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Vegetable (GA)

Vegetable (GA)

Member Since 2015
I'm feeling a little frustrated with vegetables blood sugars. Last night she was at 15.7 before her shot so I gave her .25 units since a full 1 unit seems to make her to low. At +4 she was down to 3.5 so I gave her a few pieces of greenies kitty treats before bed so I could sleep knowing she wasn't going to get to low overnight. She woke me up around 3 this morning & she was hungry so I gave her a little bit of the wellness brand wet food. When I checked her blood sugar this morning she was up to 23.6!

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong! Anyone have any suggestions?

I haven't been able to check her blood sugars during the day as much as I want cause I'm not home & my hubby is in the hospital so he's not home to help out right now.
 
Caninsulin does have a short quick cycle, it will bring Vegetable down quickly, but only lasts 6-8 hours in cats so that the last part of her cycle she is be without insulin support and just rise until the net shot. Is it possible for you to try one of the longer lasting insulins on her like Prozinc, PZI, Lantus, or Levimir?
 
I guess I'm going to have to talk to my vet & see if he will give me a prescription for lantus. If he won't & I get a prescription for myself for lantus since I'm also diabetic & currently on nph would it be ok to switch her without the vets ok?
 
Yes it is OK but it is better to have you vet's support. I have cats at two different vet practices and I have changed insulins without getting vet approval.
 
If you go with Lantus for your cat, getting it from Canada will be less expensive (other than using it yourself and having left over insulin to use on your cat). And get the 5 pack of pens, not a vial, starting out. There are 1,000 units in a vial and only 300 units per pen. You are more likely to use all of a pen before it wimps out. (Store refrigerated on a stationary shelf, and do not roll as no mixing is needed.)
Mark's Marine is one place several folks here have used.
 
This morning I tried to check vegetables blood sugar & I ended up wasting 4 testing strips & I had to poke her poor ears so many times to try & get a good sample but I couldn't so I gave up. I know I'm a horrible person for not continuing (please don't judge me I have enough stress to deal with right now as it is) to try but vegetable was getting very annoyed with me even after giving her a break for 10 minutes & trying again.

I gave her the morning dose of insulin .25 units & now at +2.5 she is at 8.9 I'm concerned she might drop to low since she still has awhile before her nadir. I'm not exactly sure what to do other then to keep an eye on her & re-test in an hour & if she gets lower I can give her some snacks. I really am trying to take good care of vegetable and sometimes i feel like I'm failing :(
 
For us folks, 8.9 mmol = 160.2 mg/dL.
So long as she stays above 2.7 (50 mg/dL) on a human meter or 3.7 (68 mg/dL) on a pet meter, she'll be OK.


If you really need blood, go ahead and aim for the vein directly. It may gush, so be prepared to snag a drop on a clean fingernail and start blotting, while you wrangle the meter into position to test.
 
Sometimes you just have to give them (and yourself) a break. You went back and got it at 2.5, so just keep an eye on her. If my calculations are correct, 8.9 equates to 160 mg/dl (the numbers I am used to dealing with), so I think she is doing fine. I would check her again at +4, just to see where she is at. You are doing fine! It's only been a couple of weeks, you are not failing! Just don't forget to breathe!
 
You're not failing Vegetable at all. Please be kind to yourself and realize that this is a whole new routine with a crazy amount to learn in a very short time. You will get there! :bighug:

The great thing is that you did manage to get a test. :) And the more practice you get (and the more Vegetable's ears "learn" to bleed) the easier it will get. And no, you're not horrible for not continuing to try and test earlier this morning. There's only so much you can do - if you reach the point where you've tried a few times and she's getting stressed, then leaving it for a little while and getting a test later - just like you've done - is all you can do. You'll find the testing will get easier and you'll be able to get tests more reliably without having to do multiple pokes, waste strips and stress both you and Vegetable out, but while you're learning you can only do your best and that's exactly what you're doing. :bighug:
 
Take a look at this thread. We all have those moments when we question ourselves. DON'T! You are doing great by Vegetable! And in case I missed it, I would LOVE to know how she got her name!
 
Thank you for the support. It's been a very stressful week around here & I guess everything is just weighing heavy I me today.

Vegetable got her name cause when we adopted her we picked her up & she layer in our hands like a limp noodle. Once she got settled into our home she became a vegetable, as in she got super comfy veggin in front of the TV or on her fuzzy blanket & the name stuck.
 
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