Need some help.

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Yup, hold off until 6 p.m. Then test, feed, shoot. That's the sequence. You want to test first in case he has a low number that isn't safe to shoot.
 
Also, take away his food 2 hours before his PM shot. You do this to make sure his PMPS (p.m. pre-shot) number isn't influenced by food raising his BG.
 
Saw that message a bit late. He was 348 (human) and so I fed him and gave him 1 unit.

So, what you're saying is I should have given him food, and then waited 2 hours to give a shot? He gets fed twice a day, no food laying around throughout the day to eat usually.
 
Sorry if that was unclear. If there was food sitting out, you would take it away 2 hours before his evening shot (so at 4 p.m.). Then two hours after removing the food, you test (at 6 p.m.) to make sure he's not too low for a shot, then give him dinner so there's some food in his system, then shoot the insulin.

Since you don't leave food out, then no problem, you did the sequence right!

Get a +2 test to see how he does on that 1 unit. If he has dropped a lot by then, you may need to test every hour throughout the night to make sure he doesn't go below 50 on the human meter. If he does go below 50, then he will have earned another reduction in insulin, and you would drop the dose by 0.25 units.
 
Okay, here are the last 24 hour numbers so far. I think maybe he could go a bit higher in dose, maybe to 1.25-1.5. Any thoughts?


12:30pm / 146 (human)
4pm / 297 (human)
6pm / 348 (human) - fed + 1 unit
8pm / 221 (human)
9:30pm / 126 (human)
11:00pm / 159 (human)
12:00am / 244 (human)
4:00am / 342 (human)
6:00am / 339 (human) - fed + 1 unit
8:30am / 226 (human)
11:30am / 155 (human)
12:30pm / 272 - AlphaTrak
 
I'm tempted to just increase by 0.25 because when he drops, he drops fast. If he were my cat, I'd increase 0.25 for a couple of cycles and see how he does. With more data, you'll be able to find the right dose!
 
Okay I will increase just a hair.

Wanted to also say THANK YOU to everyone who has helped, I really appreciate the quick responses here.
 
@Ozzy, I have to get offline for a while. It seems like you've got everything under control for the evening shot, but if Ozzy throws you a curveball and gives you a weird number for his PMPS test, create a new thread with a subject line like "need dosing advice ASAP" and whoever is online at the time will try to help you out.
 
CJ was on Novolin N and the day I learned to home test, she went hypo. Then she went into remission so I am not familiar with how to adjust doses. I can say that Novolin did not last longer than 6-8 hours in CJ. If you want optimum benefits from this insulin, you'd need to give it every 8 hours. But few caregivers can do that.

From looking at your latest numbers in your post above, though, the #'s are looking good at the lower dose. Ozzy doesn't appear to bouncing from one extreme to another.

See this primer for feeding. Feeding should be an hour before shooting per primer, not 2 hours before. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/humulin-n-primer.303/

Note: Humulin and Novolin are the same. They are just made by different manufacturers.

What are you feeding Ozzy?

It will help us help you if you can put the date Ozzy was diagnosed, insulin using, dose, food you are feeding, and any other medical conditions, if applicable, in your signature line (go to your Profile and click on signature). That way others here can help you more quickly.

Cost-wise, you want to look at which insulin is going to work best for your cat. You can get Lantus, a longer-lasting, more gentle insulin at a great price from Mark's Pharmacy. Your vet just has to fax in an RX. https://rxcanada4less.com/search.php (type in Lantus in the Enter Product Name Here box. Many members here order from Mark's Pharmacy. You can also check the For Sale section in this forum; there are often members selling insulins. Other options are seeing if a phamarcy, nursing home or hospital will sell you a single pen.

The one good thing about Novolin is that it exits the body quickly so if you switch to a longer lasting depot insulin like Lantus, there's no need to wait a few days. You also don't have to wait if you decide to switch to ProZinc.

There is no need to use more than one meter. Most of us use a human meter (ReliOn Micro or Confirm). Stick to one meter. It will be confusing to us if you go back and forth between meters.

Again, here's BJM glucometer chart. You can show it to your vet if necessary. It is an excellent guide to help you in a hypo crisis and tell you when to shoot insulin or not:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oI_34_EgqeKdpyttFW0oLoG1mbw16IkATAWHhoQD2JU/pub

And here's a link to creating a spreadsheet. This will help us help you faster.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...te-a-ss-and-link-it-in-your-signature.130337/
 
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@Ozzy, CatMa makes a good point about Novolin not staying in Ozzy's system for 12 hours. If it's at all financially feasible, I'd look into switching his insulin.

A vial of Prozinc is $95 on ValleyVet.com. Your vet will need to fax in a scrip and they'll ship it overnight with cold packs for free. The vial would last probably 3-4 months. You'll also need U40 syringes,which you can find for a decent price online.

Also look at the link CatMa provided for Lantus. You'll need U100 syringes for Lantus, and I think you can buy them cheaply at Walmart. (Sorry, I don't know which syringes you use for Novolin so you probably already have some syringes.)

Ozzy is doing better on the lower dose, but he'd probably do even better on an insulin that stays in his system for the full 12 hours.

I know all this is overwhelming and you're doing a good job for your furry friend!
 
Ozzy said:
Tested him again near 11am and he was at 90. I think that's closer to where I would want him to be at his low at 12pm. I think I am on track now so long as he doesn't get too high before feeding tonight.
Click to expand...

If you have some time try and set-up the spreadsheet, only takes a few minutes.
 
Cat Ma said:
CJ was on Novolin N and the day I learned to home test, she went hypo. Then she went into remission so I am not familiar with how to adjust doses. I can say that Novolin did not last longer than 6-8 hours in CJ. If you want optimum benefits from this insulin, you'd need to give it every 8 hours. But few caregivers can do that.

From looking at your latest numbers in your post above, though, the #'s are looking good at the lower dose. Ozzy doesn't appear to bouncing from one extreme to another.

See this primer for feeding. Feeding should be an hour before shooting per primer, not 2 hours before. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/humulin-n-primer.303/

Note: Humulin and Novolin are the same. They are just made by different manufacturers.

What are you feeding Ozzy?

It will help us help you if you can put the date Ozzy was diagnosed, insulin using, dose, food you are feeding, and any other medical conditions, if applicable, in your signature line (go to your Profile and click on signature). That way others here can help you more quickly.

Cost-wise, you want to look at which insulin is going to work best for your cat. You can get Lantus, a longer-lasting, more gentle insulin at a great price from Mark's Pharmacy. Your vet just has to fax in an RX. https://rxcanada4less.com/search.php (type in Lantus in the Enter Product Name Here box. Many members here order from Mark's Pharmacy. You can also check the For Sale section in this forum; there are often members selling insulins. Other options are seeing if a phamarcy, nursing home or hospital will sell you a single pen.

The one good thing about Novolin is that it exits the body quickly so if you switch to a longer lasting depot insulin like Lantus, there's no need to wait a few days. You also don't have to wait if you decide to switch to ProZinc.

There is no need to use more than one meter. Most of us use a human meter (ReliOn Micro or Confirm). Stick to one meter. It will be confusing to us if you go back and forth between meters.

Again, here's BJM glucometer chart. You can show it to your vet if necessary. It is an excellent guide to help you in a hypo crisis and tell you when to shoot insulin or not:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oI_34_EgqeKdpyttFW0oLoG1mbw16IkATAWHhoQD2JU/pub

And here's a link to creating a spreadsheet. This will help us help you faster.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...te-a-ss-and-link-it-in-your-signature.130337/
Click to expand...


For what it's worth Mark's pharmacy isn't accepting new patients. I've used 77canadapharmacy.net with good success, little bit more $ than Mark's but $200 cheaper than US pharmacy.
 
granadilla said:
@Ozzy

Also look at the link CatMa provided for Lantus. You'll need U100 syringes for Lantus, and I think you can buy them cheaply at Walmart. (Sorry, I don't know which syringes you use for Novolin so you probably already have some syringes.)
Click to expand...

The u100 syringes are used for Novolin. If ProZinc is preferred, I believe there's a handy conversion chart somewhere here so the u100 syringes can still be used. They come in handy when half doses are needed.
 
pevsfreedom said:
For what it's worth Mark's pharmacy isn't accepting new patients. I've used 77canadapharmacy.net with good success, little bit more $ than Mark's but $200 cheaper than US pharmacy.
Click to expand...

Mark's Pharmacy had a Lantus shortage and a waiting list a few months ago but that has been lifted. I don't see any notice that they are not accepting new patients. Good to know about the other website you mentioned.
 
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