kitty.

There are many things to take into account before giving kitty insulin. Food: Have you recently switched from dry to wet? Here at FDMB we've noticed that many vets (mine included) want to send you home with this dosage; 2 units twice a day - however, that's often way too much for a newbie cat! It's better to get a few tests first, and then figure out where to start with the dose...

As soon as your SS gets straightened out you'll want to post your numbers and continue to test today until Mia stops dropping. She may have more insulin in her system than we are aware of...as Lantus is a delayed onset hormone - it takes a little time to start and end it's effectiveness. So just be diligent today and let's see how things look by this evening (as mentioned above, other members will help you determine tonight's dosage, if it's safe to shoot at all) Only time will tell.

Please continue to post your numbers on here until your SS gets organized. Thank you!! :)
 
Billyjoe A said:
Hopefully, our new spreadsheet link updated automatically. I have also put it in my signature (hopefully!!)
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Great job with the Signature and SS :-)

You don't need to mention "New Adoptee" in the signature but please do add the glucometer that you are using? Also what is PD/PU?

The spreadsheet is as per our format, but when publishing it, you need to publish the entire file and not just the world mmol sheet. Most people here are more familiar with the US mg/dl numbers and that tab is missing in your link.

Lastly, have you looked at our dosing protocols?
Dosing Methods: Start Low, Go Slow (SLGS) & Tight Regulation (TR)

I will wait for @tiffmaxee to come online and we can decide on a dose. I would think you can go down to 1U which is the starting dose for both our protocols.

Are you using syringes or pens to dose? We increase and decrease doses in increments of 0.25U and we use syringes with 1/2 unit markings on them.
 
Hi Billyjoe and welcome on the forum, it is always a rocky start but Mia looks to be doing extremely well for a newly diagnosed cat. It is curious to see that you were started on a 2U dose, our Chico was started on 2U and if you look at our spreadsheet we were in a completely different range of BG values...

Good luck and congratulations on deciding to ask for advice on the forum, i believe it is the best thing that might have happened to Mia since the diagnose :) take care
 
Welcome to you and Mia. The starting dose is not based upon how high a cat as someone was questioning yesterday but rather how low it takes your cat. Mia has been started on a double the usual starting dose unless she’s a huge cat. That string of blues and greens as well as the need to skip a dose makes me think a reduction is needed. The depot has not even begun to fill. Most start on 1.0.
 
Hello east coast! Waving at you from the west coast.:)
Butters & Lyla said:
I'm wondering if it's the FDMB spreadsheet? It doesn't look quite right to me.
Click to expand...
It's not, it comes from a FB group. Looks like you switched our version of the spreadsheet which is good, cause the other one has bugs that causes it to die on some tablets.

I agree 1.0 units is a much better starting dose. It's so much easier to go up in dose than deal with low numbers when you are just starting to learn to test.
 
tiffmaxee said:
Welcome to you and Mia. The starting dose is not based upon how high a cat as someone was questioning yesterday but rather how low it takes your cat. Mia has been started on a double the usual starting dose unless she’s a huge cat. That string of blues and greens as well as the need to skip a dose makes me think a reduction is needed. The depot has not even begun to fill. Most start on 1.0.
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Thank you everyone for your comments. I have continued to test Mia throughout the day and the BGs are in my spreadsheet. Reading up now on SLGS. Mia's +11 is 14.6.
She is due for her next insulin injection in about an hour. Should I start with the 1.0 unit?

We switched food 3 times since I got her 4 weeks ago. She came to me on Friskies dry. I switched her to Orijen Fish after 2 weeks, and then moved her to High Protein/Low carb (Weruva BFF) wet about 1.5 weeks ago. When she got her initial blood glucose and urine tests at the vet, she was still eating High Carb Friskies.

I'm thinking that diet brought her initial numbers down?

THanks again!
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Hello east coast! Waving at you from the west coast.:)

It's not, it comes from a FB group. Looks like you switched our version of the spreadsheet which is good, cause the other one has bugs that causes it to die on some tablets.

I agree 1.0 units is a much better starting dose. It's so much easier to go up in dose than deal with low numbers when you are just starting to learn to test.
Click to expand...


Hello West Coast! Thanks for the responses to my questions. I wanted to start Mia on the weekend with Insulin because I could be home and watc h her. Didn't think about the vets being closed if I needed to ask questions. I had joined the FB group, but had not posted in this group until I panicked this morning! I did get the spreadsheet from the FB group, and it kept crashing on my Ipad. Now I am up and running. Mia has been a sweetheart to test and has made my job so much easier. She's put up with a lot of ear poking between me learning and testing so frequently. THanks again!
 
Great news that Mia is being so cooperative! It's a wonder what treats will do to help the training. Good luck with the new dose.
 
Looks like Mia's had a nice little curve today :) Great job on the testing. So just another thing, since you've given her 1 unit for PMPS, please be sure to get another test at 2+ to see which direction she's heading...you may want to set an alarm to get up later in the evening to see if the insulin is taking her lower . You've had an exciting and busy day so I hope you're able to get at least a couple of tests this evening. Just to be on the safe side. It's very important to test at night - kitties often do their very best work at night. It will help you immensely to see what her numbers are tonight - to just make sure her AM dose is also 1. It's possible that between the food and recent insulin she may go lower - and you'll want to catch that.

Have a great evening. Hope your doggy is feeling better too!
 
Mia’s +10 is actually +9.5 and is 8.9. She is eating now and her shot is due in just over 2 hours. Just wondering what BG would be safe to give another shot? I will retest and post BG in 2 hours before
I shoot. Thanks again!
 
I think you can shoot any number over 150mg/dl (8.3mmol). I presume you can monitor her?

Please start a new thread for today when you get her AMPS and link this one in it. Thanks :-)
 
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