Calley is better....i think I found the problem

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Kris10mo

Kris10mo

Member Since 2014
After almost seven months of trying to get Calley's diabetes regulated I think I have figured out that I have been doing the insulin wrong this whole time. Why....because the vet didn't tell me to do it right. Damn it!!!!!!

After seeing Calley do better for a day/two last week after the insulin curve, and then get worse again, I started wondering what was different in care when Calley was in the vet's office and when she is home. So I took Calley back to the vet and asked them to show me exactly what they had done with her....insulin, shots, amount of food etc.

What I found out is that I have not been mixing the insulin correctly. The vet didn't tell me that I was supposed to be rolling the bottle in my palms and warming it up gently. I haven't been doing that. So now I have been for the past several days and Calley seems to be better. She is not peeing as much, is not drinking as much, is still eating voraciously, but I expect that after nearly starving for seven months. She is walking around the house more and her fur looks better too.

I am cautiously optimistic. I was gently shaking the insulin bottle so I thought it was being mixed. Could just this step of rolling the insulin have made such a difference? I am hoping this is not just a fuke or wishful thinking.

Kristin and Calley
 
No advice just tons of healing green light and roll that bottle Hugsssssssssss Kath ;-) we learn something new everyday and hopefully this is all it will take.
 
When you have a moment, add a few things into your signature, such as your and Calley's names, date of diagnosis, insulin, meter, spreadsheet and/or profile link, tid bits you want to share to help others give you better feedback.

In the upper left of the screen, it says User Control Panel.
Click on Edit Profile to add rough location (city/state, province/country, etc)
Click on Edit Signature to add links to your spreadsheet and/or cat's profile, note insulin, any comorbid conditions impacting diabetes.
 
Hey Kristin,

I am fairly new to all of this myself, so I cannot tell you for sure if the action of rolling vs shaking did the trick, but when I learned how to test, my vet's office made a point of telling me several times to never shake the bottle, but to always roll it. I believe they said there are some sort of crystals or something in it that when you shake it, it disrupts that, but not when you roll it.

I would not necessarily take my word for it as I am new, and perhaps someone else will chime in, but happy to hear she is feeling better whether it has to do with the roll vs shake or not!
 
Knowing the type of insulin you are using will help us suggest how to handle the insulin. Instructions for handling Lantus and Levemir are here. They are not to be shaken or rolled.

Sounds like Calley is starting to feel better though. :-D
 
Glad Calley is doing well.

After having a total nightmare with emergency vets, I realise how lucky I am with my regular vet. Your vet should have gone through everything with you in the beginning. Caninsulin is the same too, roll, don't shake. I roll the insulin bottle gently, also very gently turn it over a few times, draw it into the syringe and then warm the syringe in my hand for a couple of minutes.

Hoping this is the turning point for Calley and the beginning of control and hopefully remission.

x
 
The cloudy type insulins like Humulin N, Novolin N, Prozinc are actually particles suspended in the liquid. It doesn't take long for those particles to settle out of the liquid. You need to roll the insulin until those particles are re-suspended in the liquid. You should not have any particles clumped together at the bottom of the vial, no layer of white on the bottom.

The clear insulins like Levimir and Lantus are not suspensions. No mixing required for those insulins.

It's possible that if you were not mixing your Humulin N insulin enough to get those particles back into suspension, that the amounts of insulin you were giving Calley were different every time. That's because you may have changed the concentration of the insulin by not mixing it properly.

You may want to consider buying a fresh bottle of Humulin N insulin.
 
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