Newbie here! Spreadsheet review?

TankNRK

TankNRK

Active Member
Hi everyone! We're new here. Been lurking for a month but hadn't posted. My vet recommended the forum to me as well as the Facebook groups when we were diagnosed at the end of November. Lando is 8-9yrs old and is a tripod- back leg amputee. We've had him for 5 years.

We're on Vetsulin but plan to switch to something more gentle in the near future, vet only recommended Vetsulin at the time because Lando was unwell and she had it on hand and wanted him to have something immediately over nothing.
Thankfully my vet agrees with more gentle insulins, she agrees with home testing, has a copy of my spreadsheet, and told me the prescription diets are junk and gave me info on feeding low carb/high protein foods over the counter... She had a diabetic cat herself and she's been an angel.

The last week or so Lando and I have been seeing much better numbers, so much so I've been adjusting his dosage accordingly! We keytones test as well and started giving b12/folic acid about the same time his numbers started improving. Since I'm still a newbie, it's been a little spooky adjusting his dosage and I've been wondering if I'm doing this right. Thankfully I've had this message board and the Facebook groups to help teach and guide me and I feel more confident every single day.

I was hoping someone with more experience could go over my spreadsheet and give me some insight? This morning we had our lowest AMPS and I was a little nervous with his dosage but I'm going to go home on break today to pop in and check on my 3 legged boy to see how he's doing. behavior-wise over the last week or two he's been back to his normal self before diagnosis and I'm proud ❤️

Thank you for all you do!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...PL5s0IFUjIeKWKgTjrSXkI60bsg/edit?usp=drivesdk
 
I'd like to note that when I've felt the need, I check him on my break at +4.5 which is around where he usually drops lowest from my experience! :)
 
Hi Lando and Tank! Happy to see you posting over here from the FB group!

First thing....this Vetsulin forum isn't very active so we usually suggest posting in the Main Health forum where you'll get more help getting started here.

There's also some helpful stuff in this "How you can help us help you" thread that explains how to get your "Signature" set up (you'll see Kim and my signature below our comments. It just keeps people from having to ask you the same questions over and over again)

Some more reading for you to do is the Sticky "Beginners guide to Vetsulin".

It looks like you've been basing your dose on Lando's pre-shot number. While there are some cats that do well on a sliding scale, we usually recommend giving the same dose both AM and PM. Looks like 1.5 might be a little too much since we really don't like them getting much below 90-100 on Vetsulin but hopefully @FrostD will notice the tags and chime in with her advice.

It is great to hear Lando is acting like he's feeling better though! It sure makes a difference, doesn't it?

One little housekeeping note. On your spreadsheet, you need to start a new tab for 2023 because otherwise sometime in December 2023 you're going to run out of lines and the formatting won't work. Each tab is set for 365 days of use. If you need help with that, just let Kim (@Gus the Furminator ) or me (Chris Ronkoski on FB) know and we'll be happy to set it up for you.
 
Thank you so much for the insight! I'll post there in the future hehe.

We actually had Lando hit 52 @ nadir last night so I do indeed think a dose reduction is in order here lately we've gotten some crazy low numbers and it just happened out of the blue. It was my first "low" like that but thanks to everyone here I knew just what to do! He wasn't showing any symptoms so it's a good thing I tested.

I gave a little low carb food and checked every 5-10 mins to see him start to come up, I didn't panic or go straight to the karo! I was careful and vigilant but now I REALLY think it's time for a dose reduction. We're about to do our am shot and not really sure what dosage to go with but I'm thinking back down to 1u would be good since I'll be working all week after today, I'd rather him start a little lower and need to increase then start too high still and have to be worried something like this will happen while I'm working!

I'm new to spreadsheet and do it strictly on my phone so I'll try to figure that out today before asking someone to do it for me lol!
 
(sorry for brevity, just trying to get you quick guidance)

Welcome!

I would go down to 1U and give that any time above 200. We hopefully want to find a dose you can give consistently above 200. Below that is some sort of reduced dose or skip, depending on your ability to monitor and if you have a hypo kit.

Any drop below 90 is a 0.25U reduction.
 
Hello FrostD!
That sounds like a plan, I gave him 1u for this AM, we've been sitting in the 200s all day, I assume he's likely having a small bounce from yesterday. I'll hold this dose for awhile then do a curve. I let my vet know as well so she's in the loop!
So for reference, if he drops below 90 as any time in his cycle that calls for a dose reduction on Vetsulin, correct?
We do have a hypo kit ready and almost had to bust it open last night! Thankfully I didn't panic and handled it without the need for high carb food or karo ❤️
Thanks for all y'all do, I'll be sure to post in the right thread next time haha.
 
Hello Vetsulin users,
Do you throw out your Vetsulin as advised on packaging after 42 days? As a Senior, I don't want to do that as my finances are small.
 
Bear's Mama said:
Hello Vetsulin users,
Do you throw out your Vetsulin as advised on packaging after 42 days? As a Senior, I don't want to do that as my finances are small.
Click to expand...
Hi friend! A vial of Vetsulin can be good up to 4-5 months as long as it's cared for properly! Keep it in the fridge, (not door). If it's cared for right you can have it quite awhile!
The secret is you wanna watch as you test your cats blood sugar, in your spreadsheet, if you notice numbers creeping upward and you've had your same vial for awhile it could be time to suspect the insulin is becoming ineffective.
 
TankNRK said:
Hi friend! A vial of Vetsulin can be good up to 4-5 months as long as it's cared for properly! Keep it in the fridge, (not door). If it's cared for right you can have it quite awhile!
The secret is you wanna watch as you test your cats blood sugar, in your spreadsheet, if you notice numbers creeping upward and you've had your same vial for awhile it could be time to suspect the insulin is becoming ineffective.
Click to expand...


Tank,
Hi I went out and got the Relion glucometer and test strips. didn't know I needed control solution. Where can I get it? paperwork says to call the co.????

Also Walmart does not sell my U40 syringes, very disappointed, they also had no stock but 1 pack of 10 and sold them to me and I didn't know I was getting U100 so thery were a waste. I cannot read the tiny #'s and want to stay with my U40, but I love the small needle instead of my 1/2" needle....Know wher I can get U40 cheap as Walmart??? The ones i have and love the dark print I bought in the store on here but paid $21 for them. OUCH, My vet is worse at $27.

Thx for all your help, now I need the NERVE to do it!!!
 
Bear's Mama said:
Tank,
Hi I went out and got the Relion glucometer and test strips. didn't know I needed control solution. Where can I get it? paperwork says to call the co.????

Also Walmart does not sell my U40 syringes, very disappointed, they also had no stock but 1 pack of 10 and sold them to me and I didn't know I was getting U100 so thery were a waste. I cannot read the tiny #'s and want to stay with my U40, but I love the small needle instead of my 1/2" needle....Know wher I can get U40 cheap as Walmart??? The ones i have and love the dark print I bought in the store on here but paid $21 for them. OUCH, My vet is worse at $27.

Thx for all your help, now I need the NERVE to do it!!!
Click to expand...
U-40 syringes are prescription only unfortunately to my knowledge and my experience! I got a script from my vet and sent it to chewy and they had them for a good price :) just look for the ones with half unit markings!

As for control solution, I was worried about that too! There's 3 different kinds, high, normal, and low solution...
But in fact you don't need it! You can test the accuracy of the meter by poking yourself (with a clean lance!) And testing your own blood to see if it's within normal range (if you're not diabetic yourself haha)! If your blood appears in nor. range when you test it, the meter is working accurately. It's not something you'll need to do often if ever, I've only done it once to double check my meter when my cat's numbers were weird, but it was in fact him and not the meter!

Just please note I'm not an expert in the group so I can't say anything for certain as I'm pretty new to this too but that's what I've gathered in my studies!

Definitely don't use the u-100s. Chewy and Amazon both have the u-40 syringes but again they're prescription only. Vet shouldn't have a problem writing the script or sending it to Chewy or Amazon for you if you ask them for help with it.
 
TankNRK said:
U-40 syringes are prescription only unfortunately to my knowledge and my experience! I got a script from my vet and sent it to chewy and they had them for a good price :) just look for the ones with half unit markings!

As for control solution, I was worried about that too! There's 3 different kinds, high, normal, and low solution...
But in fact you don't need it! You can test the accuracy of the meter by poking yourself (with a clean lance!) And testing your own blood to see if it's within normal range (if you're not diabetic yourself haha)! If your blood appears in nor. range when you test it, the meter is working accurately. It's not something you'll need to do often if ever, I've only done it once to double check my meter when my cat's numbers were weird, but it was in fact him and not the meter!

Just please note I'm not an expert in the group so I can't say anything for certain as I'm pretty new to this too but that's what I've gathered in my studies!

Definitely don't use the u-100s. Chewy and Amazon both have the u-40 syringes but again they're prescription only. Vet shouldn't have a problem writing the script or sending it to Chewy or Amazon for you if you ask them for help with it.
Click to expand...


Tank, My vet will NOT write a script and won't work with Chewy at ALL!!! I did get U40's on store here but it had a long 1/2" needle. I really like the markings too!! Nice and dark and easy to read. I'm good with .5 U changes i was in healthcare for 25 yrs. as an MA and surgical tech so I can load a needle with a .5 unit.

Wonder why the RX at some stores. I'm gonna look at Amazon, I forgot them. Thx for the good news about control solution!! :cat:
Have a great night! Mary
 
Bear's Mama said:
Tank, My vet will NOT write a script and won't work with Chewy at ALL!!! I did get U40's on store here but it had a long 1/2" needle. I really like the markings too!! Nice and dark and easy to read. I'm good with .5 U changes i was in healthcare for 25 yrs. as an MA and surgical tech so I can load a needle with a .5 unit.

Wonder why the RX at some stores. I'm gonna look at Amazon, I forgot them. Thx for the good news about control solution!! :cat:
Have a great night! Mary
Click to expand...


found on amazon no RX in FL..states are different.. lil more $$ but less than Vet price. but exactly what I want $24.95
 
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