? Curve Advice

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MamasBoBoMan

MamasBoBoMan

Member Since 2017
This is my first time doing a curve since my baby was diagnosed 2 weeks ago. Takes Novolin N (1.5ml twice daily) I will be doing it tomorrow. Any advice would be great!!

Also, generally I give him his 1st insulin shot around 6:00 a.m. when I leave for work, do you have to give them the insulin at the same time on the weekends also? Is there ever a time gap allowed?
 
Try as hard as possible to keep your timetables consistent, some insulins are more forgiving. Advice on Novolin will be coming.
As for your curve; do you free feed? will you be there for the first 6 hours and if possible more?
 
I can do whatever is necessary tomorrow, my schedule is open as I planned his curve already.

He has been free fed for about a week on YA but before he was only eating twice a day when on MD
 
Hi Chelsea! And Bo!
HERE is the basic Novolin Info - might be very useful!
Do you plan to include nightly hours into your curve project?
It would be very helpful because many cats go low naturally at night...

I have no Novolin experience - just general idea as to how any insulin might work - so I say as Noah & me - more experienced voices to be heard.

Basically you are aimed at finding out the onset (when the insulin starts working), then the nadir (the lowest point in given cycle), and then the duration (how long insulin at its current dose works) by performing curve - every 2 hours in 12 hours period or every 3 hours in 18 hours period. Feed as usual unless the BG numbers are dropping.

Record everything - the BG and the food - into the SS and then talk to someone Novolin experienced - it should help.

Best of luck!
 
JanetNJ said:
You can put a little neosporin ointment with pain relief on the ears of needed.
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Just a warning - I've heard that neosporin with pain relief (or any generic version) can be toxic to cats (possibly to dogs as well).

If you have other critters, please be careful that they neither lick the neosporin off your fingers nor off the sugar kitty's ear. My cats lick each other's ears all the time and I don't want to risk neosporin with pain relief for that reason alone.

In fact, one of my civvies had a nasty scratch on his back this past summer and the vet recommended neosporin, but specifically told me to avoid the kind with pain relief because of possible toxicity issues.
 
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I've tested 3 times so far, can someone look at his levels so far and better explain to me what it is starting to mean
 
I am using Neosporin with pain relief also but I need to stop since I've read this post. I am doing good getting blood out of his paw for my ReliOn meter which takes very little blood. Love that meter!! Before I got that meter I was wasting so many test strips couldn't get enough blood. Best meter I've had so far!
 
Lesliejm said:
I am using Neosporin with pain relief also but I need to stop since I've read this post. I am doing good getting blood out of his paw for my ReliOn meter which takes very little blood. Love that meter!! Before I got that meter I was wasting so many test strips couldn't get enough blood. Best meter I've had so far!
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Yes, I love Relion Micro too!!!
 
Good work getting the blood tests. It is called a curve b/c if you plot it on a graph you would see a u-shaped curve. You can see the action of His insulin is quite sharp, with a steep drop and then a steep rise, with very little time in the normal range. This is why it is called an in/out insulin. Now that you are comfortable with testing and shooting, and see the sharp action in your kitty, you might want to look into the longer acting, more gentle insulins like Lantus or Levemir. It would be easier on your kitty and more likely to achieve remission(although this isn't necessarily the goal, it is nice if it happens). In particular, you might want to check the articles by Roomp and Rand in the Lantus-specific forum.
 
Idk that his vet would write a new rx, they wanted me to bring him in for a curve but I did it at home instead. He has only been on insulin for 2 weeks so I'm so new at this.
 
I am so glad my vet chose Lantus. A change in food and being on Lantus has almost put my cat into remission this is not the case for everyone but I wouldn't switch from Lantus at all.
 
When I went to a vet down the street to get help with getting blood out of mangos ear they said they put their cats on a different insulin also. I guess it all depends on the vet and what they know I'm not really sure but that's my thinking
 
MamasBoBoMan said:
I wonder why the vet started him on Novolin N instead of Lantus if it's better for them. What's the difference?
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Like Leslie, I think that in the US at least it may be very much a case of vets going with the particular devil they know.

In the UK vets are legally bound to treat with either Caninsulin (aka Vetsulin) or Prozinc as these are the only two insulins currently with a full licence for use in cats. If the first one chosen doesn't do the job then they have to prescribe the other one next. It is only when both of those insulins have been tried that other insulins (e.g. Lantus, Levemir) may be prescribed under Drug Cascade rules. It's a bit of a sprag for UK kitties: given that there's evidence of cats treated with Lantus or Lev on the TR protocol within first 6 months after Dx having the greatest statistical chance of achieving remission, cats in the UK now have to go through two insulin types before they have a hope of getting onto a depot insulin. (When Saoirse was Dx'd only Caninsulin was licensed for cats at the time so I was able to switch her straight to Lantus once I could prove Caninsulin wasn't working for her.)


Mogs
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