Dosing advice for Newbie Cat, Noel

[KittyKatMama]

Noel had a BG of 101 for her AMPS and skipped her morning dose. Vet has advised that she gets 3 units twice a day. Looking for advice on lowering doseage. She is also getting 5mg Prednisone every other day and Greenies after insulin

 

[ohbell]

Hi Noel's mom. Great job on the Signature and spreadsheet for her numbers.
I am sure others will respond as well, but what about starting back to 1 Unit and getting those am/pm preshot tests
as well as some mid tests around nadir?
Keep up the good work!!

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

@Panic

@JanetNJ

Thank you ladies
I also see she gives her kitty greenies for a snack, Isn't that high in carbs?

 

[JanetNJ]

Whenever possible try to get a mid cycle reading so we can see how low she's going. That low preshot this morning tells me she might be sometimes going too low.

 

[KittyKatMama]

Hi Noel's mom. Great job on the Signature and spreadsheet for her numbers.
I am sure others will respond as well, but what about starting back to 1 Unit and getting those am/pm preshot tests
as well as some mid tests around nadir?
Keep up the good work!!

Thank you. Should I start at 1 unit tonight or...? Do I need to consult my vet first or do they generally appreciate when fur mommies are proactive? I took BG again at 5:32 PM today and she was 288. I forgot to put the food away at 8pm to test and shoot at 10pm. It was 9:37 when I saw her taking a few small bites of the food she got earlier and it was 9:39PM when I picked up the food, now we're waiting till 11:39pm to test and possibly shoot. Is that correct? If it's over 200 should I give her 1 unit? Both of my girls are very hungry and used to eating about now. I'm really struggling with routine and consistency for my girls, the anxiety is visceral.

 

[JanetNJ]

Thank you. Should I start at 1 unit tonight or...? Do I need to consult my vet first or do they generally appreciate when fur mommies are proactive? I took BG again at 5:32 PM today and she was 288. I forgot to put the food away at 8pm to test and shoot at 10pm. It was 9:37 when I saw her taking a few small bites of the food she got earlier and it was 9:39PM when I picked up the food, now we're waiting till 11:39pm to test and possibly shoot. Is that correct? If it's over 200 should I give her 1 unit? Both of my girls are very hungry and used to eating about now. I'm really struggling with routine and consistency for my girls, the anxiety is visceral.

Yes over 200. If it's close like that 197 you can stall for 30-60 min and see if it's going up.

 

[JanetNJ]

Thank you. Should I start at 1 unit tonight or...? Do I need to consult my vet first or do they generally appreciate when fur mommies are proactive? I took BG again at 5:32 PM today and she was 288. I forgot to put the food away at 8pm to test and shoot at 10pm. It was 9:37 when I saw her taking a few small bites of the food she got earlier and it was 9:39PM when I picked up the food, now we're waiting till 11:39pm to test and possibly shoot. Is that correct? If it's over 200 should I give her 1 unit? Both of my girls are very hungry and used to eating about now. I'm really struggling with routine and consistency for my girls, the anxiety is visceral.

You're doing a great job with setting everything up and learning to test. I know it's a lot at first. Soon out will all feel routine. Your cat is lucky to have you. You can feed them in between shots, just no food 2 hours prior to the preshot test.

 

[KittyKatMama]

You're doing a great job with setting everything up and learning to test. I know it's a lot at first. Soon out will all feel routine. Your cat is lucky to have you. You can feed them in between shots, just no food 2 hours prior to the preshot test.
View attachment 61130

Cats and coffee are life! Love the bitmoji!! Thank you for all the feedback and guidance. The wonderful and caring woman i've been talking with from FDMB is walking me through all of this and has elaborated a little on the waiting 20-30 minutes after the shot. I'm so grateful for FDMB, the amazing gal Ive been chatting with (and her baby fur angel) for all of your help; I'm pretty sure it's already saved Noel's life.

 

[JanetNJ]

Cats and coffee are life! Love the bitmoji!! Thank you for all the feedback and guidance. The wonderful and caring woman i've been talking with from FDMB is walking me through all of this and has elaborated a little on the waiting 20-30 minutes after the shot. I'm so grateful for FDMB, the amazing gal Ive been chatting with (and her baby fur angel) for all of your help; I'm pretty sure it's already saved Noel's life.

Coffee sounds good right now. I'm curious why you lowered the dose last night?

I saw you said the ears were getting hot. Are they bruised? If so you could be hitting the vein accidently. make sure you are aiming for an edge. any edge all the way around and on either side is ok to use. You can put a very tiny amount of neosporin ointment on the ear if you need to.

 

[KittyKatMama]

Hi Janet, they're not brusied just very pink and warm. I've been using neosporin ointment with pain relief before I use the lancet on her ear, it has been helping the blood bead and her ears seem to heal up pretty quick.
I gave her a lower dose the night before because I was super exhausted and wasn't confident I'd wake up to an alarm a few hours later to test her BG. She was close to 200 and we're new to insulin, I don't know how much certain doses affect her. I didn't want to risk her going hypo.

 

[Bandit's Mom]

I've been using neosporin ointment with pain relief before I use the lancet on her ear, it has been helping the blood bead and her ears seem to heal up pretty quick.

Neosporin has been found to be toxic to cats. You can use vaseline to help the blood bead. For the ears to heal:

Ear Care
Since our kitties must endure so many tests, what are some ways to take care of the ears?

• Hold a wet, cool baby washcloth on the poke site immediately after the test to prevent bruising.

• Put Emla cream on the test sites after each test. It only takes a tiny dab and you can wipe it off before the next test. Emla cream requires a prescription from your vet. Neosporin with has been found to contain a toxin to cats, polymixin and should be avoided.

• You can purchase Ledum 30C homeopathic remedy at any health food store. Dissolve one tablet in a small bottle of pure water and then apply one or two drops to each ear every day. Ledum is great for puncture wounds.

More testing tips here:
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/testing-and-shooting-tips.85113/#post-1377750

 

[JanetNJ]

Hi Janet, they're not brusied just very pink and warm. I've been using neosporin ointment with pain relief before I use the lancet on her ear, it has been helping the blood bead and her ears seem to heal up pretty quick.
I gave her a lower dose the night before because I was super exhausted and wasn't confident I'd wake up to an alarm a few hours later to test her BG. She was close to 200 and we're new to insulin, I don't know how much certain doses affect her. I didn't want to risk her going hypo.

Maybe the pink is a reaction to so much neosporin. I really only used it once in a blue moon. Maybe try a little Vaseline to help the drop bead up. It's OK to err on the side of caution with a dose.... Sometimes we need a good night sleep.

 

[KittyKatMama]

Neosporin has been found to be toxic to cats. You can use vaseline to help the blood bead. For the ears to heal:

Ear Care
Since our kitties must endure so many tests, what are some ways to take care of the ears?

• Hold a wet, cool baby washcloth on the poke site immediately after the test to prevent bruising.

• Put Emla cream on the test sites after each test. It only takes a tiny dab and you can wipe it off before the next test. Emla cream requires a prescription from your vet. Neosporin with has been found to contain a toxin to cats, polymixin and should be avoided.

• You can purchase Ledum 30C homeopathic remedy at any health food store. Dissolve one tablet in a small bottle of pure water and then apply one or two drops to each ear every day. Ledum is great for puncture wounds.

More testing tips here:
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/testing-and-shooting-tips.85113/#post-1377750

Oh my goodness! I'll stop using the neosporin right away! Thank you! Ill see if i can order some ledum. What is a small bottle? Is it like a small glass tincture bottle with a dropper? What is pure water? Do i need to boil the water or something? How long is it the water good for after i dissolve the tablet in it? Thank you so much!! I'm so glad all this came up. She was getting neosporin before and sometimes after each poke. Ugh, this is so frustrating, there's so many hidden dangers in the house that i don't know about, i didn't even know how dangerous lillies and some flea/tick medicines are until a few years ago