Due for insluin... reading at 215. What do I do

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Vhens2211 said:
so we are sure there is no way the meter could be wrong correct?

I felt a little funny going against vet advice, but my gut told me not to give the 2 1/2 he told me to.

I also feel like I am mutilating his ears!!! Will this feeling pass?

Poor guy, he's been realllllllly good today with letting me test.
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Usually you could do a second test to verify if the meter is accurate but I don't advise doing multiple tests when you have so few strips.

The Wellness Healthy Indulgence pouches are between 9-12% carb, the Wellness COre dry is 11% carbs, and the DM dry is 13% carbs. If you have to feed a low number start with the pouches (a little at a time as Sue said) and keep him a little hungry. If you have to use dry use the Wellness Core.

As for the testing, yes, it gets easier and remember - you are testing to keep him safe, that is the goal. Hang in there, we are with you. Scritches for Oz from us.
 
I have the relion confirm which gave me two 60 readings last evening. Last night I went out and got the micro.. tested myself 59 micro 80 confirm, then 80 micro, 80 confirm.

Seems like they are both working.

So what time should I test again? 1 unit at 6:30, it is now 10:30pm EST here, and I just tested at 10pm.

Should I leave any of the dry DM out?

Fortunaltey, Oz man sleeps in the room with me!
 
I also have on can grilled chicken fancy feast and some of the new wellness canned in gravy. LOL.. i have a pet store here!!
 
I would try not to leave the dry out - it will really skew your numbers and they are looking great. You could leave out the wet - just not a whole lot. If he goes lower than feels comfortable and he is sleeping with you, he might wake you up and want to eat. But every cat is different - some hide - so you can't count on that.

Laura, will you be on for awhile? I have to leave soon.
 
Vhens2211 said:
I also have on can grilled chicken fancy feast and some of the new wellness canned in gravy. LOL.. i have a pet store here!!
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Blue light special at Vivian's! I think Sue mentioned testing again at +5 which is 11:30your time. Can you stay up for that?
 
ok... I'll recheck him in an hour.

I'll set my alarm for 11:30pm..... doubt I'll fall asleep in an hour, but you never know!

be back online around 11:30.

A BIG WARM HUG TO ALL OF YOU FOR ALL THE HELP!!! I CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH. BLESS YOUR HEARTS :)
 
Thanks, Laura. Vivian, you are in good hands.

Don't forget to be excited about this while you are being nervous. He is getting great numbers on one unit - down from 3! He is responding very well. You are doing a fantastic job testing him and are keeping him safe.

If you need to use the gravy food, just pour out the gravy and let him lick it up. Gives him carbs to bring up the numbers without filling up his tummy.
 
We also need to address he AM dose since there probably won't be anyone on when that time comes. Remember test, feed, shoot BUT if you get a number below 200 you want to wait 20 mins then test again without feeding. I'm not sure about the exact dose though...anyone?
 
It would almost depend on the AMPS. I'm thinking the 3u was so much overkill that we had her shoot a falling number so his reaction to the 1u tonight may not be a true one because there may be some previous dose overlap going on right now. Plus he may bounce in the AM.
 
Looks like I missed all the excitement! Phone rang, daughter calling from Missouri, blah blah.....
Great job on this everyone!

OK, so what time is the next test? I work 2-10 tomorrow, so I'm up late tonight.

AM dose - Kitty went from 215 down to 100 by +3.5 on 1 unit? Probably would hit 50-60 if not fed, but should be okay given the food he's had and the instructions given in case she sees a low number overnight.

Well, we know what 1 unit would do with an AMPS of just over 200. How much lower to go with the morning shot if she gets a low 200s?
And do we advise no shot on a 190? Thinking she's lose the momentum.....

How about a .75 above 200, 1u if over 300?
A token dose of .4 or so if over 160?

Carl
 
I was thinking that once PZ was gone it was gone? I don't think she shot any closer than 12 hrs. I was thinking about a bounce but I don't want her to think it is ok to shoot 2.5 or 3 even if she gets a 300 in the AM.
 
Hmmmm, I hadn't considered what Laura just said. He may not have been rising at all with the PMPS tests of 215 and 218. Wonder where he was at +11

carl
 
Carl's suggestion looks good. What kind of syringe are we dealing with? That will affect the type of dose. (it may be here somewhere & I missed it)
 
I am thinking that no matter how high the AMPS is, she should not shoot more than 1 unit. This cat went from nothing to 3u way too fast.
She needs to do a "do over", and make believe he's just starting insulin treatments today. Last thing wanted is dose jumping all over the place because she'll never find the "right dose" unless she starts low and goes slow.

Carl
 
I think we posted at the same time Carl. I'm awful with dosing cause I'm a chicken but I think she leaves him alone all day also. With no history here it's hard to say. I could probably pop on in the AM but I don't know how much help I'll be on deciding a dose.
 
I also just thought about the syringe. I'm assuming she's using a U40 since she just got started but this is a cat's life...I shouldn't assume!
 
Barbara said:
I was thinking that once PZ was gone it was gone? I don't think she shot any closer than 12 hrs. I was thinking about a bounce but I don't want her to think it is ok to shoot 2.5 or 3 even if she gets a 300 in the AM.
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Yes, it typically is gone but using Donna and Asher as an example, you can get some pretty long duration out of PZ - Asher's nadir was at +12 tonight. Not all kitties respond this way and not even Asher does all the time, but we have to consider it could be a possibility especially if the dose was too high to begin with. The effects can last into the next cycle.

Just throwing that out there as food for thought.
 
I just looked back at her posts. Nothing mentioned about syringes, so they got to be the u40s.

Couple other things. The 60s she got - that was her first home test. All other BGs have been done at the vet. The vet numbers were mostly in the 350 range I think. Figure in vet stress, and kitty was probably 300 or lower, while the vet is bumping him up to 2 and 3 units. Point is, kitty hasn't really been off the charts. More reason to go back to 1 unit max.

Carl
 
Got it Laura, I have had the same thing happen.

I agree Carl, she needs to def start over and 1 unit would be the place to start typically but it looks like he might not even need that much? That is my concern since he will be home alone all day. She def needs to leave some food out also. I don't know if she knows to do that.
 
Barbara said:
Got it Laura, I have had the same thing happen.

I agree Carl, she needs to def start over and 1 unit would be the place to start typically but it looks like he might not even need that much? That is my concern since he will be home alone all day. She def needs to leave some food out also. I don't know if she knows to do that.
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I'm with both you and Carl, Barbara, start over, start low and start slow. But As someone who leaves their cat alone all day too, I'm hesitant about 1u tomorrow during the day with so little data. I guess that's kind of what I was thinking about seeing how he does tonight and what the AMPS is. She might be best starting low at 0.5u - if she can eyeball that on a u40 syringe.
 
I don't see anywhere syringes were mentioned so prob. U-40.

There appears to be several people waiting up so i'll.bow out. Hope things go well tonight; i'll check in in the.morning.
 
Laura,
Assuming she is using vet supplied u40s, they probably don't have 1/2 unit marks. Even so, she should be able to eyeball a half unit. Any eyeballing beyond that is probably not doable.

How about this?

AMPS over 300, 1 unit
AMPS 200-300 .5 unit
AMPS under 200 no shot.
(oh, look! It's a sliding scale!) :lol:
Carl
 
Honestly Laura that sounds better to me just because of the alone factor. I have to go do some things since I have to get up at 6:00 myself. I'm going to check back in but I'm really bad making dose decisions! I wanted to put the question out there though cause I have been in her shoes before in the AM & no one on! The 11:30 reading will help.
 
carlinsc said:
Laura,
Assuming she is using vet supplied u40s, they probably don't have 1/2 unit marks. Even so, she should be able to eyeball a half unit. Any eyeballing beyond that is probably not doable.

How about this?

AMPS over 300, 1 unit
AMPS 200-300 .5 unit
AMPS under 200 no shot.
(oh, look! It's a sliding scale!) :lol:
Carl
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:lol: :lol:

It sure is conservative, and would definitely leave room for a margin of safety. It's easier to put insulin in the kitty rather than take it out once given. Reducing the dose this much - we need to talk about testing for ketones. She's got to get strips tomorrow anyway, so ketostix need to be on the shopping list too.
 
Barbara said:
Honestly Laura that sounds better to me just because of the alone factor. I have to go do some things since I have to get up at 6:00 myself. I'm going to check back in but I'm really bad making dose decisions! I wanted to put the question out there though cause I have been in her shoes before in the AM & no one on! The 11:30 reading will help.
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Thanks for staying with us Barbara and asking all the right questions - I'm with you, play it safe wehn kitty's life is on the line.

Yeah, I still have some U40's and no, they don't come with half unit marks. Grrrrr
 
WOW, OK, that is good for you as it means you will be able to get some sleep tonight! :lol:

We were discussing what to advise you to shoot tomorrow morning and we may have to revise things a little. :)

How's he acting?
 
Good thing I set the alarm.. I fell asleep!

Probably going to get going back to sleep soon.... feel better that his number has increased.

For the morning shot, I should give 1 unit?
 
I'm super exausted..so back to bed I go.

Before I shoot tomorrow morning, I'll check in here to see what I should do.

Thanks again all for your help!!
 
If over 200 at AM pre-shot test, 1 unit. As Barbara mentioned: test, feed and then shoot in that order.

If he's under 200, then no shot. Post online for help.
 
Laura,
Dang, I "subscribed to this forum" so I'd get a notification when a new post was made.....and it didn't happen!

Good on one hand that the reading was 230, but I'm hoping it was all from food boost. Either that or he nadirs really early.

I'd feel a lot better if she had replied to the dosing advice for the AM, but it looks like she's off the board. I think I'll send her a PM maybe, that she hopefully will notice if she comes on at 6 and nobody is online?

Carl
 
carlinsc said:
Laura,
Dang, I "subscribed to this forum" so I'd get a notification when a new post was made.....and it didn't happen!

Good on one hand that the reading was 230, but I'm hoping it was all from food boost. Either that or he nadirs really early.

I'd feel a lot better if she had replied to the dosing advice for the AM, but it looks like she's off the board. I think I'll send her a PM maybe, that she hopefully will notice if she comes on at 6 and nobody is online?

Carl
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Hi Carl, Glad you came back on as I was pretty nervous about the dosing advice. I'm a big yellow chicken at heart!

The +5 was surprising because she's feeding low carb. Maybe he is higher than a 1u kitty. She said she'd curve him this weekend so maybe we'll be able to see what the 1u really does.

I was unclear on the shot time because tonight's shot got pushed back so It'd be really cool if you could PM her to be on the safe side. I'll try to get up early just in case but it'll be hard as I'm on Central time.

Thanks for all your help tonight!
 
I know you were shopping for strips tomorrow but I don't know if anyone mentioned ketone strips to you. You can get them at the pharmacy, sometimes they are behind the counter sometimes they aren't. They are strips to test the urine in humans but of course we use them on our cats. Just didn't want you to ask the pharmacist for ketone strips for your cat! :smile: You should have seen the crazy looks I got when I was buying syringes & said they were for my cat! :lol: If you're going to Wal Mart they have the ReliOn brand.
 
Laura,
Yes it was low carb, but it was still "extra food" so his BG would come up some. The other odd thing is that he ate prior to the PMPS test, so that means his PMPS was also food boosted (at least I think that's how things happened.)

She said earlier that she was up at 5:30 and to work by 7, so test and shoot time is going to be around 6 eastern.
Tonight's shot was at 6:30 pm. That means the AM shot is going to be "early" by maybe half an hour? Which means it would act slightly as an increased dose. But I don't think 30 minutes is a big deal, so ....

I am going to PM Vivian and tell her to post here, but if she doesn't get a quick reply (10-15 minutes) she should make sure he eats well, his low-carb normal food, and then give his a shot with the simple guidelines of

under 200, no shot
Over 200, 1 unit.

That sound good?
Carl
 
carlinsc said:
Laura,
Yes it was low carb, but it was still "extra food" so his BG would come up some. The other odd thing is that he ate prior to the PMPS test, so that means his PMPS was also food boosted (at least I think that's how things happened.)

She said earlier that she was up at 5:30 and to work by 7, so test and shoot time is going to be around 6 eastern.
Tonight's shot was at 6:30 pm. That means the AM shot is going to be "early" by maybe half an hour? Which means it would act slightly as an increased dose. But I don't think 30 minutes is a big deal, so ....

I am going to PM Vivian and tell her to post here, but if she doesn't get a quick reply (10-15 minutes) she should make sure he eats well, his low-carb normal food, and then give his a shot with the simple guidelines of

under 200, no shot
Over 200, 1 unit.

That sound good?
Carl
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Sounds good Carl, sorry I'm crashing here despite caffene and my furry brood is screaming at each other and me. Past snack time. ohmygod_smile

Barbara thanks for mentioning the ketones, thank you both for staying up!

Good night. I-)
 
Morning! sorry I missed all the excitment!
I go to bed at around 9pm but I am up at 4:30 and on by 5-5:30 if anyone needs
help(except the weekend I go back to bed!)
 
Thanks all.

Carl got your PM.

Ozzie BG at 5:45 am=362.

I am going to give him one unit.....is that enough? he started out on 2 units, went up to 3, now down to 1?

I'll test again before his evening shot.
 
AS we all say, start low and go slow.
one unit is great for today
and hopefully you can get a curve this weekend so you can see what one unit
does and then you can go from there and slowly raise if needed...
 
All,

I'll be testing Ozzie before his evening shot at 5:30ish, unless someone thinks I should do it when I get home at 4pm?

I could def use help later in determining which dose for the evening.

I'll get cracking on a google spreadsheet too.

Have a great day all!

-Vivian and Oz.
 
got Ozzie's google spreadsheet started. Can someone take a peek at it at tell me if I set it up correct?

Are amps pre-insulin BG #?
 
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