Dosing help for Marty!

[Nick & Marty Cat]

Hi Everyone,

Nick here.. new to this forum and my first post. My apologies if this is not the correct place to post this.

Some quick background- Marty cat is my 8 year old boy. He’s been diagnosed with diabetes for about 2 months now. Current treatments is 2 units of Lantus AM and PM. His diet is 1 can of fancy feast pate at 8am, 5pm, and 10pm.

His #s have been on a continual decline and his 4pm # (+8) today was 39. I was alarmed but his behavior was normal, purring and happy and ate normally at 5pm. I tested him again at 8pm (+12) and he was at 141. Tonight, right after he had dinner and pre shot was at 153. I was still a bit freaked out from his low reading earlier so I only gave him 1 unit... Any thoughts on how to proceed? Should I continue with the 2 units or drop back down to 1 for each shot?

Additional question... Marty has some diabetic neuropathy. It was the first sign that something was wrong but almost 2 months later he still isn’t walking completely normal. He doesn’t seem to be in pain but it’s very noticeable as he walks like a drunk. He can still jump on the couch although the bed is now too high for him. Is there any treatment for this? I read about a pill called Zobaline which is essentially just folic acid (vitamin B). Does anyone have experience treating neuropathy?

Thank you Everyone!

-Nick

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi Nick and Marty and welcome!

Sounds like you are home testing which is great and the only way to keep your boy safe.
Can you tell us what type of meter you are using to test the glucose? Is it a human meter or a pet meter..?
A number of 39 on either meter is too low and you need to reduce the dose. I’m glad you didn’t give the 2 units tonight.

Are you using a syringe or a pen to inject?
A syringe is much better as you can do much smaller Increments up or down with the dose.
If you are using a pen, it is only up and down in 1 unit increments which is too much.
We recommend going up or down in 1/4 (0.25) unit increments which would mean you new dose would be 1.75 units.

Did you give Marty some high carb food when you found the 39? Always give some high carb food if you get a low number like that and test again in 20 minutes to see the number is on the way up. You can also give a couple of drops of honey. And you need to keep testing until the number is safe without the support of food.
The take action number for a human meter is 50.
The take action number for a pet meter is 68.

Are you testing before every shot to ensure it is safe to give the insulin?
The way to do it is to test, feed and shoot. From what you are saying about the food, I’m not sure you are feeding before every shot.. testng before the shot is the only way to ensure the BG is high enough to give insulin.
We recommend not only feeding before every shot but also giving a couple of snacks during the first half of all the cycles.

Would you be able to set up your signature and a spreadsheet? Then we can help you. Also within the link below is a link to how to manage hypos. I recommend you print it off and put it on the fridge. Hypos are deadly.
Information about signature and spreadsheet are in this link
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-how-you-can-help-us-help-you.216696/

Here is a link to suitable foods. Look for foods under 10% carbs. Also look for some medium carbs around 14% and some high carbs 18-20% to have on hand for low numbers. It is too late to run out and buy some when you find a low number!
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/links-to-food-charts.

Diabetic neuropathy will improve once the BG numbers are back within normal range ..it will resolve but will take time.
Zobaline is methyl B12 and is very good for the neuropathy. my Sheba had it very badly and could not jump at all, had to sit often when walking and her legs slipped all over the place when she walked. I gave her zobaline and once her numbers come down to better numbers she gradually improved and eventually regained all her strength and mobility. I would recommend buying the zobaline.

You may find his numbers skyrocket after dropping down to 39 today. This is normal and is called a bounce. Bounces can last for up to 6 cycles. Bounces can happen when the numbers drop too fast, too low or lower than the cat is used to. The body then panics and dumps stored glucose and regulatory hormones into the system which sends up the BG level. Don’t be tempted to give a higher dose of insulin if the BG is higher in the morning...it will be a bounce. Stick with the new dose of 1.75 if the BG is high enough to shoot.

please keep asking questions.
Bron

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Hello and welcome.

Bron has given some very good suggestions, I just have a couple things to add.

You are feeding low carb food, but do you think you could change his feeding schedule at all? Looks like you are feeding at the AM shot time, AM+9 and PM +2. We typically will test (to make sure it's OK to give insulin), feed, then shoot insulin. It's good to give a meal around shot time. You want to make sure he has some carbs in him for when he onsets, or the insulin takes effect. It's fine to do several smaller meals per cycle and ideal to give the same timing of feeds in the AM and PM if you can. Do you have an automated feeder? Many of us use the Petsafe 5, and it really helps with feeding when we aren't around. Ideal meals would be around shot time, then again in the first half of the cycle before nadir.