New to feline diabetes confused on dosage

D

DustyRhodez30

New Member
hey all I am new here and also new to diabetes in cat.
My cat has recently been diagnosed with hyperglycemia and I have to give insulin.
I have Caninsulin 40IU with 40IU needle. She is 6.6 pounds and just took her reading with
human glucose machine which read 24.6mmol. the instructions say 0.25 IU per kg. This would
be 0.75 which would be right before the first main mark IU.this may be a stupid question but I just want to clarify as the needle says on one side 20IU and the other 0.5 ML it goes in 0.5 IU intervals. Am I right in assuming that the marking of 0.5ml would be a full needle and full needle would be 40 IU?
my vet was not very helpful so I just want to be sure before injecting it as i do not want to overdose
my cat. how long after injection should i check her glucose levels?
 
Hello there, sorry you haven't gotten a response yet. This forum is a little quiet, there's only a couple of us that check in here (Caninsulin/NPH are not popular insulin types so not many people stop by here), in the future if you need an answer quickly I'd recommend the Feline Health forum, it's a lot more active. :) Anyway!

We do not base dosage on weight despite the instructions, we start at 0.5 units and move up in 0.25 unit increments. The reason for this is because kitties are so tiny that it's easy to bypass the "ideal" dose by dosing too much and it makes it all the more harder to get regulated. Here is an intro to Caninsulin for you to look over to get started, it's stickied at the top of this forum:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/beginners-guide-to-caninsulin-vetsulin.186099/

Please note that Caninsulin is a rather harsh insulin on kitties (it's why we recommend switching to something better like Prozinc or Lantus) so your cat will need to be fed, wait 20-30 minutes, and then be given insulin. Food already needs to be on board for Caninsulin due to how it has a tendency to make blood sugar nosedive. You will also want to feed again in 1-2 hours to slow the drop.

It's been a while since I've used U40 syringes but you're saying the end of the syringe says 0.5mL and the other side says 20 IU? That means that entire syringe holds 20 units of U40 insulin. 1mL would be 40 units. But stick with the unit numbers since that's how we base dosage.

As for checking glucose, I recommend checking 1-2 hours after injecting. Many of us test frequently, especially in the beginning of the cycle. Caninsulin is known for "burning out" early, within 3-5 hours after injection so those will be the most crucial times to check. If you set up a spreadsheet (found here) you can input the readings you get and develop a pattern of how Caninsulin affects your kitty, and you can make adjustments based on that.

Any other questions just let us know! There's a lot of information here :)
 
what dose did your vet tell you? Cats aren't really dosed based on weight because all cats can react differently to a dose. The recommended starting dose is 1 unit twice a day. if after a week or so that proves not enough through testing (we can help you with the dosing) then you would raise by 0.25-0.5 units at a time. The syringes you are using hold 20 units (.5 CC) and it sounds like are marked every half unit which is good. (in the future you could even get u40 syringes that only hold 12 units (3/10CC)... makes it even easier to see those small doses).

Caninsulin usually reaches peek around 4-6 hours after injection. I would test around 3 hours to make sure it's not dropping too fast, and again around 5 hours to see how low she goes.

We have a google spreadsheet template that we use that we link in a signature... it helps us help you if we can see the readings. Here's the instructions for setting up the signature. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

What are you feeding?
 
also, if you could set up a signature like the one you see below my posts, that would be helpful. If you click on your name on the top right go to signature. Add info such as your pets name, age, insulin, food, type of meter when you get it, and any other heath concerns. THis gives us basic info that we don't have to keep asking you over and over. hahaha
 
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