? BG's NOT REGULATING

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Scarlette & Fluffy

Scarlette & Fluffy

Member Since 2022
Fluffy is now on 3U of NOVOLIN-N as of last night. See SS. Fluffy was fed food in the morning and no food was given throughout the day. At 6:20 pm his BG was 420, I put a handful of dry food in community dish which 6 cats eat from before I left. At 8:30 last night his BG was 468 before food was given. He ate got his insulin 300U at 9:15 pm. At 11:50pm his BG was 270.

No food all night long. This morning his BG was 376!! How when he had a space from 9:15 pm to 6:30 am with absolutely no food!?

Am I doing something wrong? I've been testing his blood for a good while now as regularly as I can and it is not stabilizing.

He will be switching to Lantus at some point in the near future. I understand it is very unforgiving when it comes to schedule challenges. This makes me really nervous.

Please advise. Thank you!

@Suzanne & Darcy @tiffmaxee @Diane Tyler's Mom @Bron and Sheba (GA) @Sienne and Gabby (GA)
 
Scarlette can you do us a favor and please remove the GA from your thread title, it means kitty has passed on. Gave me a heart attack when I saw it!

(upper right, thread tools drop-down menu, click on edit title)
 
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regarding the BG, that is super normal for a newly diagnosed diabetic feline. I used to struggle with it as well, just could not wrap my head around how his BG could be so high with no food given in hours and hours

there are a possible couple explanations:


  • could be a "bounce" from dropping into the 200s last night
BOUNCE: When a cat’s BG numbers drop into a low range, drop fast, or drop into a range the cat is no longer used to, the liver and pancreas may respond by releasing a stored form of glucose along with counterregulatory hormones. This causes numbers to spike back upward. It can take up to 3 days/6 cycles for a bounce to clear.


or it could be not the right dose of insulin yet, not holding down the BG long enough. I think a switch to Lantus will help but I'm biased because that is what worked so well on my cat :D
 
I don’t know how much dry food he is getting but that will keep the BG up high. But don’t just stop it as removing it could drop the BGs quite dramatically.
Are you feeding one hour then waiting before giving the Novolin N insulin?
I would not withhold snacks during the day or night.

Novolin N is not a good insulin at all for cats. It is a harsh, fast acting insulin which doesn’t last the 12 hours in cats.
Can you swap to another more suitable insulin? I’m sure you would get much better results.
 
Hendrick Cuddleclaw said:
Scarlette can you do us a favor and please remove the GA from your thread title, it means kitty has passed on. Gave me a heart attack when I saw it!

I didn't mean to scare you. I'm so sorry! I cannot see where to edit the title could you please send a screenshot I don't see anything in the upper right

(upper right, thread tools drop-down menu, click on edit title)
Click to expand...
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
I don’t know how much dry food he is getting but that will keep the BG up high. But don’t just stop it as removing it could drop the BGs quite dramatically.
Are you feeding one hour then waiting before giving the Novolin N insulin?
I would not withhold snacks during the day or night.

Novolin N is not a good insulin at all for cats. It is a harsh, fast acting insulin which doesn’t last the 12 hours in cats.
Can you swap to another more suitable insulin? I’m sure you would get much better results.
Click to expand...

I had a lot of trouble with two different vets to write me a prescription for something other than Vetsulin!!

Finally the old vet was willing to write a prescription for Lantus but I requested Levemir but they are telling me that Levemir was discontinued in 2014 but I know that people are still using it!

I have to send the prescription in that I picked up today for Lantus to the DCIN organization, they will provide me with the Lantus so it's going to take a little bit just watch him over
 
many vets will insist you can only feed at insulin shot-time, so every 12 hours and that's it. This is very outdated thinking, from years ago before there were further developments in insulin that is gentler and longer-lasting. Feeding several smaller meals throughout the day is actually much more natural for a cat and easier on the pancreas. Almost everyone here caring for sugar kitties feeds at least 3-4 times a day, we just tend to avoid feeding in the later part of the 12-hour insulin "cycle" because after about 6-8 hours the insulin is wearing off and food at that point could pump up the blood glucose levels.

it is recommended to withhold food for 2 hours before the insulin shot, so that when you take a pre-shot BG reading the number is not influenced by food.

thanks for editing the title, a question mark is the perfect thing to put there
 
The reason his numbers were high has little to do with the food. Novolin N doesn't last 12 hours in the cat, so it had worn off by this morning. However, it's also a harsher insulin with a fast onset, so feeding for N is different than for Lantus/Levemir. With N, you feed, then wait an hour before shooting.
 
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