A newbie with questions.

[Darby01]

Much gratitude to all for their patience and dedication in this group.
I'm a beginner.
2 monthsago noticed Buster drinking copiesamounts ofwater and floods in his litter box.
OV: BS 420, Dxdiabetes, Proplan DM dry and ProZinc 1u twice a day advised.
Behavoir is always happy, excellent appetite. Wt gain from 11 to 16 lbs during the year I've had him. Was trying to get him to lose a lbbefore Dx with no success despite strictmeasing of food intake.
I understand the importance of wet food andwill make this change.
High fluid intake/output unchanged sincestarting insulin, and it's been graduallyincreased to 3u twice a day. No changes noted- vet advises to leave insulin at3u until his follow-up visit. This is is 4 wksfrom now.
Bought Relion Prime yesterday, am starting home checks today.
Will value input -
I'm going to test him today on his usual 3uand dry food for baseline, but then we'll be transitioning to dry. Sounds like we shoulddrop the dose back to 1u as the switch takes place?
Also, I'll chart the readings for curves, but Ifeel so stupid I don't understand what we're looking for with the curves. I'm used to givinginsulin to people on a sliding scale BS, but I'm gathering it's not the readings, but the curves that are important.
The readings at the vet 2 mos ago were: 8am 447, 9am 444. Was fed and dosed @ 10am with readout of 296. Read every hr after this - readings were 317, 260, 254, 179, 287.
The vet is highly respected in our community, but for some reason, I get uncomfortable feelings about Buster's care.
Thank you so much for your time!
Darby

 

[Kris & Teasel]

ProZinc 1u twice a day advised.

The recommended starting dose. Some vets start them off too high.

it's been graduallyincreased to 3u twice a day.

How gradually and in what increments? We recommend small increments of 0.25 u eyeballed on the syringe so you don't zoom past a good dose. Too little and too much insulin can look the same - ie., high BGs.

Bought Relion Prime yesterday, am starting home checks today.

Kudos to you for home testing. FYI - the Prime has the cheapest test strips but needs a larger blood drop to get a result. The Micro and Confirm need a tiny drop. If your kitty's ears bleed easily, the Prime should work.

I'm going to test him today on his usual 3uand dry food for baseline, but then we'll be transitioning to dry. Sounds like we shoulddrop the dose back to 1u as the switch takes place?

Get some baseline data while he still gets dry food. The switch to all canned low carb food can have a significant impact on BG. If you can monitor closely while you do the transition you should be able to stay on top of lowering BGs.

Also, I'll chart the readings for curves, but Ifeel so stupid I don't understand what we're looking for with the curves.

If you're willing to set up a spreadsheet like the one we use here, it's viewable by all members and we understand the colour coding. No need for an actual graphed curve. Having said that, a graph of over time BG on a good dose of ProZinc should be a smile shape with the AM and PM pre shot BGs at the corners and the nadir value at the low point about half way through the interval between doses. Pre shots in the low 200s and nadirs in the low 100s or high double digits are good.

The readings at the vet 2 mos ago were: 8am 447, 9am 444. Was fed and dosed @ 10am with readout of 296. Read every hr after this - readings were 317, 260, 254, 179, 287.

That 179 is only from a single curve at the vet clinic. All these numbers might be elevated from vet stress. The fact that there's a 179 under those conditions tells me that the good dose might be above 1 u twice a day but is quite likely less than 3 u BID.

 

[Yong & Maury GA]

Kris has addressed your first post so I'm just coming in to add links!
Setting up your Signature with some information about Buster will be helpful if you continue to post things and help those of us with bad memories: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/editing-your-signature-profile-and-preferences.130340/
The Spreadsheet (SS) link that Kris mentioned too:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
Understanding said SS: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/understanding-the-spreadsheet-grid.156606/
And make sure to have a HYPO KIT set up

Keep asking any questions . We have Buster in our best interest and YOURS

 

[TempestsMum]

Nothing to add, I think Yong and Kris have everything covered! And you definitely have an A* for your homework!

 

[Just-As-Appy]

Managing diabetes for your cat is best thought of as a partnership with your vet, not that he is in control of kitties care. You hold the syringe and dish up the food. Data (i.e. bg numbers) is critical to managing diabetes, and the more you get from home testing the better you will be able to see how the insulin works in your cat's body and how different foods affect his bg. You may find hat several small meals work better for him than one or two meals. A timed feeder can be helpful for this routine. I like the analogy of the curve being like a smile, but I would add that the ideal curve is a shallow smile, not a big toothy grin!

To start your testing, try to get a pre-shot morning and night and another in mid-cycle, between 5 and 7 hours from the morning shot. These three data points will give people the best info in the short run about the level of your dose.

 

[Darby01]

Managing diabetes for your cat is best thought of as a partnership with your vet, not that he is in control of kitties care. You hold the syringe and dish up the food. Data (i.e. bg numbers) is critical to managing diabetes, and the more you get from home testing the better you will be able to see how the insulin works in your cat's body and how different foods affect his bg. You may find hat several small meals work better for him than one or two meals. A timed feeder can be helpful for this routine. I like the analogy of the curve being like a smile, but I would add that the ideal curve is a shallow smile, not a big toothy grin!

To start your testing, try to get a pre-shot morning and night and another in mid-cycle, between 5 and 7 hours from the morning shot. These three data points will give people the best info in the short run about the level of your dose.

Appreciate your info, ideas, and reinforcement and the no big toothy grin!
Yesterday was frustrating - it was to be our 1st day for home testing for curves. We did not make progress.
I had bought Relion Prime, 30ga, lancets.
Did not get samples.
So bought 26 ga with launching device, read and watched more videos. Better idea of ear massaging w/ warm sock, and I think I need to stand above him rather than sit by him. It will get better.
However, I did start the transition to wet food.
He's not going to be picky so this isn't going to be an ordeal/take long. Because it's happening I lowered his dose from 3u to the 2u he started out on with the Dx. I wanted to give his ears a rest after yesterday, and I've read to wait 3 days before retesting.
Any thoughts about doing 50/50 wet/dry and 2u for 3 days, and then checking levels on the 3rd day before going totally wet? Thanks!

 

[JanetNJ]

Appreciate your info, ideas, and reinforcement and the no big toothy grin!
Yesterday was frustrating - it was to be our 1st day for home testing for curves. We did not make progress.
I had bought Relion Prime, 30ga, lancets.
Did not get samples.
So bought 26 ga with launching device, read and watched more videos. Better idea of ear massaging w/ warm sock, and I think I need to stand above him rather than sit by him. It will get better.
However, I did start the transition to wet food.
He's not going to be picky so this isn't going to be an ordeal/take long. Because it's happening I lowered his dose from 3u to the 2u he started out on with the Dx. I wanted to give his ears a rest after yesterday, and I've read to wait 3 days before retesting.
Any thoughts about doing 50/50 wet/dry and 2u for 3 days, and then checking levels on the 3rd day before going totally wet? Thanks!

Don't give up. There is a learning curve to it.... You'll get your technique down and kitties ears will grow capillaries and learn to bleed.

 

[FranklinsMom]

I am a newbie too. I did my first test on Monday, using the lancing device. Franklin wasn't sure about the noise of the lancing device the first couple of times but he wasn't very terrified of it...just a strange noise to him. I've read on here that some people prefer to use just the lancet itself and that will be cheaper in the long run. So I've been using the device but after a few tries, I started trying just the lancet. I had trouble the first few times but I have now successfully used the lancet three times, I believe. If I can't get the right poke with the lancet after a few tries, then I use the device. I have the Alphatrak 2 which came with 28 gauge lancets. I have done the test 12 times now and did give up the second time after using up two strips. Franklin doesn't really seem bothered about it. He is more curious whenever I place the meter on the floor--he grabs it. Or he wants to smell the sock of rice I'm rubbing against his ear. Hang in there, you'll get it down.

 

[Darby01]

I am a newbie too. I did my first test on Monday, using the lancing device. Franklin wasn't sure about the noise of the lancing device the first couple of times but he wasn't very terrified of it...just a strange noise to him. I've read on here that some people prefer to use just the lancet itself and that will be cheaper in the long run. So I've been using the device but after a few tries, I started trying just the lancet. I had trouble the first few times but I have now successfully used the lancet three times, I believe. If I can't get the right poke with the lancet after a few tries, then I use the device. I have the Alphatrak 2 which came with 28 gauge lancets. I have done the test 12 times now and did give up the second time after using up two strips. Franklin doesn't really seem bothered about it. He is more curious whenever I place the meter on the floor--he grabs it. Or he wants to smell the sock of rice I'm rubbing against his ear. Hang in there, you'll get it down.

 

[Darby01]

Hi! Good for you. Today is my first day -using a rice sock to warm his ear and a 26 ga lancet without launching device.
So far so good, but am looking forward to getting over the learning curve and being more comfortable! Good luck to both of us and our kitties!