She's never had a dose that high before though, so a bit worried about increasing it, she's lost all her excess weight, and I was hoping that would have made a significant difference to her doses, but apparently not
She needs what she needs. A few weeks ago my cat was on 1.5-2u and now is on 2.5-3. Your cat is in the pinks. We want her in the blues.
Hi
She's not weeing or drinking abnormally either, her appetite is normal, her coat is glossy, no dandruff which she had when first diagnosed... She's alert and playful xx
The new insulin cartridge was started on Wednesday
Glad you are seeing better numbers. Can you test at +4?
Yes I will do
No, I have a pen, not syringes... I thought 10, ( in the blues) was good
ITs definitely better! Ideally you want to get her under 7. You can use syringes with the pen. Just use the pen as a mini vial.
What I meant was I don't have any syringes I had a look at one, but I can't see the measurements, they went up in .5, not .25....Would it be better to have a stricter feeding routine, rather than having small meals several times a day, have just 2 maybe? The trouble is she only eats very little at a time, so could end up by evening very hungry, and I have two cats, so could be difficult
U40's have half unit markings but not 0.25... But if you go half way between the whole number and half line, that's 0.25. Syringes that hold only 3/10 cc are easier to see. A magnifying glass may help if it's still hard to see.
Probably a bit of a bounce. Your cat isn't used to being in lower numbers so the body is releasing stored glucose to protect itself. Hopefully once her body adjusts to lower numbers some of the bouncing will subside. I understand how frustrating it is. But on the positive side, yeah for a blue number today!I've just done another test +6 is 21.9, I really don't understand these results at all..
She is probably getting most of the water she needs from her food. You are giving her insulin so she's feeling better... So that's a great thing!
Added.....She has mostly Mac's wet canned food, and occasionally Lily's kitchen
).
Hi Eliz,@Elizabeth and Bertie@Sue Hammond
Hi Sue, I think there may be a couple of things going on.
I think Molly is getting some bouncing (from numbers dropping too fast and/or too low for her comfort); and I also think she's not getting good duration from the Caninsulin, so this is possibly exacerbating the bounce problem (the numbers are going higher than they otherwise might, and maybe for longer).
It may well be that a gentler, longer-lasting insulin would suit Molly better. However, we've talked about this before and I know there are some things that mean this isn't currently possible:
1. Your current vet doesn't want to change insulin.
2. You don't feel able to use syringes (because of your vision problem).
A different vet may well be willing to prescribe a different insulin.
And maybe it's worth just practicing using the syringes that you have (the ones with .5 unit markings) by drawing up coloured water into them. I practiced on oranges when I first started injecting, and quite a few people do that. It may be that using syringes isn't going to be as hard as you imagine. But if it is too difficult, then at least you'll know you gave it your best shot (no pun intended!
If none of the above is possible then your only option, with regard to insulin, will be to experiment with the Caninsulin dose to find out what works best for Molly at any given time. And it may well be that her numbers do even out over time.
It might also be worth experimenting with different foods. Some cats are quite sensitive to foods for all kinds of reasons (carb sensitivity, or sensitivity to one or other of the ingredients), and their BG can spike as a result of that.
It's still relatively 'early days' so there's every chance that Molly's BG situation can and will improve.
And there have certainly been improvements in Molly's health since she's been on insulin, despite the fluctuating numbers. This is really good news.
Eliz
It’s only 4 months. Not a super long time, and you’ve already said that she’s feeling better. My cat Cc didn’t even see a yellow number until 3 months and 3 units.
@Elizabeth and Bertie we don't have another Vet in our town, and I don't drive, so it would be difficult travelling on a bus carrying her, and also more stressful, so we'll have to stick to our current Vet I'm afraid@Sue Hammond
Hi Sue, I think there may be a couple of things going on.
I think Molly is getting some bouncing (from numbers dropping too fast and/or too low for her comfort); and I also think she's not getting good duration from the Caninsulin, so this is possibly exacerbating the bounce problem (the numbers are going higher than they otherwise might, and maybe for longer).
It may well be that a gentler, longer-lasting insulin would suit Molly better. However, we've talked about this before and I know there are some things that mean this isn't currently possible:
1. Your current vet doesn't want to change insulin.
2. You don't feel able to use syringes (because of your vision problem).
A different vet may well be willing to prescribe a different insulin.
And maybe it's worth just practicing using the syringes that you have (the ones with .5 unit markings) by drawing up coloured water into them. I practiced on oranges when I first started injecting, and quite a few people do that. It may be that using syringes isn't going to be as hard as you imagine. But if it is too difficult, then at least you'll know you gave it your best shot (no pun intended!
If none of the above is possible then your only option, with regard to insulin, will be to experiment with the Caninsulin dose to find out what works best for Molly at any given time. And it may well be that her numbers do even out over time.
It might also be worth experimenting with different foods. Some cats are quite sensitive to foods for all kinds of reasons (carb sensitivity, or sensitivity to one or other of the ingredients), and their BG can spike as a result of that.
It's still relatively 'early days' so there's every chance that Molly's BG situation can and will improve.
And there have certainly been improvements in Molly's health since she's been on insulin, despite the fluctuating numbers. This is really good news.
Eliz
I dose my own cat more aggressively when I am home and more conservatively when I am not. I can’t test at all during the day because I work. (In home this week for winter break). So I do a little less then I would give otherwise. In the evening in home, so unless I'm really tired and not sure I can be up, I dose a little more aggressively.Hi Eliz,@Elizabeth and Bertie
I feel like I'm at my wit's end to be honest with you, I really feel like it's all going wrong for Molly....I have been feeding Mac's and the occasional Lily's kitchen, the same variety's, which are both low carb, high protein, and high moisture content, I haven't changed her diet at all since she was first diagnosed...Maybe I should increase to 2.5u but only when I can be home all day to watch her and test several times a day...I'd worry about giving 2.5u at night in case she dropped too low during the night, sometimes on the odd occasion she has been as low as 5 pre am shot, so giving 2.5 could send her crashing, that's my only worry
I think that's what I'm going to have to do, but I'm out most of tomorrow so will start 2.5 on Tuesday when I'll be home all day, if her am test is high. Dosing every 8 hours won't be very convenient really, but it would probably be better for Molly... I'm going to email her spreadsheet to my vet on Tuesday, see what he says about maybe changing her Insulin, but I'm pretty sure it'll be a no again
Dosing every 8 hours can be a complete an utter nightmare and takes an extraordinary amount of work on the part of the caregiver to keep the cat safe. I've seen a few members here go through it and it's not something I'd recommend undertaking unless there was a dire medical necessity to do so.
Thank you very much for your kind offer, I'll send the spreadsheet to my Vet, and see where we go from there first, then I'll get back to you, thank you xxx
No problem, wait to hear if you would like to try after vet advice. Our experience was that vet won't necessarily suggest alternative syringes but was happy once she knew we had researched and were using the conversion chart.
I really don't like syringes tbh, as my sight isn't great drawing up the dose, even with a magnifying glass , and also have never been shown properly how to use them... I've only ever used a Vetpen....I know with prozinc it'll be syringes, so I guess one way or another I'll have to get used to them, I'm just terrified of giving the wrong dose..x
Totally know where you are at. We went straight to syringes so don't know about vet pen. But found the u100' s not too bad. It really does get easier the more practice you have. I used to double and triple check before injecting!. Once you start to feel a little more confident with how Molly reacts to doses and can perhaps adjust more precisely you will feel happier I think.
Is it easy to convert to u100 syringes
Yes you use a conversion chart would send you a copy with syringes. Very easy. We worried when we thought about doing it but it really is no problem and ultimately gives you greater control and safety.
How have you found Caninsulin, have you had good results with it
A difficult question. Lila was 16y at diagnosis and at times I think it was ok. But we never achieved good regulation consistently. In hindsight a different insulin may have helped. But Molly is an individual and it really is difficult to generalise. Take a step at a time and be guided by the wealth of advice that people have on here and of course by your vet (but don't be afraid to research +++ and question your vet as you will quickly realise that there are gaps in vets experiences of diabetes).
It's all very confusing isn't it,. I hoped by now after 4 months she would have settled a bit, I know it's still early days, she has had the occasional yellow sometimes blue and even though rarely has been n the green for her amps test, but the next morning it's up in the pinks again, that's what I'm having problems understanding, why it's fluctuating so much..We had a period of being in the blues for a few days only some weeks ago...When we took Molly to the Vet a couple of weeks ago he said she's doing well, so I really don't think after saying that he will change her to prozinc..
I don't have syringes Janet, also have never been shown how to use them