If you can't monitor, then it is up to you if you do not feel comfortable giving insulin when the AMPS is lower. Certainly, in terms of getting the diabetes regulated, being able to give the insulin and monitor afterwards is ideal but everyone has their own challenges in that regard. You have to work to live, after all.
Regarding remission, it is probably best to focus on regulation first and foremost. Once regulation is achieved, than remission may become possible. Or it may not, ever cat is different and some take years to reach remission, or never. This is the reality of feline diabetes.
What is regulation, you may be asking. Well, these are definitions of the different stages of regulation -- and in fact Poppy's numbers put her just about in the Regulated or maybe even Well Regulated area. But you can see looking at her spreadsheet that when you skip, her BGs are back up in the mid-yellows by PMPS. So imo she still needs at least some insulin to stay regulated throughout the day, and maybe reach Tight Regulation.
Copy pasted from the
FAQ
There are different definitions of regulation. As hometesting becomes more common, we've been getting a better understanding of what cats and their humans might be capable of. Janet & Fitzgerald propose the following "regulation continuum":
- Not treated - blood glucose typically above 300 mg/dl (16.7 mmol/L), poor clinical signs
- Treated, but not regulated - often above 300 (16.7) and rarely near 100 (5.6), poor clinical signs
- Regulated - generally below 300 (16.7) with glucose nadir near 100 (5.6), good clinical signs, no hypoglycemia
- Well regulated - generally below 200-250 (11.1-13.9) and often near 100 (5.6), no hypoglycemia
- Tightly regulated - generally below 150 (8.3) and usually in the 60-120 (3.3-6.7) range, no hypoglycemia, still receiving insulin
- Normalized - 60-120 (3.3-6.7) except perhaps directly after meals -- usually not receiving insulin
There may also be an extra category of "mostly above 300 (16.7) but with good clinical signs" which occurs with some cats who are getting insulin. We don't know why it happens, but such a cat probably should not be considered to be regulated. On the other end of the spectrum, it is possible for a cat who is not getting insulin to have blood glucose as low as 40 mg/dl (2.2 mmol/L) on a glucometer calibrated for humans. If you have a non-diabetic cat, try testing her with the same meter to get a safe comparison figure.
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