Dosing Advice Needed

Status
Not open for further replies.
O

Ozzy

Member Since 2015
My cat Ozzy has needed less and less insulin it seems. Giving him .5 units he hit too low, .25 units as well was too low (somewhere under 100). He was on 5 units for 2 years, then had 2 teeth removed and has since needed (or tolerated) less and less.

He is on Novolin N and eats Fancy Feast Classics. I took him off Insulin for the last 12 hours and here are the results so far. The previous shot I gave him was very very little, I'm not even sure if he got anything from it.

Results are from a Relion. Also it should be noted that while he was at the vet he measured 336 and when I brought him home about 20 mins later he measured 378 on the Relion. I know there's a Glucometer Reference Chart but my numbers don't seem that far off, have these been confirmed by others?

336 time of feed 6:30 pm
296 8:30 pm
257 11:30 pm
309 5:00 am
338 time of feed 6:30 am

Are these numbers too high for a Relion? Should I try keeping him on a tiny amount of insulin?
 
Normal is considered 50-130 from what I understand. It looks to me like he still needs a small dose. You might want to consider moving to the prozinc because from what I have read here it is not as harsh. As long as it doesn't take below 50 it is good. According to the glucometer reference, 180 to 280 is the renal threshold where glucose spills into the urine.
 
Is it normal for a diabetic cats BG levels to still end up at the same level without insulin? He started at 336 and ended up at 338. I was thinking if he was diabetic his BG levels would keep rising instead.

I went ahead and gave him the tiniest shot possible. I will update in 3.5 hours.
 
@Ozzy , those numbers are way too high. In my opinion, he still needs insulin. And just so you know, dropping below 100 isn't too low. It may be lower than you are comfortable with, but it is a normal number for a non-diabetic cat, and a good number for a cat on insulin.

As an example, Shiloh has been off the insulin for three weeks now, and her BG yesterday was 73.

If you can get a spreadsheet together, so that we can see his numbers and look for trends, it would really help us help you. Here are the instructions.
 
Okay, I will continue to try him on tiny amounts of insulin and get a spreadsheet made. Anything wrong with preloading some needles and storing them in the fridge?
 
Bummer I can't preload them. It's very difficult to get such a tiny amount and I know my mother wont be able to do it herself. Are there other needles that might work better?
 
My understand is that all syringes have the lubricant in them. Sorry! How long would they be preloaded for? If it is just a couple of hours, it would probably be ok. But I wouldn't recommend it for a longer than that.
 
Those numbers are too high and he needs insulin. It is best to set up a spreadsheet so that we can see the numbers. If you have not been writing down your test numbers, your meter should have a history for you that includes BG number, date and times. Please set up a spreadsheet and add all your tests. It sounds like your .25 u was a good one for that particular day as going down below 100 is good. You just don't want to drop below 50.
 
Novolin is a harsh, fast acting insulin that doesn't work a full 12 hours in most cats. At most, it is effective for 8-9 hours. You had some low numbers on your other thread from another day which indicates to me your cat is bouncing from lows to highs, typical with Novolin. As others here say, those numbers you have today are high and well over the normal threshold.

It will help when your spreadsheet is set up so we can guide you better.

CJ was on Novolin and went hypo on it. Cats can go hypo on any insulin but Novolin is especially harsh.
 
You mentioned in your other post about your vet writing an RX for Prozinc. If it is difficult to get an RX from your vet, you could see if anyone is selling it in the For Sale section of this forum.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top