Beeba

[Beeba's Dad]

I know, it is amazing to me how she has progressed. I believe a couple of things. We caught it very early and with the help of everyone on the board here we can get her off the juice in a safe manner. My vet has worked well with me, enduring my countless questions during the early few days as well. I also still believe she was "tipped" into this by the cortizone shots she got prior to this.

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

Not to be a broken record, but I am still concerned if you are giving 2 units with these numbers. Which are preshot numbers? We urge newbies not to shoot under 200 because your kitty is just adjusting to wet food and insulin that builds up a shed. I hope you are getting tests in at least at preshots and nadir and watching carefully.

Can we help you set up a spreadsheet? It is difficult for people to see what is happening with such a long thread and so few numbers.

 

[Beeba's Dad]

Yes, I am at 2 units right now but I will be contacting the vet tomorrow morning about reducing. She is getting her shots at about 7:30 am/pm. How long does it take for this "shed" to build up? She has been acting as normal as ever for the last 2 weeks. Eating well, no excessive urination and her fur looks great, and she is as playful as ever. I also know she has probably gone from a low of 11.2 lbs back to around 13lbs. I am not able to test her extensively enough because of the hours of my job to do a spreadsheet. I do spot checks about every other day and I never see a swing in her numbers great enough to be alarming, usually no more than around 30 points. Ever since the third day of her curve at the vet she has never gone over 165. Is she an example of a spontanious remission that was driven into a diabetic state by the steroids in the cortizone?

 

[Jen & Squeak]

why are you so reluctant to lower her dose considering those low numbers ? It makes no sense to me that you continue to give her 2 units, shed or no shed.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

If I'm understanding your numbers, you're adjusting your Freestyle LIte to compensate for the difference between your meter and the vet's meter. If you take a look at the 2 charta in the tight regulation protocol I'm linking, you'll notice there are different cut offs for when a cat earns a dose reduction. On a human glucometer, in a newly diagnosed cat, the cut off is below 50. On an AlphaTrack or meter calibrated for feline blood, the cut off is 80. With many meters, there is not a consistent difference between the numbers throughout the range so it's best to not to try to correct the numbers by a fixed amount. Rather, use the below 50 on your Freestyle as your point for when Beeba earns a reduction.

It takes 5 - 7 days for a cat that's not been on Lantus to build a shed. For a dose change, it can take 1 - 2 cycles for the shed to catch up to the dose change.

Beeba is in good numbers from what you're reporting. We recommend that at the bare minimum, get pre-shot tests and one test per cycle to insure that your cat doesn't drop into low numbers and experience a hypoglycemic incident. Testing every other day is putting Beeba at significant risk. Let me put this in a different context. If this were a child, would you test his or her blood glucose level every other day? I suspect that your pediatrician would encourage you to test your child before every meal and probably at bedtime, if not more often. I am concerned that Beeba is dropping lower than you are seeing.

Generally, we suggest to people who cannot test frequently, that they drop their cat's dose. It's bets to err on the side of safety than to have to deal with a hypoglycemic episode.

 

[Beeba's Dad]

Belive me, I want to drop her dose and have cut her back to 1 1/2 just yesterday. My dilema is this. If I cut her back to quick,won't that put her at risk of her emptying her shed and put me back at square one?

 

[BJM]

Belive me, I want to drop her dose and have cut her back to 1 1/2 just yesterday. My dilema is this. If I cut her back too quick,won't that put her at risk of her emptying her shed and put me back at square one?

The shed empties somewhat slowly; thats why you may need a a number of cycles to see what happens (2 cycles per day). If you changed her in the morning yesterday, tonight's pre-shot test would show the results of 3 cycles at the lower dose. If you changed her in the evening yesterday, tonight's pre-shot test would show the results of 2 cycles at the lower dose. If you are/were able to get a mid-cycle around +6, that will let you get an idea of how low she is going. If it doesn't totally muck up your life, setting an alarm and getting the +6 in the middle of the night can be done if daytime doesn't work. Review the sticky on Lantus dosing and see how the number of cycles plus her numbers compare to the dose adjustment criteria.

 

[Jen & Squeak]

let me put it this way....which is more serious...'depleting' her shed and having higher numbers or causing brain damage? this is why people have been questioning you,and why I've spoken so plainly. For some reason you are more worried about the possibility that she goes a bit higher than the possibility of irreparable damage.

 

[SaraJaye]

Cutting it from 2 units to 1.5 units isn't a huge reduction. Continue to be diligent in doing those daily curves to make sure you could catch anything going towards hypo numbers... it's quite possible that the pancreas is healing itself and, along with a proper diet, Beeba could be regulating herself more and more - if this is happening, less and less insulin will be needed. So yes, you're right to not want to slash the dose by a huge amount. 2 units to 1.5 is just right. Sorry to repeat myself but PLEASE keep testing blood levels often.

Belive me, I want to drop her dose and have cut her back to 1 1/2 just yesterday. My dilema is this. If I cut her back to quick,won't that put her at risk of her emptying her shed and put me back at square one?

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

Can you please start a new thread? This one is getting too long.

Agree with everyone that a dose decrease is probably in order. Please keep us advised and get some nadir numbers.

If you want help with your spreadsheet, just pm me. I can set it up for you. Both you and we need one to see what is happening - how the insulin is working and what patterns you are seeing. It will also be a great tool to share with your vet.