4/3 Stanley AMPS 325

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Saoirse and Stanley

Saoirse and Stanley

Member Since 2011
I don't know what is going on! Stanley has been on Lantus for almost 4 months and is up to a dose of 4 units bid. He is usually still high when we test him before his shot. Today I tested him a few hours in and he was at 42 -- so I fed him. I kept feeding him all day and retesting and his numbers kept going up a tiny bit and then dropping:

+4 42
+7 52
+9 31
+9.5 64
+10 45
+11 63

Finally at +15 his bg started rising again and was at 160. We figured we should just reduce the dose and gave him only 3 units. Then when I got home tonight at +4 I tested him and he is 29! I fed him again but now I'm afraid to go to bed because I'm afraid it will keep dropping all night. What is going on?? He did have an upset stomach a few nights ago and was vomiting but he has been fine for a couple of days...
 
Re: 4/3 Stanley PMPS 160 -- +4 29 and dropping help!

Hi I just read your thread on health.
A couple of questions. Did you get a bg number before you gave insulin or is the first test you took at +4?

What are you feeding for low numbers? Do you have high carb food with gravy? If not you can mix a little karo syrup with your regular food to bring up the number.
When you get a number that low in the 20's you need to feed a small amount of high carb and retest in 15 minutes.

Please do not give anymore insulin until you post here for some dose help. I think your dose is too high for Stanley.
 
Re: 4/3 Stanley PMPS 160 -- +4 29 and dropping help!

Good morning... about to log off but saw you were online... do you have any new #s? how long before you would normally be shooting?

I'm posting from my phone, so being brief.... but welcome!
 
Re: 4/3 Stanley PMPS 160 -- +4 29 and dropping help!

Do you have any corn syrup, karo, or pancake syrup in the house? When #'s get that low is easier to give him a little syrup. It will bring his #'s up faster. You can use a needleless syringe if he won't lick it.

Here is a link to hypo's and the hypo toolbox. hypo

How is Stanley now?
 
Re: 4/3 Stanley PMPS 160 -- +4 29 and dropping help!

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the replies. He is fine now but I kind of panicked in the middle of the night and gave him probably too much syrup because I was having so much trouble getting him to stay above 50. It went up to 284, but at least he wasn't hypoing. I got really freaked out when he peed in his sleep without noticing.

This morning he was at 325 but I was afraid to give him his normal dose because of how weird the last two shots have been, so I only gave him 2 units. Now at +3 he is at 322. Do you guys think I should just wait and see how he does today? What should I give him later? He has never dropped below 100 with 3.5 units before. It was so weird. Does anyone know what the peeing thing could be?

Sorry to post in this group for the first time in such a panicky state! I thought I was going to have a heart attack!
 
Re: 4/3 Stanley PMPS 160 -- +4 29 and dropping help!

hi there

how about a curve today, about every 2 or 3 hours with a nadir check in there around +5 or +6...post your numbers thru the day so that others can have a look-see.
Since you dont have a spreadsheet going, if you could post a recap of the past few day from AMPS to PMPS and the dose given for each day.
This will help others give you suggestions on your dose.
If you have free time, try to set up a spreadsheet when you can Spreadsheet Set Up

Have a look at the stickies here, New to the Group
has an example of what to expect thru a cycle.

Other handy stickies as well as the ones Sienne linked for you, are the Protocol and the shed sticky Insulin Depot: AKA The Storage Shed

Also, a little bit more info on your kitty, other health issues, history of ketones, and current diet will be helpful.
 
Re: 4/3 Stanley PMPS 160 -- +4 29 and dropping help!

That's what we're here for! We all have panic attacks from time to time.

Tess pees in her sleep occasionally, I've had her checked for UTIs and asked here and at the vet,but i haven't received a good explanation. The closest I've read is that there is a bladder irritation but not infection. One vet recommended Cosequin as it is supposed to help the bladder as well as joints. I've fitted pee pads under covers on most of the places she sleeps.
 
Re: 4/3 Stanley PMPS 160 -- +4 29 and dropping help!

oh and when you have a chance, please update your first subject line as the crisis seems to have passed.
You can edit the first post in this thread to include current numbers in the title line.
 
Re: 4/3 Stanley PMPS 160 -- +4 29 and dropping help!

I got really freaked out when he peed in his sleep without noticing.
Click to expand...

Has he ever done anything like that before?

Glad you got through those lows. Good work!
 
Thanks, I will work on a spreadsheet today and do a curve. He has left puddles where he sleeps before but I always thought it was from high blood sugar, not low. Ann, did the Cosequin help? Pee pads are a good idea! I am wondering if he could have a UTI.

As far as previous health history, he has IBD and is on budesonide daily. He eats Fancy Feast and I tried to add in Merrick but that's when he started vomiting for 3 days. So now we are back to Fancy Feast and I'm going to try to add in/transition to Country Pet if he tolerates it.
 
Has he had his urine cultured? My dog had an ongoing UTI that the vet blamed on old age and lasix. Turned out it was ecoli in her bladder. She peed in her sleep also. I wish I had pushed my vet to test sooner. Diabetic cats are more prone to UTIs.
 
What varieties of Merrick did you try? Did they happen to include beef? I just ask because many cats can't properly digest beef, so it makes them ill.

You may want to look at raw food options as well... I know cats with IBD have responded very well to those foods. Good luck!!
 
I do not think he has had his urine cultured recently. Do I just ask for a urine culture? Is it expensive?

I tried the Grammy's pot pie and did try the Cowboy cookout a couple of times, but mostly the pot pie. Does Country pet count as raw food? I think I want to try that because you can just buy it at Whole Foods, and if that doesn't help him then I will look into actually making raw food.

I just made a spreadsheet so hopefully it works.. Now that I see the numbers laid out like that I see that I shouldn't have increased his dose to 4.0 yet. It's also hard to interpret because of throwing up, fur shots, and my husband and I both taking care of him when we get home from work (he often doesn't write down the numbers.) Hope this link works...

https://spreadsheets0.google.com/pub?key=0AgYqnEyUUObKdEQyZzVtakFDUk95U1Q4QmxaSGd1N0E&output=html
 
Your spreadsheet works fine. Good work!

It's been an exciting few days for you, that's for sure. I see that Stanley is in the 300s right now, but it probably is a bounce from those extreme lows he just had. So I wouldn't assume his new dose is too low at this time.

Good luck and I hope Stanley will continue to need less and less insulin. Wouldn't that be nice!
 
It is expensive in Canada. It seems things are 50% or more cheeper in the US.
It was $120 for the culture and sensitivity. Others may know more about cat UTIs. Some have recently treated them and seen their cats BG come down.
 
Seeing Stanley's numbers from last night makes me very glad you dropped his dose. For a recently diagnosed cat (within the first year of diagnosis), a drop in BG below 50 earns a dose reduction. It does look like Stanley is bouncing from those low numbers yesterday.

One concern I noted on your SS. Please don't give a 2nd shot of insulin even if you are 100% certain that you gave a fur shot. You have no way of knowing how much, if any insulin, got where it's supposed to go. You could easily overdose your cat without meaning to do so.

You can also link your spreadsheet (SS) to your signature so you don't have to paste it into your condo every day. The instructions are also in the same post with the template.
 
hi again,

nice work on the spreadsheet!
I think thou, you'll want to add it to your signature, check the instructions again, visit Tech forum, you should be able to find how to add it to your signature so you dont have to keep linking it. Your signature can also have your first name and kitty's name, DX date etc....

Another tip, try getting a +11 late in the cycle, it is often an indicator of things to come, and also give you and others here a heads up for preshot time.

I'm giving you another link, from Dr Lisa's site
Feline Urinary Tract Health lots of info here about UTI's and the correct testing to be done at vets.

Before considering the use of antibiotics in cystitis patients, a culture and sensitivity (C & S), in addition to a standard urinalysis, should be run on urine obtained via cystocentesis.....
....Free-catch' urine samples (urine voided onto an exam table or into a litter box) should not be used for a C & S due to the issue of contamination which will often give a false positive result. In other words, bacteria will grow on the culture that may not even be in the patient's bladder or kidney.

So yes, a C&S is much better, you will be waiting for results over a period of 72 hours. Cost in Canada about $150, and usually less in the U.S.
 
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