Back on Insulin - Need Advice Please

Status
Not open for further replies.
MustLuvCats

MustLuvCats

Member Since 2012
After 3.5 yrs in remission Rylee's is back on insulin:( I am hoping it's only temporary again as her sugar went up when she got her first UTI 2 weeks ago. Rylee is a 13 yr old female. My question I am putting out there is about giving her the insulin injection. I have to wait until my husband or daughter wakes up to help me and that is around 1-2 hours after Rylee has had breakfast. Is that bad? Should I attempt myself? I just need to get reacquainted with giving shots then probably can do on my own again.

Any advice or suggestions.

Thanks!!

Stephenie
 
Hi Stephenie and Rylee. Welcome back :) although I'm sorry you find yourself needing to be here again.:(

It's tough to answer your question or provide suggestions without a bit more info. What kind of insulin are you using? Are you home testing?
 
Sorry, out of practice :(.....She is on the Lantus pen and yes I am home testing. This morning I tested before meal and it was 384. Still waiting for assistance to give her the injection :(
 
Great to know you are home testing and that you tested her before she ate. If I were you and you can time it accordingly, I'd give Rylee a snack if she must be fed before shot time and make sure she doesn't eat at least 2 hours prior to her shot. Then I'd test and give her a full meal when your assistant(s) is/are available so you know you are not shooting a food influenced number and that her reading is indeed shootable. What you did today is probably fine too but the reason for feeding at shot time rather than 2 hours before is so the injected insulin has "fuel" to work with when it starts working about 2-3 hours after the shot. You really just need to know Rylee will eat if need be so whether you give her a full meal or a snack at shot time, really shouldn't make a big difference as long as she is not going into any lower range numbers.
 
Ok so need some advice/help for you experienced diabetic cat owners. My vet didn't give me much info and since the last time she was on insulin was 3.5 yrs ago my memory is kinda vague. I just tested her before her morning meal and she was 296. If I remember correctly I am not to give her insulin when she is below 300? Yesterday morning she was 321 preshot and dropped to 166 by late evening. Should I just test her before her next meal and see what those numbers are? Vet doesn't get in until 8 and I know I have about 10 minutes after meal to give shot. Any advice would be appreciated.
 
Hi. We usually advise new folks not to shoot any reading under 200 as long as there aren't or haven't been any ketones in the picture. Since you just restarted insulin, it may be a good idea to stick with that or to give a reduced shot if you are comfortable doing so with a reading of 200. At 296, I'd shoot the usual dose and if you can, retest at about +3 as that will give you an idea of how active the cycle might be.
 
Thanks Linda, I did give her the full dose of 2 units of Lantus per the vet advice since he called me shortly after my post. She dropped to 130 last night :)...This morning she is at 259 pre shot and I gave her 2 units again. Hopefully she won't go below 100. She is a tough kitty, she was at 500 when she fell out of remission and still not spilling ketones. Got to get back up to speed on all this, but I am praying it's temporary again. She was just diagnosed with a UTI and I wonder if that is what caused all this.
 
MustLuvCats said:
After 3.5 yrs in remission Rylee's is back on insulin:( I am hoping it's only temporary again as her sugar went up when she got her first UTI 2 weeks ago. Rylee is a 13 yr old female. My question I am putting out there is about giving her the insulin injection. I have to wait until my husband or daughter wakes up to help me and that is around 1-2 hours after Rylee has had breakfast. Is that bad? Should I attempt myself? I just need to get reacquainted with giving shots then probably can do on my own again.

Any advice or suggestions.

Thanks!!

Stephenie
Click to expand...
He Stephenie...I'm having almost the SAME scenario right now! My diabetic almost made the 2 year anniversary in remission, just short 3 months. I'm having a hard time remembering all the do's, don'ts, tricks and strategies as well. I'm going to watch your post and see if any of this information comes back! :-) I have to leave town on Wednesday and I don't want my house-sitter to have to monitor her BG so I won't start her insulin until next Tuesday. I hate waiting that long but it's all I can do right now. Good luck. Hoping we can both get our fur babies back into remission!
 
MustLuvCats said:
She was just diagnosed with a UTI and I wonder if that is what caused all this.
Click to expand...
That could very well be the cause or at the very least, part of the problem. Hopefully once that is cleared, she will go OTJ again. It's a good thing you are home testing so you'll be able to catch any drops in her BG. :D


@Jeannie & Cairo
Jeannie & Cairo said:
I have to leave town on Wednesday and I don't want my house-sitter to have to monitor her BG so I won't start her insulin until next Tuesday.
Click to expand...
If you want to wait to start insulin again, you might want to consider testing for ketones just to be on the safe side especially if you are not going to be around for a few days. If there are ketones, then starting insulin sooner rather than later will be necessary as they can lead to DKA and that you don't want to happen.
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
That could very well be the cause or at the very least, part of the problem. Hopefully once that is cleared, she will go OTJ again. It's a good thing you are home testing so you'll be able to catch any drops in her BG. :D


@Jeannie & Cairo If you want to wait to start insulin again, you might want to consider testing for ketones just to be on the safe side especially if you are not going to be around for a few days. If there are ketones, then starting insulin sooner rather than later will be necessary as they can lead to DKA and that you don't want to happen.
Click to expand...
I tested twice for ketones and both time the test read negative.
 
MustLuvCats said:
Got to get back up to speed on all this, but I am praying it's temporary again.
Click to expand...
Hi Stephenie. Sorry to hear Rylee is back on the juice! We've found you'll have the best chance of getting her back into remission by treating aggressively. After almost 3 years OTJ, a simple case of gingivitis knocked Alex out of remission. I was able to get her back to The Falls after 8 weeks of aggressive treatment. The goal is to get kitty back into normal numbers as quickly as safely possible.

For a quick refresher course (if you haven't already), read through the stickys at the top of the Lantus & Levemir Insulin Support Group. In fact, go ahead and post over there if you'd like. They're very well-versed in helping kitties who have fallen out of remission get back to The Falls.

Good luck! :)

 
Sorry haven't been back for awhile because Rylee went BACK INTO REMISSION!!! She had a UTI and I am pretty sure that's what caused her to drop out of remission. Actually her BG's are even lower then in the past. Right now she is running around 80-110. Pretty amazing as it only took a week, same as last time. So yet again I spent over $100 and don't need to use the insulin. I will probably keep it around for a year like last time :)
 
Jeannie & Cairo said:
He Stephenie...I'm having almost the SAME scenario right now! My diabetic almost made the 2 year anniversary in remission, just short 3 months. I'm having a hard time remembering all the do's, don'ts, tricks and strategies as well. I'm going to watch your post and see if any of this information comes back! :) I have to leave town on Wednesday and I don't want my house-sitter to have to monitor her BG so I won't start her insulin until next Tuesday. I hate waiting that long but it's all I can do right now. Good luck. Hoping we can both get our fur babies back into remission!
Click to expand...
Hi Jeannie & Cairo....hope your kitty is doing well and hope he went back into remission. See my recent post....Rylee went back after 1 week!!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top