Do I give insulin

[samantha and mia]

I dont know if I should give her the full dose of insulin today. I was supposed to start her first dose ever this morning. I took a pretest and it came back 293. Thursday it was 338. Both were fasting Thursday was just in the evening and this in the morning. Thanks.

 

[Carl & Polly & Bob (GA)]

Hi Samantha,
From reading your earlier posts, the starting dose is .5u ? Do you have the syringes with half unit marks? .5u is a very small dose and I think it would be OK. Can you get another test in about three hours after the shot?
People will be here if you have any concerns or questions.
Carl

 

[samantha and mia]

Yes. it is a .5 unit. I was just cautious since she has yet to have any insulin and the tests are all going in the downward direction without it.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

HI Samantha and extra sweet Mia!

Post from 9/9

I think the reason Mia's numbers are coming down is probably because you recently took away the dry food. Just the diet change can bring the numbers down quite a bit.

Did you talk to your vet about changing insulin to Lantus? Vetsulin really isn't a good choice for cats, so I'm not going to even try to advise you on what dose you should be giving. I don't know if anyone here would really feel comfortable with giving dosing advice for Vetsulin. (if this comes across as harsh, it isn't meant that way. I just haven't seen anyone mention being familiar with dosing using Vetsulin )

How's the home testing going? I saw you were given the link to some tips on testing.

If you still haven't given any insulin (it's not on your SS and the post doesn't really say) now's the time to get Mia used to testing! If you have given it, it's important to get those tests before shooting and at least once during the cycle.

Good luck with Mia!

 

[samantha and mia]

I have not given her any yet because I want to talk to my vet first since he was still dosing as if she were in the 400s. I have tested her a few times and she is doing much better if I take her to a quiet part of the house. The vetsulin was perscribed since it was the only one that he could get that was not $200 we both think that she will not need it long now that the diet has been changed. I will test her again in the morning and see where she is then. He just does not want me to give her any if she is close to 200.

 

[Carl & Polly & Bob (GA)]

I know that shooting small doses is hard because it's not easy to see an amount that small in the syringe. .5 is pretty tiny. And I agree with your vet because it sounds like he's being very cautious.

In the meantime though, have you tried drawing up really small doses in case he wants you to shoot even less than .5u? You can use colored water to make it easy to see.

Here are a couple of pictures that show doses under 1u.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

200 is our "no shot" number too...at least for new members who don't have enough data on how their cat reacts to insulin and food yet, but (and this is a big "but") most vets use 200 as a no shot number period and that's just not right. Most vets don't take into consideration that their clients may home test and have the ability to keep their cats safe as well as getting them into lower numbers that can truly heal the pancreas...and possibly get them off insulin completely.

Another thing you might want to try is to call around and see if you can find a pharmacy that will sell you the Lantus Solostar Pen one at a time (they generally come in boxes of 5 and not every pharmacy will break them up) Target stores and some hospital pharmacies are the most likely to be willing to sell one at a time. If you can find someplace that will sell you one, you can get the Lantus Savings Card and pay only $25 for each pen. (there are some people reporting that their pharmacy is requiring a registration number that vets can't get though)
I'm not sure how much each pen is without the card, but I've seen $50-$60 being pretty average. The pen will have 300 units of insulin so would last you quite awhile. As long as it's kept in the refrigerator, it'll last up to 6 months.

Just something to consider. Hopefully Mia can become a diet controlled kitty!

 

[Wendy&Tiggy(GA)]

Do I see you gave insulin this morning? What was her Blood glucose? Remember as a newbie its not advisable to shoot under 200

Wendy

 

[samantha and mia]

I just forgot to add it. It was 280 at the preshot.

 

[Wendy&Tiggy(GA)]

ok cool..