Going on a month and still not regulated - nervous!

[Simon'sMommy]

All of the pink numbers Simon has in his tests (and as you can see, I have done a good amount of testing!!) make me so very nervous that my sweetie is slowly deteriorating and getting organ damage. I know that if his BG is above 240, it is not good. I am at a loss as to what else to do. We have slowly raised his dose (even though the vet wanted 3 units, I refused and went to 2.25 and held that for a good while before raising it to 2.5 very recently) and still, he does not make it to the end of the 12 hour cycle on ProZinc without heading straight up into pink again.

I have checked his urine here and there and no ketones detected, but I am still REALLY scared that he is sustaining more and more organ damage. Still no pain in his back legs that I can detect or any change in that. He put on a couple of ounces (from 14lbs 11 oz a couple of weeks ago to 15 lbs even yesterday) and is happy, purring, preening, peeing and pooping well. He seems...well, fairly normal except he seems to be hiding out a little more often during the day then he used to. My husband is home during the afternoon fairly often for an hour or so and feels Simon is sleepier than usual. He usually gets a +5 or +6 and they are generally in blues but spike back up quickly after that.

Simon has an early nadir from what we can figure. Somewhere between hours 4 and 5 are his lowest and he climbs up from there. Sometimes quickly!

What do we do now? I am just sad thinking that this is damaging him inside. I actually cried thinking about it today. :cry:

Can someone suggest something? My vet does not like Lantus and/or Levemir although I see some cats have good results with this insulin but we are gone much of the day and so can't test as much as we do on the weekends. So, without changing insulin from ProZinc, how can we help him to get better readings. I know about patience but I though a month in would show more greens and blues and at least yellows at AMPS and PMPS. :YMSIGH:

 

[BJM]

1) I think you could go up another 0.25

2) Would you be able to give it every 8 hours? That would overlap when the insulin is wearing off with more coming in and would keep it lower overall. To do that, you take add th AM and PM doses together, and divide by 3. Round down to start. If you choose to try this, you must be at home to monitor.

 

[Simon'sMommy]

Unfortunately, we can't be home to give him a shot at the 8 hour mark since we are both gone for at least 9 hours a day minimum. The ONLY reason my husband has been able to get home and do a +5 or +6 for the last couple of weeks is he has been in town training. But, he goes back to his office an hour away next week. I work 35 mins away and get one hour for lunch. Doing the math, it just does not work :sad:

We may raise his dose this weekend and see how that goes. Just did a dose increase this past weekend though so it has only been 4 days since we increased it. Not a good option yet anyway unless I am home to monitor. Maybe this weekend will try to go to 2.75 units.

 

[terriy]

You are such a good bean!! Simon is so lucky to have you!! I hope that all goes well for him. I dont know what Im doing enough to help anybody very much but I can keep you both in my thoughts and prayers! :YMHUG:
Terri

 

[KPassa]

Would you be able to give it every 8 hours? That would overlap when the insulin is wearing off with more coming in and would keep it lower overall. To do that, you take add th AM and PM doses together, and divide by 3. Round down to start. If you choose to try this, you must be at home to monitor.

Unfortunately, we can't be home to give him a shot at the 8 hour mark since we are both gone for at least 9 hours a day minimum. The ONLY reason my husband has been able to get home and do a +5 or +6 for the last couple of weeks is he has been in town training. But, he goes back to his office an hour away next week. I work 35 mins away and get one hour for lunch. Doing the math, it just does not work :sad:

You might want to consider switching to Lantus or Levemir since it will possibly give better/longer coverage than you're seeing now.

 

[Deb & Wink]

He put on a couple of ounces (from 14lbs 11 oz a couple of weeks ago to 15 lbs even yesterday) and is happy, purring, preening, peeing and pooping well. He seems...well, fairly normal except he seems to be hiding out a little more often during the day then he used to.

1. 1. Simon does not have signs of diabetic neuropathy so we know that is a positive sign.
2. He has gained a little weight, a positive sign of improvement.
3. His peeing is back to normal, not those giant puddles any more, another positive sign of improvement.
4. He's not drinking outrageous amounts of water. Another positive sign.

Baby steps. Simon is taking small baby steps on the road to improvement.

And Simon says "Mom, I feel ok. I know you are taking the best care of me that you can. I luvs you so much. I'm enjoying life. Can't you hear me purring? I wouldn't be purring if I didn't feel ok."

I'm not sure what to tell you Joyce on the insulin not lasting the full 12 hours. Yes, Simon is still in the pinks more often then we would like to see him there. But we are also seeing a lot of nice blue numbers mid cycle, especially during the night. That is an encouraging sign.
No more or those reds and you don't have any of those black numbers at all on the spreadsheet.

You are feeding the Fancy Feast low carb canned food so that is helping. You could try to find a few other foods from the food chart that are even lower in carb, see if that makes a difference.

Another dose increase was suggested. That might help.

I know that PZI can be dosed on a sliding scale. Rob & Harley are the only ones that I know of, that create those sliding scales. That might help.

It will take time. A month really isn't a lot of time. It took more than a month for Simon to become diabetic. It's going to take more than a month for Simon to be regulated.

You are doing the best you can. Just keep doing that and love on Simon and tell him what a good boy he is. He knows that already but loves it when you tell him that.

 

[Simon'sMommy]

Thanks to all that responded. I know I need to wear my patience pants. It has never been my strong suit. I want him regulated yesterday! I know it takes time for his body to respond. He is doing fairly well as I look at other spreadsheets and see that Simon has never once been over 500 and has rarely been above 400. But, I am a worrier so that is why I posted that. I am going to give a tiny bit more insulin this weekend to see how he responds and to see if it lasts the full 12 hours and I can hopefully get some yellow numbers on his pre-shots. Thanks again for your support! :smile:

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Regulation is not a sprint, and it can be longer than a marathon. I have been working on my Patches for more that eight years are her BGs are no better than Simmon's BGs