Huge swing in BG readings

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Savin

Savin

Member Since 2016
Hi all,

Mango's vetsulin dosage was increased about a week ago, and I've been monitoring BGs closely to see how it's working out for her. Right before insulin, she's been at 304, 313, and 320; four hours after, she's been at 118, 155, and 147. Today, however, fours hours in she was at 54. Her behavior was fine, and she ate like a champ, so I monitored her for the next hour, after which her BG was 130. I called the emergency vet, with whom she has a relationship, whose advice was to lower the dose back down: she said this increased dosage obviously isn't working for Mango. Then, tonight, right before insulin, her BG was 457! I was expecting lower, especially since she got so low earlier today. And if the increased dosage isn't working for her, won't a lower dosage give her even higher numbers right before insulin? Can anybody explain this? Thanks!
 
My Callie does that also. I thought I read that with Vetsulin, the higher PS numbers is because the insulin has worn off. You can give her some food to push her numbers up if you think she might go hypo. I usually worry if her numbers are low just when she is due for a shot. After a while, you will get more experience with how she reacts to insulin. Every cat is different. You might try to buy some syringes that have 1/2 unit markings. If I try, I can give .25 or, .75unit doses that can help when trying to deal with changing doses. Some of the BD syringes have the half unit markings.

There is a section about Vetsulin with some stickies that explain how Vetsulin works and what to look for. I'm not a techie
so I cant copy and past with my phone.
 
donnalea said:
My Callie does that also. I thought I read that with Vetsulin, the higher PS numbers is because the insulin has worn off. You can give her some food to push her numbers up if you think she might go hypo. I usually worry if her numbers are low just when she is due for a shot. After a while, you will get more experience with how she reacts to insulin. Every cat is different. You might try to buy some syringes that have 1/2 unit markings. If I try, I can give .25 or, .75unit doses that can help when trying to deal with changing doses. Some of the BD syringes have the half unit markings.

There is a section about Vetsulin with some stickies that explain how Vetsulin works and what to look for. I'm not a techie
so I cant copy and past with my phone.
Click to expand...


Thanks - helpful reading. I appreciate the reference.
 
What you're seeing a typical Vetsulin cycle. It's a harsher, in/out insulin so it lasts only 8-10 hours and then it's gone, so the numbers shoot right back up by shot time. Carter was on Vetsulin briefly, and his numbers did pretty much the same thing, despite increasing/decreasing the dose. Refer to my spreadsheet if you want to take a gander! A higher dose can bring them down further during their nadir, but it will not necessarily keep them low throughout the cycle. Mango likely went higher by her shot time because her body reached a low number earlier that it wasn't used to (54), so the liver panicked and extra glucose was released into the body. This is also referred to as a "bounce".
 
Erica & Carter said:
What you're seeing a typical Vetsulin cycle. It's a harsher, in/out insulin so it lasts only 8-10 hours and then it's gone, so the numbers shoot right back up by shot time. Carter was on Vetsulin briefly, and his numbers did pretty much the same thing, despite increasing/decreasing the dose. Refer to my spreadsheet if you want to take a gander! A higher dose can bring them down further during their nadir, but it will not necessarily keep them low throughout the cycle. Mango likely went higher by her shot time because her body reached a low number earlier that it wasn't used to (54), so the liver panicked and extra glucose was released into the body. This is also referred to as a "bounce".
Click to expand...

Thanks for the helpful info!
 
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