Morgaine's numbers are rising. Need First Dose Advice!

Morgaine's numbers are rising. she is drinking and urinating more and has been diet controlled for over a year. Poor kitty is always hungry too.

I had to change her diet as she had super high triglycerides. The small increase in carbs as well as the other issues she has had with slightly higher numbers for a while now indicates that she now needs some Lantus. She is hovering in the 200 range or higher as the glucometer is a Freestyle lite, before meals without insulin. Can anyone help me? I want to give her a small dose to start but where do I begin.

My vet isn't getting the full picture. She wants me to buy an Alpha Trak, suggested a really bad prescription diet and doesn't believe in tight control. Her range for a cat is 150-250. I am out of options with vets as I spent so much in the last month on blood work etc.

Thanks in advance. I need some help and want to start her on insulin asap but I am not even sure if I can start today or have to wait until tomorrow. I know it is 12 hr cycle and i have read protocols on glargine. I used be on Lantus myself but now wear a pump. I have all supplies here at home.

HELP!!!!

bumping your post for experienced eyes...

There's a formula you can use to calculate how much insulin you can start with. It's based on the cat's weight. Hang on while I go look for it.

Also your human meter is fine. Most of us use them here.

Here's Morgaine's condo (thread) from Friday. We link threads together so it's easy to find info from previous days.

You can base Morgaine's dose on a weight based formula (ideal weight in kilograms x 0.25 = initial dose). As I mentioned previously, this usually calculates out to approximately 1.0u, give or take. From your response, it sounded like you thought this would be too much. Why don't you start out at 0.5u? You will need to hold this dose for 5 - 7 days unless Morgaine's BG numbers drop below 50.

Please review the Tight Regulation sticky and remember:

Kitty should be monitored closely the first three days when starting Lantus or Levemir. Blood glucose levels should at least be checked at pre-shot, +3, +6, and +9. More monitoring may be needed.

Click to expand...

I do have the formula but I do not believe she needs that much insulin. maybe but I would like to get some input from others before going by the weight. She has not been really high and my sense is to give her a lower does than 1.5 BID. I was thinking about starting at .5 to 1 unit BID but I am not sure. My problem and fear is a hypo while I'm sleeping. I no longer drive, am disabled and do not have a way to get her to an ER if she had a really severe hypo. So, I'm thinking that I need to go slow and be cautious but I want some advice. I do not want to do any harm but watching her be so symptomatic is very disturbing to me especially since I have type 1, know this disease and have all the supplies to treat it.

Whew! Glad Sienne stepped in here!

Thank you Sienna. I didn't know about linking threads. That really helps.

Can I start insulin at any time or do I need to wait for the AM? Since it it is a 12 hour cycle can I do a night time start and follow through 12 hours later in the AM?

Rosalie --

Your logic makes perfect sense. Starting at 0.5u is fine. You need to get your feet underneath you with dosing Morgaine. No one here will give you a hard time for putting Morgaine's safety first especially if you have your own limitations you're dealing with. You can start at 0.25u if that makes you more comfortable.

We can't, however, know what is the right dose. You're going to have to decide on what makes sense to you and then shoot. I know you're knowledgeable about diabetes. You just need the same confidence about Morgaine as you have about yourself.

Try using this link for the SS template. Google docs has been weird lately.

Here is what I get when I click that linkL

We're sorry.

We're sorry, your spreadsheet cannot be copied at this time.

Click to expand...

I was able to download the SS from a public site posted somewhere here last week but how do I publish it on the board? I have it saved and can use it on my computer.

Nevermind I got it.

NowI need to figure out how to use it and link to it. Not the most savvy computer wise.

Thanks!!!!

I'm in the group now with both feet. Gave Morgaine her first dose of insulin. I consulted with Dr. Lisa as I was just not sure what to do. She suggested .50 to start. I am working on getting my SS linked if i can figure that out.

Dr. Lisa has consulted with me several times and she has Morgaine's history etc. She agreed that we needed to go slow and see where this amount takes her. She is a wise woman with a great deal of experience. Whew....I feel much better having gotten her input. She believes Morgaine is atypical in several ways because we just don't have clarity about which came first, the high lipids or the D. Morgaine also tests under 150 most of the time but the creeping up numbers are concerning and she really didn't feel that 6% carbs vs. 2% would be the culprit. I also got some good advice on diet and the Pro Plan Turkey and Giblets meets the vet's requirement for 20% or less fat on a dry matter basis.

FYI: Dr. Lisa said that the fat% on Janet and Binky's chart can be roughly converted to dry matter basis by dividing it in half. So if the food is 39% fat on the chart it is about 19.5 % on a dry matter basis. Good thing to know and she got this info from Janet directly who did all of these conversions herself!

So, thanks for all the help and I am eternally grateful to be here with all of you.

Re the first shot:

So, I have never measured a 1/2 unit before and my eyes are not what they used to be. Got out my magnifying glasses and ended up wasting three syringes before I got it right. The syringe has 1/2 u markers. One needle got bent by Morgaine as she took off before I could poke her. I finally pinched her skin on her side, above her belly and injected it. she is very furry. anyone else ever wonder if it really went in? I am pretty sure we did it!!!

Thanks again to ALL here.

Just made a donation and will continue to donate as I can. This is such an invaluable place for those who have kitties with diabetes. :YMHUG:

ETA: If anyone can explain in simple language how to shorten the SS url to a word or two I would appreciate that. I see that others do that and I just do not know how. THANKS!

good job getting going! and welcome!

i use a headlamp that i got from REI to help me see with the shots. punkin's inner fur color is the same as his skin and i need the extra help also. others have lamps that have magnifying lenses on them. good light definitely helps. i also heard someone mention that if you ask at your pharmacy, they have a magnifying thing like a sleeve, maybe? that enlarges the syringe markings. it also helps if you twist the plunger as you get rid of the bubbles and excess insulin and try to get it to the right line instead of just pushing straight up on the plunger.

regarding the spreadsheet link - you can do this when you're linking your yesterday's posts as well.

see the top line above your reply box? there's a button that says URL. Click that and you'll get this



you're going to copy & paste the link into that url symbol like so:

[url=paste the link here]name it whatever you want here[/url]

make sure you add the = sign right before where you paste the link.

does that make sense?

Thank you Julie. Your link instructions make perfect sense. Will go try it soon.

I had to lol at myself. been giving myself shots for 40 years+ until i got a pump but measuring that tiny amount was a challenge the first time. I was cocky and went right for the juice and then realized that I wasn't sure where the 1st 1/2 unit marker was. I had to figure it out, bent two needles in the process and wasted another because I couldn't see it well enough. I have reading glasses and they worked just fine. 1st time is the hardest.

Just tested her +3 and she was 161 1+pp so I am good with that. Slow and steady gets us there.

I feel relief for finally making the decision to give insulin.

it's amazing what a tiny bit of insulin can do with a cat - i hope this is just the thing for her!

I have noticed that she has not run to her box to pee since 7 PM, 6 hours ago. She had been using that box every 3-4 hours before the shot. I wonder if a tiny amount just helped her get below the renal threshold since she wasn't that high to begin with or maybe it is wishful thinking at this point. I will keep a close eye on her overnight. Fortunately I no longer work so i do not have to worry about getting enough sleep.