? Delayed response to insulin?

[Vinnie Van Gogh's Mom]

I'm trying to make sense of Vinnie's numbers. It looks like the two times I skipped a dose due to lower than normal numbers, he was fine for that cycle, but the FOLLOWING cycle, his numbers stayed high even though he got insulin. On 8/26 I skipped the am shot due to his numbers being much lower than normal even after stalling. 4 hours later he was even lower even though he ate. That evening, he was high again and got a shot. He remained higher than normal at +4 that night.

Last night he was 164 and I wasn't able to stall so we skipped. This morning he was 309 and got insulin but 4 hours later he's still at 295. Is it possible that he is having a very delayed response to the insulin?

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

I'm going to tag @JanetNJ since she's more knowledgeable about Prozinc than I am.

Sometimes, it takes a bit of momentum for insulin to do what you expect. It's no surprise that if you skip a shot, the numbers will certainly be higher by the next shot time. Unlike Lantus or Levemir what have a depot, Prozinc does not. However, it is similar to the depot insulins in that it has a long duration. If your cat has a longer duration than the average kitty, it may be why you don't see that much of a change during the skipped cycle. With skipping a shot, you've lost the momentum that you've built up and it may take a cycle or two for your cat to get back to the desired effect.

To be honest, I don't know that I'd be encouraging you to skip numbers that are above 150. Ultimately, you want your cat to be in normal numbers (50 - 120). One way to get there is to become more comfortable with shooting progressively lower numbers. You've been collecting a good amount of data. I'd also suggest getting a before bed test every night so you know if Vinnie is in safe numbers and so you're not missing half of your data.

 

[Vinnie Van Gogh's Mom]

I'm going to tag @JanetNJ
To be honest, I don't know that I'd be encouraging you to skip numbers that are above 150. Ultimately, you want your cat to be in normal numbers (50 - 120). One way to get there is to become more comfortable with shooting progressively lower numbers. You've been collecting a good amount of data. I'd also suggest getting a before bed test every night so you know if Vinnie is in safe numbers and so you're not missing half of your data.

Thank you for the response! I'm building up the courage to shoot lower - I had a cat die from hypoglycemia 20 years ago (vet never suggested home testing or told me what to look for and I had no idea it was even a possibility) so I'm super nervous about it and I've been closely following the SLGS guidelines. Maybe I'll start doing a token dose instead of skipping for the lower numbers?

His PM shot is actually right before I go to bed but I'll see if I can adjust the schedule a bit so I can get more data.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

If there's any way you can adjust your shot time so you can get a PM, before bed test that would be great!!

I can completely understand your being apprehensive about shooting lower numbers. What a terrible experience. You don't ave to jump to much lower numbers. Try 20 points lower than usual and try on a day when you'll be around to test.

 

[JanetNJ]

I'd go back to the 0.75. but make sure you are shooting that amount am and pm.

 

[Vinnie Van Gogh's Mom]

I'd go back to the 0.75. but make sure you are shooting that amount am and pm.

We're adjusting his shot times so we will be able to get a post-pm shot reading, that way I'll feel more comfortable with the higher (0.75) dose at night. We should be able to start that tonight.