Lily diagnosed today

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Any chance you can make a Walmart run before pre-shot in the morning? I probably would have recommended skipping if I knew you only had a couple strips left! Our hands are kinda tied here ... we can't be sure if she's safe tonight without testing, and she's dropped by half already. Vetsulin usually bottoms out in the beginning then shoots back up quickly but we don't have enough data to know what Lily does.
 
Well, I feed them at 8 and then I go to my father in laws house to take care of him and I thought after that I could go by Walmart. Is t ok to delay her shot in the morning to say 1 am?
 
Yes, why don't we delay tomorrow's shot-time ... and if needed just skip, since she has no history of ketones. That way we have another shot at watching her tonight.

Is it almost 3 hours past now?
 
Yes please. :) Are you getting the E13! error? If so, that's for not enough blood, so I might give two quick pokes next to each other to make sure you get a big drop.
 
Great job Sally! I like that we're staying put. I'm going to have you check one more time in 30 min since that's our last strip. Do you have any karo syrup? Honey? Maple syrup? If she is still dropping after that we need to prop her numbers up best we can. She's not in any danger but we don't want her going any lower, especially since we can't test!

Your pre-shot was fairly low for a new diabetic but I am somewhat wondering if we should drop to 0.10 units tomorrow as a precaution. How exactly was Lily diagnosed? Any diabetic symptoms?
 
Ok, I will check again in 30 min. I do have honey here. Not sure how to give 10 units it only has the 1 line. I just did half of that for her insulin tonight. I took Lily to the doctor because she had what I thought was a UTI because there was blood on the floor. The doctor couldn’t diagnose that because she couldn’t get any urine so she gave her an antibiotic shot and did bloodwork and the next day she told me she was diabetic.
 
0-1-units-100-u-dose-jpeg-jpg.56872


0.10 units is just barely more than the 0 line. This applies to both U-100s and U-40s, which I assume you are using.
You have half-units on your syringes correct? So you did half of 0.50? Just making sure.

So, was she drinking/peeing excessively, acting starving all the time, anything at all? Aside from blood on the floor from urine possibly?
 
No, mine just has the 1 so I had to estimate.25 and it didn’t look like much at all. She was peeing a lot and maybe drinking more than usual. Didn’t seem to be hungry more than usual.
 
Okay, I understand. That's very difficult to gauge without half-units. I think I would pick up some U-100 insulin syringes from Walmart (probably not tomorrow, pharmacy is closed) and use this conversion chart so you can make really small doses easily. Or Walgreens has them as well. You'd get the 0.3mL, not 0.5mL and make sure they have half units. Your choice but I think it will be easier for you. As for tomorrow, think of it as about a drop.

I am just curious because 0.25u is not much ... an UTI can cause high BG. Do you have a copy of that bloodwork? It's entirely possible her BG is falsely elevated and she doesn't actually need insulin.
 
Don't get your hopes up! xD But I just wonder ... I just think it's odd she was 77 at +8 on Vetsulin ... and not really any diabetic symptoms. I would like to know what kind of test they did to determine her diagnosis. Find out if they did a fructosamine and all that.

About time for a test?
 
Ah shoot! Okay, all we can really do is add a drop of honey to her food as a precaution and let her munch the high-carb tonight. Fingers crossed she's okay ... I don't like leaving her like that but not much I can do.
 
Ok, thanks very much for your support tonight! I will put some honey on the food. I think she will be fine. I will get strips in the morning and not give her insulin until I know where she is. Hope you sleep well. Thanks again.
 
No problem! It's getting a little late for us both huh! Scritches for Lily, hope she does fine. :cat: Let me know how she is tomorrow.
 
Wow Sally, you've been busy! Hi Elizabeth, I'm Sally's sister Patty as in Patty & Blue. Blue also has diabetes. Thanks for helping her. I'm just a couple months into this. Mogs, Elise and Jeanne help me.

Sally and I were discussing the possibility that the UTI caused the BG to go high. The numbers Sally is getting for Lily look so much better than Blue. I can tell Sally is hoping this is the case.

Good luck Sally. Doesn't Pappa have strips at his house? You could probably use those until you get some. Be safe and glad you have help. :bighug:
 
Hello Patty and Blue!

Blue doesn't have that bad of numbers himself! But yes, seems a little weird ... could be pre-diabetes brought on from the shot, but time will tell!
 
Patty and Blue said:
Wow Sally, you've been busy! Hi Elizabeth, I'm Sally's sister Patty as in Patty & Blue. Blue also has diabetes. Thanks for helping her. I'm just a couple months into this. Mogs, Elise and Jeanne help me.

Sally and I were discussing the possibility that the UTI caused the BG to go high. The numbers Sally is getting for Lily look so much better than Blue. I can tell Sally is hoping this is the case.

Good luck Sally. Doesn't Pappa have strips at his house? You could probably use those until you get some. Be safe and glad you have help. :bighug:
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Morning, Sally.

Aargh! Not a good night to run out of test strips. :nailbiting: I'm really glad that Elizabeth was here to help you both. :)

How are yourself and Lily doing this morning?

Sally and Lily said:
There was a lot of blood but it was not pooling.
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Are you applying a very thin smear of Vaseline to the test area on the ear? If not, before doing a test try applying a little Vaseline to the sweet spot on the ear. Wipe off any excess with a tissue or cotton pad before doing the poke. It helps the blood sample to bead up instead of wicking away into the fur.


Mogs
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Critter Mom said:
Morning, Sally.

Aargh! Not a good night to run out of test strips. :nailbiting: I'm really glad that Elizabeth was here to help you both. :)

How are yourself and Lily doing this morning?


Are you applying a very thin smear of Vaseline to the test area on the ear? If not, before doing a test try applying a little Vaseline to the sweet spot on the ear. Wipe off any excess with a tissue or cotton pad before doing the poke. It helps the blood sample to bead up instead of wicking away into the fur.


Mogs
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GM Mogs, we are doing well. Lily got to eat her old food all night so she is happy. I do apply pain relief Neosporin to her ear but maybe to much because I don’t wipe it off. I will do that today. Thanks.
 
A thought:

When you're out picking up supplies, I suggest picking up some different medium and high carb wet foods for your toolkit. See this sticky post for recommendations:

Hypo Toolkit

Here are some popular options:

* Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Beef Feast in Gravy 20% High Carbs
* Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Chicken Feast in Gravy. 15% Med Carbs
* Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Turkey Feast in Gravy. 15% Med Carbs
* Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Chicken and Beef Feast in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

(H/T Diane,Tyler's Mom)

Also, high carb treats like Temptations are a good addition.


Mogs
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Later, if you get a preshot test less than 200, DON'T FEED Lily. Instead, post a new thread on Feline Health with the title "AMPS: <Add your BG reading here> - Stalling. Need Help."

Here's the info from the FDMB Vetsulin Guide:

Q: It’s time for my cat’s shot, but the BG is a little too low. What now?

  • If your cat’s BG is a bit below 200 mg/dL [11 mmol/L] on a human meter, consider ‘stalling’.
    • Stalling is waiting - without feeding your cat - for 20+ minutes, then retesting to see if the BG has risen to a suitable level.
    • You are looking for a number that is rising, not falling, and is high enough to give insulin.
    • If you have time, you can repeat the stalling process to see if the cat’s BG reaches a number you can shoot.
  • If you cannot stall do to time constraints, if numbers are continuing to drop or if you do not have a supply of strips and high carb food on hand, it will be safer if you skip the shot.
  • Ask for help on the forum before giving insulin if you are unsure, as you can never ‘un-shoot’ insulin.
  • If your cat has history of ketones or DKA, or other health issues, or you are concerned, DO post on the Main Health forum for further advice.

[Emphasis mine]

If someone does not respond promptly, I'd suggest skipping this morning's dose. Ditto if Lily's appetite is at all off this morning.

If you do give insulin, I strongly recommend that you monitor Lily's BG throughout the cycle starting at +1.

Important:

1. If at any time the BG is near or below 90 (human meter) give Lily some higher carb food (preferably the FF Gravy food if you have some, but HC kibbles otherwise) and test again in 30 minutes.

2 (a). If after 30 minutes BG is still near or below 90, repeat step 1.

2 (b). If after 30 minutes BG is back in the 100s, don't feed but test again in 30 minutes.

3. If at any time BG goes into the 50s or 60s give Lily some honey/karo and some more high carb food, then repeat step 1.

4. Rinse and repeat until Lily has stayed in safe numbers (above 90) for a total of 2 hours without the need to feed.

NB: If giving HC food, don't give too much at any one time because you may need to get Lily to eat again after the next test.

Post for help at any time.

(@JanetNJ - If you're around could you keep an eye out for Sally and Lily? My presence will be patchy today and it would be good to know there's more than one of us looking out for them.)

Will try to check in later to see how you're getting on, Sally, but I've got stuff to do for my civvie here so I'll be a bit hit 'n' miss today. :)


Mogs
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Critter Mom said:
A thought:

When you're out picking up supplies, I suggest picking up some different medium and high carb wet foods for your toolkit. See this sticky post for recommendations:

Hypo Toolkit

Here are some popular options:

* Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Beef Feast in Gravy 20% High Carbs
* Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Chicken Feast in Gravy. 15% Med Carbs
* Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Turkey Feast in Gravy. 15% Med Carbs
* Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Chicken and Beef Feast in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

(H/T Diane,Tyler's Mom)

Also, high carb treats like Temptations are a good addition.


Mogs
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Click to expand...
Ok good idea to keep on hand, thx
 
Hi Sally,

Thought your girl might be up in the rafters today. ;)

Sounds good. Remember to wait 20-30 minutes after the food before giving the Vetsulin dose (to allow the body to get to work digesting the food, ready for the insulin to act on), then do your first test at +1.


Mogs
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I'd suggest +2.5, Sally. The Vetsulin should have kicked in by then and testing that wee bit earlier gives you more of a heads-up on where the cycle might be headed today. It's still early days, and we're following Lily's lead. :)


Mogs
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