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Mary Ann Suchma

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yod is 15, neutered male, 18 lbs ( large cat, vet says he is not obese) diagnosed at the end of August. He is on 4 units of Prozinc, switched to Fancy Feast classics two weeks ago. Alphatrak 2 meter His blood glucose is running from 300 to 700's, but three hours ago it was,120. I gave him the 4 units expecting it to counter the food, but now his reading is 52. I put 1/2 tsp honey on his gums. Is this enough? I am waiting on my son to translate the spreadsheet to Google docs so I cannot post it yet. (Using MAC and iPad, I couldn't get it to work myself.)
 
Mary Ann Suchma said:
yod is 15, neutered male, 18 lbs ( large cat, vet says he is not obese) diagnosed at the end of August. He is on 4 units of Prozinc, switched to Fancy Feast classics two weeks ago. Alphatrak 2 meter His blood glucose is running from 300 to 700's, but three hours ago it was,120. I gave him the 4 units expecting it to counter the food, but now his reading is 52. I put 1/2 tsp honey on his gums. Is this enough? I am waiting on my son to translate the spreadsheet to Google docs so I cannot post it yet. (Using MAC and iPad, I couldn't get it to work myself.)
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@Mary Ann Suchma


Was the 120 reading at preshot time? How long after the shot was the 52 reading?

You need to Continue with small amounts of syrup and a bit of HC gravy. The syrup will wear off fairly quickly. With using an AT2 meter you want the glucose levels to stay above 68. You also will need to retest every 20-30 minutes until you see the numbers rising.

It sounds like 4 units is too high a dose, especially if the preshot was only 120
 
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Have you done another test yet?? Can you fill in some of the information I asked about too please and thank you.
 
120 was prefeeding, but he was running so high in general (usually in 300's) that I figured the food would take it up agin. I just gave him honey and a can of Fancy Feast chunky chicken and tuna just now. I just realized he might have thrown up the can I gave him several hours ago, I found barf but didn't put two and two together until just now. I have other cats. He is not showing any symptoms other than the vague ones he has been showing for weeks. He started on 2 units of Prozinc the last week of August, I got the meter 9/5. (My own Contour next meter was totally and inconsistently off, by the way. His numbers were high at mid cycle so the vet said to increase to 4 units. Got my to retest him right now
 
Ok thank you. That 120 preshot was low to be giving the 4 units. Insulin requirements can change from day to day which is why regular home testing is so important.

How many hours after the shot did you get the 52 reading? Prozinc usually has the nadir (lowest number) between +5-+7 hours after the shot so it is important to know where in the cycle you are. Please do another test and post the reading.


Also not all kitties will show signs when they drop into low numbers or go into a hypo...some do and some don't so testing is the best way to know what is happening
 
I don't see you on the forum anymore now...please do continue to test Yod to make sure the numbers do not drop again. Honey will boost the numbers but wears off quickly. Depending on how many hours after the shot you are at would determine whether honey, high carb or regular food is needed. Prozinc will usually have a peak effect +5-+7 hours after the shot.

I have to do some chores but will check back periodically to see if you have posted updated information.

When dealing with a possible emergency situation please post on the Health forum:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/feline-health-the-main-forum.28/

You will get more "eyes" on your post to help you out.
 
Was on the phone with my son trying to get the spreadsheet going so you can see his numbers in an accessible way. I will enter the information and post it. Have to retest now.
Up to 88 just now. Thank you all for your advice. My vet is good with animals but maybe not the best communicator. I had been entering Yoda's numbers in a human diabetes app and sending it to him, and then following his advice. He told me to double the dose over a week ago but maybe based on what I have read on here that was too much since I was changing his food from Friskies pate (1/2 can per day with Iams dry available) to fancy feast pates (2 cans per day) recommended on the link to catinfo.org. I cannot afford the $11/lb for the Ff naturals in broth, but boneless chicken breast at Aldi's is $3/ lb so I might start grinding that up. Does anyone have an opinion on cooking it vs raw?
I will keep testing him to make sure his number keeps going up. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the advice on a Sunday afternoon when my vet would not be available. I am retired, don't have money for the emergency vet and the 6 cats I am feeding.
 
Mary Ann Suchma said:
Was on the phone with my son trying to get the spreadsheet going so you can see his numbers in an accessible way. I will enter the information and post it. Have to retest now.
Up to 88 just now. Thank you all for your advice. My vet is good with animals but maybe not the best communicator. I had been entering Yoda's numbers in a human diabetes app and sending it to him, and then following his advice. He told me to double the dose over a week ago but maybe based on what I have read on here that was too much since I was changing his food from Friskies pate (1/2 can per day with Iams dry available) to fancy feast pates (2 cans per day) recommended on the link to catinfo.org. I cannot afford the $11/lb for the Ff naturals in broth, but boneless chicken breast at Aldi's is $3/ lb so I might start grinding that up. Does anyone have an opinion on cooking it vs raw?
I will keep testing him to make sure his number keeps going up. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the advice on a Sunday afternoon when my vet would not be available. I am retired, don't have money for the emergency vet and the 6 cats I am feeding.
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Thanks for the update. We NEVER double a dose once it is over 1 unit. Dose changes are usually done in 1/4 or 1/2 unit changes. By changing to low carb wet food that can certainly have impacted the insulin requirements. Sometimes if a kitty drops low or drops fast the body's natural defences kick in and release stored glucose (glucogen) which can cause high numbers for a few days. Regular testing before each shot and at least once between shots...with Prozinc a +4 or +5 test would be good...will tell how low the dose is taking Yod.


The 88 sounds good...especially if it later in the cycle. If you are having trouble setting up the spreadsheet just ask and there are several people on here that can help you get it set up quickly.

Normally this sort of discussion is done on the Health forum:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/feline-health-the-main-forum.28/

but I didn't want to make you change forums if there was a possible emergency.
 
His glucose is up to 225, fed him another 1/2 can, will give him only 2 units in 90 minutes. The vet started him on 2 units, told me to go up to 4. I don't know whether this is because he is such a big cat or because his numbers were still high on 2 units.
 
If I were you I would reduce the dose further to 1 unit tonight. With those low numbers earlier today, it's possible that Yoda will be a little more sensitive to the insulin so I would dose cautiously especially since you have recently made a diet change which may have lowered his insulin needs considerably. The BG reading you just got could be partly due to a phenomenon called bouncing which often occurs after a lower BG earlier in the cycle. So no matter how high the BG is at shot time, I would only give 1 unit tonight.
 
If you're really interested in making cat food I would check out http://catinfo.org/making-cat-food/ Just plain chicken/lamb/rabbit isn't going to provide all the necessary nutrients for your kitty to stay healthy.

Maybe pop in over at the prozinc forums http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/prozinc-pzi.24/ and be sure to read all the stickies at the top. They contain some very informative details regarding using prozinc. It isn't a highly trafficked area but there's usually someone around to help if you have questions. And you can always post on the Main Health forum.

Using the AT2 meter in the beginning you may want to raise your "no shoot" number to 225-250 until you have more data. I don't have any advice on dosing, but doubling insulin dosage is pretty risky. We usually do 1/4 or 1/2 unit increases and see how it goes for 3+ cycles.
 
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