Crazy numbers

KAC

KAC

Member Since 2020
Good Morning,
Well, my happiness from yesterday has disappeared. Please take a look at Pumpkin's SS. Should I panic and rush him to the vet tomorrow. Is this just not dosing him correctly? Do I need to wait longer to let the dose work? Do I need to have the vet run tests for other problems and if so what tests?
 
It's Ok, he is just bouncing from the yellow, because his body is not used to those colours yet. It will wear off soon. If you have no other reasons to panic - don't :)
 
I'm glad you started a new post today. Here is the link to yesterday's. https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/need-help-with-dosing.232934/
It'll help people stay focussed on on the new post instead of replying to the old one if you include today's date on the subject title. Check out the PSA post on the top of the forum. @Panic @Diane Tyler's Mom

OK, so much for the housekeeping note. Onto your concern. Pumpkin is not used to lower numbers. He's been living in the land of black and red, with the odd dip down to pinks. Any number below 300 like that 297 you spotted last night (well done!) is freaking his body out. Once he gets used to lower numbers again, he won't bounce as high. So yes, this is normal, though scary to see at first. I saw a lot of "Hi' or the meter greeting me in the morning when we started out too. :( It helped when I started thinking of those ugly numbers as the insulin finally working and getting my cat into better numbers than she was used to.

On the last post, you say you haven't been checking for ketones, but the vet has. Unless the vet is checking every day, that won't help. Ketones can go from trace to dangerously high in less than a day. He's probably peeing quite a bit right now. You can buy Ketostix at any pharmacy. Here are some tips on catching a urine sample. If that still doesn't work, you can buy blood ketones meters. Described in the post here.

And you can check out human BG meters while you are at the pharmacy. Abbott has done an excellent job marketing to vets. Almost as good as those "vet" pet food manufacturers. When I started, AT's weren't a thing because no one used them. All of our dosing methods have been designed and used for years, with numbers from human meters. If the vet wants you to use the AT, use it to do spot checks when he asks for it. Otherwise, he's not paying for it - it should be your choice. There are more important things to pay for.

How long have you had your current insulin vial? Just wondering how long you've been squirting back excess insulin. Does it look OK? Any cloudy bits or floaties? It's not uncommon for new people to do what you've had and as long as it's not forever, the insulin has seemed OK. Last night's drop does show that the insulin is working some.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
I'm glad you started a new post today. Here is the link to yesterday's. https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/need-help-with-dosing.232934/
It'll help people stay focussed on on the new post instead of replying to the old one if you include today's date on the subject title. Check out the PSA post on the top of the forum. @Panic @Diane Tyler's Mom

OK, so much for the housekeeping note. Onto your concern. Pumpkin is not used to lower numbers. He's been living in the land of black and red, with the odd dip down to pinks. Any number below 300 like that 297 you spotted last night (well done!) is freaking his body out. Once he gets used to lower numbers again, he won't bounce as high. So yes, this is normal, though scary to see at first. I saw a lot of "Hi' or the meter greeting me in the morning when we started out too. :( It helped when I started thinking of those ugly numbers as the insulin finally working and getting my cat into better numbers than she was used to.

On the last post, you say you haven't been checking for ketones, but the vet has. Unless the vet is checking every day, that won't help. Ketones can go from trace to dangerously high in less than a day. He's probably peeing quite a bit right now. You can buy Ketostix at any pharmacy. Here are some tips on catching a urine sample. If that still doesn't work, you can buy blood ketones meters. Described in the post here.

And you can check out human BG meters while you are at the pharmacy. Abbott has done an excellent job marketing to vets. Almost as good as those "vet" pet food manufacturers. When I started, AT's weren't a thing because no one used them. All of our dosing methods have been designed and used for years, with numbers from human meters. If the vet wants you to use the AT, use it to do spot checks when he asks for it. Otherwise, he's not paying for it - it should be your choice. There are more important things to pay for.

How long have you had your current insulin vial? Just wondering how long you've been squirting back excess insulin. Does it look OK? Any cloudy bits or floaties? It's not uncommon for new people to do what you've had and as long as it's not forever, the insulin has seemed OK. Last night's drop does show that the insulin is working some.
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This was a brand new vial this morning. I only did it once this morning.
After reading the info that I may have ruined the $308 vial, it broke me. I lost it. Completely fell apart.....................
I'm a teacher, work a waitress job too. That $308 was a chunk for me. The thought of it being ruined..........:facepalm:
I'm going to check into getting another meter, I can't afford the AT strips. He won't use litter box if I'm in the room, so that is out for ketones.
He was drinking and urinating normally this last week. But I saw a big puddle in the litter box upon waking this morning and have seen him drinking more today and he is a little lethargic compared to his stalking squirrels yesterday!! Just hate this for him.
Thank you for this................I'm climbing off the edge a little.
 
Next time you need lantus you can get it at Marks Marine Pharmacy in Canada, you will save tons of money, Most members buy from them. Check out their web site
I suggest you buy the 5 pack of the solostar pens. You would use it like the vial you have now, take the too off of the pen and you will see a grey rubber stopper, then you would insert your syringe in there, outrageous what you paid for your vial Hope this helps
They will last you for almost a year, depending on the dose you are shooting.
Plus the other 4 pens which you are not using will stay good until the expiration date , which is probably 2022 or 2023,
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Lantus Solostar CARTRIDGE 5x3ml per box (temp. gauge. ice pack, express-air mail) Brand 100iu/ml 15 ml $159.99 USD

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Lantus Solostar PEN CAN (temp. gauge. ice pack, express-air mail) *single pen open box* Brand 100iu/ml one pen 3 ml $49.99 USD

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Lantus Solostar PENS 5x3ml per box (temp. gauge. ice pack, express-air mail) Brand 100u/ml 15 ml $164.99 USD

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Lantus VIAL Insulin (10ml per vial) (temp. gauge. ice pack, express-air mail) Brand 100u/ml 10 ml $110.99 USD
 
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I saw your post in Health. I'm glad you're climbing off the ledge! FWIW, we've all rented out that piece of real estate at one time or another.

If I may make an additional suggestion. If Pumpkin does need larger doses, you may want to consider switching to Levemir. For some kitties that require a large dose of Lantus, they may flinch when you shoot. Lantus is acidic and in larger doses, it can sting. Many of the caregivers of large dose cats switch to Levemir. You still purchase through Marks and Levemir works very similarly to Lantus. The only difference is that onset and nadir are a bit later. If Pumpkin doesn't notice a sting, then no worries. If your kitty starts to flinch, you know there's an option.

As for your vet, I think vets are clueless as to what the cost for the AT strips is. They may also think that we test twice a day. I was a testaholic (as you can see from Gabby's SS). I'd have been broke if I was using a pet meter. Fortunately, like Wendy, Abbott hadn't been very aggressive about their marketing at the time we were needing to buy strips. I used a Bayer Contour meter. Most people here use Walmart's Relion brand meter because the strips are so inexpensive. (FYI - if you use any thing other than the Relion, buying your strips online is way less expensive than at your corner pharmacy.) Amazon, Ebay, and ADW all have good prices for strips.

You may want to consider a ketone meter if Pumpkin is shy about using the litter box. The strips for the ketone meter are also expensive but you don't go through them the way you do BG strips. There are a number of ketone meters available these days given the popularity of the keto diet. The ones that I've seen used are the Precision Xtra and NovaMax.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
I saw your post in Health. I'm glad you're climbing off the ledge! FWIW, we've all rented out that piece of real estate at one time or another.

If I may make an additional suggestion. If Pumpkin does need larger doses, you may want to consider switching to Levemir. For some kitties that require a large dose of Lantus, they may flinch when you shoot. Lantus is acidic and in larger doses, it can sting. Many of the caregivers of large dose cats switch to Levemir. You still purchase through Marks and Levemir works very similarly to Lantus. The only difference is that onset and nadir are a bit later. If Pumpkin doesn't notice a sting, then no worries. If your kitty starts to flinch, you know there's an option.

As for your vet, I think vets are clueless as to what the cost for the AT strips is. They may also think that we test twice a day. I was a testaholic (as you can see from Gabby's SS). I'd have been broke if I was using a pet meter. Fortunately, like Wendy, Abbott hadn't been very aggressive about their marketing at the time we were needing to buy strips. I used a Bayer Contour meter. Most people here use Walmart's Relion brand meter because the strips are so inexpensive. (FYI - if you use any thing other than the Relion, buying your strips online is way less expensive than at your corner pharmacy.) Amazon, Ebay, and ADW all have good prices for strips.

You may want to consider a ketone meter if Pumpkin is shy about using the litter box. The strips for the ketone meter are also expensive but you don't go through them the way you do BG strips. There are a number of ketone meters available these days given the popularity of the keto diet. The ones that I've seen used are the Precision Xtra and NovaMax.
Click to expand...
Thank ;you. I'm going to check on the Relion meter today. I'm checking on the ketone meters too. Comparative shopping. Thanks for all the knowledge and expertise!!!
kc
 
Hi Katrina, Welcome! Just wanted to say that Pumpkin is so handsome! And also, I joined here not long ago and it makes a huge difference knowing there are so many experienced people who will help, versus trying to go it alone. So glad you are here.
 
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Hi Katrina, also giving you a hello. I’m new on here too and watching my Priss’s (AKA Miss Priss and Prissypants) BG numbers boomerang (along with my nerves and confidence level ). It’s a learning curve and a life bump for us but I feel really confident with the support and education from this group that we are going to get it under control. Your Pumpkin and my Priss will be fine. Just keep both hands on the steering wheel.
 
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