New to this and would appreciate some feedback for Dewey

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Kristin and Dewey

Kristin and Dewey

Member Since 2020
Hello all! My Dewey was diagnosed in May with an initial BG of over 700. I begin to scour the internet for advice because I was so worried and my vet wasn't telling me much. I have been reading posts and information on here since then and have finally gotten to filling out the spreadsheet. I don't know if I am doing enough BGs for you to be able to help but I am willing to do what I need to do.
After over a month of frustration I decided to restart the insulin at 1u and work up every 3 days by .25u. His BGs are so high it is driving me crazy but I want to get it right this time. I am now at 1.5u twice a day but still not getting good numbers. My vet started us at 3u, then after glucose curve was high increased to 4u, then again to 5u after another high curve. I then put Dewey on low-carb wet food and dropped to 3u. His BGs were irratic but better until I started worrying I wasn't giving enough kcals. I weighed him and he was 11.4#! He has been anywhere from 13.5-17 since I rescued him 11 1/2 years ago. He looks healthiest at around 15#. I decided to use Tiki Cat since it is much more calorie-dense than some of the others. He eats 2 6oz cans per day but BG has been up and he hasn't gained weight. He is a large cat and I wonder about acromegaly but don't know. The last time he was at the vet I was told to bring him back in 2 months for a Hemoglobin A1C and to continue his dry food (Royal Canin Urinary SO). At that point I took over myself, changed the diet and lowered the insulin level.
If any of you experienced and generous people could peak at my SS and let me know what you think I would be so thankful! I hate seeing my boy so skinny and sick.

PS He has never had any ketones, even at the first visit.
 
It looks like you're not getting AM Pre-shot tests....it's important to get both AMPS and PMPS every time and then at least 1-2 tests between the shots on both cycles. You're doing great on the PM cycle but keep trying to get 1 or 2 in between the AM and PM shot.

I think it was probably a mistake to drop all the way back to 1U although I know there are some groups on Facebook that advocate "starting over" a lot. Dropping all the way back isn't always the answer.

With his nadir's still being above 300, you could go up by .5 and I'd probably try 2U tomorrow morning as long as he's above 250.

Vetsulin isn't a great insulin for most cats so you might also want to be considering trying one of the gentler ones like Lantus, Basaglar, Levemir or ProZinc.
 
Hi Kristin and Dewey
First of all welcome! And well done getting the spreadsheet up and running. And the signature!!
Just a couple of comments. ALWAYS test before every shot to make sure it is safe to give the dose.
Unregulated cats can’t absorb all the nutrients so will be hungry and can lose weight. Once regulated they will improve.
Are you feeding 30 minutes before giving the dose?
Vetsulin is not a good insulin for cats. You would be much better asking your vet to swap you to Lantus or Prozinc.

Keep asking questions we are very happy to help.
Bron
 
Thank you for the quick responses. I will increase his dosage to 2u in the morning. I just took over the morning shot from my husband because he didn't want to do the tests. I am up quite late and he is up very early so I have been having him give the shot but I will do it myself for now on. I do wait 20-30 minutes after a meal to give him his shot, especially because there have been a few times he wouldn't eat. I do plan to talk to my vet about switching insulins on my next bottle. I have read the Vetsulin guide. His BGs have been so high I hadn't worried as much about it but I will be more vigilant now. If anyone else has anything to add please do so. Thank you again!!
 
Kristin and Dewey said:
Thank you so much! He is the best! Now he is mostly all fluff since he lost so much weight. :(
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Can you get preshots and some mid cycle readings today? Or maybe this weekend? The easiest way for you to see if the dose is working is if you can get fail am/pm preshots and at least one mid cycle reading whenever possible. If you aren't home during the day, a before bed reading is helpful. I'm glad you raised the dose... If the numbers aren't down in a few days I'd try 2.5.
 
JanetNJ said:
Can you get preshots and some mid cycle readings today? Or maybe this weekend? The easiest way for you to see if the dose is working is if you can get fail am/pm preshots and at least one mid cycle reading whenever possible. If you aren't home during the day, a before bed reading is helpful. I'm glad you raised the dose... If the numbers aren't down in a few days I'd try 2.5.
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I will do that. Numbers don't look good so far. Thanks!
 
@JanetNJ


I kept reading how you can miss the optimal dosage if you increase too quickly and my vet had started him on 3u and went to 4u in a week then 5u in 2 more. I changed his food and increased his kcals per day and it wasn't controlled at 3u so I thought maybe I should start over like I kept reading on here. I had also read to not raise the dose by more than .25u at a time and to wait at least 3 days before changing it again unless there was hypo. I was trying to do it the recommended way. Guess not, though. I will raise it to 2.5 tonight.
 
Hello again! Dewey's BGs are still high so I am raising him to 3u. Frustrated that I am back to where I was when I did a reset but at least now I know for sure and followed protocol per Vetsulin guide. Poor guy is so tired of BG checks. I wish I could get him more stabilized. Hopefully it will happen before too long. :banghead:
 
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