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Lynda & Marnie

Lynda & Marnie

Member Since 2021
Hi , does anyone have any ideas what might be going on with Marnies numbers please.
Marnie is 10 years old and weighs 5kg. She was diagnosed on 28th April 2021 after being in my care for approx 3 weeks.
After diagnosis she was started on 1 unit of insulin twice a day using a glargine solostar pen and Hills prescription MD glucosupport dry. After a few weeks the vet changed her dose to 2 units at am and 1 unit at pm.
On 11th July I started home testing
On 21st July I switched her to Fancy Feast pate and then Fancy Feast savory centers I stopped insulin completely when I changed her food as I was not sure how her numbers would be affected by diet change and was afraid of going too low.Her numbers dropped slightly but were still not great.
On 7th Aug I tested her ketones using the blood test strips and it was 0.9 so I took her to the vet for advice.The vet advised
to put her back on insulin 1U twice a day . It has been nearly 2 weeks back on insulin and I am still not seeing any great changes in her numbers although last time I checked her ketones they were down to 0.2
 
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Hi Lynda,

Welcome to FDMB! :)
I will help you with setting up your Signature and fix the Spreadsheet. Will send you a PM (private message) - look for it in your Inbox at the top right corner of this page.

If I understand you correctly, Marnie has been low carb canned food for almost a month now?

Her numbers do look better but we need more data to ascertain whether she needs more insulin or not. Many cats go lower at night and are higher in the day. Diane has linked the dosing methods we follow here and if you could pick on that suits you, we can advise you based on that.

SLGS (Start Low Go Slow): You hold a dose for 7 days (unless a reduction is earned). You decrease the dose when the BG falls below 90mg/dl (5mmol). The aim of this protocol is to keep the cat in the 90-150 range. This is more suited for caregivers who can't test as much as TR requires. You do a weekly curve with SLGS and evaluate the dose then.

TR (Tight Regulation): is a more aggressive protocol with increases as often as every 3-5 days. Reductions are earned when the BG falls below 50 mg/dl (2.8 mmol). The aim is to keep the cat in the range of 50-100 (which is the normal BG range for cats). To follow TR, you would need to get at least one more test per cycle in addition to the pre-shot one i.e. 2 tests per cycle or 4 tests per day. You would also need to be feeding only LC canned food and no dry food.

To start with, would it be possible for you to get a "before-bed" test every night?

I see that you shot a 9.8 tonight which is the lowest pre-shot for her. Could you get another test and see where she is?

Tagging @Bron and Sheba (GA) who is one of our experienced members - also from Australia.
 
Hi Lynda and Marnie and welcome.
I live in Australia.
Has anyone given you the Australian information?
HERE is the link

I agree with Bhooma. I would get another test in to see how low Marnie is going this cycle. Any time you shoot a lower than normal preshot, it is a good idea to get a +2 to see what she has in mind fine the cycle and then test from there.
Try and get a before bed test in every night to see that Marnie is safe. If the before bed test is lower the. The preshot BG I would set the alarm and get up and test again.

It is never a good idea to stop insulin in a diabetic cat unless they have gone into remission. You risk ketones forming. I am glad to see you test for them…that is good.

Would you consider changing to using syringes instead of the pen to give the insulin? It would mean you could go up in 1/4 unit increments which is much better. I would not go from 1 unit to 2 units with her as it might be too much.
The syringes you would need are the BD U100 3/10 30 or 31 gauge 6 or 8 mm syringes. We can’t get 1/2 unit syringes in Australia but there is a website in the information I sent you where you can buy them in the UK if you want them.
You still use the insulin from the pen but you withdraw it with the needle. I will post a diagram
Bron

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I will tag @Roxy & Deb who is also in Australia for help with syringes. I think she is buying syringes locally? They would not have half unit markings but you could start with those till you get the ones with half unit marks.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Hi Lynda and Marnie and welcome.
I live in Australia.
Has anyone given you the Australian information?
HERE is the link

I agree with Bhooma. I would get another test in to see how low Marnie is going this cycle. Any time you shoot a lower than normal preshot, it is a good idea to get a +2 to see what she has in mind fine the cycle and then test from there.
Try and get a before bed test in every night to see that Marnie is safe. If the before bed test is lower the. The preshot BG I would set the alarm and get up and test again.

It is never a good idea to stop insulin in a diabetic cat unless they have gone into remission. You risk ketones forming. I am glad to see you test for them…that is good.

Would you consider changing to using syringes instead of the pen to give the insulin? It would mean you could go up in 1/4 unit increments which is much better. I would not go from 1 unit to 2 units with her as it might be too much.
The syringes you would need are the BD U100 3/10 30 or 31 gauge 6 or 8 mm syringes. We can’t get 1/2 unit syringes in Australia but there is a website in the information I sent you where you can buy them in the UK if you want them.
You still use the insulin from the pen but you withdraw it with the needle. I will post a diagram
Bron

View attachment 62249
Click to expand...
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Hi Lynda and Marnie and welcome.
I live in Australia.
Has anyone given you the Australian information?
HERE is the link

I agree with Bhooma. I would get another test in to see how low Marnie is going this cycle. Any time you shoot a lower than normal preshot, it is a good idea to get a +2 to see what she has in mind fine the cycle and then test from there.
Try and get a before bed test in every night to see that Marnie is safe. If the before bed test is lower the. The preshot BG I would set the alarm and get up and test again.

It is never a good idea to stop insulin in a diabetic cat unless they have gone into remission. You risk ketones forming. I am glad to see you test for them…that is good.

Would you consider changing to using syringes instead of the pen to give the insulin? It would mean you could go up in 1/4 unit increments which is much better. I would not go from 1 unit to 2 units with her as it might be too much.
The syringes you would need are the BD U100 3/10 30 or 31 gauge 6 or 8 mm syringes. We can’t get 1/2 unit syringes in Australia but there is a website in the information I sent you where you can buy them in the UK if you want them.
You still use the insulin from the pen but you withdraw it with the needle. I will post a diagram
Bron

View attachment 62249
Click to expand...
Hi, thankyou I have considered that I might need to get syringes but if Im being honest it does scare me a bit and I have had trouble finding where I can get them from in Australia. I am so confused as to why her numbers got slightly lower when I stopped the insulin and changed to wet food and then didnt drop any further once going back on insulin . I have been using the same pen as I started at end of April but have been storing it in the fridge as suggested by the vet would it be worth me trying a new one ?
I will do a +2 reading now
 
Her HCT for the last 2 readings were 24% and 23% should I be concerned about that at this stage ?
She is usually always in the normal range of somewhere between 25-45
 
I cant believe when I first posted this today I was worried that her numbers werent going down and then all of a sudden I was worried they were going too low
Thankyou so much for all your help and advice it was comforting to know you were around if I got into trouble, Goodnight
 
Lynda & Marnie said:
I cant believe when I first posted this today I was worried that her numbers werent going down and then all of a sudden I was worried they were going too low
Click to expand...
That is feline diabetes for you - quite the rollercoaster.

Testing only during the day gives you only half the picture. That is why we ask that people get tests at night as well!
 
Roxy & Deb said:
No problem. Hope Marnie is doing OK. We are only a few months in to this journey. Whereabouts are you?
Click to expand...
Hi Deb, we are only a few months in as well , I made this post as I was concerned that her numbers didnt seem to be moving from yellow and pink range but for some unexplained reason that night we got some blues and greens and have continued to do so since then so hopefully she is on the right path. How are you and Roxy going ?
 
Yes Roxy’s numbers were high for ages as we struggled find the syringes so we could move away from the pen. As soon as we got her onto 2 units the numbers started dropping quickly and now we’re down to 0.5. She’s much perkier too, lovely to see. ❤️ We’re in Sydney, you?
 
Lynda, Marnie is doing well on the 1 unit. I would stay with the 1unit for now.
Are you giving lots of snacks during the day and evening? Because of the ketones she had, you need to be making sure she eats plenty of food.
 
Roxy & Deb said:
Yes Roxy’s numbers were high for ages as we struggled find the syringes so we could move away from the pen. As soon as we got her onto 2 units the numbers started dropping quickly and now we’re down to 0.5. She’s much perkier too, lovely to see. ❤️ We’re in Sydney, you?
Click to expand...
Glad to hear Roxy is doing well,it is such a relief to start seeing some results but a bit nerve wracking as well :) I am currently feeding Fancy Feast savory centers which I have managed to get for around $1 per can and have ordered some Paw and Spoon for about .80c per can from Petcircle which I think are pretty low carb. Have you managed go find any cheaper altetnatives ?
I am in Adelaide
 
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Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Lynda, Marnie is doing well on the 1 unit. I would stay with the 1unit for now.
Are you giving lots of snacks during the day and evening? Because of the ketones she had, you need to be making sure she eats plenty of food.
Click to expand...
Hi Bron ,thanks for your help
I am feeding her Fancy Feast savory centers 1 can at 6am with shot, 1/2 can 10am ,1/2 can 2pm ,1 can 6pm with shot, 1/2 can 10pm . Her ketones were 0.1 last time I checked
 
Hi Lynda,
We have another member @Tucker and patty who live in Adelaide. If you need to know anything locally I can contact her for you.
If I were you I would offer her a second snack in the pm cycle…always try and keep the feedings and the food amount the same for all cycles.
I would also think about bringing the second snack back to 12 md and 12 mn so that it is being given in the first half of the cycle.

Lynda, if you get a lower +4 like you did last night (101) I would test again to see if it has gone down lower. I’d also give a snack then as well.
Do you know the carb amount of the FF savoury centres? I’m not sure they are low carb, but I could be wrong.
That’s good you are still testing for ketones and they are negative!
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Hi Lynda,
We have another member @Tucker and patty who live in Adelaide. If you need to know anything locally I can contact her for you.
If I were you I would offer her a second snack in the pm cycle…always try and keep the feedings and the food amount the same for all cycles.
I would also think about bringing the second snack back to 12 md and 12 mn so that it is being given in the first half of the cycle.

Lynda, if you get a lower +4 like you did last night (101) I would test again to see if it has gone down lower. I’d also give a snack then as well.
Do you know the carb amount of the FF savoury centres? I’m not sure they are low carb, but I could be wrong.
That’s good you are still testing for ketones and they are negative!
Click to expand...
Thats nice to know there is somebody else here from Adelaide, thanks :)
Ok I will change her snack times ,I am usually still up at midnight anyway lol.
I have checked the savory centers on carb calculators and they were coming in as 0 carbs and somebody else asked about them on a facebook group and was told they were fine so I hope so , her numbers didnt seem to go up when I switched from the classic pate.
Her pre shot number was 9.2 tonight which is the lowest it has ever been but +2 was 11.1 should I be concerned about that ? It has never gone higher after insulin shot before
 
Is anybody here for dosing advice please, Marnies PMPS is 6.5 should I give her shot ?
A few night ago she was 6.7 so I didnt give her shot and it went up to 17.1 4 hours later
 
Just tested again 1 hour after the 6.5 reading , it is now 10.5 , I will give her shot and monitor through the night.
She has eaten her normal can of fancy feast in between readings
 
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