Matthew Brennan
Member
608 at +7. Thoughts?
He might still be bouncing from that recent blue. It's also possible that his dose needs to be tweaked but I wouldn't change anything right now. You're still in a data gathering phase. I see that you're using Freestyle strips in your AT meter. That can work fine just make sure you do a couple of same blood drop tests each time you open a new vial of FS strips. Leave the AT meter at the last cat code you used.608 at +7. Thoughts?
Well... it would seem that the 2u did drop Timmy ok to start with, but because his pre-shot number was so high, the insulin had a lot of work to do. The higher doses dropped him lower, but as we're assuming he is bouncing and therefore lowering the dose, that lower dose isn't doing enough. It starts to become a Catch 22 situation. What we really need to do is get the pre-shot numbers down... that should make life easier. But how to do it is the issue...608 at +7. Thoughts?
I agree, poor Timmy does need to get out of these high numbers asap. Matthew - you've taken on board what we've been saying over the past few days, this is your call, of course. We are going by the book when we say that a dose should be adhered to for at least a couple of days, but these very high numbers are worrying... if you feel capable and confident of not only shooting three times a day, but testing at intervals in between, that should theoretically get numbers down. If you decide to do that, I'd go no higher than 2.5u for now.My opinion... I think doing 2 is a waste of time and is keeping the cat in high numbers too long. I don't want to see him develope dka. If it were me I'd go back to 3 or do 2.5 three times a day.
when in any doubt don't shoot or shoot a lower dose... and post here with an URGENT heading if you need to.
Excellent idea!Going along with this, I think it's a good idea to start a fresh thread with the new dosing strategy if you're going to a round-the-clock schedule. Otherwise, if you need help during one of the quiet times on the board when none of the other folks on this thread are around, it will be hard for a new person to jump into a 100+ message thread and figure out what's going on currently. On the first post of the new thread, you can put a link in to this one, so that anyone who wants to will be able to refer back for the history.
Good luck!
That's another BIG drop, not good. Timmy is showing himself to be very responsive to Caninsulin (not a surprise). See how today goes on the eight-hourly schedule - can you post here with a +3 or 4 and also a +7 so we can see what's happening? It may be that three times a day shooting will work better, IF it is sustainable for you with tests in between as well as pre-shots... if not I definitely think it's time to talk to a vet about another insulin.Sorry guys,
I set that up badly on the spreadsheet. The preshot last night at 11pm was 664. At 1am it was 355.
That's the hope. If the second preshot number is less than usual than you can give a lower dose. Did you do 2.5. Or 3 this morning? You talked about doing 2.5 but I see 3 in the spreadsheet. If the preshot is 250-300 I would give only 2u. If it's over 300 do the 2.5Also, surely by using a lower dose 3 times a day that should stop the big drops and keep him more consistantly at a lower bg?
Great motto Kris! My head was beginning to hurt from all the variables. And I agree - said it myself a few days ago - TID dosing is really something to tackle after a little more experience. Matthew, you are doing well and your dedication is incredible... we know you want Timmy to feel better asap (as do we) but this is something you can't hurry if you want to get it right. Softly softly catchee monkey and all that!My FD motto is, "When chaos reigns, simplify, simplify, simplify." You need more baseline data to judge what to do next. Several of the techniques, like TID dosing, are best used after more experience has been gained.
Well the 2nd preshot is better than this morning so that's a good thing! I was glad to see you did 2.5 this time.I agree with all the points above, but he is up round the 600 mark - a lot. My priority is his health, especially considering he could have been up round them numbers for months due to my (rubbish) vet. I agree gathering data is a big part, but time is of the essence. We have embarked on the 3 times a day dosing. I will keep monitoring him frequently and go from there.
Spreadsheet will stay updated guys. Thanks for all the help.
Not just yet! That's a nice number. He may hang around there for a bit but test again in half an hour and keep an eye on him too.Honey at the ready! 4 hours into shot 2's cycle and we are at 149.
... don't forget he had 3u this morning and another 2.5 eight hours later so he's had more insulin than usual today. We might see a bounce again later. Be very cautious about dosing at next due shot time... post here and let us know what numbers you're getting.Is 149 too low? I thought 100-180 was the right range? He is half way through this shot, so I would expect to see his numbers rising again shortly - plus he has just had a big feed of food.
My thoughts exactly.I think that is a combination of feeding and bouncing. He's already has 5.5u of insulin in under 12 hours compared to the 4.5 u he got yesterday over 24 hours. If he were my cat, I'd be inclined to stick with 2u - 3 times per day (total daily dose of 6units) for a few days to see if that doesn't level him out a bit. Then adjust accordingly.