After 1 yr of good control now very high sugars

CindyJ

CindyJ

Member Since 2017
Confused as to why now after one year of good control my cat Baxter’s blood sugars are running 500 and 600 again. He’s been on two units of Lantus twice a day. I rotate the sites mainly along his flank on both sides . But then I thought maybe I need to start injecting elsewhere and started using the scruff of his neck and was actually getting better control for a while but now it doesn’t matter where I inject . And I just got a new vial of insulin to rule out that there wasn’t any problem with the insulin . Help!! Any suggestions as to what’s going on?
 
Hi Cindy, it's hard to know what is going on as your SS is 2017 and nothing current so it is hard to comment on what is happening. Can you start a new year and fill in data for this year? There could be a lot of different reasons for you would lose good control.

When was the last time Baxter was at the vet's for a checkup and blood work?
 
He had a physical a couple of months ago and blood work done which was completely normal . Blood pressure was checked and that was completely normal . No UTI. He is definitely urinating more because of the high blood sugars but it’s not because he has a UTI . Also nothing going on with his pancreas such as pancreatitis .

I could start posting his numbers again but somehow I feel this has more to do with injection sites than his dose of insulin?? but then again it could be that he is just starting to require more insulin ??

Thanks for any feedback
 
CindyJ said:
He had a physical a couple of months ago and blood work done which was completely normal . Blood pressure was checked and that was completely normal . No UTI. He is definitely urinating more because of the high blood sugars but it’s not because he has a UTI . Also nothing going on with his pancreas such as pancreatitis .

I could start posting his numbers again but somehow I feel this has more to do with injection sites than his dose of insulin?? but then again it could be that he is just starting to require more insulin ??

Thanks for any feedback
Click to expand...

If you could post his recent BG's that would be helpful.
 
What are the % carbs of the Purina Pro plan foods? Grain free does not always equal low carb. Actually, grain free dry food has some of the highest carb counts. Aim for less than 6% carbs.
 
Thank you so much for your reply . What are you discovered is that once I started injecting his insulin in a totally different location his blood sugars returned to normal within a few days . I had always rotated the injection site mainly on his flank rotating sights on the left side in the morning and the right side at night, but then I started injecting more around his scruff of his neck and his blood sugars greatly improved. So this was very interesting
 
That is interesting! And good advice to try different sites if it doesn’t look like things are working.
 
One observation...

Just like with people, you can go to the doctor for a check up and be fine and get sick a few months later. Cats are masters at hiding illness. Since BG goes up with inflammation or infection, scheduling a vet visit may not be a bad idea. Also, if Baxter hasn't had his teeth looked at or cleaned, it may be a dental issue that's driving the numbers up.
 
Sounds a bit like Merlin He was on Lantus 2x a day @ 2.0 u for 7 years. He's been diabetic for 10 and was on 1.5u early on. Then in he went out of control into high numbers. They came down a into the 400s and 300s in Feb. We went to the vet and all tests were normal. He was also losing weight. His SS has his Feb. onward numbers and LAB results. The other big thing with him was progressive weight loss due to poor appetite. We still don't know why. We put him on TR and associated heavy BG testing to get a good data set on behavior vs dosage. See his SS for progress and lab results. Merlin threads have other daily info as well. I offer no solutions. Just that your situation sounds a bit similar and that TR has brought his dose DOWN to 1.25u. I thought it would be a higher dose, but it looks like his dose was too high and flipped him unstable. I don't know. But consider working the TR protocol and listen to the advice and observations the experienced members will give you.
 
I started with the scruff, but after awhile I noticed numbers rising and erratic numbers. I read on another web site that the scruff is the least consistent location to inject as it has relatively poor blood flow. It also forms scar tissues easier after many many many pokes. The flanks have excellent blood flow and the fact they move a lot more than the scruff, the tissues are less prone to scar tissue formation. So I started swapping flank shots and everything settled back to normal for years until this January. I don't think his current issues have anything to do with shot sites. So you may see issues with the scruff.

We use Purina Pro Grain free canned food for Merlin. It's LC food with numbers of 2% - 5%, depending on the flavor. Dr. Pearson has it listed in her study list.
 
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