? Dosing advice for Billie. Is this a bounce?

Please remember I'm a newbie too. But I did notice the high numbers coincide with the new bottle of insulin, and wonder if that can be a factor. Though it's not the first time Billie has popped back up into higher numbers, so I don't know. Take a look at the insulin and make sure it hasn't settled. If it looks brighter white at the bottom, try rolling gently between your palms to mix it. Insulin is fragile, so don't shake the vial.

It's too soon to tell on the dose going back up to 6. I would hold for a couple more cycles, unless someone with more experience comes in and advises you otherwise.
 
I'm not sure, but I think so. You know sometimes how it's your gut that tells you something? Well my gut feeling is that Billie is bouncing.
 
It makes sense to me. Billie's been bouncing for some time. I think slowly and steadily lowering the dose may be what calms that down. Key on slowly. The high dose may be the cause of the bounce, but the only way to test that is to very slowly lower it, and keep an eye on the numbers. Sort of wean Billie down to a lower dose and see how it effects her. Deb has much more experience than I do. I'm sure she'll be in to advise you as well.
 
7U was too much, 6.5 was too much (lows were <50).

Looks like 6.75 was too much (low 80's and too much of a percentage drop from the pre-shot test to nadir. Should be <50% drop between the pre-shot and the nadir.)

Somewhere less than that 6.5U looks better for Billie. Weather that is 6.25, 6 or 5.75 is hard to judge right now. Somewhere in that 5.75U to 6.25U range is the right dose for Billie right now. We simply have to find it.
Bouncing for sure.

She'll bounce until she stops bouncing. You may be "chasing the numbers" for a while. By that I mean you may be increasing and decreasing the dose fairly regularly for a while.

Eventually, her body will settle down and the bouncing will slow and her body will get used to those "lower than used to" BG readings. Then, you may see her dropping lower and lower at nadir and you'll need to lower the dose.

Try to hold a dose change for a bit longer, I'd say at least 6 cycles (each 12 hour period is a cycle). To see if this is the right dose or a continuation of the bounce.

Enough about the numbers. How is Billie feeling and acting? Smaller pee clumps in the litter box? Good appetite? Everything else ok? Is she getting to take another walk outdoors in sunny CA?
 
Thank you both. I'll hold at 5.75 for 12 cycles and see where we are then. Deep breaths and patience are my mantras.
Billie seems okay. She's been pretty calm. Smaller pee clumps sometimes. This morning she's had more water than usual, but I was thinking with the high bounce it makes sense. Her appetite never fails! She loves her food but is not overly ravenous mid-cycle. The one thing that is disturbing is her loss of strength. She can't jump the way she could only a month ago. I'm hoping that when her BG is regulated that she's regain some of what she's lost.

And yes, she's been out for a little stroll this morning. :) It's pretty warm today, but no sun. We're in the rainy Pacific NW. I'd love a little CA sunshine about now.
 
Not able to jump like she used to you say ? Could be neuropathy common in diabetic cats. Or arthritis, common in older cats such as Billie's senior cat age of 14-15.

Sounds like it could be a sign of diabetic neuropathy. See this recent thread where a discussion of diabetic neuropathy took place. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/zobaline-and-leg-neuropathy-question.224153/#post-2508214

And this one Neuropathy: Feline Diabetic Neuropathy (weak back legs)

And ask your vet about some Gabapentin for the neuropathy. Nerve pain, so it can be quite painful. Best way to get it better is to get the BG levels under control.

Have you ever considered another insulin? Like one of the longer lasting insulins like Lantus or Levimir?
 
I've read a little about feline neuropathy. I think it's more that than arthritis. She's never been a really nimble cat. BG levels are my first priority. It seems everything stems from that. I haven't considered another longer-lasting insulin. I'll discuss it with our vet to see what she advises. It's been 3 months now on ProZinc. I'm wondering about other support for her, i.e. acupuncture and herbs.

We're out of town next week and Billie will be staying at the vet clinic for 3.5 days. Not ideal, but it's familiar to her and she's not complained in the past. They'll be able to observe her there too. I've got to take this one day at a time.
 
One day at a time. Not the right time to even think about switching insulin, with you being out of town next week.
 
I'm a cancer survivor and another serious illness. So you re-prioritize your life and don't ever take a day for granted. Fine tune things that really matter to you and do those first.

"Treasure every day" is my motto. Keeps me going when the days aren't going so well and dealing with "recalcitrant" phone service reps and dealing with our horribly complex and expensive health care system. Gets me through the gloomy winter days here on the northeast US coast.
 
I just upped Billie's dose to 6u this morning after 7 cycles at 5.75u. Today looked pretty good, but her numbers went up to 551 tonight. I gave her 5.75u again tonight. Does that make sense, or should I just keep at 6u for at least 6 cycles to see if she'll level out at a lower BG number?
 
I think you should increase the dose to 6U Morning and Night. For at least 6 cycles. She needs the slightly higher dose. See if she levels off as you said.
 
Thanks, Deb. I'll give that a try. I suppose she'll get used to the 6U and those higher numbers will flatten. Thanks for responding so later in your day! Have a good night.
 
Giddymoon is going out of town soon. She is thinking about another insulin.
Wondering if her cat Billie could be a high dose cat, and maybe an IAA and or ACRO test would be appropriate.
IAA is insulin resistant antibodies.
ACRO an abbreviation for acromegaly. It's a pituitary disease that can cause wild fluctuations in insulin needs.
I'm thinking that there is some insulin resistance, and her cat needs more insulin until she breaks through that barrier.

If ACRO cat, higher doses of insulin like Lantus "sting" when injected. Higher doses of Levimir don't "sting" when injected.

Giddymoon is working closely with her vet, as she should be.
 
I wondered about the insulin resistance pretty early on...I'll include IAA and ARCO in my research and discussion with my vet. We're heading out this morning, back on Friday. Thank you all for your FD wisdom.
 
Hi, I simply wanted to make you aware of this. Posting this in your most recent thread.

All the "Sticky" or pinned posts in the Prozinc forum have been updated and there are a couple of new ones.

Highly recommend that everyone using Prozinc or helping those using Prozinc read them thoroughly.

I'll be doing that myself. Been expecting this for some time. Came about a week before I thought it would.
Thanks Marje, and Robert, and especially Djamila for the Modified Prozinc Method. You folks are FANTASTIC!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top