Buttons 6/16 - 6/17

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Victoria & Buttons

Victoria & Buttons

Member Since 2012
I'm needing some major advice on what to do. I'm still trying to regulate her sugars and shes usually in the 20 range, and she was yesterday. Today has just dropped. Reasonable this morning but very low throughout the day. She isnt eating much at all and I dont know if its just an off day. I'm wondering about her dosage. I was honestly ready to raise it a bit, but now, maybe not. Her sugars an hour ago are 4.3. Do I still give her her shot tonight? It'd be around this time.
 
I'm sorry you didn't get a response about the shot. I hope you either skipped it or reduced it. She is on levemir? Can't remember.

I would reduce her to .5u and see how that does for a few days. Is she off all dry food now (except what your father put down yesterday)? That could explain why she needs less insulin now.

If you have not given insulin, I would test again and see where she is. If she is back in the low to mid teens, or above you can give her a token dose of .25u to get her through until her regular morning shot time. Otherwise, she may really spike high from both going so low and not having insulin.

If you do not give any insulin tonight and she is back in the red and black numbers, then give 1u again but reduce tomorrow night to .5u.

I know seeing numbers that low is scary the first few times, but a 3 is still safe. It just isn't where she has been for so long that it will probably cause a rebound bounce to high numbers by tomorrow morning.
 
OK, I see you already retested and she is back in the yellows - I think you can give .25u and be safe for her regular time tomorrow morning. And this small amont of insulin might keep her from bouncing really high - might being the operative word
 
Since her appetite has waned somewhat, make sure you're testing for ketones. They can sneak up in a blink of an eye!

(I'm new to Lev, so I appologize for asking this if you're experienced) Do you have test strips? Do you know how to use them?
 
Sheila, yes she is on Levemir and just switched about a week and a half ago so this is really new on new insulin. I just happened to give her insulin. Her sugars were up in the green so I did .5UI and will see what its like in the morning. Thank you for your help. Makes me feel way better about if her sugars drop again, I know what to do about the insulin. No she isnt completely off dry food. Shes still eating Wellness Core as today, thats ALL she'll eat aside from yogurt.

So if shes back in black and red tomorrow, considering I did some insulin today, should I do .5UI for the next few days?

I did test for ketones the other day, but I thought the only time to get REALLY worried about them is when their blood sugars are high? And yes, I do home testing and all that :)
 
You are doing a great job, Victoria. Good to catch her on that low. It's really, really important to know that she is dropping that low, and you did it!
 
Thank you so much. I honestly teared up after reading that. I definitely needed that little encouragement because today brought on a whole new set of emotions all together.<3
 
I would stay at .5u only because she dropped so far on 1u and, while it is a "safe" number, it is lower than I would ever want to aim for. A 4 would be good to aim for (somewhere in the 4-5 range). The hope is that a reduction in insulin will stop the swinging from high to low and back.

Continue to test for ketones. They can appear seemingly at random. And I think that Lu-Ann meant ketone test strips, not blood sugar test strips. We know you have those and know how to use them by her spreadsheet!
 
victoriamamie said:
Thank you so much. I honestly teared up after reading that. I definitely needed that little encouragement because today brought on a whole new set of emotions all together.<3
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You're not alone! The first several weeks were an emotion roller coaster for me. Grayson just wouldn't give up his blood, and I was SOOOO frustrated. I'd come into work and have a meltdown. I'd plead w/ him to just get through this with me. That it was all for him and his well-being. Of course he acted like "WHY are you hurting me???"

Hang in there - it does get better. Just one of those times when we have to go through some insanity before we find some balance. You're doing great!!!

Lu-Ann
 
Thank you!

Buttons is doing good! Back to her normal, cuddly self. I just think it was an off day for her. Shes peeing less and taking her insulin better. Just needing to get her completely off dry food and then go from there. Thank you for your concern! :)
 
Oh, good. That's great that she is acting normal. Can you get a mid-day test tomorrow? If not, you should set your alarm and get one in the middle of the night.

Buttons is going from pink or red in the morning to black every evening. She might be dropping low in the middle of the day or night. You are still using 1 U which is fine if it's not dropping her too low in the middle of the cycle, but those blacks keep coming back. If you keep seeing that pattern, you are going to wish you had some mid-cycle tests so that someone here can help you change the dose. You can't do that without mid-cycles. I know it's very hard, trust me, I know, but I've made that mistake, and I regretted it.

So happy she's eating well. You are doing very well.
 
Yes, I realize that I havent been on my toes with the mid-cycle testings. The last few days have just been a rollercoaster to say the least. I can probably do a few tomorrow :)

Thank you for the support<3
 
I dont know if the testing I did is good enough to tell what the Lev is doing. Should I up it to 1.5?


Another question, is it normal for a cat to just use one side of the litterbox? shell only use the side where the door is, she wont use the back. its odd @-)
 
Re: the litterbox. She probably doesn't feel too hot, and she's conserving energy. I would not worry about it, but If she seems to walk funny or walk a little ways, and then lie down over and over, she have might mild neuropathy. You can get B12 methylcobalamin, a certain type of B12. They sell it in sublingual tablets and liquid form. There are also shots. I use the liquid, and put it in his food. It does help my cat. Diabetes at high glucose numbers causes problems with the nerves. The cells don't get enough energy because the glucose stays in the blood and does not get to the cells. Sometimes the cat's legs get weak.

How is Buttons doing otherwise?
 
Yea actually. I have noticed she lays down a lot. I mean, I just figured shes a pretty laid back cat so she`s just lazy, but shes sleeping a lot and laying down like all the time. Should I be really worried? Will it affect her nerves in the long run? Do I need a prescription for this B12? Will it affect her if I give it to her and say her nerves are fine?

Otherwise shes good. Peeing way less, eating her normal meals fine, cuddly and normal mood swings with other animals. She does seem still to go and want to graze a lot. (dry food still, I know, yikes!) but I had a huge tiff with my dad about elimating all the dry food. I THINK I got through to him, but I guess we`ll see. Maybe I`ll just take it all away tomorrow. I`m ultimately terrified have having another sugar drop really low. I know I need to do this, but ugh! :cry:
 
Litterbox: I have had many cats that use only one particular corner of the box. It is just quirkiness. I would not worry.

B12: will not hurt her if she does not have neuropathy, but a better way to judge neuropathy is if she is walk on her hocks and not on her toes.

Dry food: get rid of it if you want to get her regulated. Dry food is all kinds of evil. Have you checked out www.catinfo.org? It is a site by a vet that goes into all the bad things that dry does to cats. You might find info their that you can share with your dad to convince him that it is bad.

Caveat on removing dry food: she will probably need less insulin so make sure you are testing enough to catch the lower (good!) blood sugar numbers. I am not convinced that 1u isn't too much. The one day that she dropped to 3 (which is 54 for those of us in the USA), she was not eating well, which means the dry food was not raising her up into the blacks (which is very high - 500s for us). To me, that is a good indication that without dry food she will be much lower and will need much less insulin - if any.

Being afraid of having her sugar drop really low - and therefore giving dry food to counter the insulin is, IMO, totally backwards. 3/54 is a normal, non-diabetic blood sugar level. It is what you want for her.
 
Okay, I eliminated ALL dry food tonight and I must say my baby has been really happy today. Shes playing more which is nice to see. I hope she transitions to wet okay :/

Her nadir tonight is good too. Question is, I would assume that I`m now going to see a drop in numbers, should I drop her insulin to .5 UI twice a day?

Thanks :)
 
Hi, Victoria,

So happy to see that yellow aren't you? If you can, try to get a plus 6 in the night. I know it's a terrible disruption to your sleep. If at plus 6 she has gone up to at least 40% of that reading at +4, I would probably sleep through the plus 8 time, but if she has gone down by more than 40%, I would try to get that plus 8 reading.

I'm sorry I can't answer your dosing question, but getting that info will help someone else answer, I hope.
 
I don't know about a decrease yet - it will take a few days to see what the elimination of dry will do for her. Sometimes it is dramatic, other times not so much. Just try to get as many mid-cycle tests in as possible so you have data to look at - and catch a low starting to happen if its going to.

Congrats on getting rid of the dry food!
 
Thank you very much!

I have decided to decrease just because I dont want to give her TOO much insulin. Right now her numbers are making me SO UNBELIEVABLY happy!!! Im hoping this is a good sign for her! :)
 
Hey Victoria,

Be aware that the shed, if you have one built up, will continue to provide insulin for up to 72 hours -- 6 cycles. So, you may not see any change that can be contributed to your dose reduction right away. If the shed is used up because the reduction was done too soon, you'll probably see higher numbers. There are no hard and fast rules because all cats react differently to insulin. However, don't expect immediate changes in the numbers you are seeing. You might see them; you might not.

I'll be out of town for a couple of weeks starting Wednesday. So, I may not post anything but my own cat's numbers. Hope you have a good run with Buttons during that time. Good luck, and I'll be rooting for you.
 
Victoria, I noticed that you reduced again on the evening shot to .25u. I would go back to the .5u dose - at least. She isn't getting anywhere near low enough numbers to indicate a reduction would be good. And each reduction should be held for 3-5 days unless you get a very low number - something below 3 probably - and a curve done (or several mid cycle tests) before reducing again. I know I said that you should be watchful for low numbers because of removing the dry food, but she isn't there yet.

Lev works best with consistency. Changing the dose based on each preshot, like you can with PZI, won't work very well. And her numbers are still pretty high.

Please test for ketones while she is in these higher numbers.
 
Where abouts can I find Vitamin B12 Liquid? I've looked a few places and cant seem to find it, other then online. Do you have the kind that has a taste to it? Does your cat still eat its food if it has taste with it? Which brand do you use as well?

Thanks :)
 
victoriamamie said:
Where abouts can I find Vitamin B12 Liquid? I've looked a few places and cant seem to find it, other then online. Do you have the kind that has a taste to it? Does your cat still eat its food if it has taste with it? Which brand do you use as well?

Thanks :)
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I have not used B12. This might be a question for the Health forum, as many people here have used it.
 
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