Introduction and spreadsheet questions

[Mari And Gigi]

Hi,
I am still somewhat uncertain as how to use the FDMB vs the Feline Diabetes Support Group. I think that you are the same group only in two different spots online. I am enjoying that group and know I will this one as well.
My kitty is 9 year old Gigi. She was diagnosed on 04/27/21 and the only other health issue she has is resorptive teeth issues. She is taking Prozinc insulin and is getting back to her pre-diagnosis self. She is now 12# and the water consumption is decreasing although she is still eating as much as ever, One thing I can say about her is that she is food motivated and that has really helped with the testing and injections. Trying to wrangle a 12# frightened Siamese for shots was difficult in the beginning but now the process is running smoothly.

I am not understanding how my sugar baby is truly doing. I sent her results to the vet and the vet said Gigi was improving but did not tell me how. I can tell from the spreadsheet that some of her days are sort of flat and wonder if I need to be concerned with this. The vet wants to keep the dose at 2.0 for the next month, I am using a really fat dose, almost 2.25 units. I don't want to keep her at this dose if she is in some sort of jeopardy or not improving. I don't want take the chance that an inaccurate dose will cause long term damage.
Would someone be kind enough to look over her spreadsheet and share feedback with me?

Thank you,
Mari and Gigi Peach


https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1V1ZlfJvjcfw8Jec2y1tEvT497ds_1Hxcrswts_6jwp4/edit?usp=sharing

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

I think that you are the same group only in two different spots online. I am enjoying that group and know I will this one as well.

I can tell from your spreadsheet that you're in a different Facebook group than the one that's associated with us here. This is the Feline Diabetes group associated with this forum.

The vet wants to keep the dose at 2.0 for the next month,

Your vet is wrong. Holding a dose that's not working for that long just leads to glucose toxicity (where the body gets used to being in higher numbers even with the insulin) and then you end up needing to go to a higher dose than you might have just to break through that toxicity.

We have two dosing methods for ProZinc. You might want to read through them.

One thing I notice right away is that you're not getting any tests on the PM cycle. Most cats go lower at night so it's important to get at least a "before bed" test on the PM cycle to make sure she's not dropping too fast or too low while you're sleeping. Also, you're missing half the data! If you think of your spreadsheet like it's a puzzle, if you only fill in pieces on the left side, you have no way of knowing what's in the picture on the right so you're not seeing "the whole picture".

Normal blood glucose for cats (on a human meter) is 50-120 so while Gigi is looking OK, she does need to get lower than she has been. By keeping them in normal numbers as much as possible, you give the pancreas the best chance at healing and resuming it's work!

I'd suggest you get a couple of night's tests and then let's see where she's at but I'm betting she's going to need to go up to 2.25 soon.

 

[Mari And Gigi]

I can tell from your spreadsheet that you're in a different Facebook group than the one that's associated with us here. This is the Feline Diabetes group associated with this forum.



Your vet is wrong. Holding a dose that's not working for that long just leads to glucose toxicity (where the body gets used to being in higher numbers even with the insulin) and then you end up needing to go to a higher dose than you might have just to break through that toxicity.

We have two dosing methods for ProZinc. You might want to read through them.

One thing I notice right away is that you're not getting any tests on the PM cycle. Most cats go lower at night so it's important to get at least a "before bed" test on the PM cycle to make sure she's not dropping too fast or too low while you're sleeping. Also, you're missing half the data! If you think of your spreadsheet like it's a puzzle, if you only fill in pieces on the left side, you have no way of knowing what's in the picture on the right so you're not seeing "the whole picture".

Normal blood glucose for cats (on a human meter) is 50-120 so while Gigi is looking OK, she does need to get lower than she has been. By keeping them in normal numbers as much as possible, you give the pancreas the best chance at healing and resuming it's work!

I'd suggest you get a couple of night's tests and then let's see where she's at but I'm betting she's going to need to go up to 2.25 soon.

Thanks, I will start testing her at night. I had no idea about the glucose toxicity. She is basically at 2.25 with the fat dosing I am doing. Sorry for the confusion about the groups. I have an illness that leaves me easily confused; therefore I would like to go back to my original group with the same questions so I can keep track of the advice. I hope I am leaving the door open in case I need to come back. Thanks again.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

I have an illness that leaves me easily confused; therefore I would like to go back to my original group with the same questions so I can keep track of the advice.

You're also a member of the Feline Diabetes group that IS associated here, you're just posting in the other group.