Charlie M
Member Since 2016
Please keep in mind I am scared to death of doing the wrong thing for smokey right now, even if you don't agree with me trying no insulin, please try to be gentle about it...I'm really trying to do what I feel is best for him...not giving the insulin is as stressful as giving it for me right now!
So I know no one will think I should even be trying no insulin yet. I've watched him and watched him...every time he dips below 5 he seems so ill...I just can't keep pushing the insulin on him. My gut feeling is telling me not to, and that same gut feeling has saved him and our old girl in the past...I have to listen to it. I've rechecked how much I was giving him...that I was calling 0.25, and it was 1 1/2 drops (even less some days) ...this should be 0.15 units. Vet said due to his behaviour at lower than a 5 he may be hyper sensative to hypo, and may not be able to tolerate the lower ranges of normal. So we've decided to try him off insulin. Today was the first day I was able to do a curve on him to see exactly what's going on with no insulin. It was one of his higher days to start with.
I guess the most important thing to do right now is identify how his BG responds to the food with out insulin, and see what might cause BG spikes.
His BG seems to go up 1hour after finishing his food, but seems to come down again in an hour...Is this good?
I also saw that when he had a treat...this coincided with when he would have been high from food, he jumped up to a 7.9 with in a half hour (was very tired for 1/2 h to an hour here). We are using Lamb chops from the store, pan frying (no oil or anything) them and cutting them into treat sized pieces for his treats...is there anyway this could cause a big BG spike like that?
Thinking of possibly doing another curve on Monday...NO LAMB TREATS...see if it makes a difference, and keeps his numbers in a better range. He was also starting to get annoyed with the hourly testing today(just wanted to get a good picture of what was going on). So only 2 hour testing on the next one...maybe that messed with the numbers too.
Are there any other things I can do to get the BG down just slightly with out insulin.
I'll include a picture of info for the vet...it helps show meal times, to see how it fits together. Please ignore the Alpha readings...this was for the benefit of the vet if she prefers...they don't seem to match the human meter numbers, I've been using the human meter only for quite a while...and that's the pattern I've been using. It also has a 15% accuracy range...less fluctuations than the alpha. Human meter readings are shown on spreadsheet too.
So I know no one will think I should even be trying no insulin yet. I've watched him and watched him...every time he dips below 5 he seems so ill...I just can't keep pushing the insulin on him. My gut feeling is telling me not to, and that same gut feeling has saved him and our old girl in the past...I have to listen to it. I've rechecked how much I was giving him...that I was calling 0.25, and it was 1 1/2 drops (even less some days) ...this should be 0.15 units. Vet said due to his behaviour at lower than a 5 he may be hyper sensative to hypo, and may not be able to tolerate the lower ranges of normal. So we've decided to try him off insulin. Today was the first day I was able to do a curve on him to see exactly what's going on with no insulin. It was one of his higher days to start with.
I guess the most important thing to do right now is identify how his BG responds to the food with out insulin, and see what might cause BG spikes.
His BG seems to go up 1hour after finishing his food, but seems to come down again in an hour...Is this good?
I also saw that when he had a treat...this coincided with when he would have been high from food, he jumped up to a 7.9 with in a half hour (was very tired for 1/2 h to an hour here). We are using Lamb chops from the store, pan frying (no oil or anything) them and cutting them into treat sized pieces for his treats...is there anyway this could cause a big BG spike like that?
Thinking of possibly doing another curve on Monday...NO LAMB TREATS...see if it makes a difference, and keeps his numbers in a better range. He was also starting to get annoyed with the hourly testing today(just wanted to get a good picture of what was going on). So only 2 hour testing on the next one...maybe that messed with the numbers too.
Are there any other things I can do to get the BG down just slightly with out insulin.
I'll include a picture of info for the vet...it helps show meal times, to see how it fits together. Please ignore the Alpha readings...this was for the benefit of the vet if she prefers...they don't seem to match the human meter numbers, I've been using the human meter only for quite a while...and that's the pattern I've been using. It also has a 15% accuracy range...less fluctuations than the alpha. Human meter readings are shown on spreadsheet too.
The normal range for cats based on IDEXX lab values is 4.0 to 9.7 mmol or in US scale 72 to 175 mg/dL so according to your AT meter readings, Smokey is within normal range. I think you are doing the right thing by withholding insulin. If as the vet speculates, Smokey is "happier" in the higher normal numbers, he's looking good indeed. Congrats! Looks like he's gone 9 days without insulin. Another five days and you can declare Smokey in remission. Let the party preparations begin!
