Belly-week 2 of insulin, holding steady in mid to low 150's should i shoot?

hellolily

hellolily

Member Since 2020
Hi everyone,

My cat Belly is in her 2nd week of treatment, but her numbers have been low and I've been skipping shots. See my previous post for more information:
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/week-2-amps-161-1-190-should-i-shoot.242385/#post-2731108

Now I'm still very new to this, but I saw the advice that pre-shot numbers under 200 may warrant a skip, which I've been doing. Belly's been staying around the 150's, which is a huge improvement from a few weeks ago, before she started insulin and was always in the 300's.
But if the healthy range is below 120, is it ok for her to skip insulin while shes slightly above that? Or should i be giving her a reduced dose?

thank you all for your help!

Lily
 
Hi Lily,

Looks like Belly is doing very well but needs some insulin. Rather than just skip, how about you give a lose dose of 0.25U twice a day and see how she fares on that?
You are testing regularly though I would recommend later tests at night. I think you have only +1s?

ETA: Is there a reason you are following SLGS and not TR? You test enough and Belly is on LC canned.
 
I just looked at your ss and I agree with Bhooma. She’s not ready to stop insulin. I’d try .25 also.
 
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Bandit's Mom said:
Hi Lily,

Looks like Belly is doing very well but needs some insulin. Rather than just skip, how about you give a lose dose of 0.25U twice a day and see how she fares on that?
You are testing regularly though I would recommend later tests at night. I think you have only +1s?

ETA: Is there a reason you are following SLGS and not TR? You test enough and Belly is on LC canned.
Click to expand...

I don't test as much at night because i go to bed shortly after the last shot.

I just assumed SLGS was easier and less risky as a newbie.
Last week the insulin would drop her about 100-150 points, so when i saw this week's pre-shot numbers in the 150's, the idea of her dropping that much was scary.
 
Practice with colored water and a used syringe to get a consistent dose. Use a syringe with a good beginning line. Then make that your sample. How does that sound?
 
tiffmaxee said:
Practice with colored water and a used syringe to get a consistent dose. Use a syringe with a good beginning line. Then make that your sample. How does that sound?
Click to expand...

practicing with colored water is a great suggestion! thank you!
 
tiffmaxee said:
How about skipping tonight and trying .25 in the morning?
Click to expand...

this morning i had every intention of giving her a .25 dose, but she had her lowest AMPS number, it was 111, because it was lower than 120 i skipped.
was this ok? What should be an acceptable skip number given that shes been staying in the low-mid 100s?
 
On a human meter normal is 50-80 or 100 or even 120 depending on who you ask. I suspect her pancreas is starting to come to life. Can you get a test 3-4 hours after she last ate?
 
tiffmaxee said:
On a human meter normal is 50-80 or 100 or even 120 depending on who you ask. I suspect her pancreas is starting to come to life. Can you get a test 3-4 hours after she last ate?
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yes, i usually check at least once more at the 6 hour point, but since today is the weekend and i have more flexibility and i can check throughout the day.

i am simply amazed at her numbers this week, before i received the insulin i was checking her BG pretty randomly, throughout the day just to learn how to use the meter, and she was always above 300.
 
Did you change her food when first diagnosed? Did she have a steroid orally or an injection for any reason?
 
tiffmaxee said:
Did you change her food when first diagnosed? Did she have a steroid orally or an injection for any reason?
Click to expand...

i changed her food pretty early because the emergency UTI vet visit revealed she was likely diabetic. because this was around the holidays and i couldnt get a vet appointment i decided to just err on the side of caution and buy the meter myself and transition her food.
so i first mixed her kibble with wet food, started noticing the frequent urination decrease, and then shortly removed the kibble, shes been doing great since.
 
That explains everything. She had a UTI and was stressed. You changed her diet. I think There’s a good chance she is becoming diet controlled.
 
tiffmaxee said:
That explains everything. She had a UTI and was stressed. You changed her diet. I think There’s a good chance she is becoming diet controlled.
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Can you offer any advice on when i will be able to be sure she is diet controlled?

i've been skipping now based on the idea that the closer she is the 120 the better, but what about if shes just barely above 120? does that warrant a tiny insulin dose?
 
tiffmaxee said:
Not yet. I want to see if she’s under 100 after eating and when/if she starts to go up.
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got it, thank you i appreciate your insight.

she ate around 12, so i will wait a few hours before i test again. I don't have a general eating schedule for her, except 2 hours before shot time. In between, she eats several small meals, usually she lets me know shes hungry by yelling at me.
Should i put her on a timed schedule?
 
No need to put her on a schedule. You can test her 3-4 hours after she ate and then let her eat. It can be from anytime after eating. Most cats are highest in the morning. It’s generally the last bg to cone down when ready to stop insulin. What I don’t know about Belly is if the depot from the higher doses is still in play so she likely will need some insulin once we see what is happening.
 
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tiffmaxee said:
No need to put her on a schedule. You can test her 3-4 hours after she ate and then let her eat. It can be from anytime after eating. Most cats are highest in the morning. It’s generally the last bg to cone down when ready to stop insulin. What I don’t know about Belly is if the depot from the higher doses is still in play so she likely will need some insulin once we see what is happening.
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hmm..i've been seeing bigger numbers at night, i'm not sure what that indicates?
anyway, today at +7 she slid below 100! her bg was 99!
 
What time do you give her insulin? Do you leave food out at night? Dies she eat less at night than during the day?
 
insulin time is 10:30, she usually gets a small last meal after that before bed.
if i don't give her food before bed, in the morning she'll eat super fast and vomit.
 
That is part of her problem. She needs to eat several small meals the first half of the cycle. Many use an auto feeder and set it to go off while they are sleeping. I used to feed ar preshot, +2 , +3 or 4, and+5 or +6.
 
I think Belly needs a little insulin support but I’m worried because you would shoot and go to sleep. Can you set alarms to test her? Would you be willing to stay up to get a +2 and set an alarm for later depending on what the bg is then?
 
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tiffmaxee said:
I think Belly needs a little insulin support but I’m worried because you would shoot and go to sleep. Can you set alarms to test her? Would you be willing to stay up to get a +2 and set an alarm for later depending on what the bg is then?
Click to expand...

i just did her PMPS and it was 100, so i was planning on skipping tonight. Is that not ok?
the pattern i am noticing is that her numbers are continuously dropping. today her lowest was 99! previously on insulin, she only once made it below 100 once.
tomorrow in the morning, what number should i watch for to decide if i should skip or not?
 
tiffmaxee said:
I think Belly needs a little insulin support but I’m worried because you would shoot and go to sleep. Can you set alarms to test her? Would you be willing to stay up to get a +2 and set an alarm for later depending on what the bg is then?
Click to expand...
also, thank you so much for guiding me through this!
 
So if you don’t shoot it’s PMBG rather than PMPS. Will you post her bg? I will be around at your shot time. We really want to see her under 100 most of the time.
 
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