Cat in the UK just diagnosed with diabetes

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I went back in and put the metric in and took out the corresponding number from the US tab. It still is not showing up on the US version. Not sure why. The earlier ones did……I may have to ask for some help. It should convert automatically.

So I just did the conversion for the +6 number. I'll ask someone to look at it.
 
Interesting numbers today. Not sure why she was low for preshot and then went up from there. The +2 could have been a food spike but I thought she'd come down after that. I hope more data will make for a clearer picture.
 
It's lower than she's been before Sue (especially the reading 4 hours after her shot & she's eaten ). The previous 2 dates I did curves the third reading was still quite high.
 
We were nervous that she would continue to drop with the insulin on the low amps but she didn't drop much. The numbers are safe and look nice, but not what we expected.
 
Hi Lynn,

Based on my experience with Caninsulin, that +2 BG spike is very unusual. That said, Saoirse does tend to metabolize insulin quickly. If Squiggles were mine, I'd still be inclined to let my vet know about it. A food spike at +2 might be more expected from a Lantus curve, but it's not what one might expect from a Caninsulin curve - hard, fast drops are more typical of the latter insulin.

By any chance did she look for any more food at all any time after her morning dose of insulin but before the +2 test (say at +1 ish?) Also, for the older readings you have, was the +3 lower or higher than the PS number?


ETA:

Do you know if Squiggles' BG runs lower at night yet? Many cats do. Again, a chat with your vet about what to do about her insulin dose if you get a low PMPS this evening might be a good idea. If it's low and Squiggles runs low, I'd be concerned about the current Caninsulin dose.
 
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Hi Lynn,

Based on my experience with Caninsulin, that +2 BG spike is very unusual. That said, Saoirse does tend to metabolize insulin quickly. If Squiggles were mine, I'd still be inclined to let my vet know about it. A food spike at +2 might be more expected from a Lantus curve, but it's not what one might expect from a Caninsulin curve - hard, fast drops are more typical of the latter insulin.

By any chance did she look for any more food at all any time after her morning dose of insulin but before the +2 test (say at +1 ish?) Also, for the older readings you have, was the +3 lower or higher than the PS number?

CM she first blood test at about 8am, she was fed at about 8.15 am had her insulin at about 8.45 at UK time., Second tests were about 10.15 am & 12.15 pm ( MY OH who helps me can't always be relied upon to be on time ! ) She did eat some bics at about 1 pm. I will tell my vet. She asked me to do a blood curve today & I've got to ring her with the results at 5.45 pm UK time.

I can't remember about the older readings I'll have to look them up .

 
Thanks for the additional data, Lyn. Looking at that, the second test would have been at AMS +1.5. It is possible (though not guaranteed) that the Caninsulin hadn't quite hit it's 'full onset' in terms of BG-lowering effect and that might be a possible reason for the higher +2. It might just be Squiggles' pattern on Caninsulin. As you gather more data, her pattern will get clearer.

WRT the snack at 1pm, I'd expect her to be hungry by then if she hadn't had any grub since 08:15. :) I found it helpful to keep an eye on Saoirse's appetite to give an indicator of when the Caninsulin was really kicking in. For example, if I fed her and gave her her morning insulin dose, she'd start looking for food about an hour and a half later. In the early days, I measured her BG on several such occasions. It showed that the Caninsulin was starting to drop her BG (about half-way down the steep slope of an average curve), then I'd test at about +3 (her typical nadir). After I learned more of her pattern, I'd use the 'appetite uptick' as a prompt to keep a closer eye on her till the next test. That said, if she was unusually hungry I would test earlier than +3 to make sure she was still in safe numbers and to see how closely I would need to monitor the rest of her cycle. It worked well to keep her safe, and I did catch some unexpected low numbers using that technique.
 
Thanks so much CM, that's really interesting & helpful . Are you going to share all this info on the board ?

Lxx
 
I just did! This is your discussion thread. :) I'm glad you found it helpful, and maybe others might, too.

I've found that the tricky part of all this is that whereas there are general action profiles for each insulin type (i.e. avg time of onset, duration, etc), because you're dealing with the endocrine system every cat has an unique metabolism, exercise pattern, etc. There are so many variables in play that one can't say with any certainty what's going to happen for any cat or, indeed, for any cycle for that particular cat. The spreadsheet data is invaluable because it helps you identify trends for your cat. For example, I have PTSD so I have major difficulty with attention and focus. The data running across the page used to just swim in front of me and I couldn't make head nor tail of how Saoirse was progressing (especially in the pre-OTJ days). I added columns for daily and weekly averages, average nadir time, etc., which were a godsend. (The one I keep offline has even more automatic analysis stuff.)
 
BG numbers aside, is Squiggles showing signs of feeling better on the lower numbers? I like your avatar of her. She is a dote! :)
 
I think she is better CM she'd lost a lot of weight over the last year, but I don't want her getting too podgy again !

She's drinking a lot less.
 
I'm so pleased to hear that. Saoirse had weight problems (not excessive) but they only started when she was switched to a prescription diet for urinary health. Further Rx diets for weight loss did diddly squat to help, even on subsistence portions.

I'm finding it much easier to manage her weight now on the wet food. I worked out the calories and roughly how much to feed her each day. Best of all I got a digital baby scales off ebay (twenty odd quid IIRC) and started weighing her at home. It's great because it lets me know straight away if she's trending up or down, then I adjust how much I feed her. Wish I'd got one years ago.
 
I spoke to my vet this morning, she's much more thorough than the vet who was looking after Squiggles previously , she asked me quite a few questions as to how Squigg was getting on. I told her I'd gradually moved Squiggles onto a high protein no carb diet & wondered if that had helped keep her reading down, & she said it might well have done. She seems happy that most of Squiggles reading are around the 15 mark. She wants me to do another blood test in 2 weeks & then see if the insulin dose needs to be tweaked a bit more .

She said with her reading being 7 first thing yesterday, the only problem might have been if she'd had her shot without eating anything.
 
I hope the new vet doesn't mean wait two weeks before testing again? We would strongly encourage you to test before each shot to be sure the amount of insulin you plan to give is safe. And with Canninsulin, it is smart to test a few hours after the shot to catch a low number if she has one.

One of our concerns with yesterday's low number was that a low preshot, after 12 hours since the shot, especially with a short duration insulin like Canninsulin, can mean the dose is too high. More tests will let you see if this is true.

How about starting a new thread (any time it is over 2 pages, it becomes cumbersome) over in Health? It's a good place to get people used to replying to your thread. People who are following you here will follow you over there.
 
Hi Lyn,

Based on my experience of using Caninsulin for Saoirse, I agree with Sue's view. If Squiggles' little pancreas were to start producing a little more insulin on top of that from the Caninsulin injection, it might lower Squiggles' numbers. The pre-injection test followed by one a couple of hours later is a good strategy. I'd suggest definitely getting a test before you go to bed just in case Squiggles runs lower at night. 'Before bed' tests saved Saoirse's life on more than one night when her numbers were in the lower ranges.
 
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Thanks Sue & CM. Yes I was only doing a blood test every 2 weeks. I will do my best to do extra tests, but it takes two of us to do it, & my Other Half only helps out under sufferance !

It's a real effort to make him wake up the morning Squiggles has to be tested before I feed her :(

Do you mean if the reading is low, I should give her less insulin & vica versa ?
 
I know it seems like a lot of work, but it is really necessary, especially with an insulin like Canninsulin, which can have a rapid onset. Once you get it down, it only takes a minute to test and dose. If you want, post on Health and you'll get lots of help starting the process.

Your preshot yesterday morning suggests the dose could be too high. (We just don't see Canninsulin normally giving a low number 12 hours after the shot). Once you started wet low carb, it could be that her numbers will start to lower over time and you need to be on top of that. Yes, I would suggest anytime you get a number under 200 (about 11 metric) you shoot less (after stalling to make sure it is a rising, not falling number)

Someone once said that we wouldn't blindly give our 2 legged children insulin without testing first; we do the same for our 4 legged ones.;)
 
Thanks Sue, I can see exactly what you mean about the wet carb lowering Squiggles blood sugar levels over time . So if it's under 11 metric , feed her & then retest 30mins - 1 hour later , to see what Squiggles BS level has done before giving her the shot & maybe reducing the amount.
 
No if you are stalling you don't feed. So if you get a low number you wait 20 minutes without feeding and then retest. If the number is rising you can then feed and shoot. You don't want the new figure to be affected by food as you are checking that she isn't still falling. Does that make sense?

But not sure when the give a reduced dose. I would advise as use mentioned that you start a thread in health asking more questions about caninsulin dosing.
 
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