Dosage is all wrong? Need help

Marianne M

Marianne M

Member
I posted in the health forum and here earlier and I now believe the dosage I have been giving Mango is to high. I believe I need to go down not up. I am either going to forgo his insulin tonight or back it down to 2.50. I need to get back to much better BG reading than the past few days. Any advice would be welcomed. I am feeling so stressed and wonder if I am going to ever figure this out.
 
Hi Marianne,
deep breaths. We have all been there. it is tough to figure out and yes... too much insulin can have the same effect as too little. The advice your vet gave by increasing a full unit is too much. I would only adjust doses by .25 and hold them a few days before changing them up. In looking at your SS I would back down to at LEAST 2.5 and see what happens from there. I will tag @Djamila as she is much more experienced with dosing advice and she may recommend more of a drop. It took my girl 7 or so cycles to see what the dose was actually doing. Don’t panic... this happens to us all :bighug:
 
It looks to me like Mango is a bouncy kitty. Bounces can make it harder to figure out dosing and often can lead to insulin doses being increased too quickly.

While I see notations on the spreadsheet about use of the pet meter or the human meter, I would strongly suggest you choose one meter and stick with it. Human meter strips are far easier to obtain without worries about shipping delays but if you are happier with the pet meter that is fine. I would suggest though that you order an ample supply of strips and reorder well before you think you will need more to ensure consistency of the readings. Jumping from one meter to the other muddies the picture and makes it difficult to understand exactly what is going on.

You have got some night time tests but often our kitties go lower at night than they do in the day so grabbing at least one night time reading every night really helps to fill in the missing pieces to the puzzle.

You held the 3.75u dose for about 2 weeks which makes me wonder if you are now dealing with some glucose toxicity. If so, reducing the dose is not going to help. Yesterday's cycle was indeed flat but it also was not quite as high as some previous readings. Can you please update the spreadsheet to include today's readings so far? I'd like to see what today looked like before making any recommendations.
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
It looks to me like Mango is a bouncy kitty. Bounces can make it harder to figure out dosing and often can lead to insulin doses being increased too quickly.

While I see notations on the spreadsheet about use of the pet meter or the human meter, I would strongly suggest you choose one meter and stick with it. Human meter strips are far easier to obtain without worries about shipping delays but if you are happier with the pet meter that is fine. I would suggest though that you order an ample supply of strips and reorder well before you think you will need more to ensure consistency of the readings. Jumping from one meter to the other muddies the picture and makes it difficult to understand exactly what is going on.

You have got some night time tests but often our kitties go lower at night than they do in the day so grabbing at least one night time reading every night really helps to fill in the missing pieces to the puzzle.

You held the 3.75u dose for about 2 weeks which makes me wonder if you are now dealing with some glucose toxicity. If so, reducing the dose is not going to help. Yesterday's cycle was indeed flat but it also was not quite as high as some previous readings. Can you please update the spreadsheet to include today's readings so far? I'd like to see what today looked like before making any recommendations.
Click to expand...
I have been using the AT2 meter since 6/30. SS is updated for today will do a test at +5 before bed.
 
Hi there! I got the tag from Lisa, but it looks like Linda (MrWorfMensMom) has given you good advice already, so I'm just saying hi so you don't think I was ignoring the summons ;). Hang in there! It's tough when a kitty is getting high numbers, so hugs to you! :bighug:
 
Linda just did a +5 after PMPS reading. I reduced his evening dosage by .5 units. I will look forward to your recommendation.
 
I think I would try 4u or for a few cycles as long as the pre-shots are high enough to give insulin. Every cat is different and while you can change doses every couple of days for some, others need doses held a bit longer to really see how well they are working. I would hold doses at least 3 days possibly 4 before switching as long as BG remains flat or starts lowering. You may need to increase more before you can drop the dose if what you are seeing is glucose toxicity.
 
I see that you gave 4 units one time then dropped to 2.5. I just want to say that you have to be careful about so many frequent dosing changes. You will just add to the volatility. Choose a dose and hold it for a few days (I agree with Linda about the 3 to 4 days). Consistency is so important, and you cannot see the impact of a dose in just a cycle or two. As long as you are getting in mid-cycle tests during those days, you will have enough data to then be able to decide what the next step should be. From there, make the decreases/increases in .25 units... again, holding the dose for a few days after each change. The only exception would be if you get a crazy low pre-shot where it would be dangerous to give the dose and you have to reduce or skip for safety (which, as I mentioned on your other post, can be an indicator of the current does being a little high...so if you have to reduce or skip, I would see that as a sign to go ahead and drop the dose by .25 from that point). Because there is a history of ketones and the numbers are running high right now keep testing for ketones regularly.
 
FurBabiesMama said:
I see that you gave 4 units one time then dropped to 2.5. I just want to say that you have to be careful about so many frequent dosing changes. You will just add to the volatility. Choose a dose and hold it for a few days (I agree with Linda about the 3 to 4 days). Consistency is so important, and you cannot see the impact of a dose in just a cycle or two. As long as you are getting in mid-cycle tests during those days, you will have enough data to then be able to decide what the next step should be. From there, make the decreases/increases in .25 units... again, holding the dose for a few days after each change. The only exception would be if you get a crazy low pre-shot where it would be dangerous to give the dose and you have to reduce or skip for safety (which, as I mentioned on your other post, can be an indicator of the current does being a little high...so if you have to reduce or skip, I would see that as a sign to go ahead and drop the dose by .25 from that point). Because there is a history of ketones and the numbers are running high right now keep testing for ketones regularly.
Click to expand...
Thank you Mia I will do what is suggested. This PM I will dose 4 units and hold for 3-4 days and if still high would I decrease the dose .25 and hold for 3-4 days and if still high decrease the dosage again by .25 until I get lower #'s? I didn't think it would be so hard getting Mango regulated. I feel as if I am letting him down :(
 
Marianne, don't be discouraged. It takes time to get them regulated and some harder than others. Your vet increasing by full units doesn't help either and while you slowed down the increases, holding each increase a little longer will help sort things out. Take this one step at a time and look at the pattern of his numbers....not at individual readings. It looks like Mango's numbers improved a bit on the higher dose but only time will tell. Holding the dose longer will give you a much better clue about whether an increase or decrease is needed but dropping back too much too soon could definitely set you back. Mango may need increases rather than decreases so be patient and then re-evaluate.
 
It is often said here that this is a marathon and not a sprint, and that is so true. We want to rush it and 'fix' our babies, but unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. It takes patience. You are not letting him down - if you were not treating his diabetes, you would be letting him down. Just continue to test so that you will have the data to inform your decisions, and post for help once you have held a dose for while and need to make a decision on what to do next.
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
I think I would try 4u or for a few cycles as long as the pre-shots are high enough to give insulin. Every cat is different and while you can change doses every couple of days for some, others need doses held a bit longer to really see how well they are working. I would hold doses at least 3 days possibly 4 before switching as long as BG remains flat or starts lowering. You may need to increase more before you can drop the dose if what you are seeing is glucose toxicity.
Click to expand...
Well I've already screwed up today.
FurBabiesMama said:
It is often said here that this is a marathon and not a sprint, and that is so true. We want to rush it and 'fix' our babies, but unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. It takes patience. You are not letting him down - if you were not treating his diabetes, you would be letting him down. Just continue to test so that you will have the data to inform your decisions, and post for help once you have held a dose for while and need to make a decision on what to do next.
Click to expand...
Thanks Mia for your words of encouragement. I am finding out that all of this takes time, lots of time. I do need to practice more patience and this is now my new mantra, patience pays! I will hold the 4 unit dosage for a few days and then post for help so I can make the most informed decision for Mango. I would probably be in the looney bin if I didn't have this board to help me. :bighug:
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
Marianne, don't be discouraged. It takes time to get them regulated and some harder than others. Your vet increasing by full units doesn't help either and while you slowed down the increases, holding each increase a little longer will help sort things out. Take this one step at a time and look at the pattern of his numbers....not at individual readings. It looks like Mango's numbers improved a bit on the higher dose but only time will tell. Holding the dose longer will give you a much better clue about whether an increase or decrease is needed but dropping back too much too soon could definitely set you back. Mango may need increases rather than decreases so be patient and then re-evaluate.
Click to expand...
Linda, once again your words of encouragement help to make me see the light at the end of the tunnel. I get frustrated and then discouraged but bounce back. I will ask for help after I hold the 4 unit dose for a few days so I can make the most informed decision for my kitty. :bighug:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top