New Here

So I am new here to the message board but have been using it as a source of information for a while.
My kitty Tater is diabetic. He was diagnosed more than two years ago. We changed to a much better food, but it was still a dry food (I had not done enough homework.. )
He went into remission for several months and then relapsed. I am currently using humulin as it is what my vet recommends if it works.
For a while he was on 7.5 units and we were still having trouble controlling his BG. I through out the dry food and started feeding wet food based on the Janet and Binky charts. All 4 of my cats now eat Sophisticat 3 times a day.
With home testing and adjusting we had him down to 1 unit a day.
Often times when I test though, typically before injection, he has been in the mid 400's.
A few times he has been between about 90-250.
He was high again this morning so we decided to up his dose a bit and went 1.5.
He was acting a little "funny" about 2 hours after the shot and breakfast I tested him and it said 26.
I immediately gave him some crunchy treats and a tiny amount of karo syrup.
15 minutes later he read at 438.
Directly after that he was at 430.
Its been almost 9hours since his dosing and hes at 509.
Did I over-correct? Was the first reading likely in error? He is still acting "off," but that could be because I keep poking him and he knows I'm upset by something.
I could really use some advice.
Additional information:
Tater is a 13-year--old, neutered male. I use Relion confirm meter and strips.

 

Wow I wish I could tell you but I'm still pretty new myself. Hopefully bumping this up will get someone's attention but I think it's more quiet here on the weekends. Welcome to the board though.

 

Poopy and I welcome you to the best place to be for you and Tater. cat_pet_icon

The Relion meter and strips, I understand, are pretty darn reliable. Many here use them.

The Humulin is a fast acting, and quickly dissipating, insulin. It doesn't surprise me Tater would drop quickly, then rise quickly. But those are scary numbers. nailbite_smile I know I'd be a nervous wreck! :smile:

When you test, is this before he has had any food? (not eaten for at least 2 hours prior.)
When you test, can you test the same drop more than once? (large enough to get more than one reading) (I'm thinking just in case)

I'll holler at a few folks to see if they can come give more suggestions or advice as I've only been dealing with this a month. :smile:

 

I suspect you are using Humulin N. That insulin typically has a short duration. What you are see is typical of Humulin, a fast drop. The Kero tends to shoot up the BG for short period of. Time.

I recommend asking to your vet about using a better insulin with a longer duration. Like Lantus or Levemir.

 

Hi,

Has he always been on Humulin? Before he went into remission, did you see highs and lows like you are seeing now? Larry is right, what the recent numbers look like are what Humulin typically looks like as far as the highs and quick lows, and then right back up to highs quickly.

There are three primary insulins used by most people here. Lantus, levemir and prozinc. Any of those three would be much better choices. Prozinc would be most "like" what you are using now. It is, however a longer-lasting and less harsh insulin than Humulin. The "L"s work a bit differently, as they are "depot" type insulins. Both are gentle and long lasting. Everyone has a preference, but if you can find out from your vet what he can recommend besides Humulin, I think you'll have an easier time with it, and so will Tater. See if your vet is experienced with one of the alternatives.

 

About if it was over-correcting. If he was on 1u, and you bumped it to 1.5, then that was a 50% increase in insulin. In terms of "units", it doesn't sound like much, but in terms of percentages, it's pretty big.

When you see numbers as drastically different as high 400s and scary low like 26, one good thing to automatically do is retest immediately, just in case there was a problem with the meter, the strip, or the blood sample.

Is he acting okay now?
I would say go back to the 1u for the immediate future, and see about the possibility of a different insulin by calling the vet in the morning.

 

Welcome and I am with Carl
Go back to 1 unit and definately get a new insulin like lantus or PZI
just be careful because he will be more sensitive to sinsulin right now because
he hypo'd today, please make sure to keep an eye on him

 

I know that, but my syringes are only marked by 1/2 units so it was the smallest increase I could make and be consistent.
Maybe I need to look for syringes that have smaller increments, if such a thing exists...
I will ask my vet on Monday about a different/better insulin.
Hopefully I can keep my Sweetpotato healthy until then....

After the drastic increase I tested and retested ever 15 minutes for an hour and then an hour after that and it was always 390+.
I really feel like that first one might have been an error, but I am not sure.


Anyway, thanks for the advice.

 

There are no syringes that have less than 1/2 unit markings on them so save yourself a search. Just please make sure when using N insulin that you feed a good 1/2 hr. before shooting so food is on board.

 

the important thing about dosing is to be consistent. eyeball the space between the plunger and the marked line and keep that consistent from dose to dose. one idea is to take a used syringe, draw up colored water and keep that one to compare against.