Hello from new cat and second time human

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Shell

Shell

Member Since 2022
Hello! This is my 2nd time here. My latest diabetic cat Pumpkin was just newly diagnosed on Monday. He was started on insulin Tuesday evening. 1 unit, twice a day. I just did a blood gluclose reading on him a couple of hours ago and it read 468.

Honestly, the last time I was here with my other cat, I was quite stressed about her condition and I do not recall the proper procedures for management.

So this time I am here for the refresher. This time, I feel that this particular doctor is far more involved in proper care and treatment instead of just sending me home with insulin and syringes. She wants me to bring him back in 2 weeks to have a curve done. Or, she said, I can do it here. I would highly prefer to do it here, since he is of a mellow temprament. She also mentioned that I could consider a monitor implanted like the one that humans have. That would be great, but I don't know yet how cats handle such an instrument.

I called the doctor to chat more also about his reading of 468. Not sure if the dosage needs to be upped, or if it may go down more.

Anyways, thank you again. It's nice to be here where I can learn to help manage this condition.
 
Hi and welcome back to you and Pumpkin.
Doing the curve at home would be much better all round.
Are you testing before all the doses of insulin?
And are you feeding a low carb diet.
The freestyle libre which the vet is suggesting is used by some people here, especially the beginning when they are learning to test. It only lasts 2 weeks though and costs about $100 a fortnight to replace.
If you are ok with hometesting to yourself, that would be a cheaper option and I would use a human meter.
Here is the link to Prozinc and it’s DOSING METHODS
I would gather data for a few days before increasing myself.
I will tag @Suzanne & Darcy as she uses Prozinc
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Hi and welcome back to you and Pumpkin.
Doing the curve at home would be much better all round.
Are you testing before all the doses of insulin?
And are you feeding a low carb diet.
The freestyle libre which the vet is suggesting is used by some people here, especially the beginning when they are learning to test. It only lasts 2 weeks though and costs about $100 a fortnight to replace.
If you are ok with hometesting to yourself, that would be a cheaper option and I would use a human meter.
Here is the link to Prozinc and it’s DOSING METHODS
I would gather data for a few days before increasing myself.
I will tag @Suzanne & Darcy as she uses Prozinc
Click to expand...

No. I haven't tested before dosing. He is elevated when I test daily - about 368, down 100 points since before starting insulin. He is only starting on a very conservative dosage of 1 unit. The vet suspects that the dosage will raise, but wants to give it at least 10 days before the curve is done for sure.

Low carb diet is being purchased today, so I suspect this should also make a difference. I am okay with home testing and he seems to be okay with it too.
 
Hi Shell, we recommend always testing before giving the dose to make sure the BG is high enough to give the dose.
Then if you test during the cycle around +6 you can see how well the dose is working. Lantus dosing is based on the nadir, or lowest point in the cycle, not the present BG. If you just take a test during the cycle, you have no way of knowing how well the dose is working. Are you thinking of setting up a spreadsheet?
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Hi Shell, we recommend always testing before giving the dose to make sure the BG is high enough to give the dose.
Then if you test during the cycle around +6 you can see how well the dose is working. Lantus dosing is based on the nadir, or lowest point in the cycle, not the present BG. If you just take a test during the cycle, you have no way of knowing how well the dose is working. Are you thinking of setting up a spreadsheet?
Click to expand...


Thank you! I will. The gluclose is a low as it has been since he was started on insulin. It was 285 at 12:30PM and now at 5:30PM it is 243.

Is there a certain number that I should not give him a shot at? The Dr said something like I would hold off if he was at 180. If I test him before he eats and he is at 180 should I refrain from another dose? Or is the number higher?
 
If you read through the ProZinc information I posted in post 2 it will give you information about what to do if the pre shot is lower than normal. Generally we suggest if there is not much data and the BGis below 200, to stall, don’t feed and test again in20 minutes to see if the BG is rising.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
If you read through the ProZinc information I posted in post 2 it will give you information about what to do if the pre shot is lower than normal. Generally we suggest if there is not much data and the BGis below 200, to stall, don’t feed and test again in20 minutes to see if the BG is rising.
Click to expand...
Thank you much! I will do that. I must have skipped over because Pumpkin is on something called Glargine or generic for Lantus. But, I will check it out. By his dinner time his numbers were back in the 300s, so any concern about hypoglycemia was overridden for now.
 
Your signature says you are using Prozinc. If you are using glargine you need to change your signature. if you are using glargine there is different information
 
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