380 to 173 in +2 hours. What Do You Guys Think?

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Ozzy Pawzbourne

Ozzy Pawzbourne

Member Since 2016
I went back to the 1U for the last 3 shots because the 1.25 and 1.5 were giving Ozzy big drops and low numbers.

Since it is a work day, I gave Ozzy 1 U and headed off to work and was not able to monitor him for the first cycle today. I'm sure a lot of folks here can relate when I say that at work all day, I just kept wondering what his numbers were! Tonight I am able to monitor a little. I gave Ozzy his dinner around 7:30pm. He ate half of it (about 1.5 oz) and has been nibbling on the rest throughout the last hour or two. He was given 1U of Vestulin about 15 mins after dinner. I just tested him a +2 and he is down to 173. This is where he was at last night at +4 so he dipped down much quicker tonight on the same dose.

What do you guys think? He ate a few more nibbles of his food after I just tested him. He's fine. Obviously his numbers are still ok, I'm just worried about +4. He only had 1U of insulin. Seems odd for him to be throwing such a big drop so soon. He is still on all wet food, Fancy Feast Classics.

Thanks in advance for your comments.
 
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That is a pretty big drop but Vetsulin tends to give those big drops....that's one of the reasons it's not a really good insulin for cats

If he just ate a little more, I'd plan on testing again at +3 to see if he's still dropping so fast
 
Ozzy Pawzbourne said:
I'm sure a lot of folks here can relate when I say that at work all day, I just kept wondering what his numbers were!
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We sure can relate to that overwhelming niggling going on in your head as you try to be present elsewhere!

Now as for Ozzy and his inclination for the dramatic, how much longer are you willing and able to monitor him? He's doing fine now but you've caught him dropping early in the cycle which means you can simply monitor for now and see where he goes without intervention unless it becomes necessary or you can try to steer him a bit now to slow down his drop. Also what kind of meter are you using?
 
He is a bit dramatic, isn't he? He's a big baby.

I can't stay up too late tonight. I have been exhausted all day and have an important meeting first thing in the morning. I am going to test him again in 15 mins =+3. I'll give him some more food and leave a little out in case he wants to snack through the night. I'm not going to freak out this time.

I am using the relion prime from Walmart.
 
If you are concerned at all, do you have some higher carb food you could put out for him if he is still being a drama king?
 
Yes, I still have some dry on hand from before his DKA episode.

If things look too low at +3, I'll intervene and give the dry.:banghead:
 
You do what you gotta do with these guys. You might want to pick up some higher carb food to keep on hand for these situations. Fancy Feast with Gravy is a good choice as are some of the Friskies. Good idea to keep some in a hypo kit. :)
 
Good suggestions. We still have dry on hand and some wet with gravy, spinach, and carrots. Will get the brand you suggested next time I am at the store. Have Karo and honey too- but I am not thinking I am needing that tonight.

Doesn't seem like Ozzy is tolerating this insulin very well.

Could it be that now that he lost weight (from his DKA episode) and he is now on all wet food only- that he is needing even loser doses in just a week?
 
Absolutely. If you just transitioned him to a wet diet, that likely explains the need for less insulin. It can make a substantial difference in some kitties and in some cases even alleviate the need for insulin altogether.
 
Just to give more background: He was on half wet half dry before DKA and came home from the hospital with insulin and an immediate transition to all wet. That was 11 days ago. He was never on dry food with insulin -except for a few bites when he wasn't eating well when we brought him home and this past saturday when he dropped to 66.
 
Just tested him again at + 3 hours and 15 mins. BG=143. Going to give him some more food. I think he will be ok. Seems his drop slowed.
 
Every cat reacts differently at differing carb levels. Most dry foods (there are only 2 or 3 exceptions) are too high in carbs. Some dry is as high as 40%. Even if he was on low carb wet and dry, taking the dry away would still have an impact on his BG levels.

Has Ozzy seemed off since he started the insulin? Lethargic, sleeping a lot, not as playful or social? From your data it looks like the Vetsulin is not lasting the full cycle. Seems to be petering out around +7 or so and those ups and downs can be hard on the cat. It's early days right now and you've just made a diet change so I'd be inclined to stay the course for now unless there are other symptoms suggesting he is not tolerating the Vetsulin.

He has indeed slowed down considerably so if you leave out some food for him he should be fine. He seems to have usually been getting peek action around +4 and may just have had a little earlier nadir tonight. Sometimes dose changes will do that.
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
Has Ozzy seemed off since he started the insulin? Lethargic, sleeping a lot, not as playful or social?
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He has only been on the insulin for about a week and a half. The first few days home he was very lethargic and not eating well. We had to return to syringe feeding. He did not eat at all in the hospital and was syringe fed there. When he came home, he would eat on his own but not enough and he needed nutrition after coming out of DKA. I think his lethargy after coming home was related to the traumatic experience he went through emotionally and physically as well as all the meds he was on (antibiotics, anti nausea, appetite stimulant, potassium supplements). Since we stopped all those, he has been so much better. The past few days he has been doing really good. He's acting completely normal right now. Just ate another snack and back in his kitty bed to stare at the Christmas lights.
 
I'm going to hit the sack. Stayed up later than I wanted and have a big meeting in the am. Thank you Mr. WorfMen's Mom for staying up with me and giving such great feedback.
 
Joanna,

If you get home a few hours before PMPS is due try to grab a BG test as soon as you get in the door. This data can help you to discover what sort of duration Ozzy's getting on the Vetsulin dose.

Glad to hear you sounding a bit brighter in yourself now; you're doing really, really well with looking after Ozzy the Pawsome.

:bighug:


Mogs
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