First Post- Would love some guidance on shooting lower numbers

[Jen J]

Hello, I am new to posting but I have been reading a lot on this board and the facebook group. My kitty, Lil Bit, started this journey after IMHA lead to the need for prednisolone and in turn insulin due to high BG. I have been keeping a spreadsheet and trying to learn with some mistakes along the way. Our current issue revolves around when her number at pre shot is lower than 150. We end up giving a partial does which then takes her numbers back up for several cycles. It is scary to shoot at a BG 139 with 2.5 units of Lantus. Is that what we are suppose to do instead of a partial dose? I would love some advice. Many thanks to all.

 

[CORKY]

Hello, I am new to posting but I have been reading a lot on this board and the facebook group. My kitty, Lil Bit, started this journey after IMHA lead to the need for prednisolone and in turn insulin due to high BG. I have been keeping a spreadsheet and trying to learn with some mistakes along the way. Our current issue revolves around when her number at pre shot is lower than 150. We end up giving a partial does which then takes her numbers back up for several cycles. It is scary to shoot at a BG 139 with 2.5 units of Lantus. Is that what we are suppose to do instead of a partial dose? I would love some advice. Many thanks to all.

I reviewed the SS, I am not familiar how the BG numbers work with Lantus, but I do know that changing doses within AMPS/PMPS because of low numbers, can only cause radical BG changes, and is a big dose difference, it takes several cycles to know how the insulin will work in each cat, I use ProZinc, and I shoot in the 80s, knowing that after the meal the BG number increases, I have no worries, it took sometime for me to swallow this fact, I would panic if I saw anything less than 150, I again not familiar with Lantus or can give you advice on dosing, I have not yet reduced a dose because of low numbers, or not give a dose, I will tag a couple of members that can give you a better input, this is only what I can say according to what I have read and learned
@Diane Tylor's Mom
@Sienne and Gabby (GA)
@Bron and Sheba (GA)

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

@Jen J
Hi Jen
Here is the information we need for your signature. It's at the end of everyone's post in gray letters
Just click on your name up top and then tap signature and add this information.

• Add info we need to help you:
  • Caregiver & kitty's name
  • DX: Date
  • Name of Insulin (do not include dose or frequency)
  • Name of your meter
  • Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo"
  • Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable)
  • DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable)
  • Bexacat or Senvelgo (if applicable) and dates
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Be sure to click the 'Save Changes' button at the bottom. If you need help urgently it is important we know these things at a glance. We don’t want to waste valuable time finding out information.


Looking at your SS you are changing the doses to often and disrupting the depot
We don't base how much insulin to give based on the pre shot numbers ,we base the dose on how low the insulin is taking Lil Bit
I'll tag a few experienced members to take a look at your spreadsheet
You just started getting pre shot test for the PMPS on 12-15 24
You need to be getting more tests in after the PMPS test , you are only seeing half the picture

Can you also put the date Lil Bit was diagnosed with diabetes on your spreadsheet up top above where you have Lantus

Please read about SLGS method , I see you are following it on your spreadsheet, but you really aren't following the SLGS method

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/thr...-low-go-slow-slgs-tight-regulation-tr.210110/

Can you go to your title and put New Member in frt of First Post.
To do that tap on the word Thread Tools that's to the right then tap on Edit Title and add it then tap save

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Hello, I am new to posting but I have been reading a lot on this board and the facebook group. My kitty, Lil Bit, started this journey after IMHA lead to the need for prednisolone and in turn insulin due to high BG. I have been keeping a spreadsheet and trying to learn with some mistakes along the way. Our current issue revolves around when her number at pre shot is lower than 150. We end up giving a partial does which then takes her numbers back up for several cycles. It is scary to shoot at a BG 139 with 2.5 units of Lantus. Is that what we are suppose to do instead of a partial dose? I would love some advice. Many thanks to all.

@Suzanne & Darcy
@Bandit's Mom
@Bron and Sheba (GA)
@Chris & China (GA)
@Sienne and Gabby (GA)
Hi Ladies can you please take a look at Jen's spreadsheet, The units she is giving Lil Bit is all over the place , she's following SLGS which is on her spreadsheet. I asked her to set up her signature
Can you suggest a dose for Lil Bit to stay on right now and read her post after this one

Thanks ladies

 

[Jen J]

We are trying to SLGS but the first part of the sheet was wrong because the girl at the pharmacy showed us 5 units instead of .5 on a syringe. Fortunately, we figured it out before something bad happened. Then we started moving up the numbers after being on them for several days. It didn't seem to move much perhaps because of the Prednisolone or a possible infection or only doing one shot a day. Then we decided to go against the DR telling us once a day and moved to twice a day and we weren't sure how to do that since we already went up the numbers on once a day. Then the high number seemed to be too much and we were trying to back it up , although quite messily since we are novices. We are now at a place where we are afraid and new and trying to find out if shooting 2.5 units is bad on days when she is below 150 pre shot. We weren't sure if we should be doing a partial dose because this could take her too low so that is why the numbers are moving around so much at the end. Every time we got a lower than 150 number, we gave a partial shot but then this just causes a circular pattern of losing the depot and then building it back up for it to give us another below 150 number and back around again. So, is it safe to shoot a number below 150 at say 2.5 units of Lantus?
Also, thank you again in advance for your help.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

@Jen J , sorry the girl at the pharmacy showed you the wrong dose on the syringes. I'm really not experienced enough to give dosing advice , that's why I tagged a few experienced members for you to get you back on track
I'm sure they will respond. I assume the Dr Elsey's is the kibble
Do you have the syringes with the half unit markings since we adjust the dose by 0.25 units at a time
She's a beautiful girl

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi Jen
I think the first thing you need to be doing is to start getting some tests in during the pm cycle each evening if possible. At the moment we have no idea what is happening for 1/2 the day with the BGs. Try and get a before bed test in every night and if you can get some others at times that will help us help you.
Was LilBit tested for ketones at diagnosis?
Do you give snacks as well as the 2 main meals?
We need to find a dose that will allow you to shoot both the am and the pm dose. And remember Lantus onset is not for 2 hours after the dose is given so in all likelihood, the BG will rise after the dose is given and she has been fed. We have a saying here which is shoot low to stay low. Lantus gives lovely flat cycles when you shoot low.

Let me try and explain with this analogy…imagine you have a bucket and it has a small leak, and you want to keep it full. So after trail and error you find that if you put in 100mls twice a day the bucket stays full. So do you continue to put in 100mls twice a day or do you only put in some of that because the bucket is remaining quite full and is not dropping like before and you are worried it will spill over.

To start, I think I would stay with the 2.5 dose and get those extra tests in. And if the number is below150, stall, don’t feed and test again in 20 minutes to see if the BG is rising. And post and ask for help, changing the subject line to reflect the problem. Any time you shoot a lower than normal number we you will need to monitor more closely than normal.

 

[CORKY]

Hi Jen
I think the first thing you need to be doing is to start getting some tests in during the pm cycle each evening if possible. At the moment we have no idea what is happening for 1/2 the day with the BGs. Try and get a before bed test in every night and if you can get some others at times that will help us help you.
Was LilBit tested for ketones at diagnosis?
Do you give snacks as well as the 2 main meals?
We need to find a dose that will allow you to shoot both the am and the pm dose. And remember Lantus onset is not for 2 hours after the dose is given so in all likelihood, the BG will rise after the dose is given and she has been fed. We have a saying here which is shoot low to stay low. Lantus gives lovely flat cycles when you shoot low.

Let me try and explain with this analogy…imagine you have a bucket and it has a small leak, and you want to keep it full. So after trail and error you find that if you put in 100mls twice a day the bucket stays full. So do you continue to put in 100mls twice a day or do you only put in some of that because the bucket is remaining quite full and is not dropping like before and you are worried it will spill over.

To start, I think I would stay with the 2.5 dose and get those extra tests in. And if the number is below150, stall, don’t feed and test again in 20 minutes to see if the BG is rising. And post and ask for help, changing the subject line to reflect the problem. Any time you shoot a lower than normal number we you will need to monitor more closely than normal.

Great analogy, I like it!!

 

[Jen J]

@Jen J , sorry the girl at the pharmacy showed you the wrong dose on the syringes. I'm really not experienced enough to give dosing advice , that's why I tagged a few experienced members for you to get you back on track
I'm sure they will respond. I assume the Dr Elsey's is the kibble
Do you have the syringes with the half unit markings since we adjust the dose by 0.25 units at a time
She's a beautiful girl

Thank you. She is the sweetest cat. We did end up having to go back and get the syringes with the half markings. The woman at the pharmacy that told us the wrong way to read the syringe also gave us the syringes without the 1/2 markings. Fortunately, I did some research on here and realized we needed the other ones and went and picked some up. Also, yes the Dr Elseys is the kibble, She only gets that at night while we are asleep. She gets wet food during the day. I appreciate you helping us out. This is so confusing most days. I look forward to getting her more stabilized.

 

[Jen J]

Hi Jen
I think the first thing you need to be doing is to start getting some tests in during the pm cycle each evening if possible. At the moment we have no idea what is happening for 1/2 the day with the BGs. Try and get a before bed test in every night and if you can get some others at times that will help us help you.
Was LilBit tested for ketones at diagnosis?
Do you give snacks as well as the 2 main meals?
We need to find a dose that will allow you to shoot both the am and the pm dose. And remember Lantus onset is not for 2 hours after the dose is given so in all likelihood, the BG will rise after the dose is given and she has been fed. We have a saying here which is shoot low to stay low. Lantus gives lovely flat cycles when you shoot low.

Let me try and explain with this analogy…imagine you have a bucket and it has a small leak, and you want to keep it full. So after trail and error you find that if you put in 100mls twice a day the bucket stays full. So do you continue to put in 100mls twice a day or do you only put in some of that because the bucket is remaining quite full and is not dropping like before and you are worried it will spill over.

To start, I think I would stay with the 2.5 dose and get those extra tests in. And if the number is below150, stall, don’t feed and test again in 20 minutes to see if the BG is rising. And post and ask for help, changing the subject line to reflect the problem. Any time you shoot a lower than normal number we you will need to monitor more closely than normal.

Was LilBit tested for ketones at diagnosis? In the beginning we were testing with the urine strips to check for glucose or ketones in the urine (yes to glucose in urine, no to the ketones) She was ravenous and wanted to eat all the time but wasn't losing weight which I thought was the norm. She was licking the floor when she was hungry. She was drinking water like crazy and urinating a lot. She started to have issues peeing on herself. We started Zenequin and have been on this for a long time because every time we stop, she starts peeing on herself again.

Do you give snacks as well as the 2 main meals? We give the two main meals, 2 hours before the shots. We also give a little wet food every 3-4 hours throughout the day.

Thank you for the explanation with the bucket. I have been trying to understand the depot and I have read things but that gives a good visual picture. I wish I didn't feel so scared to give her a full dose when she is below 150. I just need to do it and monitor her closely. I will try to get some more after PM shot numbers. I just feel bad sometimes because her ears have red areas where she is tested. Is there a way to make the damage to the ear be less? I am wondering if our technique needs upgrading or if that is just normal. Thank you for all the helpful advice.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

I am wondering if our technique needs upgrading or if that is just normal. Thank you for all the helpful advice

@Jen J
Are you testing on the edge of the ear
You can put Pure coconut oil on them if they look a little red.


I have read that many members use pure coconut oil, I have copied this from one of the members posts
just make sure the only ingredient is coconut oil (mine is solid at room temp and I would take an itty bitty dab and rub on his ears)
It seemed to help with the healing
You might be able to get it at a health food store or just Google pure coconut oil
It's fine if they lick it

Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up

6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capillaries it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 10 or 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets any brand
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand not the lancing device
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
Look at the lancet under a light and you will see one side is curved upward, that's the side you want to poke with

Try putting a thin layer of Vaseline on the ear so the blood will bead up

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

again.

Do you give snacks as well as the 2 main meals? We give the two main meals, 2 hours before the shots. We also give a little wet food every 3-4 hours throughout the day.

With Lantus, the main meals should be given immediately before the dose of insulin, not 2 hours before a the dose. And I am very glad to hear you are giving snacks. Do you leave food out at night?

to give her a full dose when she is below 150. I just need to do it and monitor her closely. I will try to get some more after PM shot numbers. I just feel bad sometimes because her ears have red areas where she is tested. Is there a way to make the damage to the ear be less? I am wondering if our technique needs upgrading or if that is just normal. Thank you for all the helpful advice.

Are you holding a cotton ball against the eat prick for 10 or 20 seconds after you get the blood. This will stop bruising which is maybe what you are seeing.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

We were all scared to shoot lower numbers in the beginning. When you first do it, make sure you are around to monitor the cycle and get a +2 so you don’t get any surprises at +4

 

[CORKY]

We were all scared to shoot lower numbers in the beginning. When you first do it, make sure you are around to monitor the cycle and get a +2 so you don’t get any surprises at +4

I noticed that your cats ears have dark hair, A suggestion, you can find a small flashlight , which I place in my mouth while I pinch Corky’s ear, that way I see right away the drop of blood

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

We give the two main meals, 2 hours before the shots.

You don't want to feed any food 2 hours before you test Lil Bits BG because you don't want it to be influenced by food. Did you get any tests in today (2-5) other than the AMPS?
@Jen J

 

[Jen J]

With Lantus, the main meals should be given immediately before the dose of insulin, not 2 hours before a the dose. And I am very glad to hear you are giving snacks.

We make sure that we don't give any food 2 hours before testing. ( I probably said this in a way that was confusing) We feed at 8 am and that is when I give her the prednisolone. This way she has a little food in her stomach for her medicine. Then we test the BG at around 10 am. Then we feed again and then give the shot.

Do you leave food out at night? We leave out the Dr Elsey's at night while we are asleep. She only gets this when we go to sleep. During the day, we only give her wet food.

Are you holding a cotton ball against the eat prick for 10 or 20 seconds after you get the blood. This will stop bruising which is maybe what you are seeing.

I don't think it is held for that long but I appreciate the information and we will try this. She has red circular spots on the ears where she is tested.

 

[Jen J]

We were all scared to shoot lower numbers in the beginning. When you first do it, make sure you are around to monitor the cycle and get a +2 so you don’t get any surprises at +4

What will the number at +2 tell us? If it is higher, then...... If it is lower, then......
This kind of stuff is so helpful. Thank you for bringing this up.

 

[CORKY]

You don't want to feed any food 2 hours before you test Lil Bits BG because you don't want it to be influenced by food. Did you get any tests in today (2-5) other than the AMPS?
@Jen J

You don't want to feed any food 2 hours before you test Lil Bits BG because you don't want it to be influenced by food. Did you get any tests in today (2-5) other than the AMPS?
@Jen J

Hi for future reference, I have it in photo gallery on my iPhone, I have other syringe diagrams if this is not yours let me know how does your syringe reads

 

[Jen J]

You don't want to feed any food 2 hours before you test Lil Bits BG because you don't want it to be influenced by food. Did you get any tests in today (2-5) other than the AMPS?
@Jen J

I printed out a sheet to write the testing numbers on and then I put them in the spreadsheet at a later time. I usually only updated the spreadsheet every several days but now that I am seeking more guidance, I have been adding the numbers in the spreadsheet in the morning and that is when I usually check all the messages. I try to check messages again in the afternoon. My husband is the one that does the testing and the shots so I have been telling him everything. I usually do all the other medications for her and litter box duty and almost all the feedings throughout the day. He has been testing around +6 mostly and I forgot to remind him to test before going to bed last night. I am sorry about that. I will try to get a night reading tonight. Since we do the shot at 10:15 pm, would a +2 be helpful if we can stay up until 12:15 am? Also, we are approaching the time when he is going to be testing her AMPS. If it happens to be lower than 150 and we need advice, do I post in this same thread or do I start a new thread in the Lantus forum?
Also, thank you for being so supportive and helpful.

 

[Jen J]

Hi for future reference, I have it in photo gallery on my iPhone, I have other syringe diagrams if this is not yours let me know how does your syringe reads

Yes this looks like our syringes. We use the Relion ones from Walmart with the 1/2 markings. Thank you =)

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Hi for future reference, I have it in photo gallery on my iPhone, I have other syringe diagrams if this is not yours let me know how does your syringe reads

@Jen J
The ones on the left are the ones we use any of these brands are ok.to use with Lantus

• BD Ultra-Fine, CarePoint Vet, Monoject, GNP, UltiCare Vet Rx, Sure Comfort, and ReliOn are just some of the brands available with half unit markings.

• Full and half-unit syringe scales:

@Jen J

 

[CORKY]

You don't want to feed any food 2 hours before you test Lil Bits BG because you don't want it to be influenced by food. Did you get any tests in today (2-5) other than the AMPS?
@Jen J

You don't want to feed any food 2 hours before you test Lil Bits BG because you don't want it to be influenced by food. Did you get any tests in today (2-5) other than the AMPS?
@Jen J

Hi for future reference, I have it in photo gallery on my iPhone, I have other syringe diagrams if this is not yours let me know how does your syringe reads

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Also, we are approaching the time when he is going to be testing her AMPS. If it happens to be lower than 150 and we need advice, do I post in this same thread or do I start a new thread in the Lantus forum?

Yes post on this thread, just change the subject line to reflect your question. Eg AMPS xxx stalling please help

What will the number at +2 tell us? If it is higher, then...... If it is lower, then......
This kind of stuff is so helpful. Thank you for bringing this up.

A + 2 can be helpful in telling you what the cycle could be like. For example if the +2 is lower than the preshot BG that is telling you it is going to be an active cycle and you will need to test again to make sure the BG is not dropping too low. If the +2 is higher that could mean the cycle is not going to do much. However cats like to keep us on our toes and this does not always happen.
But when you are shooting a lower preshot than normal a +2 is always a good thing to do as it will give you a heads up if you need to intervene with food. You don’t want to leave it til+4 and find the BG has dropped low.
It’s just one of the tricks of the trade that helps us manage FD.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Jen please try and get some tests in after the PMP$ cycle
@Jen J

 

[Jen J]

So, it looks like her appetite has increased greatly again so we are back to staying in the 200's range. I believe we are suppose to hold a dose for 3-6 days, correct? So we may have to start increasing the dose again soon. I don't know why her appetite slowed there for a time. We thought that maybe her numbers were in the blues and therefore her appetite was scaling back to a more normal amount because her body was absorbing more of the nutrients. Then, all the sudden she is eating up a storm again and her numbers are back to staying in the yellows/200's. I obviously don't completely understand how this works. I feel like I need more knowledge to understand how to interpret certain signs.

 

[CORKY]

So, it looks like her appetite has increased greatly again so we are back to staying in the 200's range. I believe we are suppose to hold a dose for 3-6 days, correct? So we may have to start increasing the dose again soon. I don't know why her appetite slowed there for a time. We thought that maybe her numbers were in the blues and therefore her appetite was scaling back to a more normal amount because her body was absorbing more of the nutrients. Then, all the sudden she is eating up a storm again and her numbers are back to staying in the yellows/200's. I obviously don't completely understand how this works. I feel like I need more knowledge to understand how to interpret certain signs.

The BG numbers have nothing to do with the appetite, and you should really have a goal of seeing blue numbers for now, and later green numbers; the longer you keep the same dose as suggested, the better we can see how the insulin is reacting, changing doses just because 3-6 days went by is not the answer, the answer is to see a pattern of the right BG numbers, with the dose he is now getting, then the talk about increasing or decreasing is done if necessary, the lower the BG in a diabetic cat the better, this will mean that the pancreas are healing, increasing and decreasing on a daily or weekly basis can only consists of irregularity in BGs, I am aware you use Lantus, so I am not the one to help you with dosing, but if you follow the members that have giving you advice on it, you will start to see favorable results, if you take a look at Corky's SS (he uses ProZinc) you will see consistent BG numbers and patterns I do not EVER decrease/increase a dose or not give a dose, just because his BG is low, I just monitor more often and test more frequently, and as Diane says Testing a few times after PMPS is very important the insulin takes a while to kick in, so you want to see, again, the reaction after shot in the after PMPS like +2 and +4
PS: if LilBits is doing good with the dose giving, and/or advised, that's where he needs to be

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

@Jen J
You are following the SLGS method so this is what you need toll follow
From the SLGS Sticky
Hold the dose for at least a week:

• Unless your cat won’t eat or you suspect hypoglycemia
• Unless your kitty falls below 90 mg/dL (5 mmol/L). If kitty falls below 90 mg/dL (5 mmol/L) decrease the dose by 0.25 unit immediately.

After 1 week at a given dose perform a 12 hour curve, testing every 2 hours OR perform an 18 hour curve, testing every 3 hours. Note: Random spot checks are often helpful to "fill in the blanks" on kitty's spreadsheet. The goal is to learn how low the current dose is dropping kitty prior to making dose adjustments.

• If nadirs are more than 150 mg/dl (8.3 mmol/L), increase the dose by 0.25 unit
• If nadirs are between 90 (5 mmol/L) and 149 mg/dl (8.2 mmol/L), maintain the same dose
• If nadirs are below 90 mg/dl (5mmol/L), decrease the dose by 0.25 unit

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

The best way to get results is to follow the dosing method you have chosen. Print off the dosing method and hilight relevant points. I used to refer to the dosing method all the time when I was new.
And don’t forget how important those pm tests are as well..otherwise we only have half Lil Bit’s story

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

I want to reinforce a comment that Bron made back on 2/4. It's important to get at least one test during the PM cycle in addition to your PMPS test. Many cats experience lower numbers at night. In addition, if you don't test at night, you're missing half of your data and it's very hard to offer any meaningful guidance without knowing how your cat is doing on a particular dose of insulin.

 

[Jen J]

@Diane Tyler's Mom GA
@CORKY
@Bron and Sheba (GA)
@Sienne and Gabby (GA)

We held the dose for a week and tried to get a few numbers in the PM cycle. We just finished the curve (every 3 hours for 18 hrs) We would love some insight on it. Thank you for your help.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

I realize you're trying but I'm going to repeat myself:

I want to reinforce a comment that Bron made back on 2/4. It's important to get at least one test during the PM cycle in addition to your PMPS test. Many cats experience lower numbers at night. In addition, if you don't test at night, you're missing half of your data and it's very hard to offer any meaningful guidance without knowing how your cat is doing on a particular dose of insulin.

Understand that a curve is only part of one day's worth of information. It's one reason why we don't encourage dose changes based on a curve done at the vet's office. Please get at least one test every, single night before you go to bed. It is the best way to ensure your cat is in safe numbers. It may seem unnecessary now but that can change in a heartbeat.

However, there does seem to be a trend for Lil Bit to be in the 200s. If this were my cat, I'd increase the dose to 3.0u.

 

[CORKY]

I realize you're trying but I'm going to repeat myself:


Understand that a curve is only part of one day's worth of information. It's one reason why we don't encourage dose changes based on a curve done at the vet's office. Please get at least one test every, single night before you go to bed. It is the best way to ensure your cat is in safe numbers. It may seem unnecessary now but that can change in a heartbeat.

However, there does seem to be a trend for Lil Bit to be in the 200s. If this were my cat, I'd increase the dose to 3.0u.

BG numbers are looking better but as Sienne explained you need to test at least a couple of times every evening before bed time sometimes at night time the BG can be lower and is good to be able to see a pattern especially to increase/decrease, see Corky’s SS and you will see much lower numbers in the evening

 

[CORKY]

I realize you're trying but I'm going to repeat myself:


Understand that a curve is only part of one day's worth of information. It's one reason why we don't encourage dose changes based on a curve done at the vet's office. Please get at least one test every, single night before you go to bed. It is the best way to ensure your cat is in safe numbers. It may seem unnecessary now but that can change in a heartbeat.

However, there does seem to be a trend for Lil Bit to be in the 200s. If this were my cat, I'd increase the dose to 3.0u.

Also the red around the tip of the ear is that the capillaries are swelling, you can put a bit of Vaseline, coconut oil or aloe, after, just make sure the ear is clean when testing, your baby will be used to it in no time, we hurt more than they do really, I used to cry at first when I started to prick the ear, it doesn't bother them trust me, You are doing a great job! you are a good mamma do not doubt yourself,! we all make small errors along the way, but that's how we learn, and we are here for you

 

[Jen J]

Hi. So , we have been holding for 7 days and then doing a curve (at home). Then we have gone up .25. I don't know how to read what I am seeing. This morning she had a 181 and then at +6 it was 253. I am guessing this is a bounce. Do we just keep holding at this dose and watch closely to see it it levels out. Do you see any other patterns that we should be aware of?

Thank you for taking the time to look. Hope you are all doing well.

 

[CORKY]

Hi. So , we have been holding for 7 days and then doing a curve (at home). Then we have gone up .25. I don't know how to read what I am seeing. This morning she had a 181 and then at +6 it was 253. I am guessing this is a bounce. Do we just keep holding at this dose and watch closely to see it it levels out. Do you see any other patterns that we should be aware of?

Thank you for taking the time to look. Hope you are all doing well.

@Bron and Sheba (GA)

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi. So , we have been holding for 7 days and then doing a curve (at home). Then we have gone up .25. I don't know how to read what I am seeing. This morning she had a 181 and then at +6 it was 253. I am guessing this is a bounce. Do we just keep holding at this dose and watch closely to see it it levels out. Do you see any other patterns that we should be aware of?

Thank you for taking the time to look. Hope you are all doing well.

She is bouncing from the blue BG which she is no longer used to. The bounce could last from 1 to 6 cycles. stay at the current dose of 3.5 unless she drops under 90 in which case you would reduce the dose back to the precious dose.
I’m glad to see some pm tests in the SS.
It is even more important now to make sure you get at least 1 pm test in every day, now that the BG are lowering.

 

[Jen J]

Thank you for helping us

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Keep posting and keeping us up to date.