We missed morning feeding & insulin, "Paw" decided to hide instead. Tonight he was at 467. I'm still using Humulin N (until the vet will call in Lantus) & gave him 1u as I have been since I was warned that 6u was dangerously high. Is there a dosing chart somewhere? I'm wondering if he needed more than 1u based on this number.
Dosing question
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Sue and Oliver (GA)
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There is no chart. You dose based on past numbers/dosage. It's the data that guides your dosing. Since you have so little data, it is hard.
Your 467 is artificially high because he got no shot this morning. It isn't a normal cycle because he hasn't had a shot in 24 hours. I didn't see your earlier posts, but if you reduce that much, you need to get some tests in and monitor carefully. It would also be a very good idea to test for ketones if you reduce the dose. And work to get the better insulin ASAP.
Your 467 is artificially high because he got no shot this morning. It isn't a normal cycle because he hasn't had a shot in 24 hours. I didn't see your earlier posts, but if you reduce that much, you need to get some tests in and monitor carefully. It would also be a very good idea to test for ketones if you reduce the dose. And work to get the better insulin ASAP.
Thanks Sue, this is all very new to me. We just started dosing Sunday & tonight was the first time I was even able to get a drop of blood to test - it's been a stressful week (half a week!).
The vet wanted him on 6u day & night and after posting on the boards here I was advised not to follow those directions, so I've dropped down to 1u BID. It sounds as though I need to start doing hourly checks to see how he is processing it & if it's doing much good, is that right?
The vet wanted him on 6u day & night and after posting on the boards here I was advised not to follow those directions, so I've dropped down to 1u BID. It sounds as though I need to start doing hourly checks to see how he is processing it & if it's doing much good, is that right?
Sue and Oliver (GA)
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You don't need to test hourly. Even when you do a complete curve, every 2 hours is enough. You need to get a number before each shot and then somewhere in the 4-6 range to start with. That will give you an idea of how the insulin is working. Usually with Humulin, the number goes down in that time frame and then rockets back up. (in most cats, Humulin is harsh - hitting fast and not lasting very long. That's why we prefer the milder, longer lasting insulins.)
Once you have the preshot tests and a midcycle number, it will give you an idea of how the insulin is working in your kitty. The other caution is not to shoot under 200, but wait 20 minutes, without feeding. You want to make sure the number is rising and that he is high enough to shoot.
Once you have the preshot tests and a midcycle number, it will give you an idea of how the insulin is working in your kitty. The other caution is not to shoot under 200, but wait 20 minutes, without feeding. You want to make sure the number is rising and that he is high enough to shoot.
Julia & Bandit (GA)
Very Active Member
Honestly, the Humulin-N just does not work well in cats, so even on higher doses you will still likely see high numbers like that. I would work on changing the insulin asap, and try not to worry about high numbers too much with the Humulin in the meantime. You are starting the Lantus within the next couple days, right? If you think it's going to be more than a week before you get it, then I would worry about dose adjustments on the Humulin, but as long as you're switching very soon, I would not mess with the dose because you don't really have enough data to adjust it yet.
I second what Sue said about testing for ketones...it's very important when you have high numbers like these.
I second what Sue said about testing for ketones...it's very important when you have high numbers like these.
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