10/20/18 - Fur Shot

RobinHarley

RobinHarley

Member Since 2018
Am 99.9% sure I gave my first fur shot to Harley this AM.

Yesterday he did so great with his shot and with me checking BG's, this morning he seemed too frantic wanting to eat that testing BG's was rough, he didn't want to hold still for anything he wanted to know where his food was, but we got it done.

Yesterday I gave his shot using a syringe I took insulin out of the pen (it's how i've personally used it for human diabetes in the past). But today since I had already bought the box of tips not knowing I went ahead and put one on, primed the pen, and went for his 1 unit. He seemed to jump a touch but almost just like a hey what are you doing back there. Felt like I had it as far as it would go, pushed the injector in, held it for awhile. Well I grew up 20 years knowing that awful smell. I could smell it, pulled it out finally and the needle tip was bent and a ball of insulin was attached to the end of it / his fur smelt so strong of it.

Bummer... I just feel crappy if it truly didn't all go in he has to hang out in the highs all day and make no progress because of my mistake. Ugh, such is life and learning, haha.
 
Ugh, I feel your pain. Fur shots are the worst, especially with a depot insulin like Lantus. Don't beat yourself up though, it happens to the best of us, usually at the most inopportune times. :rolleyes: Harley will get back on track soon enough though! :bighug:
 
Hey there and welcome to the L, B, & L forum!

Fur shots just stink, no pun intended. But, sometimes they turn out better than you think. I thought for sure the other night I did one and the cycle turned out just fine.

You will be better off to draw the insulin from the pen with a syringe rather than use those tips. They are cumbersome to use while trying to tent the skin and make it easier to give a fur shot. Also, you won't be able to give in between doses.

You might want to check the carbs on the Purina DM. I have a feeling it could be over the 10% that we like to keep kitties under, but I am not positive about that. Hopefully someone else will weigh in on that.
 
I will certainly be using the syringe from now on. Frustrating day when I checked him at +5 and did indeed see I made a fur shot (higher than his AMPS).



I spent the evening reading around on the form some more... maybe I haven't gotten to it yet... but while I head off to bed I wanted to leave this question here...

We are far from it but when we get into good ranges, and for example in the mid 100s or anywhere in the 100s really, when do I know if it will be safe to give the lantus or hold off / reduce? I feel like I had a good handle on all of this knowledge until I thought of that and now I am going to bed all worried, haha.

But I have to say... this form is such a great community! I am beyond thrilled I found all of you amazing caring people! The support I have seen I am blown away with. I am happy to be here.
 
RobinHarley said:
I spent the evening reading around on the form some more... maybe I haven't gotten to it yet... but while I head off to bed I wanted to leave this question here...

We are far from it but when we get into good ranges, and for example in the mid 100s or anywhere in the 100s really, when do I know if it will be safe to give the lantus or hold off / reduce? I feel like I had a good handle on all of this knowledge until I thought of that and now I am going to bed all worried, haha.

But I have to say... this form is such a great community! I am beyond thrilled I found all of you amazing caring people! The support I have seen I am blown away with. I am happy to be here.
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We are so glad you found us as well Robin! As for your question, more often than not your answers will be found in the stickies on the top of the L&L forum. Since you are still feeding dry food, I'm assuming you're following the Start Low Go Slow protocol, which is located HERE. I've copied and pasted the part you're asking about below. It will be a learning process handling those low numbers, but it will be easier once you've learned how Harley reacts to insulin. When you're not sure of a low number, stall without feeding and post for assistance.

In the beginning we suggest following the guidelines in the FDMB's FAQ Q4.4:
Q4.4. My cat's pre-shot level was way below the usual value. Should I give the injection?
A4.4. There's no hard and fast rule, but if you don't have data on how your cat responds to insulin, here are some general guidelines.
  • Below 150 mg/dl (8.3 mmol/L), don't give insulin.
  • Between 150 and 200 (8.3-11.1 mmol/L), you have three options: a.) give nothing; b.) give a token dose (10-25% of the usual dose); c.) feed as usual, test in a couple of hours, and make a decision based on that value.
  • Above 200 (11.1 mmol/L) but below the cat's normal pre-shot value, a reduced dose might be wise.
  • In all cases, if you are reducing or eliminating insulin, it's wise to check for ketones in the urine.
  • Above the normal pre-shot value, give the usual dose, but if the pre-shot value is consistently elevated, it's a good idea to schedule a full glucose curve to see whether a change in dose or insulin is appropriate. In most cases, the target "peak" value should not be below 100 mg/dl (5.6 mmol/L), and for some cats it might be higher.
Keep in mind these are general guidelines, and they should be personalized to your own cat's response to insulin. If your experience is that your cat does not became hypoglycemic with a dose which is close to her usual, then personal experience should be your guide.

With experience, you may find that lowering these thresholds may work well for your cat. When you have reached that stage, the following guidelines are suggested for Lantus, Basaglar, and Levemir users following the Start Low Go Slow approach:

If the preshot number is far below usual preshot numbers:
  • Do you need to stay on schedule? Then skip the shot.
  • Do you have some flexibility with your schedule? Then stalling to wait for the number to rise might be a good option. Don't feed, retest after 30-60 minutes, and decide if the number is shootable.
  • Repeat until the cat either reaches a number at which you are comfortable shooting, or enough time has passed that skipping the shot is necessary.
If the preshot number is near usual preshot numbers:
  • Look at your data to see what numbers you have shot in the past and decide what would be a safe, shootable number for your cat. Don't feed. Stall until kitty reaches the preshot number you've decided on and then shoot.
We usually don't suggest or recommend shooting a preshot number less than 90 mg/dL when following the SLGS Method. Remember that with SLGS, your goal is to achieve flat numbers that are greater than 90, so there is no need to push a cat into numbers lower than that.
 
Amanda and a Loudogg said:
Since you are still feeding dry food, I'm assuming you're following the Start Low Go Slow protocol, which is located HERE.
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Thank you! I am doing the SLGL protocol, and have read the below you posted I just forgot. Thank you for posting that again, I have read through so much information in the past few days I keep circling back and rereading, time to take notes while I reread!
 
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