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TrepTheSnake

TrepTheSnake

Member Since 2023
Hello,

I'm new to the forum and english being not my native language, it was quite intimidating to read the posting guidelines and requirement. I'm gonna do my best but I'm sorry if some information is not presented the right way or is missing.

My cat is a 11 years old female and she eats dry food (royal canin satiety). She uses lantus and doing regular curves and reporting them to my vet we eventually reached 3.5 unit morning and evening (u100, not sure if it is relevant). Eventually, we had values that were too low. We then lowered to 3.0 but the value were unusually high. My vet suspected the somogyi effect and suggested to keep the 3.0 and test from time to time until the next curve. But I'm now reaching concerning high values. I obviously called my vet but they,re the only clinic in town and are so swamped. I'd therefore like your opinion of what could cose such a big gap of the value for a difference of 0.5 units.

Here's a "spreadsheet"?

January 15th

10h - 20.9 (376.2) ---- 3.5 unit
12h - 22.5 (405.0)
14h - 11.6 (208.8)
16h - 8.6 (154.8)
18h - 7.3 (131.4
20h - 7.2 (129.6)
22h - 4.0 (72) ---- 3.0 unit and extra food (concerned)
0:30h - 3.8 (bit of extra food again)

January 16th

10h - 25.2 (453.6) ---- 3.5 unit
22h - 22.2 (399,6) ---- 3.0 unit (suspected Somogyi effect)

January 17th

10h - 26.7 (475.2) ---- 3.0 unit
22h - 37.4 (673.2) ---- 3.0 unit

January 18h

10h - 29,3 (527.4) ---- 3.0 unit
14h30 - 21,1 (379.8)
16h30 - 20.3 (365.4) (added as a post edit)
22h - 5.2 (93) (added as a post edit) ---- 2.0 unit as suggested by my vet if values in that range

Januarty 19h

10h - 5.7 (102.6) ---- 2.0 units as suggested by my vet if values in that range
22h - 33.3 (599.4) ---- 3.0 units as it's the regular dose to give.

I'm so lost by that pattern....

What do you think?

Thank you!
 
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TrepTheSnake said:
I'm new to the forum and english being not my native language, it was quite intimidating to read the posting guidelines and requirement. I'm gonna do my best but I'm sorry if some information is not presented the right way or is missing.
Click to expand...
Hi Trep and Chipchip, dont worry about the language, there are many people from around the world here. You are in a good place. :bighug: Your questions are best for the more knowledgeable members, so just be patient. They check in on a regular basis, from many different timezones and you will hear from someone. I am new here too and cannot give advice. Welcome to FDMB, there is so much good information and help here! o_O
 
Hi and welcome to the forum. Your English is absolutely fantastic!
Can you tell me what type of glucose meter you are using to test the blood glucose (BG) with? Is it a human meter or a pet meter?

There is actually no such thing as the Somogyi effect in cats... what you are probably seeing is bouncing which is very common in newly diagnosed cats. You will see when you read the explanation below that you just have to wait for the bounce to go away and that can take up to 6 cycles. You do not increase the dose because the BGs are higher…they will come back down when the bounce stops.
Here is an explanation about bouncing for you from The Basics:
  • Bouncing - Bouncing is simply a natural reaction to what the cat's system perceives as a BG value that is "too low". "Too low" is relative. If a cat is used to BGs in the 200's, 300's, or higher for a long time, then even a BG that drops to 150 can trigger a "bounce". Bouncing can also be triggered if the blood glucose drops too low and/or too fast.The pancreas, then the liver, release glucogon, glycogen and counter-regulatory hormones. The end result is a dumping of "sugar" into the bloodstream to save the cat from going hypoglycemic from a perceived low. The action is often referred to as "liver panic" or "panicky liver". *Usually*, a bounce will clear kitty's system within 3 days (6 cycles).
I am going to ask @Bandit's Mom if she will set up a spreadsheet for you so you can add all your data. Then we will be able to help you a lot more. Also if you could set up your signature and hypo kit which this link has instructions how to do it.
HELP US HELP YOU

Regarding the dose of Lantus…Lantus dosing is based on the lowest point in the cycle not the preshot BG. And Lantus doesn’t like to have the dose changed around too much. We can help you a lot more when we can see the spreadsheet.
The food you are feeding is high carbohydrate food which is not suitable for diabetic cats. Your kitty will do much better in a low carbohydrate wet diet. Are you feeding snacks during the cycles as well as the main meal before the dose?
If you can tell me what country you live in, we may be able to help you with choosing some more suitable foods.
When you do start giving the low carbohydrate food, you will notice the BGs will not be as high and you will most likely have to reduce the dose of Lantus. We can help you with that.
 
Thank you so much for your answers.

I'm using the alphatrak 2 (with the alphatrak 2 stipes, set at the right code).

I am very surprised about what you're saying regarding the Somogyi effect as it is my vet that suggested it! Regarding the food. I have 3 cats so switching to wet food has some financial implications. However there is a dry food alternative, specifically for diabeitic cats at my vet clinic I'd be willing to switch too.

Thank you for your help. I hope it's only bouncing. I was very concerned by the high values.I retested it today and she was at 21 (378.0) (so basically the stayed in the 20 (378+/-) all day)


EDIT: One thing to mension: I did my test with the control solution and had a value of 11 where it should bet at max 10,27. Following the instructions, I tested it a second time and got a 9.9 which is in upper range but still ok. Not sure if it means a lot.


EDIT2: tonight's 22h test was 5.2 (93). My vet told me to drop at 2 unit instead of 3 if she had a BG between 4 and 6 (between 72 and 108) since she seems to start needing less insulin and could start a potential (but obviously uncertain) remission process and we want to avoid hypo value). I will edit the main post with the newest values
 
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I would check how many carbohydrates the dry food that the vet has which he says is OK for diabetic cats. If it is the one o think it is, the carbohydrate is 17 to 18% which is still too high
Diabetic cats need carbohydrates 10% or less. Most of us feed carbs of around 4-7%.
Carbs @@-15% are medium carb and 16% and above are high carb.

there are plenty of low carb wet foods in supermarkets and pet food stores
FOOD CHART
 
Hello and welcome to FDMB! :-)
I can help set up your spreadsheet and signature. Will send you a PM with the details I need. Look for it in the Inbox at the top right corner of this page.
 
After 2 low results, she's back at a very high result. (post above is updated). I'm so confused....
 
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