1/14 Mikey AMPS 365 PMPS 262 +6.5/262 DOSE ?

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miso00

Member Since 2011
yesterday's condo http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=61068

Sorry for being so late in posting this for those of you who check in on Mikey and I. I hope you all don't think I've been slacking with getting his numbers. At first they were so high and now with him being on the meds. I just don't want to poke him unnecessarily throughout the day. I think I mentioned a few weeks ago that he is becoming more annoyed with us testing him so I would really rather prefer to test him when I really need to. With that being said, I'm not sure I made the right choice so I would like some opinions on what my choice was. Pro's and con's. II felt that the meds would give false #'s but now I'm thinking it might have been better to know so that I can see how he reacts when on meds. Please share your thoughts. After all this is a learning experience for me/us.
 
Re: 1/14 Mikey AMPS 365 PMPS 262

No judgement here, Jennifer. Each of does what s/he can, sometimes more, sometimes less. It's all good, and you're doing great.
 
Re: 1/14 Mikey AMPS 365 PMPS 262

hi jenn! i'm not certain exactly what feedback you're looking for - is it on testing less? in order to keep him safe, you need the preshot tests and a minimum of one per cycle. i always feel like i'm in search of the elusive lowest number to determine the dosing. :lol:

the only thing i'm wondering - i saw marje said that these eye drops could increase his BG, but i also am aware that inflammation/pain/infection can cause BG to rise and as those problems get resolved with the steroid drops, i'd wonder if his numbers might drop. looking at mikey's ss, i see a blue number about every other day right now, then the yellows and pink numbers. i don't know if that's bouncing or if he simply needs a dose increase. i can't tell. you've done a great job at holding this dose long enough - all the nadirs have been in the blue or above - so if it's not bouncing, he would have a dose increase according to the protocol. if it is bouncing you would wait.

if you want to increase, you could ask in tomorrow morning's condo subject line for someone to give you dose advice. i'm just not certain on this.

i think you're basically doing fine. just know that as you want to adjust the dose, the question will come "what was his nadir in the past several cycles?" and the only way to know that is with a test. you don't have to test a zillion times, i'd aim for one test just before the time i expected his nadir.

if your question is based upon the meds and you think they might be affecting BG's - i think i would continue to test for the reasons i mentioned above no matter whether he was on meds or not.

as far as mikey not wanting to be poked - are you using the neosporin ointment with pain relief every night? i slather quite a bit on and it's gone by morning. seems like it really helps punkin not mind the tests. i've also seen people suggest putting it on lightly and rubbing it in about 20 minutes before a test to numb it first.

are you still giving him treats on every single poke?
 
Re: 1/14 Mikey AMPS 365 PMPS 262 +6.5/262

I think you gave me the feedback I was looking for but just needed to "read" it. I know I should still be testing, I guess, I was just figuring that if the meds were keeping him higher than why put him through the poking. I have been using the neosporin ointment 2x's/day or more. He is just hating getting poked! I do either feed him, give him a treat or as marje suggested went and got some chicken to boil, depending on what part of the day it is or how hungry he is.

Julie stated
so if it's not bouncing, he would have a dose increase according to the protocol. if it is bouncing you would wait
. Would I still increase the dose while he's on the eye meds? Can the readings not be "false highs"? He was getting so low right before he went on the drops.
 
how long is Mikey supposed to be on the drops?

You do have room for a dose increase, but if he will be stopping the eye drops in the next few cycles then you might want to just wait and see if the numbers come down then.

There's not really any such thing as "false highs." Even if he is high because of the medication, those are still real numbers. Often cats that are on steroids need higher doses of insulin, and we have to give the insulin to compensate for the meds. The only caution is that when you stop the steroid, you'll need to be extra alert for dropping numbers because he might need a dose reduction soon.
 
Hi Jenn:

Good questions and good anwers. I also don't want to see you not testing at least the number of times Julie suggested just because I indicated the drops "could" affect his BG. Remember ECID and some cats are NOT affected. That's why I said "could" and not "will". So we're not sure and it's really good to have a baseline of tests as Julie suggested so we can see how the steroids do or do not affect him....for future reference.

I'm glad he's doing well and hope he's almost done with the drops....I think they usually say 7-10 days. Hope you are having a lovely Sunday.
 
He is on the drops until at least tuesday (2 more day). So should I wait to increase his insulin or increase tonight?

Gotcha Marje on my misinterpretation ;-) That's why it's good for me to get the clarification. Just like ECID, I "read" your quote
because I indicated the drops "could" affect his BG. Remember ECID and some cats are NOT affected. That's why I said "could" and not "will". So we're not sure and it's really good to have a baseline of tests
but interpreted it differently then you explained now. The mind is a funny thing. I think I was second guessing my decision also and that's why I asked.
 
if he were my cat, I would go ahead and increase. It's your decision, though. You would have to be comfortable enough to handle lower numbers if he goes down a bit after he is done with the meds. It looks like he was hitting low blue before he started the eye drops, and if he goes back to that range that's good.
 
I just realized I have 2 condo's open for today and I posted in 1/15 what I should increase the dose to. I think 2.75u from 2.5u but am not sure. For tonight I will stay with 2.5 since I am not sure and it's his shot time.

Please advise for tomorrow morning if I should shoot 2.75u as the amount?
 
I posted this in your other condo:
I think it may be worth increasing Mikey's dose. I realize that the eye meds may be raising his numbers but it's better to work the insulin dose around the steroid than wait until the meds are discontinued. What you will need to do is monitor carefully once the eye meds are done. (This is pretty much the same approach that we use if a cat has an infection and is on antibiotics. Once the antibiotics kick in, the dose may need to be reduced. In Mikey's case, the dose may change once the meds are done.)
 
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