Heading towards remission?

[Heather&Dagron]

Dagron's numbers have always been all over the place. I still have not been able to do a curve that I think accurately reflects anything. However, he has fallen into a pattern of having a really low number (usually <100), in which I don't shoot, then 12 hours later a high number (usually in the 300s/400s). I will reduce his dose by .25U, and he will gradually drop back down until he is at a low number and we start all over again.

My theory is that he no longer needs insulin and this is his body trying to adjust to that. It seems to be no more than 72hrs between low numbers at this point, so I think he could be OTJ in as little as a month. So I have two questions: is this what it looks like when cats go OTJ? And with this pattern, will the numbers level out a bit as we approach 0? If not, how do I determine dose when SLGS recommends dropping to 0 but he still has numbers over 200?

 

[Kris & Teasel]

Usually a pattern of a higher PS at the start one one cycle followed by a PS too low to shot at the next is a sign that the dose is too high. I'd get some more data at 2 u for now to see what pattern will develop.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

When cats are ready to go OTJ, they are in very small doses of insulin, like 0.1 units, and their soreadsheet is almost all green. Dagron does not look ready to go off of insulin.

As Kris said, if you are skipping all the time, the dose may be too big. Curves or spot checks mid cycle will let you find the low points and are the better way to find if his dose is too high. It could be that Dagron is going dangerously low mid cycle and without testing then, you are keeping him at too high andose longer than he should be. Good luck with the 2.0 unit dose, I hope it lets you shoot twice a day.

 

[Heather&Dagron]

If I try to do a curve without him having been on that dose for a few days so his body can adjust, won't the numbers just be irrelevant? Isn't that the whole idea of insulin depot? I don't want to put him through the stress of a curve if it won't be useful data. He's gotten really bad about BG tests.

 

[tiffmaxee]

What you say is true. The problem is you need to catch the lows. Rather than a curve I'd get spot checks whenever you can between +5-7. Cats often drop at night. Mine did. So you might have to set an alarm to catch the nadir. You are only testing preshot and some night +3. . Lantus dosing is based on nadirs. A cat on two units is not nearing remission. I do strongly suspect that is too much insulin for him. You need more data to find a good dose you can shoot every 12 hours.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

I wouldn't worry about how long Dagron is on a dose. Unfortunately, there's not enough data on your SS to know how long it's taking for a bounce to clear. If you can get into the habit of getting at least one test during both the AM and PM cycles that will help enormously when it comes to sorting out the dose. It helps to remember that Lantus dosing is based on the lowest number in the cycle and not on the pre-shot number.