12hr shifts...how to dose.

[Sarai]

Alright, so I referred here but I'm not seeing any help in any of the pinned threads for this situation:

I work 4am-4p Fri-Sat, with rotating Thursdays. How can I possibly give insulin 2x a day when my schedule will overlap the second dose? Does anyone else have this issue? There has to be at least one of you on that type of schedule? I am at a complete loss because I don't know what to do. I cannot afford to kennel her. It's 10m to work on the way there and 30m on the way home (afternoon traffic). Her insulin is Lantus.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

You do the best you can....while it's best to give Lantus as close to every 12 hours as possible, sometimes it's not possible!

We've had people here that have had no choice but to shoot at 11/13 hours instead of 12/12

The most important thing to remember is that shooting early can sometimes act like a dose increase, so it's something to keep in mind.

There's also some ideas in this "Is Tight Regulation possible with a full time job" thread (even if you don't do TR, there's still some good ideas)

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

While we strongly encourage people to shoot every 12 hrs, if you can get a shot in within a half hour window you should be OK. A lot will depend on how sensitive your cat is to the inconsistency in the time. Late shots act like a dose reduction and early shots act like a dose increase.

I would suggest getting a timed feeder so food is available when you're not home. It sounds like you will need to shoot right before you're out the door in the AM. A timed feeder may help to ease your nerves about not getting a subsequent test after AMPS.

You may want to take a look at sticky at the top of the board that discusses working and using Tight Regulation. Even if you're not following TR, there will be some good suggestions as to how to manage a complicated schedule when you have a diabetic cat.