Newbie.... BG = 69....help! [latest = +8/108]

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tiffmaxee said:
Once a day dosing is not a good idea. Better to shoot .25 every 12 hours.
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I can ask her if that's OK. How do you even do a dose that small? I can barely manage 1/2 unit -- I just don't see well enough. My syringes are .3 cc with half-unit markings. Are there better ones available?
 
tiffmaxee said:
Under 50 means to give hc or Karo and test every 20 minutes until coming up. And staying up at least in the high 50's -60's. I wouldn't call it an emergency number. I don't think that's what you meant. You wouldn't rush to the ER if your cat drooped under 50, unless there were signs of distress or you couldn't bring her up with food or Karo, right?
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You are absolutely correct. I did NOT mean that those numbers denoted an emergency, rather a marker for a point of attention to lower numbers. Thanks for catching that and bringing it to my attention so I could make it clear! :):):)
 
Cheri V said:
I can ask her if that's OK. How do you even do a dose that small? I can barely manage 1/2 unit -- I just don't see well enough. My syringes are .3 cc with half-unit markings. Are there better ones available?
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Do you have a good magnifying glass?

I hope Gracie is doing well and you have an uneventful night! :bighug:
 
Cheri V said:
I can ask her if that's OK. How do you even do a dose that small? I can barely manage 1/2 unit -- I just don't see well enough. My syringes are .3 cc with half-unit markings. Are there better ones available?
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Unfortunately they don't make syringes in quarter unit markings but there is a way. I use calipers. Here's a video to watch that Marje made on how the use them. Until you get them you could make a paper one. Lantus doesn't usually work for more than 12 hours.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dosing-with-calipers-updated-w-videos.79851/

Also in addition to a magnifying glass you can wear two pair of reading glasses on top of each other.
 
Thanks..... I will figure it out.

Just got another email from the vet at CSU. She pointed out that Gracie often has odd reactions to medications -- she over-reacts to stuff. So the rules for cats in general may not apply to Gracie. It could be it's a Cornish Rex thing. When I was learning how to test, the vet told me practice on my other cats and I got BG of 52 and 53 on my other two rexes. These are healthy cats (except for IBD and heart disease, like Gracie) who eat high carb dry food. Interesting that their "normal" is down at the bottom of the scale.
 
Cheri V said:
Thanks..... I will figure it out.

Just got another email from the vet at CSU. She pointed out that Gracie often has odd reactions to medications -- she over-reacts to stuff. So the rules for cats in general may not apply to Gracie. It could be it's a Cornish Rex thing. When I was learning how to test, the vet told me practice on my other cats and I got BG of 52 and 53 on my other two rexes. These are healthy cats (except for IBD and heart disease, like Gracie) who eat high carb dry food. Interesting that their "normal" is down at the bottom of the scale.
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That could be a possibility. Obviously she knows Gracie well. I would ask her about the once a day vs twice a day dosing, though. As tifmaxee said, Lantus is usually given on a 12-hr schedule. It doesn't really last more than 12 hours.

As far as her saying you're poking Gracie too much - I don't know why some vets are so resistant to clients home testing their cats, but we see it a lot. The only way to ensure the safety of your cat is to home test!
 
My vet at one point was going to have me give different doses morning and night because he thought it would be too hard to make .25 changes. I explained how I could do it using calipers. Problem solved.
 
A useful optical tool to help with measuring doses is a jeweller's loupe.


iu




Try Ebay for a cheap 'n' cheerful one.


Mogs
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Thanks again everyone for lots of helpful ideas! At 1:00 PM today after 24 hours without insulin, Gracie's BG was 118. That was after eating fairly normally (for her) all morning. She was due for her next shot but I didn't give it. Our local vet is back in town and when I updated her about Gracie's weekend, she said continue to test daily but don't give insulin unless I get two consecutive BG's over 200-250, or one over 300. (She waffled a bit about the lower number -- first said 200, then 250). I also asked the CSU vet for her opinion, haven't heard back.
 
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