Thank you. Is that Sam in the sink? Does he hang out there often?Did you get a reading before you gave the 1u this morning? It looks like even 1u might be too much for her. I would recommend you wait to give any dose until you have a test and some advice from someone on here tomorrow. Especially since youll be at work all day.
Could you please clarify? You said she "was at 60 this morning". When I look at your spreadsheet, I see the 60 entered at +8. Assuming you gave insulin in the AM, then +8 would be mid to late afternoon. Knowing the timing of your doses and BG testing is very important when we're trying to give advice.I wasn't able to get a reading at 7 pm, but fed her anyway. Have you looked at her SS? She was at 60 this morning. Is that really bad to go up so drastically in such a short time?
I got it on the 2nd try! The rice sock helps a lot. At 6:20 this morning, she read 396. She is eating now and in a few minutes I will give her her shot. How many units should I give her on a u100 syringe?I agree that 1 u seems to be too much. In a situation like this the diet might have a pronounced influence on BG and insulin needs. Is she on any dry food at all? If so, merely removing it and switching to a canned low carb wet food could give significant control.
The only way to figure this out and keep your kitty safe from hypo (and the risk is high when she appears to need a small dose) is to be very strict in your testing routine and dose timing. You need to gather data at all the important times: AM and PM before feeding and giving insulin as well as in the middle part of a cycle when you expect BG to be lowest. I know it can be hard when you're still uncomfortable with ear pricking, you have to leave for work, etc. However, Chloe's safety depends on it.
Please slow down for a minute. I'm getting nervous about the U40/U100 syringe issue.I got it on the 2nd try! The rice sock helps a lot. At 6:20 this morning, she read 396. She is eating now and in a few minutes I will give her her shot. How many units should I give her on a u100 syringe?
Please slow down for a minute. I'm getting nervous about the U40/U100 syringe issue.
First off, the BG you've just measured goes into the cell on your SS that says "AMPS" above it. You can record actual times for your own record on paper elsewhere if you wish. You've put BG numbers under +1 and that will confuse viewers of your SS. They'll think those are BG measurements taken 1 hour after the shot was given.
Yesterday 1 unit brought her down to a dangerously low 40. She hasn't had insulin for 24 hours and is now high for (probably) two reasons:
Do you have the conversion chart for dosing ProZinc with U100 syringes right beside you? If you're sticking with those, have you put the U40 syringes away where you won't accidentally grab them? You need to be crystal clear in your mind about how the dosing of a U40 insulin with U100 syringes works.
- missed dose last night
- a physiologic overreaction to the 40 yesterday that has boosted her BG sky high - we call it "bouncing".
The 1 unit dose is too high, based on that 40 you saw yesterday. We would normally recommend a 0.25 u dose decrease in this situation. So - if you're using a U40 syringe with half unit marks, you'd eyeball half way between 0.50 units and 1 unit on the syringe barrel. You can't get this fraction on a U100 syringe. If you look at the chart it shows you that these fractions are possible: 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8. I suggest you try 0.6 u which will mean going to the 1.5 line on the U100 syringe. In my opinion, 0.8 u is still a bit too high for comfort until you get more data on your SS.
FYI: when you use U100 syringes to dose a U40 insulin like ProZinc, the number you draw the insulin level to in the U100 syringe ISN'T a measure of insulin units. It's just how much space in a U100 syringe a certain number of units of ProZinc takes up. If you refer to the liquid level of ProZinc in a U100 syringe as how many units you're giving you'll scare the living daylights out of us!
I hope this helps!![]()
Please DO NOT give her a 2 unit dose!!! It's far too high!I thought I was supposed to write the dosages according to the u-40 syringe. So I changed it back to that. This morning I will give her 2 units u40/1 unit u100. I don't have any u40 syringes yet, but will continue to convert.
Yes, you write the actual dose on your SS, not the level you draw it to in a U100 syringe. You just said above that you'll "give 2 units U40/1 unit U100". I'm sorry but I can't understand this. Here's how it works:I thought I was supposed to write the dosages according to the u-40 syringe. So I changed it back to that. This morning I will give her 2 units u40/1 unit u100. I don't have any u40 syringes yet, but will continue to convert.
Whew! Thanks, Bobbie! I was beginning to think I'd just confused the whole issue for Chloe's mom.I agree with Kris that Chloe has proven that even 1 unit is too much for her. The dose you are giving her goes in the unit box, not the conversion number on the U100 syringes.
Please give her less than 1 unit of insulin to keep her safe. I would only give her 0.6 which is the 1.5 line on the U100 syringes.
If you have a chance, could you take a look at someone else's SS? Look at mine if you want (though it's several years old) or anyone else on this forum. That might help clarify where things should go on your SS.
It is SUPER IMPORTANT that you post the data in the SS correctly so that we can help you keep Chloe safe.
Does that clear it all up? I know it's confusing and with everything else, it feels like one more thing that maybe doesn't matter much, but it's super helpful since we can spot patterns on it and help you to help Chloe. Let us know if you have any questions about it, and we can help you get it.
- AMPS column - should contain the BG number you got when you tested her before her shot in the morning.
- U column - should contain the amount of insulin you gave in U40 terms, NO MATTER what syringe you used. So if you drew up to 1.5 on the u100 needle, you would write "0.6" in that column.
- +1, +2, +3, etc columns-should contain the BG numbers you get that many hours after the shot. Not all of these will be filled every day, but whenever you test, determine how many hours past the shot it is, and fill in that column.
- PMPS column - should contain the BG number you get when you tested her before her shot in the evening.
I hope you gave Chloe the 0.6 dose. 1 unit/2 units is WAY too much for her. I know we may sound bossy or nitpicky, but we're really just concerned about Chloe. Our goal here is to help kitties and their owners to stay safe and feel better during the diabetes dance. We do it for love of kitties and to pay it forward for others who have helped us...please ask questions as much as possible so we can understand what you need to know and can help you find it and continue being a wonderful mom to Chloe.
You can buy both U40 and U100 syringes with half unit marks. It makes it much easier to measure or eyeball fractions of a dose.Aren't the syringes marked with whole numbers? The vet put her on a 2.5 unit for u40, so I've been giving her 5.0 on the u100, which is actually a bit lower I think.
You can buy both U40 and U100 syringes with half unit marks. It makes it much easier to measure or eyeball fractions of a dose.
5.0 on a U100 syringe is equal to a dose of 2.0 units of ProZinc. Have a look at the conversion chart. It would be wise to print it out and put it with your dosing supplies. Did you give Chloe that dose this AM? It isn't showing on your SS. If you read our posts above you can see that we're very concerned about giving that much insulin. Look at what the 1 unit dose did yesterday - that 40 is dangerously low!
That's correct. However, you have to alter a dose downward if your kitty shows you it's going to be too much. Chloe showed you yesterday that a small dose of 1 unit was enough to drop her BG dangerously low. In a situation like this, the kitty's BG numbers trump ANY dose the vet recommended, even if you dropped it yourself. Two units is still 2X the dose that dropped Chloe to that very low 40 yesterday.The vet prescribed 2.5 units after her glucose curve. That was for a u40. So, actually 5 units on u100 is LESS than what the vet said.
I apologize if we've stressed you at work.Well, there's nothing I can do about it now. I'm at work and have to make a new schedule for testing, which involves a whole lot of numbers, too. I gave her 2.0 units on the u100, which converts to .8. Hopefully, she'll still be alive when I get home tonight.
I'm logging out after this reply. She's already almost 2 months into her insulin therapy and I just started my SS. She's still alive. We will get this sorted out by Wednesday evening because the u-40 syringes should be delivered by then.I apologize if we've stressed you at work.I'm a retired teacher myself and know how much focus, energy and attention the job demands. We were hoping to get this sorted last night.
This is a great number. Our advice would be not to give any insulin on a pre shot this low. Later on after you've amassed a lot more data you can be more brave.This morning, Chloe's reading was 163. I struggled with the glucometer a bit. I think I will reduce her insulin just a tad. Off to work.![]()
I thought it has to be under 150 for no insulin. I only gave her a tiny bit. I just got home from work and she was up and about. I gave her some food and will test her in 3 hours.This is a great number. Our advice would be not to give any insulin on a pre shot this low. Later on after you've amassed a lot more data you can be more brave.
The general recommendation we give here is no insulin under 200 until you have a lot of data on your SS to use as a reference.I thought it has to be under 150 for no insulin. I only gave her a tiny bit. I just got home from work and she was up and about. I gave her some food and will test her in 3 hours.
Ohhhh I'm jealous of those numbers! Spreadsheet looks great!This morning, Chloe's reading was 163. I struggled with the glucometer a bit. I think I will reduce her insulin just a tad. Off to work.![]()
Sorry your spreadsheet wouldn't open on my phone. I see it now. I would try the 0.8 again tonight. It gave you a great preshot on the last cycle. I think 0.6 looks like it could have been too much on the blue number. Hard to tell without a test in there but with the nice blue number I would try 0.8 again.449. Not so happy about that one. How much do you think I should give her?
Sorry, I get a bit panicky when I see red numbers. Is it normal for the numbers to go down overnight and creep up during the day?Sorry your spreadsheet wouldn't open on my phone. I see it now. I would try the 0.8 again tonight. It gave you a great preshot on the last cycle. I think 0.6 looks like it could have been too much on the blue number. Hard to tell without a test in there but with the nice blue number I would try 0.8 again.
Thanks. It took me 2 tries this morning. Have you found that one ear is better than the other for testing? I'd rather she have a higher number than a lower number, right? I'm not giving her any insulin this morning because I won't be home until 7 pm.Wow! Most likely. But it does give you valuable info...now you know that 1 unit on that red number last night was too much (because it gave you a non shootable preshot...not a dangerous one by any means, but too low to shoot). So next time you get one like that, you give less insulin to see if that gives you a shootable number.
You'll probably see a high number tonight, but I'd definitely reduce the amount you give her no matter what it is. GREAT job with the testing!