? Maintaining low numbers without insulin advice

Hi everyone, I am brand new to having a diabetic cat (and this forum) so please excuse any formatting issues I have.

I started giving Oscar Lantus using the SLGS last week at 1U. After a few days and some high numbers my vet recommended going up a dose and I started giving him 1.5U @ ~7AM/7PM. He quickly got down to what I believe are very good numbers (70+ with a human meter). I was reading last night that for a new caregiver, I should be trying to maintain BG at 90-150. This morning, his AMPS number was 70 so I delayed his shot and kept checking @ 2-3 hr intervals. So far he is at AMPS -70, AMPS+3 - 71, AMPS+5 - 91, and AMPS+8 - 91. I plan to check at PMPS to see if he has gone up. He is also eating like normal.

My question is, with Lantus, is this to be expected and should I have given him is AM shot even with a BG of 70? I am assuming he will hit some level of steady state regulation and by skipping a dose, am I essentially destroying that steady state and a bounce is to be expected? I was thinking about reducing his dose to 1.25U.

Thanks everyone and this has been a massive help with Oscar's recent diagnosis.

Oscars SS

 

First off please remove GA and change it to. ? GA stands for guardian angel and means your cat has passed away. I will be back a little later to read through your posts.

 

I see this is your first ever post here. We ask that you first post an intro on the main/health forum where you will get set up with a spreadsheet and signature. I will ask a moderator to move this list there. We are data based here so need that information before we can advise.
Some info we need is pet or human meter, what you are feeding. You don’t want to shoot if the BG is under 200 as a newbie. If that happens list for dosing advice. Stall, don’t feed and see if the BG comes up in 20-30 minutes. If you read SLGS you will see the starting dose is .50 if on a wet food diet and 1.0 if feeding any dry so definitely your cat is on too high a dose. See you on main.

 

Hello and welcome to FDMB. I see you have your spreadsheet set up. There are some additional things we like to see in your signature, see the details here:
New? How You Can Help Us Help You!

Included in that information is your primary BC meter type. Your spreadsheet says Relion with (AT2) in brackets. There is a difference in what we'd suggest based on type of meter you use.

I have changed the GA in your title to a "?" for questions.

 

Thanks for the info and apologies for the errors. I am working on fixing them now. Out of curiosity, if someone has 2 meters (i.e. Relion and AT2), is it better to have two spreadsheets? I wanted to have the option to check Oscar's BG with the AT2 on occasion while generally using the Relion for every day use.

 

I wouldn't maintain two spreadsheets, just keep the one. Maybe put a note on top that you spot check with the AT. And I would test with the Relion at the same time as you do the AT. Maybe put the AT number in with AT after in brackets, so people know it was a different meter. Any particular reason you are double checking with the AT? We suggest people pick one meter and stick to it, comparisons can drive you crazy.

Thanks for updating the subject line.

 

I originally bought the AT2 the day that Oscar was diagnosed as that is what the vet told me to buy. I then found this site and realized I didnt have to use the AT2 as the strips are quite a bit more. I also personally like having it as a backup and in the odd chance the vet asks what the numbers are I could always check with a meter calibrated for cats anticipating it might be confusing to them if they are not familiar with human meter numbers.

 

Like you, I also bought the AT2 at the recommendation of my vet. After I got my human meter, I haven’t used the AT at all. It’s there in case I need a backup but that hasn’t happened yet. In theory, I would use it when I need to report a number to the vet. But I often forget and just use my human meter. They roll their eyes at me, but I know what numbers are safe for my cat.