? Consistent Readings Under 200?

All of my cats readings since her PM Pre-shot last night have been under 200. I gave her .5 units each time out of caution and she’s still only at 154 tonight. Should I just continue with the half dose?

I recently got the spreadsheet uploaded so let me know if it’s not working. I’ve only been doing pre-shot testing so far.

 

Good instinct on dropping the dose!

I don't know that I'd even shoot the 0.5U with some of the numbers you've been seeing, especially if you aren't able to get tests in between shots. She could be going quite low.

I think I'd probably skip tonight, for safety. Also tagging @JanetNJ and @Critter Mom, who may be able to help more with Vetsulin dosing going forward.

 

I suggest you get some testing done during each cycle to see how the insulin is working and how low your kitty is dropping. In order for members to give advice they need to see more data
meaning you need to start testing , just not pre shots
Vetsulin hits hard and fast,
I would definitely get a teat @+ 1
You really need to test after giving insulin especially Vetsulin.

You want to vary the testing times
One day @+1. +4. +6
Night time @+1. +5. +7
Vary the times , like filling in a puzzle
Unless you kitty drops very low you will have to intervene with food to bring you cats
BG up to safe numbers and might have to continue testing.

How many units did you give tonight 1-12. nothing is filled in

@Panic

 

Learn how YOUR kitty is responding to insulin:

• Onset - the length of time before insulin reaches the bloodstream & begins lowering blood glucose
• Peak/Nadir - the lowest point in the cycle
• Duration - the length of time insulin continues to lower blood glucose
• How to do a Curve - a simple explanation

 

An important note on when to feed your cat: Because Caninsulin/Vetsulin has an early onset, you want to have fed your cat 20 – 30 minutes before you give a shot. The order for this process is (1) test , (2) feed (3) wait 20 – 30 minutes (4) shoot.

 

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/caninsulin-vetsulin-and-n-nph.19/

 

Typically you do not want to shoot below 200 using Vetsulin, since it drops hard and fast and can be dangerous. I would drop the dose for sure and start getting tests in during the cycles. Vetsulin is most active normally in the first few hours so a +1 or +2 test is important to see how low Sansa is going.

Also remember to have snacks available in those first few hours to slow the drop. Judging by the pre-shots she doesn't seem to bounce very much (bouncing is when the BG drops too low/fast/quickly and causes the BG to "bounce" up really high) which is good.

 

Thanks for seeing the tag Elizabeth

 

I shot well below 200 on vetsulin with an alpha meter, but had a lot of numbers and did testing mid cycle so I could steer if need be. It's how I got my cat into remission on vetsulin. (Look at the 2016 tap on my spreadsheet) I think it's OK to do if you are careful, but not if you can't test mid cycle. Please get at least a couple mid day and before bed tests when you shoot that low.

 

I ended up doing .5 as last time I skipped her numbers were really high on the next reading.. I did get another reading at +1 and she hadn’t dropped too much. 157 to 134. I unfortunately only had one test strip left after that I saved for the AM.

I’m gone working during the day so I can only get post AM shot numbers at +11. Guess I’ll have to get up and test her at night the next couple days. So the first 3 hours are most critical with vetsulin? I’ll get an AM curve going this weekend.

 

Do you think that I dropped it to .5 instead of 1 is already sufficient? Or even less? I’m going to grab more test strips tonight on my way home and I’ll get a PM curve going tonight. an AM curve will unfortunately have to wait until the weekend. I’m thinking I’ll try to get at least the first 3 hours since it drops fast with vetsulin? Are there specific times that are more critical?

 

Vetsulin usually hits is peek 4-6 hours after injection. (Some sooner some later). That would be when you will see how low it goes.

 

Thank you. I’ll definitely get a reading at + 2 and between 4-6 hours tonight. I’ve decided to skip her insulin this morning for safety, as I have no way to monitor her.

 

You could certainly skip or maybe do a token dose of 0.25. Remember that normal on a human meter is 50-120, so you still have a little wiggle room, but it's fine to skip.

 

Yes, I'm thinking see if the 0.25u dose is sufficient for her. When you can test of course.

 

I’m assuming her numbers are going to be higher tonight because I skipped this morning. Should I wait to go down to .25 of a dose when she’s low again like she is currently?

 

No, the dose is determined by how low they go, not how high they get.

 

This is all so confusing. So start at .25 tonight, regardless of how high it is, get a better curve going to see how low she gets and decide if the dose should be adjusted from there?

 

Yep!
I know it sounds confusing but just remember, insulin doesn't work the way you'd initially think. Many people/vets think that if the BG is high, the cat needs more insulin to get the numbers down from so high a reading, but if, for example, a dose of 1 unit will bring a cat's BG down to 80, it doesn't matter if the preshot is 200 or 500, it will still (generally speaking) drop down to 80. Dosage is a moving target of course, and you need to practice caution when the preshot is unusually low, but I hope that somewhat helps you understand better.

I would try the .25u for a few days before deciding to increase again, lots of things can affect BG so increasing needs to be done after proof that the insulin isn't enough and other factors aren't keeping the BG high (like eating something they shouldn't or extra stress).

 

I really appreciate the help, thank you. I just took her pre-shot and it’s only 149 after skipping her shot entirely this morning so I’m extremely surprised.

 

I'm going to tag @Deb & Wink in case she has any more input for dosing since we're seeing some lovely numbers without insulin. What was the story behind her diagnosis? It would be lovely if she's heading toward remission already (knock on wood!).

 

I noticed there was a significant increase in the amount of urine in her box, she also lost a couple pounds without me changing anything so I brought her guessing it may have been a UTI. When they tested her urine they told me it showed she was diabetic, I don’t remember exactly why, that was an extremely overwhelming call with a lot of info. They also tested her blood to confirm and her glucose level was over 500. She also had terrible dandruff and her coat has improved so much since treating her. She has also had issues with her anal glands leaking and had ripped out all of the hair around the area which was another reason I brought her in. She’s had that issue for about two years, but taking her in never helped anything. The hair ripping was definitely new though.

It would be lovely if the diet change made that significant of a change for her, but I certainly don’t want to be too optimistic.