First 12 hour curve - me no likey! (UK)

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OlliesMum

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Well we did our first 12 hour curve yesterday and I have to say I felt totally stressed by the end of the day doing his BG tests, does it get easier?

Here are his test results:-

6:30am - Pre Shot BG 16.7mmols then Insulin 1 unit Caninsulin and food
8:30am - 10.4mmols
10:30am - 4.4mmols
12:30pm - 6.7mmols
2:30pm - 10.2mmols
4:30pm - 13.8mmols
6:30pm - Pre-Shot BG 15.8mmols then Insulin 1 unit Caninsulin and food

Is this ok?
 
Hi Paula - yes, doing a curve can be stressful and exhausting, but this is your first one so don't be hard on yourself. I hope you're remembering the importance of treats, both for Ollie and yourself - I know it sounds a cliche but it does help to relax you both!

As for the curve results - it's typical of Caninsulin in that this insulin works fast and then loses effect quickly. If you actually plot the numbers out on a simple graph you will see that almost symmetrical curve, going down to a low of 4.4 and then steadily climbing back up again. The good news is that the insulin is working in Ollie. The not-such-good news is that you now need to find a way of keeping him in single figures for longer - which can be tricky. It may be that you need to increase the dose a little but give small snacks to counteract some of the insulin's effect so he doesn't go lower than 4.4 - this is all trial and error I'm afraid, there is no simple answer.

Others may be along soon to be more specific, but for now I'd say try to relax - those numbers aren't nearly as high as they could be, it's mainly those pre-shot numbers that could be a bit lower, but remember, FD is a marathon, not a race, so you are doing really well!

Diana
 
OlliesMum said:
Well we did our first 12 hour curve yesterday and I have to say I felt totally stressed by the end of the day doing his BG tests, does it get easier?

Here are his test results:-

6:30am - Pre Shot BG 16.7mmols then Insulin 1 unit Caninsulin and food
8:30am - 10.4mmols
10:30am - 4.4mmols
12:30pm - 6.7mmols
2:30pm - 10.2mmols
4:30pm - 13.8mmols
6:30pm - Pre-Shot BG 15.8mmols then Insulin 1 unit Caninsulin and food

Is this ok?
Click to expand...

Wow, Paula, well done! :RAHCAT

Yes, I expect you are stressed after that. And exhausted too, I expect. But you've done an amazing job (and so has Ollie, of course ;-) ) And it does get easier. I promise. In fact some of us get quite addicted to testing our cats..... :lol:

Those numbers are good. I'm rather envious: It took me many, many months before I saw any numbers below 10! :shock:

It's a nice curve. Very promising indeed. :smile: It's quite a steep drop which is typical of Caninsulin, but it doesn't seem to have been too steep for Ollie's comfort, as his body hasn't reacted badly to the drop: The morning and evening preshot numbers are very similar. If a drop is too steep then it can cause the cat to 'rebound' (dump glucose into the bloodstream). (With my cat that happens if he drops at a rate of over 5 an hour (which happens occasionally). So Ollie does seem to be comfortable with those lower numbers. That's really good news.

With a nadir of 4.4 there's not a whole lot of margin for error, and Ollie is new to insulin, so, if it were me I'd make sure Ollie had a little snack a couple of hours after the shot. And be sure to leave food down if you're going out, just in case he goes lower than is comfortable for him at this stage.

Also, thinking about feeding, it may well be that smaller meals throughout the day (rather than just 2 main meals) even out the cycle more.

I know Caninsulin has a reputation for being one of the harder insulins to use, but some cats do well on it, and very recently a UK cat went into remission (became diet-controlled) within just a short time on Caninsulin.

I hope you can relax a bit now you've done that first curve. For the moment all you need to do is make sure you test before you give the insulin shot and maybe get some spot-check mid cycle numbers too if you can (especially those on the way down).

Again, well done Paula. - An extremely promising result!
 
Hey - that is really good for a first curve!!! It took us several weeks to get numbers like those so that's great news. Also it certainly does get easier each time you do it - and we definately found it beneficial to give Monty a treat afterwards (usually some cold chicken) as he then doesn't just associate the testing with the ear prick!

Do keep monitoring him as closely as you can - we saw a profound drop after a few weeks of Monty being on low carb food and Caninsulin - which wouldn't have been picked up if we'd not kept testing - and you don't want to go too low. All in all it sounds like you've done everything right - and Ollie is responding really well. Top news :)
 
Thanks all, I went to see the vet to discuss the results and she is really pleased with Ollie and his progress.

She is going to do another blood test in 3/4 weeks time to check his liver enzymes as they were slightly raised last time and his fructosamine levels, so all in all, I feel happy and Ollie is starting to get a nice shiny coat again, I didn't realise that it had got dull until yesterday.
 
if you want to convert your test results, BG Conversion Calculator

I hope you are one of those who do get good results, in time, with caninsulin, but if not, you may want to talk to your vet about using Lantus.
 
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