? 02/14 Chippy, New Member, BG High Even With Insulin

[Chippy & Ingrid]

Good morning! I'm brand new to this forum and to the feline diabetes world. Chippy was diagnosed in late January. We bought an Alphatrak and started testing his BG once a day for a week prior to starting insulin. We started lantus on 2/7, 2 units, twice a day. The first day there was a noticeable effect on the BG levels, but since then the numbers have remained high. We're still getting used to the testing regimen, and its a bit of a struggle, so are only doing 2-3 tests a day at this point. I'm just wondering if it's normal to see so little effect in the first few days?

 

[Sue and Luci]

Good Morning and welcome to the LB&L Forum!

I can't see your SS to see what's been going on there - you may need to tweak it a bit to allow us to view it. I saw a message that said it was 'in the owner's trash'.

Is this your very first post?

Have you had a chance to read any of the stickies (the yellow tabs) at the top of this forum? Nice job with your first title and signature!!!

Lantus is a depot drug - it does take a while before you start to see in action...

I'll try to stop back after a while to see that SS

 

[Chippy & Ingrid]

Sorry about that! I think I've got the SS restored now - thanks for letting me know. Yes, this is my first post. I have scanned through the stickies but I probably haven't spent as much time absorbing the information as I should. There is so much great information on this forum, I just need to find time to sit down and go through it.

 

[Butters & Lyla]

Welcome.
I can see your spreadsheet. I notice on some cycles you don't have a dose amount filled in: 2/10 PM cycle, 2/11 AM & PM cycles, and 2/12 AM cycle. Did Chippy get insulin? If so, can you enter the amount he received? If not, or if you did a fur shot or skipped, then could you please enter that into your cell (ie "FS" for fur shot)? THanks so much!

Testing can be very hard at first. If you haven't seen it already, here is a link on Hometesting tips and tricks. Good for you for getting a test before each shot, though. That's a great start and so important, so that you know whether or not it is safe to shoot insulin.

Regarding your question, without more tests during the cycle, it's impossible to know for sure how low Chippy might be getting on this dose. Maybe there is some bouncing going on or maybe he needs more insulin. In my opinion, you need more data at this point. Even an extra test or two per cycle would be so helpful. You want to eventually fill in the blanks on your spreadsheet over time, getting tests at different times each cycle (morning and night) is a good place to start.

Keep on reading the stickies at the top of the LLB forum and then ask questions! If you have time, also start looking at other kitties' spreadsheet.

I'm sure others will be along with more information!

 

[Chippy & Ingrid]

Thank you! Sorry about the problems with the spreadsheet I'd been working on two different versions so am missing some data points on the shared one. I'll have to fix that. He hasn't missed a dose yet, and we've been very consistent about shots at 7 & 7. The few times we have been able to test at what should be the nadir there doesn't seem to be much change. Our vet wants us to stick with the two unit dosing for a while, possibly weeks. When I told her my concerns about the high numbers, she did not seem overly concerned. Nevertheless, I'm a worrier, so just wanted to get some feedback from other people who've actually been through this.

 

[Marje and Gracie]

Welcome to FDMB. I’ve moved your posts to the Main Health forum where we ask all new members to start.

I cam help with your SS if you send me a private message by clicking on my username to the left and “start a conversation”. We need to update the link. Also, it would be best if we moved together food columns. Thanks and welcome.

 

[Chippy & Ingrid]

Good morning everyone! I had some problems with the spreadsheet in my initial post, so wanted to reactivate this thread now that (I think) the spreadsheet should be up-to-date and visible. I also added the BG test numbers that we did before starting insulin for comparison.

We're continuing to get high readings after a week on lantus. We've taken a few +6 readings, and those have been high as well. Chippy's clinical symptoms have improved (i.e. he's drinking & peeing less), but I'm still concerned that there seems to be no change in his BG numbers.

A few other (perhaps) pertinent details: prior to diagnosis, Chip was eating medium-high carb canned food and Purina prescription UR kibble. (Our other cat had surgery for bladder crystals a few years ago, hence the UR food.) After his diagnosis, I switched Chip to lower carb canned food and no kibble. I'm currently feeding him mostly Purina True Nature Turkey & Chicken, with a bit of Fancy feast Chicken pate, or Friskies pate mixed in for variety. I just ordered the Purina prescription DM canned food (pate version) which will hopefully be a hit. Several months ago, Chippy was weighing in at a hefty 23+ pounds. At the time of his diagnosis, he was down to around 21 pounds. The main thing that clued us in to a potential problem was that he was drinking & peeing a ton.

We were so happy when his numbers went down after the first lantus shot, and it's been a huge disappointment to see that was just a one-day blip. Our vet is coming back over in a week, and we'll discuss changing his dosage then. In the meantime, I just wanted to see if others had similar issues when first starting insulin, and maybe get some reassurance that we're not doing any irreversible damage by allowing the numbers to remain this high. Thanks!