i just tested logan 2nd time and he measured 127 at 630

[Logan & Sandy]

i just tested Logan at 630pm with my relion prime. he measured 127.. should i still give him his usual 2 units of prozinc at 740pm like i usually do twice a day.. this is my 2nd time testing.. vet said to keep him at this amt. and bring him back in 6 MONTHS..

 

[Little Bit’s Mom]

i just tested Logan at 630pm with my relion prime. he measured 127.. should i still give him his usual 2 units of prozinc at 740pm like i usually do twice a day.. this is my 2nd time testing.. vet said to keep him at this amt. and bring him back in 6 MONTHS..

I can’t give dosing advice, but you can stall for up to an hour and retest to ensure he is going up and not down. That is what I would do.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

OK...I understand you already shot. In the future, if you get a Pre-shot number that's lower than you're used to, it's a good idea to stall, DON'T feed and test again in 20-30 minutes. Use that time to post here with a good subject line like "STALLING! NEED HELP!"

I would test him again at +1 (1 hour after the shot) and +2 (2 hours after the shot) so if you need to intervene, you can do it early.

Do you have plenty of supplies like test strips, high and medium carb food and some Karo/honey/syrup?

 

[Logan & Sandy]

thx.. yes i have plenty of test strips and karo syrup.. and medium carb food. and i just tested him 90 mins from the shot and he's at 242bg

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Looks like he's going to bounce off the lower numbers today but I'd get at least 1 more test in before you call it a night.

I would also suggest dropping back to 1.5U and starting to test every day, every cycle. As you can see, testing every few weeks isn't enough. That pancreas can choose to wake up anytime!

Always test before shooting....and then get at least 1 test mid-cycle (5 to 7 hours after the shot) on the AM cycle and at least a "before bed" test on the PM cycle. Most cats go lower at night so it's important to get those PM tests too.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

See post on Prozinc forum: https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/relion-vs-alpha-difference-in-bg-points.239647/

 

[Logan & Sandy]

Looks like he's going to bounce off the lower numbers today but I'd get at least 1 more test in before you call it a night.

I would also suggest dropping back to 1.5U and starting to test every day, every cycle. As you can see, testing every few weeks isn't enough. That pancreas can choose to wake up anytime!

Always test before shooting....and then get at least 1 test mid-cycle (5 to 7 hours after the shot) on the AM cycle and at least a "before bed" test on the PM cycle. Most cats go lower at night so it's important to get those PM tests too.

******thanks. he's been on insulin since 11/15/2020.. so u suggest 1.5u? He was on 1 unit of prozinc for about 10 days then vet raised it 12/2/20 to 2 units.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

He was on 1 unit of prozinc for about 10 days then vet raised it 12/2/20 to 2 units.

We only suggest dose changes in .25 to .5 unit increments. A small amount of insulin can make a huge difference.

I know it doesn't sound like going from 1U to 2U is a big deal, but it's a 100% increase in dose. That's like a human going from 30U to 60U...there's a whole lot of "in between" to try!

The sad truth is that vets only get less than a day of formal education on diabetes in school and that covers all types of animals. When they're in school, they have to cram a little bit of everything into 4 years of teaching...diagnosing, treatment, surgery, etc. etc. etc.

That's why places like this message board are such an important tool. The people here have 24/7/365 experience and know what works...and what doesn't.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Update...she just messaged me and Logan is down to 39 (retest 42). She doesn't have any high carb canned food so she is adding a few drops of Karo to a teaspoon of FF turkey.

Testing again in 15 minutes

Update---he ate fine.. gave him some earthborn wet food which has 10 carbs and put a good teaspoon of kayro syrup in it and he ate it all.and is licking the catfood and eating still as i type

 

[Juls and Billy]

Hello Sandy! How is Logan doing? Have you gotten a more recent test?

Chris asked me to keep an eye out for you.

 

[Logan & Sandy]

Hello Sandy! How is Logan doing? Have you gotten a more recent test?

Chris asked me to keep an eye out for you.

thankyou a lot!! yes.. 3rd test 918pm(+1) he was at bg242. took his bg again at 1122pm and it was 45! fed karo/high carb tested again in 20 min at 1151 and he was at bg78

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

he was at bg78

Good...so that 78 is 3 1/2 hours (approx) from the time you shot?

Test again in 30 minutes to make sure he continues to go up.

 

[Juls and Billy]

Keep it up, you are doing awesome!

Okay, I see Logan is up to 72 at around 4 hours after shot. You're going to want to stay up with him until at least +6 to +7 after the shot. ProZinc is a nice longer lasting insulin, but that means it's still working to drop that BGL. It's the food you are feeding that's keeping Logan out of danger.

Once he starts heading back up over 100, and you are past the +6 or seven mark, hopefully he'll be out of danger. What you are looking for is two tests that are going up without the aid of food or karo. That will show that the insulin is wearing off and he's out of danger.

Unfortunately, vets tend to increase dose in too big of increments. No human would suddenly double their insulin dose, and neither should Logan. Thank goodness you are home testing! 2 units is obviously too much for Logan. If AMPS is high enough, I suggest you give no more than 1.25 units.

In the future, if your pre-shot test is low, you can either:
Stall without feeding for 20 minutes and see if the BGL goes high enough.
Give a half dose if the pre-shot test seems high enough.
Give a token dose (25% of usual dose.)
Give a drop dose (literally barely any in the syringe)
Or skip insulin.

A day of high numbers is always safer than a dangerous low.

Oh, and when you are telling us times, give it to us in an hours plus format. He was __ at +4 means it was 4 hours after the shot, for example. The timing helps us help you, but telling us the time on the clock doesn't help us much, as we are all in different time zones.

 

[Logan & Sandy]

thankyou a lot!! yes.. 3rd test 918pm(+2) he was at bg242. took his bg again at 1122pm(+4) and it was 45! fed karo/high carb tested again in 20 min at 1151(+4.50) and he was at bg78

hi I just tested him at 1230am+5.5 and he was at bg153!

 

[Juls and Billy]

That is great! You rock and so does Logan!

I think you should be good to catch some sleep now. Though if you want to be super safe, set an alarm and catch another test in about an hour. I'm about to head off to bed myself. If you need more help, you can ask here again. Change the title to include 911 if it's an emergency. Otherwise, Need help! usually grabs people's attention.

 

[Logan & Sandy]

That is great! You rock and so does Logan!

I think you should be good to catch some sleep now. Though if you want to be super safe, set an alarm and catch another test in about an hour. I'm about to head off to bed myself. If you need more help, you can ask here again. Change the title to include 911 if it's an emergency. Otherwise, Need help! usually grabs people's attention.

thankyou!!

 

[JanetNJ]

Wow excellent job keeping your cat safe. Thank God you started home testing.... That could have been disastrous.

 

[Logan & Sandy]

Thanks for all of your support you guys..!! I tested logan before his AM shot this morning and he was at 324.. we expected him to be high.. so I only gave him1.5 units of prozinc.. hopefully we wont have another hypo tonite!!