Help With Curve

[GeeshyCat]

I'm having a hard time getting Geesh's numbers down. He's been above 450 the past week.

I'm able to do a curve today and just reached the half-way point.

I spoke with my vet both yesterday and today and was told I may need to up his insulin but never go above three units. He was getting one unit for a few weeks after a hypo scare and numbers below 200. I went up to two and per the vet, went up to 2.5 today. I also have awful needles that have the lines incredibly close together so I don't even know if 2.5 is accurate enough because they only go in full number increments.

So far his numbers today:
Preshot: High (600+)
2.5 units (Vetsulin) given at 8:30 am
592 @ 10:30
410 @ 12:30
484 @ 2:30
562@ 4:30

I honestly have no idea what I'm doing and no matter how much I read, I feel like I'm too stupid to fully understand this.

Thank you everyone

 

[Kris & Teasel]

was told I may need to up his insulin but never go above three units.

There are many cats who end up needing more than 3 units twice a day. However, you work up to that dose slowly, carefully and in small increments.

He was getting one unit for a few weeks after a hypo scare and numbers below 200.

Was he started on 1 unit twice a day? That's the usual starting dose for Vetsulin. What was his hypo number? If you got numbers below 200 and a hypo on 1 unit twice a day that indicates that 1 unit BID might have been too high a dose.

I went up to two and per the vet,

What caused the increase to 2 u BID after low numbers on 1 u BID?

I also have awful needles that have the lines incredibly close together so I don't even know if 2.5 is accurate enough because they only go in full number increments.

Vetsulin is a U40 insulin. You can buy U40 syringes with half unit marks online from adwdiabetes.com. It's also possible to dose Vetsulin with U100 syringes and a conversion chart to get tiny dose fractions:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/insulin-conversions.htm

Re curve values: It's inpossible to know if the high numbers are from too high a dose or too low a dose of insulin. My feeling is that 2.5 u is too high based on what you've said so far. Would you consider setting up a spreadsheet like we use her to track all your BG data? It's viewable by all members and is the first thing we look at before offering advice.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

 

[GeeshyCat]

He was actually started on 4 units twice a day and remained on that until the beginning of July. His hypo number was 43 I believe and that was from receiving 4 units but I was also clueless and not testing constantly like I am now. After that happened my vet said to stick with one unit twice a day. On one unit at the beginning, his numbers were below 200 every check and some times it was low enough to not even need insulin. It started going high about a week ago and that's when he said to up it.
Hopefully that makes sense ?!

I'm on my phone but I will be starting a spreadsheet soon. I basically just have numbers jotted down in a billion different places and I need to put them together.

 

[Kris & Teasel]

He was actually started on 4 units twice a day and remained on that until the beginning of July. His hypo number was 43 I believe and that was from receiving 4 units but I was also clueless and not testing constantly like I am now. After that happened my vet said to stick with one unit twice a day. On one unit at the beginning, his numbers were below 200 every check and some times it was low enough to not even need insulin. It started going high about a week ago and that's when he said to up it.
Hopefully that makes sense ?!

I'm on my phone but I will be starting a spreadsheet soon. I basically just have numbers jotted down in a billion different places and I need to put them together.

If he was doing well on 1 unit BID and started going higher that's usually a sign that something is going on. Two very common causes of rising BGs are dental issues and urinary tract infections. Maybe it's worth having these things checked out.

 

[GeeshyCat]

If he was doing well on 1 unit BID and started going higher that's usually a sign that something is going on. Two very common causes of rising BGs are dental issues and urinary tract infections. Maybe it's worth having these things checked out.

What should I do until I can get him in? I'm a full time student and only work during the summer so money is tight so emergency vet is out of the question, especially after a bad experience with them and his hypo episode. Should I stick with the 2.5 units for now or change the dosage? My regular vet will most likely fit him in Monday. Thanks for your response.

 

[Kris & Teasel]

What should I do until I can get him in? I'm a full time student and only work during the summer so money is tight so emergency vet is out of the question, especially after a bad experience with them and his hypo episode. Should I stick with the 2.5 units for now or change the dosage? My regular vet will most likely fit him in Monday. Thanks for your response.

If his BGs are OK on 2.5 units, keep that dose until you see your vet.

 

[JanetNJ]

I might do 3 units of you can test during the cycle. It would be super helpful if you could set up the spreadsheet linked above. We can help you set that up if you are needing help. It will be a good visual to show the vet as well.