Chester 2/5 advice needed pls!

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turbocat

turbocat

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This morning Chester's bg was 171. I tested other ear and it was 170. He only had 1 unit last night and I don't understand what's going on. No shot yet, but I did feed him because he was hungry and didn't know what to do. Should I give him a shot later if it starts to rise? What should I do?
Jenny
 
Good morning, Jenny. ~O)

When we get a low PS, we always wait to feed to test again in 20-30 minutes to see where the number is going (up or down or the same). Even if kitty is demanding food, we make them wait. We're such meanies, ya know! :lol: Then we can figure out what to shoot, if anything.

But that's ok. It's a live and learn kind of thing. :-D

I'll take a look at your SS to see what I would do if it were Poopy. :-D
 
If you're going to be home and can watch Chester, I'd be tempted to shoot .5u as it seems Mr. P (pancreas) is trying to join the party (with such low numbers given you've dramatically decreased his dose - which is a good thing!). I'm sure others will chime in shortly. :-D
 
First, remember, this is good news!

Since you fed, I would not shoot. You need to be sure the number is going up, not down and once food is in the picture, you can't be sure. Next time, try stalling with a few treats and retest.

What's your life like? If you wait 2 hours and he is in higher numbers, can you shoot and maintain any kind of a 12/12 schedule?
 
Thanks for the advice. I can test in two hours and could do 12 hrs tonight. I really usually need the 7 & 7 schedule. Could I shoot at 11 hrs a couple times to get it back on track? What do I do if I test in 2 hrs and it's still under 200? Or if it's low 200's? Ugh. Dunno what to do!

And if I hadn't fed and his numbers were still low in 30 minutes, what would I have done then?
 
These are good problems to have! Breathe and enjoy it for a minute.

You can switch the schedule around by a hour, but it is harder if he is throwing lower numbers and things are variable.

If you test in two hours and it is still around 200, you celebrate and wait till tonight. Test and if it is high enough(which it probably will be without insulin for 24 hours) still consider a little less than you were giving. He went a long time on that last dose and could have gone low overnight.

If you hadn't fed, if over 200 in 20 minutes, reduced dose like Teresa suggested. If under, depends. If he was up to close to 200 from the 170s and you would be around to monitor, maybe a reduced dose.
 
THANK YOU, Teresa and Sue.

I am so thankful I found this site. I told my vet I was changing to wet food, so he told me to bring him in 2 weeks to retest. I didn't tell him I was going to home test. I had a minor meltdown at the vet Thursday morning because I discovered another place on his head where he had scratched himself bald. (Turns out it was fleas which I think he got there the week before because while we waiting for results I let him on the floor to walk around. I didn't think of fleas being the culprit because we rarely have to deal with them on our cats.) The stress just got to me at the vet's office and I cried a bit. (Not the first time I've cried at the vet, been going there a long time.) But the doc was trying to make me feel better by saying I didn't need to be so worried. He said if I feed him the same thing consistently I don't need to worry about him so much, cats aren't like ppl who have to ck their sugar all the time because they eat things they shouldn't. Just pick a food and stick with it. I agree with that to some degree. And I know he was trying to help me calm down. He's a good vet, but we are in a rural area with a lot of low-income people so he probably isn't accustomed to people being pro-active with feline diabetes. But when we go back on the 16th for a BG test and ck up I am going to tell him. If I can stay composed hopefully he won't think I am crazy and stressing myself out. That's about 10 days away.

Sorry I am so wordy. It just feels good to tell people this stuff because most people I know wouldn't understand. :shock:
 
Jenny,

I totally understand. Many folks (those without diabetic cats) think of this place as the crazy internet cat people. I think this place is a Godsend! I have learned, and continue to learn, so much from so many people! And even if I get conflicting advice, I know it is all shared with the best intentions as we are all here to help ourselves and each other. I've yet to meet "An Ego" here. :-D

As far as vets go, I view them as one more person giving advice. They may be as knowledgeable as some of the members here, or woefully lacking in knowledge. It's all good. We take what works for our babies. In some cases, we can teach our vets. :lol:

There are some here who just nod at their vet, as if in agreement, then go about things the way they'd planned to anyway - the vet is none the wiser. ;-)
 
:smile: I usually follow my vet's advice to the letter. I picked up a neglected kitten one time with such serious eye infections that both her eyes were literally sealed shut. I took her to him and got the medicine and did exactly what he said to do. Brought her back and he said "you've done an amazing job with her". All I did was follow instructions. If I didn't have a friend with a diabetic cat that she got OTJ (without home testing, by the way, and feeding dry EVO), I probably would have accepted the insulin and gave it to him as directed and just accepted it. But my friend directed me here for info, and the rest is history. If I chicken out I may just become one of the nodders and do what I want people. I guess it depends on how things are going when it's time to go. If I am seeing success I will tell him about it, if not I will keep my mouth shut! :YMSIGH:
 
+2 BG is 207. So I guess I will watch and wait. I really wanted to do a curve today, but I guess I can see what happens without insulin and maybe get a mini-curve next Thurs or weekend. No time at home again until then.
 
Re: UPDATE: Chester 2/5 advice needed pls!

Ok, no shot this morning, and I fed him before re-testing, which was an error, I know now. But I thought I would check throughout the day to see what happened. See following:

AMPS-171 7:00a tested twice, once each ear. second ear was 170
no shot, fed
+2- 207
+4- 144 what the?
We were having some problems with testing at +4. He wasn't relaxed because some minor activity in the house. After several tries got the 144. Retesting immediately was not feasible, he'd had enough. No food since this morning. Was going to feed a snack but am going to wait one more hour to test again. Any thoughts on what's going on so far?

Thanks!
 
No explanation from me.....BUT, it is Great News!!! Anytime the BG goes down without insulin, you are making great progress! It appears that the pancreas is helping out.

Good Luck! Hopefully, your next test will be even lower or in the same range.
 
Hi!
No advice outside of what has already been given. I just wanted to say that Chester is one cute cat!
 
thanks! but I've only been at this a few days! How can there already be such a big change? :? Trying to be feeding only wet food and that's all he had today plus some freeze dried treats (he loves them). He's eaten total of 3/4 can of food so far. that's pretty good, because he hasn't been eating much lately. the +4 was around 11:30 and I just took his +5 about 1230 and it was 179. no food since this morning(half can), so I gave him a 1/4 can after the test. Now I'm wondering what I am going to give him as far as insulin goes this evening. 100's are decent but he still needs some insulin I would assume. Comments and suggestions welcome! confused_cat

EDIT: I guess I will try .5 unit? Have U-40 syringes so I will be eyeballing it.
 
You can count me as one of the nodders here! My vet almost killed my cat!!!!

I am not up to date on Chester, but from what I am reading I will share my thoughts. I am assuming that Chester was eating dry food and that you made a diet change to wet Low Carb food. If that is the case, that can make a tremendous difference in the blood glucose level. Most of the cats, that I have witnessed, that came here and went off insulin (OTJ) quickly-- were cats that changed from dry to wet low carb diets. I have seen such diet changes, result in as much as a 100 point drop in blood glucose levels.

Since you have shot no insulin this cycle and just fed Chester, this would be a great time to test and see if the Pancreas is helping out. If you will test in one to two hours after feeding, and the BG is coming down without shooting insulin, it is fair to assume that the pancreas is producing insulin. I would test in an hour and see if you have a lower bg reading than before feeding. It would be great information to have.

I am not the person to give advice on shooting low doses of insulin into numbers less than 200. I have no experience with that and am not comfortable advising you, but if you continue to see numbers in the high 100s, you probably will need to do some micro dosing to bring the numbers down futher. There will be others that can help you with this dosing advice!

You are in a Great situation! Hopefully, the pancreas is trying to help you out!

Good Luck!
 
Hi, didn't see your advice until just now. I dropped the ball and didn't check it until 3 hrs later in the neighborhood of +9. and it was 197. Now I am not sure about giving any insulin at 7pm, which is dosing time. I guess I will check again then and see what happens.
 
He's having a beautiful day in the blues and you are coming up on 24 hours without insulin.

It looks like the food change is doing the trick. You may need to support his P with small doses when he gets over 200 but things are looking great for you both.
 
AMPS-171 7:00a tested twice, once each ear. second ear was 170
no shot, fed
+2- 207
+4- 144 what the?
Click to expand...

If the 144 was accurate, which I think it was given that you just got a 197 hours later, then that would be his body doing the job on its own, which is a very encouraging thing to see! It looks like Chester has had an awesome day.

Sorry I am so wordy. It just feels good to tell people this stuff because most people I know wouldn't understand.
Click to expand...

Had to laugh. Wordy? You haven't been around long enough to read my usual novels! Thanks for telling us that story about the vet visit too.
I need an editor. You, on the other hand, did just fine on the word count. :lol:

Carl
 
Thanks, all. I've enjoyed your interesting and informative posts, Carl.

So preshot he is testing at 247. So, I guess I am going to give him a small amount of prozinc, maybe .5 of a U-40 unit. Gonne have to guess at it. Maybe set an alarm and check him around 1am. Argh this is so much work! Please tell me it gets easier.

Also note to self: he doesn't care for 9 Lives chicken dinner pate.
 
That sounds fine.

Yes, it gets easier. The more you shoot at varying numbers, the more confident you get about what to shoot. And you are new giving tiny doses.. This is a GOOD thing!
 
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