Dosing advice needed for Kazi please.

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Amanda

Amanda

Member Since 2010
Hi all! I have had a very hectic Christmas season and have not checked in for a long time. (management in retail. oi.) Kazi seems to be feeling good - still no definitive answer to her urinary issues. I need to follow up with the vet but to be honest I was beginning to feel like I was throwing money down the drain - cat is not straining in LB, not going anymore than normal, eating well, BG good etc. etc.

Anywho -- my question revolves around dosing advice. Kazi is on a small drop of insulin. I measure by pushing the plunger back down equal to the zero marker and then usually push out around half that drop. Kazi has been dropping into the low 60s (perhaps she would have gone lower- I fed at that point.) and 50s this week which makes me very nervous. I would drop her dose - but she is already on a micro dose. Is it worthwhile to essientially give her what is left in the needle itself? Do I try a few days of small meals and no insulin to see what she does?

She has great AM numbers - nearly always green. But her PM numbers are closer to the absolute max acceptable OTJ levels...120s, sometimes 130s. I have tried skipping a shot and then shooting in the PM - that seemed to drain the shed and bring her back to surfing the 70s for a cycle but then we are right back to low numbers after 1 shot. I have tried skipping a shot and several small meals...we ended that day at 118. So far snacks don't seem to make much difference in dropping that PMPS.

I know I am rambling - hoping someone can take a look at my spreadsheet and offer me some advice! Thank you in advance.
 
Hi Amanda

agrees with Ann, if you could do a post hopefully one hour before your shot time for AMPS, hopefully others will be wide awake by then.
 
I hope your life at work is beginning to ease up and you're recovering from the holiday craziness!

One question -- are you doing anything differently during the AM vs. PM cycle?

I know I would find it helpful if you were able to get a full curve at some point when your schedule permits. In the meantime, it doesn't look like you're feeding several small meals. When a cat is at this stage in the game, it's often helpful to spread out the feedings so you are running less of a risk of overwhelming the pancreas. In addition, those smaller meals will keep the pancreas active and it will be producing its own insulin and hopefully keeping the numbers down. Given your schedule, you may need to use a timed feeder.
 
I should be able to get a full curve tomorrow - been on my list of things to do but w/family visiting, Christmas shopping etc. it fell through the cracks!

By small meals - what do you suggest? Kazi eats about a can and a half of the 5.5oz cans per day. I have tried splitting it into a 1/2 can for breakfast, 1/4 can about 4 hours before her shot and 3/4 a can for dinner since she keeps sky diving. Is 1/2 a can 3x a day still to big of meals? I worry about her appetite doing this - she didn't eat well for dinner for me the last time she got several small meals through the day. Would be easier if she were a chow hound!
 
So, Kazi is eating approximately 4 oz of food per meal. I'd try feeding an ounce at shot time, +3, +6, and +9. It may take a bit to get Kazi used to the schedule. Cats are creatures of habit and you're changing a well established routine. To be honest, there's no magic to this. Most of the issues with feeding are trial and error. I also don't know if this is feasible for your schedule.

If it's easier, maybe going back to what you tried before -- geting a snack in at around +9 as a first step will let you know if a little bit of food toward the end of the cycle helps to lower the pre-shot values. Maybe the 1/4 can was too much when fed later in the cycle. When I've given a late snack, I've used 1/8 (or less) of a 3 oz can.
 
Thanks for the advice! I will try splitting into 3 meals first and see where it takes us - she is not a big eater. I worry about relying on a timed feeder for anything other than a snack because she needs prodding to finish her meals as it is. Doesn't seem to matter how much I give her...she nearly always eats 1/2 and then waits on me to come in and tell her to eat her food/sprinkle some treat on top before she hops off the counter and finishes. :roll: Will give it some thought and some trial and error and see what works for us! For now I am skipping shots for anything below the mid 90s. Going to try and see if I can give her a bit less insulin as well.
 
I hate to see you skipping shots, but I understand. It does look like you shoot lower when you're home to monitor. What I would suggest is that if Kazi does have lower numbers when you're home, you monitor like crazy. You need to feel confident that he won't drop too low when you're not there. I tend to think if you can shoot consistently, Kazi has a good chance for remission. I suspect it's the skipping shots that keeps driving his numbers up.
 
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