? Novalin 3 x daily?

Does anyone give insulin more than twice a day? If curves show that the insulin seems to "last" for 6 - 8 hours, would it make sense to dose 3 times per day?

 

Some people will dose TID with the shorter acting insulins such as Novolin or Caninsulin/Vetsulin. However that requires a lot of dedication and testing and it can play havoc with having a normal life schedule. First you would need to know exactly when the nadir (lowest number of the cycle) happens and when the insulin fizzles out. Then you would have to be available to test at each preshot and midcycle each time..with Novolin and Can/Vet that would be around +4 hours after shot. If a person is finding that there intermediate insulin is not lasting long enough, a good appraoch would be to switch to a longer cting insulin like Lantus or Levemir.

I wonder if there is not something else happening with Trident. The numbers 2 weeks ago were looking quite nice then started going up. Also with not having tests before each shot and at least one test during midcycle each time it is hard to say whether thrre is bouncing happening. Why was the dose increased from 1/2 unit to 1 unit, with so few tests done. If you are not home testing, and the tests are only being done at the vets, then it is possible that the numbers may be off because of stress, which most kitties will experience when at the vets. Or the readings could have been from bouncing...when a kitty jits lower numbers than it is used to or drops too fast, the numbers can bounce up much higher. Sometimes this looks like they need more insulin, when they actually may need less.

So if you are home testing you should be testing before EACH shot and doing at least one test around +3 pr +4 hours after each shot. If you are not home testing DO NOT attempt to do more than 2 shots a day, and please consider starting to home test. This is the best way to see exactly how well a dose of insulin is working and keep your kitty safe from hypos.

ETA: Also you might want to post your question on the Main Health forum,

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/feline-health-the-main-forum.28/

since this forum does not get much "traffic"

 

I wouldn't attempt that.... Esp since you haven't been getting many readings.

 

It is absolutely critical to blood glucose test with Novalin NPH insulin, especially during the nadir period, around +3 to +4 hours post-shot. If you want to shoot TID (every 8 hours), there could be a bit of overlap between doses and you don't want the glucose going too low, into hypoglycemia as that can be fatal or leave permanent brain damage.
NPH drops the glucose fairly steeply and wears off fairly steeply, so if you don't catch nadirs, you'll think the high pre-shots require more insulin when they don't.
What issues are you having with glucose testing? Maybe we can help.
Meanwhile, check my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for some other assessments to help you evaluate how she's doing.

 

We changed BG meters a couple of weeks ago, hence the HUGE change in BGL. Apparently, the previous meter was not reading as accurately as the new meter. Based on these higher readings, we increased her insulin. She has shown no issues/symptoms of hypoglycemia.

Also, we have been struggling with home testing. Trident's poor little ears are all beat up - bruised, scabbed over, etc. from the testing. I often have to prick her ear multiple times to get blood flow and it is taking its toll. She used to be pretty indifferent to the testing process, but has become increasingly restless and unhappy as we try to test. So, to give her a break, we have been testing more sporadically. I know this is not the best practice, but until he ears heal some, it seems prudent not to force her to do this unpleasant task too often.

I am not planning on increasing the frequency of her dose, but was mostly curious if it was something people ever tried.

Thank you to all who responded.

 

After each poke put a little neosporin ointment with pain reliever in it on the ears. Helps a lot.

 

In addition to the Neosporin Ointment with pain reliever, apply firm pressure to the site for a minute or two. This reduces bleeding, bruising, and scabbing.

 

Hi @NRL (sorry, don't know your name!)

How is your kitty doing now?
Any progress with the hometesting?

Eliz