do I give Lulu insulin?

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Lulu's2Moms

Lulu's2Moms

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Lulu's bg is 135. Yesterday morning he was 171 amps... did not shoot cause I would not be home. When I got home 5 hrs later it had dropped on its own to 114! Yay... but then pmps he was back up to 233, so he got his reg. .5 and went a little low (not horribly) and I gave him 4 tiny bits of dry food and his reg. wet to get it back up. This morning he was 171 again, so I gave him .25 and his low was 96.

I'm not sure what to do. It looks like his pancreas really wants to kick in... and I want to support this any way I possible can. If it only goes down 80pts like it did today he will be fine.. but we know this is not a reliable thing (he's on Humulin N). So do I try to just give him a drop? I don't want his pancreas to be overwelmed... but then yesterday it kicked in. what if it kicks in after getting a drop? then what? ohmygod_smile
 
Hi Sue,
I am home all night and don't have to work till late morning tomorrow. He was higher yesterday when I decided not to shoot... and his bg went down on its own. I am tempted to try and give just a drop cause he ate a good dinner.
 
well you might rob him of the opportunity to prove his point to you :-D
 
This is the part that makes it a "sugar dance". if I were you, I would err on the side of caution. if it's up to 200 in 30 minutes, you could try the .25. I wouldn't give a drop even below 200. Humulin is pretty unpredictable.

Another option is to wait a while to see if it comes down more on its own.
 
Cool. That sounds like good to me... it's so hard sometimes and I start thinking in circles and can't get out of my own way.
 
Don't be discouraged. He is getting a nice long time out of a tiny amount of insulin. I think, other than the very first day, these times are the hardest. You want them off insulin, but when they get down to low numbers and tiny doses, it gets scary. Remember, you have all the tools you need; it just takes time. You're doing a great job.
 
Update,
Lulu was 154 this am... no insulin. 4 hours later he's 144. 8 hours later he's 153... no insulin. Is it ok for him to be at this level with no insulin? I can't give him any cause it would take him too low, but I also don't want to stress his body out. he looks good, is playing, but is a little more grouchy than usual. he's also hanging close. i so wish i had a magic wand right now.
 
What is your ultimate game plan? Would you switch to another insulin? Do you want to try to wean him off with the Humulin? I ask because the Humulin may be harder to work with.

154/174 - those are still diabetic numbers. You want him in the 40 - 80 range without insulin to be considered in remission. To get him down to those numbers with Humulin, you are probably going to have to be giving tiny doses and really watching for low numbers.

I wish we had some people actively using Humulin. I think I will go ask around to see if anyone has done this dance and can give you ideas. You might also change your subject line and ask for tiny doses with Humulin.
 
Thank you Sue,
I would love to be able to wean him off with the Humulin, only because that is what we have and we don't have a lot of money right now after all we have been through. I know this is going to be difficult because the Humulin does take him low. We can see his little body trying to work, and really, if it takes changing insulins to move towards remission then that is what we have to do. I am trying to get him into the vet tomorrow to get him weighed and he seems a little congested... more teeth stuff? This could be adding to the stress and keeping those #'s up.
 
Well, the first thing you can do is to practice small doses. See how much a drop is, and how you would mark/figure that on a syringe. Compare it to .25 to see if it is any smaller than what you have already given. I think the trick will be to just give a "whiff".
 
Sue and Oliver said:
154/174 - those are still diabetic numbers. You want him in the 40 - 80 range without insulin to be considered in remission. To get him down to those numbers with Humulin, you are probably going to have to be giving tiny doses and really watching for low numbers.
Click to expand...
I agree that those numbers are still diabetic, but I don't agree with the normal range you mention, Sue. Here are the BG levels from the FAQs:

Treated but not regulated [often above 300 (16.7) and rarely near 100 (5.6), poor clinical signs]
Regulated [generally below 300 (16.7) with glucose nadir near 100 (5.6), good clinical signs, no hypoglycemia]
Well regulated [generally below 200-250 (11.1-13.9) and often near 100 (5.6), no hypoglycemia]
Tightly regulated [generally below 150 (8.3) and usually in the 60-120 (3.3-6.7) range, no hypoglycemia, still receiving insulin]
Normalized [60-120 (3.3-6.7) except perhaps directly after meals -- usually not receiving insulin]
 
I'm no expert, but I think 120 is pretty high for a cat who is not on insulin? I think the numbers we see most often in cats in remission are in the 60-70 range, with some cats normally running 40 - 50 and some running 60 - 90. I think I would want my cat lower than 120 off insulin. Guess it may be that Every Cat is Different thing......
 
Ok, he was 160 after eating so I gave him a drop of insulin. I will be checking him at +2. I know it's a good sign that it came down a tiny bit on its own today, but want to give him that little bit of extra help if possible. We really can't afford to change insulin right now... really wish we could cause I know we could get much tighter with a smaller risk of going to low.
Thanks again for all the input... it's been a real blessing! Lulu sends purrs too!
 
Nice going Lulu! Looks like you are adjusting doses appropriately.

Re: remission discussion- Stinky's (my OTJ cat) numbers usually hover around 100, give or take, and according to a few vets (incl. Dr. Pierson) he is very much in remission. Since OTJ, his highest # has been 119 and the lowest was 62... but generally around 100. Good enough for me : )
 
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