Advice Needed: Starting to see lower pre-shot numbers

[Diana M.]

First time posting here. Jake was diagnosed on 11/7 with a BG of 689. The vet started him at 1 unit twice a day (not recorded on his spreadsheet since I hadn't found this site yet). Note: he's a dry food addict and we are still working to transition him to wet food. Since he also has severe IBD we've had to tackle this transition more slowly than is ideal.

Recently, we settled into a 2 unit twice a day rhythm and, with little change to that dose, have seen his numbers steadily drop from blacks & reds, to pinks, to yellows and now we are finally starting to see some blues. Seeing blue numbers today for the first time pre-shot was exciting and a bit scary and we were not entirely confident about what to do with his insulin dosage. We ended up giving him a token dose but, in retrospect, are wondering if that was the right thing to do. Are we being too conservative?

Based on his spreadsheet does anyone have any thoughts on what's going on there and how we best could handle this kind of situation should it arise again?

 

[Stacy & Asia]

Welcome, Diana & Jake!

I think being conservative is wise when you are starting out and getting settled, it's all pretty overwhelming in the beginning, but don't worry, it gets easier. When in doubt, you can always post first and get some more seasoned opinions.

It's so great that you are home testing and have set up your spreadsheet, 2 hurdles down!

If you haven't read the stickies yet, you should check them out. The Basics sticky is a great place to start:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...the-basics-new-to-the-group-start-here.18139/

It touches on a bit of everything including the 2 regulation approaches that most here use: TR and SLGS, since you are currently feeding dry food, I think you would have to start with SLGS (and you can change later if you wish, but TR requires no kibble). Dosing info is outlined in the SLGS sticky and can help guide you with when to change a dose, what numbers to shoot, skip, etc. And of course, all of the lovely and knowledgeable people here can help you too.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Hello and welcome.

First comment, I'm finding your spreadsheet confusing. We are use to the older data on top, and the newer data further down. Now that I've figured out what is happening, a couple of comments. As you gather more data, you'll be able to shoot lower doses, even the full dose, as long as you can monitor. Hopefully he'll give you another blue preshot sometime when you can monitor and gather that data. You did shoot 1.5 units on a 178, so tht 155 is not that much lower. Second, we find that Lantus does best with consistent dosing. We look at the nadirs, or how low a dose is taking kitty to determine how to change the dose. You should be able to shoot full dose on anything over 200 to start. As Stacy said, the SLGS Sticky Note will give you guidelines on how to approach lower numbers both when you are new, and as you gather more experience and data.

 

[Diana M.]

Thanks for all the great info! The consistency factor with Lantus hadn’t occurred to me but it really makes a ton of sense given how it works. I still don’t feel that I have a good sense of how low his nadirs are and when in his cycle they are typically occurring . So I’ll work on getting that data on weekends when I am at home since it sounds like it is critical. I’ll also reread all the stickies so that, in future, I’m not asking questions already answered there and reverse my spreadsheet so it reads like everyone else’s .

Again, thanks for the great insights and support.

 

[Stacy & Asia]

Thanks for all the great info! The consistency factor with Lantus hadn’t occurred to me but it really makes a ton of sense given how it works. I still don’t feel that I have a good sense of how low his nadirs are and when in his cycle they are typically occurring . So I’ll work on getting that data on weekends when I am at home since it sounds like it is critical. I’ll also reread all the stickies so that, in future, I’m not asking questions already answered there and reverse my spreadsheet so it reads like everyone else’s .

Again, thanks for the great insights and support.

Read the stickies, yes, but don't be afraid to ask questions, ask a lot of questions, ask questions you think you have the answer to, it's okay! It will take awhile for it all to sink in and click, and that's to be expected. It will be very helpful to get a curve on the weekend so you can try to fill in some of the blanks and find out what the current dose is doing.

It's also helpful to put in your signature any supplements or meds you are using and keep a log of them in the comments section on the SS as well. Looking forward to seeing Jake's progress and good luck with the food transition.