My 13 yr old cat Diablo was diagnosed about a month ago. He was started one 2 units of humulin 70/30 and I put him on a tiki cat wet diet. He was underweight when diagnosed but has gained some back and is much more active. His numbers however continue to be high and is now at 10 units of insulin. I give him the shot around 7am and then the vet does the test around 4:30. I know the trip stresses him out but I did not know you could test at home as well and will be ordering a monitor. Does anyone else have experience with this insulin ? I haven't been able to find much information on it.
Hi! To start .. 10 units is a HUGE dose for 70/30 - as in fatal for many cats and I am very concerned you are in dangerous waters. Yes please test at home as soon as you can. Too much insulin can look like not enough insulin, especially when testing at the wrong times (see next paragraph). Their body panics and dumps stored glycogen and counterregulatory hormones to spike BG back up...but that's only sustainable for so long. 430p is far too late to be testing - nadir, or the lowest blood sugar in the cycle, for 70/30 is going to be somewhere between 1 and 4 hours after the shot. And it does not last anywhere near long enough in cats because their metabolism is so fast. Are you only giving one shot a day? 70/30 is NOT an appropriate insulin for cats, vet should never have prescribed it and clearly has no understanding of how it works. You will want an insulin like ProZinc or Lantus/genetic glargine Has he ever had ketones in a urinalysis, DKA, or are you checking ketones at home? The safe/prudent thing to do is drastically reduce dose until you can test, but I'm out of my comfort zone here. @Wendy&Neko @Sienne and Gabby (GA)
Cats can indeed test much higher at the vet due to stress. You really need to learn to home test. Lots of info in the post on how to home test. Hometesting Links and Tips You don't need to get the AT or a pet meter. A cheap human blood sugar meter is fine, just pick one that needs just a small blood drop and the tests strips are low cost. If you have a Walmart near you (and are in the US), their Relion brand meter will do. Do you have plenty of high carb food, karo or syrup around in case of emergency? Humulin is in and out of the system well before 4:30. Testing then is not a way to learn how your cat is doing on that dose. More posts: How to treat HYPOS - THEY CAN KILL! Print this Out!! jojo and bunny's HYPO TOOL BOX
I don't believe he's had a urinalysis. I haven't checked ketones. In all honesty I'm feeling a little lost and am realizing I should have looked into all this much more when he was first diagnosed. I'm going to call the vet tomorrow , see if we can figure out a better plan.
You might also want to take a look at the American Animal Hospital Assn Guidelines for treating diabetes. You also may want to share this with your vet.
