Help please - First At Home BG Curve

Status
Not open for further replies.
Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA) said:
Thanks Bron!

@4hillary just wanted to GI over this again, are you making sure he hasn’t eaten at least 2 hours before the preshot tests. So, when you got the 175, had it been at least 2 hours since he had eaten? It’s important so you know the bg wasn’t influenced by the food in his system. It’s a steep learning curve but you’ve already made huge strides today!

You may see higher numbers later tonight and tomorrow because of what we call bouncing. Don’t be tempted to go back to the 3 units dose as it’s too much for him. If you get above 200 numbers, stay with the 2 units dose we suggested and Bron confirmed. bouncing is a kitty's self defense mechanism. Here is the description:

Bouncing is simply a natural reaction to what the cat's system perceives as a BG value that is "too low". "Too low" is relative. If a cat is used to BGs in the 200's, 300's, or higher for a long time, then even a BG that drops to 150 can trigger a "bounce". Bouncing can also be triggered if the blood glucose drops too low and/or too fast.The pancreas, then the liver, release glucogon, glycogen and counter-regulatory hormones. The end result is a dumping of "sugar" into the bloodstream to save the cat from going hypoglycemic from a perceived low. The action is often referred to as "liver panic" or "panicky liver". *Usually*, a bounce will clear kitty's system within 3 days (6 cycles).
Click to expand...
Good to know, thanks!

Yes, it had been over two hours since he had eaten when I got the 175.
 
Hi, thanks for checking in! I unfortunately wasn’t able to get an amps, so I didn't give any insulin just in case. I used all of the lancets that came with our glucometer yesterday, so today opened a new box of 30 gauge and just could not get any blood. I’m not sure what size I was using yesterday, but I’m going to try to grab a larger size this afternoon so I can do it this evening. Is 28 gauge recommended? I’ll also have more time this evening to try for longer.
 
Thanks. So this morning's amps check was 166. I guess that means I won't give insulin... This is feeling tricky. Today I can do checks every couple of hours if that seems necessary - but don't know if it is if he doesn't have insulin this morning?
 
Can you get a +2 every night? I see you gave 2 units last night but didn’t do a pmps right? 2 units seems still too high for him so we just need to find the right dose that allows you to give consistent shots. I’m inclined to have you go back down to 1 unit but tagging a few others to get more eyes on it today. @Wendy&Neko @Bron and Sheba (GA)

can you please add the insulin to your signature? You’re still on Vetsulin right?

this is a trial and error process and even when you find the right dose, it could suddenly change and not be the right dose a few weeks or days later that’s why it’s important to monitor daily. So, don’t feel frustrated, we like to say here that feline diabetes is a marathon not a sprint. I would still get a few more tests today if you can. Maybe at +4 or +6 and definitely the pmps
 
Thank you for the reassurance. Yes, I can get a +2 every night and yes, still on Vetsulin. Now that we have the 28 gauge lancets, it was easy to get the amps this morning, so I'll be able to do more monitoring. I'll update the spreadsheet as I do. And yes, I was wondering about going down to 1 unit...curious to see what others think. Thanks!
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Can you update the SS asap please? Last night it says you gave 2 units...did you test first? Or after?
It is hard to give safe dosing advice without more data.
Click to expand...
Bron, since she keeps having to skip the shot, my thinking was maybe go back down to 1 and increase from there as needed just so she can give 2 shots daily and not have to skip all the time. Wdyt?
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Can you update the SS asap please? Last night it says you gave 2 units...did you test first? Or after?
It is hard to give safe dosing advice without more data.
Click to expand...

I tried to test last night but could not get any blood - we got new lancets today so I will be able to test amps and pmps regularly now (except maybe the next couple of days - this week we are very out of routine). Thank you for checking back - I will be able to test/enter data more consistently after Friday.

@Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA) I am thinking the same thing, except that tonight's pmps is 126 (it's been more than 2 hours since he's eaten), so I guess I'll skip insulin again tonight? I can test again in an hour or two to see what's happening, too.
 
4hillary said:
I am thinking the same thing, except that tonight's pmps is 126 (it's been more than 2 hours since he's eaten), so I guess I'll skip insulin again tonight? I can test again in an hour or two to see what's happening, too.
Click to expand...
If the PMPS is 126, I would skip the dose.
See if you can get some tests in between now and AMPS so we can see what is happening.
So just to confirm, the last insulin you gave was 2 units last night.
I will watch for the AMPS. Can you tell me how many hours from now that will be?. I live in Australia so telling me your time means nothing to me. We talk in + number of hours after the shot as we are all world wide. Does that make sense?
 
@Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA) I agree. Next time I get a number over 200, I'll go with 1 unit.

Unfortunately, with our holiday schedule, I won't be able to do another BG check until Friday PMPS, so I won't give insulin before then. Since his number was 200 for Thursday AMPS, I decided to skip insulin again because I won't be able to monitor him later in the day and I don't want him to get too low. I'll be able to be consistent with monitoring starting Friday evening, so I figure we'll just start fresh then.

If you're celebrating in the US today, happy Thanksgiving! Thank you so much for your help this week and I'll keep you updated once I'm able to have more consistent data on Chloe.
 
200 is a safe number but I understand your reluctance in giving insulin when you can’t monitor. It’s important that diabetic cats get insulin though so as Bron suggested it’s a good idea to monitor for ketones. What causes them is no insulin and no food. Is he a good eater and eats well? When you start back on Friday, I’d suggest you try not to skip if Chloe is 200 or more. We’ll have to see what the new dose will do. There’s also a bit of a variance every time you test even with the same meter. If you had done another test immediately after you got 200, you might have gotten 220, just fyi

When you start the new thread on Friday, please link this one on the first post for continuity.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top