New Member Post - Snowball

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Suzanne & Darcy said:
I hope you went to sleep and rest without worrying about dear Snowball. ProZinc usually kicks in (what we call onset) at around +2. So if you get a +2 it can be a good indicator of how the cycle is going to go. If the +2 is a lot lower than the preshot BG number, then you should be alert to check again in an hour or two (depending upon how low we are talking about.
This is why +2 is a good time to give a small low carb wet food snack (1 teaspoon or 2.) On a regular day, you can just get one or two mid-cycle tests. You can vary the times that you test so we can get an idea of when he nadirs. Many cats will nadir at +6, but not all. Some will hit their lowest point earlier, especially when they are new to insulin. Gradually you can build up data for us to interpret. We will be looking for patterns.
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Looks like he's nadir now...but it's too low! He's acting normal, so it's hard to tell if I'm just getting false readings or if he's not symptomatic.
 
Diane Tyler's Mom GA said:
Hi Janet
Mean time
Can you set up your signature and add from Germany
Your signature should be in gray letters, do you see mine at the end of my post
This is where you can set up what we call your signature, it's at the end of everyone's post in gray letters. Just tap on your name up top then tap on signature and add this information. You will link it to your spreadsheet

  • Add info we need to help you:
    • Caregiver & kitty's name
    • DX: Date
    • Name of Insulin (do not include dose or frequency)
    • Name of your meter
    • Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo"
    • Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable)
    • DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable)
    • Bexacat or Senvelgo (if applicable) and dates
    • Acro, IAA, or Cushings (if applicable)
    • Spreadsheet link. Please put the signature link on the bottom line of your signature information, on its own, so it is easy to find.
    • Please do not put any information about your location in the signature for security reasons. If you wish to add your country location, please add it to your profile.
Be sure to click the 'Save Changes' button at the bottom. If you need help urgently it is important we know these things at a glance. We don’t want to waste valuable time finding out information.

Can you set up our spreadsheet where we track our cats BG numbers
This Link will also explain how to use it , it's very easy
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/



Maybe this will make it easier to understand how to enter numbers on the spreadsheet
About the spreadsheet to make it easier for you to understand
AMPS - means AM Pre Shot the first test you take in the AM that number goes there ,you need to withhold food 2 hours before testing so it's not food influenced

Units is where you would put how much insulin you gave


+1 is one hour after giving insulin if you were to test then that's where you enter his _BG number
+2 two hours after giving insulin. ditto
+3 and so on until you get to PMPS - PM pre shot withhold food 2 hours before testing

+1 same as you do for AM cycle

We don't give times because we are all in different time zones that's why we use the + numbers



You can look at any members spreadsheet to see what it looks like, it's at the end of everyone's signature just tap on it

On the spreadsheet where you put the dates, you just put the dates
Like
11-12 next line under that
11-13 then
11-14 and so on


Take a look at Tim and Pookey's spreadsheet just to see what it looks like

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/11-27-pookey-amps-273-8-233.296048/#post-3223639

Tap on where it says Pookey's spreadsheet
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Thanks so much, Diane! Your information was very helpful! I've got it published. Hoping everything is put in correctly.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
That is so wonderful that you teach classical operatic singing! I love that! How long have you lived in Germany? It sounds like you’re very busy. I sing in a choir and we don’t sing opera arias or anything (unfortunately!) We do sing some Handel’s Messiah - well we do a mean Hallelujah Chorus anyway. I think we are going to be adding more to our repertoire. We do sing quite a bit in Latin, which I don’t mind because I used to teach Latin and it’s ecclesiastical pronunciation which I am used to. Do you train opera singers? I love opera because my father used to take me to the Washington Opera at the Kennedy Center for many years (many moons ago… back in the Plácido Domingo era when he was director of the opera there.) We got to hear a lot of great talent.

Your Snowball really does sound like a remarkable cat. I bet everyone loves him.
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I moved to Germany 32 years ago to sing opera and after my singing career ended, I began teaching young opera singers - I love it! It's funny you mention Latin - I had no idea there were different pronunciations depending on where the composer lived! German latin pronunciation is very different from the ecclesiastical Latin I learned. I sang at Washington Opera as well as at the Kennedy Center Honors in the mid-90s. That was really many moons ago!
 
jwbsings Snowball said:
Looks like he's nadir now...but it's too low! He's acting normal, so it's hard to tell if I'm just getting false readings or if he's not symptomatic.
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@Suzanne & Darcy
I gave him some dextrose and a small snack and tested again an hour later at +7. His BS has risen from 45 to 135. Not sure if such a big increase in a short period of time is good or not. Also, at what point (number) should I NOT shoot and how much should I shoot??? His vet recommended 2 units. After the big drop in BS a couple of days ago, I reduced it to 1.0. Today I gave him 1.5 units and that seems to have been too much. I don't feel like I know what I'm doing - like I'm just winging it. Very frustrating.
 
At this point, it is going to feel like you're winging it! You're doing fine.

This is a link to a post on the Lantus board on dealing with low numbers. The principles are the same regardless of the insulin. I'd suggest that when you're numbers that are considerably lower than you expect that you test every 30 min. A lot depends on how much high carb you give your cat. You don't want to overdo it but you also don't want to leave Snowball in the 40s. Testing and bumping up the numbers with high carb gives you greater control. Right now, you're at the front end of a learning curve when it comes to figuring out how much high carb to feed, how long it takes for the high carb to work, and how long the effects last. Keep in mind, the high carb can wear off and Snowball's numbers could drop again. You don't have enough data accumulated yet to know what a a typical cycle looks like for your cat.

At this point, I would suggest sticking with the 1.0u dose. It may be a little too low of a dose but I suspect it will be easier on your nerves than worrying about whether you've given more insulin than needed. Getting Snowball on a reasonably stable twice a day dose so you can learn all of the details about using Prozinc and not feeling like you're winging it sounds like a reasonable plan to me!

Not all cats become symptomatic when they experience low numbers. My cat would drop into the 30s and all she would do is stare at me. I learned that her staring was her way of telling me to feed her! Frankly, I would prefer that none of our cats have a symptomatic hypoglycemic episode. In fact, I try to encourage members to differentiate between low numbers and hypoglycemia.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
At this point, it is going to feel like you're winging it! You're doing fine.

This is a link to a post on the Lantus board on dealing with low numbers. The principles are the same regardless of the insulin. I'd suggest that when you're numbers that are considerably lower than you expect that you test every 30 min. A lot depends on how much high carb you give your cat. You don't want to overdo it but you also don't want to leave Snowball in the 40s. Testing and bumping up the numbers with high carb gives you greater control. Right now, you're at the front end of a learning curve when it comes to figuring out how much high carb to feed, how long it takes for the high carb to work, and how long the effects last. Keep in mind, the high carb can wear off and Snowball's numbers could drop again. You don't have enough data accumulated yet to know what a a typical cycle looks like for your cat.

At this point, I would suggest sticking with the 1.0u dose. It may be a little too low of a dose but I suspect it will be easier on your nerves than worrying about whether you've given more insulin than needed. Getting Snowball on a reasonably stable twice a day dose so you can learn all of the details about using Prozinc and not feeling like you're winging it sounds like a reasonable plan to me!

Not all cats become symptomatic when they experience low numbers. My cat would drop into the 30s and all she would do is stare at me. I learned that her staring was her way of telling me to feed her! Frankly, I would prefer that none of our cats have a symptomatic hypoglycemic episode. In fact, I try to encourage members to differentiate between low numbers and hypoglycemia.
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THanks so much for your reply and your encouragement. I just get scared when I see really low numbers. I'll stay with the 1.0 insulin for now and see how it goes until I can get him to the vet after New Years Day. He's already on a high carb diet because of his CKD, so that's a positive. I can't thank you and everyone else enough for the support you give! It's a lifeline!
 
jwbsings Snowball said:
THanks so much for your reply and your encouragement. I just get scared when I see really low numbers. I'll stay with the 1.0 insulin for now and see how it goes until I can get him to the vet after New Years Day. He's already on a high carb diet because of his CKD, so that's a positive. I can't thank you and everyone else enough for the support you give! It's a lifeline!
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We are here for you! I kept checking my email to see if you posted today. I forgot this thread was on the main forum and not on the ProZinc forum. If a message is posted on the ProZinc forum, I get an email directly in my inbox.
You did great today. Pat yourself on the back. That link on how to handle low numbers is very helpful. A lot of people print it out and stick it somewhere where they will be able to find it when they may need it.
 
I’m sorry if I didn’t make it clear that I wanted you to hold the 1 unit dose and that I didn’t just mean it to be a temporary reduction. My suggestion is to hold the 1 unit dose for 7 days and to test and gather data on how low the 1 unit dose takes Snowball. It may not be enough insulin, but I would much rather work our way up from the 1 unit dose than to have any more low (lime green) numbers.

Then when your vet opens up again you will have a body of data to show them (if you wish to.)

If you need me quickly with a question, post on the ProZinc forum and you could also send me a PM (open a conversation). I will get an email saying that you have started a conversation. If I am around, I will answer. If it’s a dose related question, I will then pop over to your thread to discuss- as we can talk about other things, but we do not make dose recommendations in a PM since this is a peer reviewed forum. I don’t mind being PMed because then I won’t miss your posts like I did this morning!
But you did well to catch the 45 today! (Again) but at least it’s better than the previous lime greens (much closer to 50!)
 
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