Does insulin need reducing?

PatJ

PatJ

Member
Could anyone tell me if my cat's insulin needs reducing a bit, because he seems to me to be going low too quickly and he is a bit of a bouncer which I've read can be a result of too much insulin. His low numbers are good but they continue to go low when they should have reached the lowest point .This morning he was really low when his shot was due and I waited an hour to see if he went up but he went from 5.2mmol to 6.0 then back again to 5.5 so I didn't give him anything, maybe I should have given him a token dose, Kris has given me such good advice about dosing that I shouldn't be asking again, but at 5.5 he's not far from a hypo number. Would be grateful for any comments. Thanks.
 
Yes, you can try experimenting with 3.25 u for a few days to see how he does. In my extensive experience with a bouncy cat (!) I know that they throw in these low PS cycles fairly often and it doesn't always correlate with a dose that's too high. It's just a function of their dramatic responses. Having said that, I've reduced Teasel's dose slightly when he's had a run of these. I go with my gut and if it doesn't work, I boost his dose again later. I wish there was an easier answer but bouncy kitties like to test us. :confused:
 
You're home during the day aren't you? At some point, you'll want to start trying out giving a token dose and then monitoring. As long as you have some higher carb food on hand, you'll be able to steer him up if need be. As Kris said, bouncy cats will sometimes do this, but in a few hours they'll be sky high without any insulin.

Don't do it on a cycle when you need to go out, but if you're going to be home, you could try something like 1u and then keep an eye on things.
 
Thanks Kris and Djamila,The reason I get so nervous about dosing at a level like 5.5 is because it says not to give insulin under 8.3 and between 8.3 and 11.0 mmol/L give a token dose. I get really confused which is why I'm forever bending your ears. So I can give him a token dose as low as 5.0 and it won't do him any harm? I'm so sorry to keep on about this, I'm sure I'll get the hang of it sooner or later! Thank you both so much for the good advice as usual.
 
Kris gave you a nice little list/chart on one of your earlier posts. If what I said contradicted that, please ignore me. Follow what Kris said. :):bighug:
 
PatJ said:
Thanks Kris and Djamila,The reason I get so nervous about dosing at a level like 5.5 is because it says not to give insulin under 8.3 and between 8.3 and 11.0 mmol/L give a token dose. I get really confused which is why I'm forever bending your ears. So I can give him a token dose as low as 5.0 and it won't do him any harm? I'm so sorry to keep on about this, I'm sure I'll get the hang of it sooner or later! Thank you both so much for the good advice as usual.
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I think my chart was like this:

Once you begin to get more PSs below 11 you can try a variety of things:
  • if close to 11 (maybe 10 and above), stall without feeding for 30 minutes and retest. If BG has risen try the full dose.
  • if in the 8 to 10 range, try stalling up to an hour and if rising do the above. If BG isn't rising much give a reduced dose. How much to reduce is always a conundrum. Maybe try a 2/3 dose.
  • if BG is much lower (say, 6 to 8) give token dose - size depends on what the normal dose is. Only do it if you can monitor. You can be braver with this once you have a lot of data. It's best to avoid skipping if you can but sometimes that's the safest thing to do.
Given the size of William 's dose, it's probably safest to skip if BG is under 6. If it's 6 to 8 a token dose (when the regular dose is 3.5 u) might be 0.5 u to 1.0 u. Until you try it you won't know if that's a good range or not. :)
 
Just had a thought. He's been on antibiotics for nearly two weeks, first for gingivitis and on Sunday had to carry on because he got cystitis. Could they have made any difference?
 
PatJ said:
Just had a thought. He's been on antibiotics for nearly two weeks, first for gingivitis and on Sunday had to carry on because he got cystitis. Could they have made any difference?
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The presence of infection can raise BG levels overall but your SS doesn't show that. Is he eating well or have the antibiotics reduced his appetite? Less food can sometimes cause a lowering of BG.
 
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