Help appreciated asap with 2nd ever dose.

[Sue (Mo's Mum)]

Eeeek!

I've just tested Mo this morning and he is at 221 / 12.3 as I go to feed him.

These were yesterdays numbers:

6pm - 1.5u given with food - BG 362 / 20.1
+1 BG 304 / 16.9
+2 BG 248 / 13.8
+3 BG 192 / 10.7
+4 BG 155 / 8.6
+5 BG 104 / 5.8
+6 BG 115 / 6.4

6am - AMPS BG 221 / 12.3 - He's not been fed or given any Prozinc yet but he did steal 3/4 of a small pack of 100% chicken freeze dried treats at some point overnight!

Am I right in thinking 1.5 may be too much and I should drop to 1 unit? If I give him 1.5 am I right to think he could potentially hypo?

So confused!

 

[Sue (Mo's Mum)]

I waited 30 mins and retested and his AMPS had dropped further to 216 / 12.0

As he was late by 30 mins for his morning feed, I took the decision to give him just 1.0 unit. He's just wolfed down 1 x sachet of Whiskas 7+ fish in Jelly with 1 scoop of Purina One Sensitive. (I checked the carbs in the freeze dried chicken treats and they are 0 carbs).

I'm going to grab a coffee and re-test him in an hour.

 

[Rachel]

Wow! So sorry Sue...I think your AMPS is going to be middle of the night for us US folks.

Good news...216 and 221 are basically the same number. There's a slight variance that can happen with the meters, so numbers so close are the same for our purposes. So he was staying flat. And you did EXACTLY the right thing by stalling without food and retesting to see where he was.

I think dropping to 1 unit was a good choice. He was a lot lower than last night, and since you've got little data (since he's so new!) it's hard to know what to do. Are you home today to test him or do you have to go to work?

As for those treats...yeah I learned I have to store mine atop the fridge. If I leave them on the table, I'll wake up to find the bag ripped up and empty!!!

 

[Sue (Mo's Mum)]

No worries - I guessed it was a long shot!

He's had a pretty good morning and I was brave enough to head out for a few hours and leave him - I know it WILL get easier but it's so hit and miss right now.
Plastic clipped up box now in place for the treats!

Todays numbers so far are:

6.36am - 216 /12.0 - 1u given with food
+1 - 116 / 9.2
+2 - 110 / 6.1
+4 - 112 / 6.2
+6.5 - 153 / 8.5

I'll carry on at +8 and +10 , but that's assuming he comes home before his dinner is due given he's just Ninja'd out the back door and is currently rolling in the dirt on the driveway!!

I'm thinking if it's back up around the 300's I give 1.5u and if it's in the low 200's I give 1 again? Or do I go for 1.25?!

 

[Djamila]

Yes, perfect decision this morning. Unfortunately, given the time difference, we're likely going to be chiming in several hours after you've needed help. (although as you get more data and we get to know Mo's responses, we should be able to start anticipating things a bit).

Have you found the yellow "sticky" threads at the top of the Prozinc forum? I think those will be a helpful source of information for you when no one is around. In general, we don't recommend moving the dose around a lot, especially at the beginning when a kitty is just starting to get used to getting insulin. How would you feel about keeping that 1u dose for a few cycles now, and then increasing in a few days if it proves not enough?

Also, do your syringes have half-unit marks on them? Or just whole unit? Would you be comfortable eyeballing something like a 1.25u dose if it was needed?

 

[Sue (Mo's Mum)]

Thanks @Djamila

The vet did say to do 1.5u for the first few weeks to see how he went, but she said she didn't think the change in food would make much difference however I've read it can make a big difference very quickly, so I think I was being very cautious this morning!

I've been reading all the info on the 'sticky' threads - so much info and SO helpful!

I'm happy to eyeball a 1.25u dose as the syringes I've got are U40 with half-unit markings. I'll see what he comes in at later today and then take a decision and then try to hold him at that for a few days. I'll do his curve for the rest of today and then give him a break until next week and just do pre-meal BG readings.

I'm away for 5 days from Friday and so my daughter will cover me - Mo is actually her cat that she got for her 14th Birthday, but we've inherited him now... along with the vet bills!

I'm hoping the old lady who usually looks after him when we are away will be up for the challenge going forward, as we've a few dates away coming up. She herself is diabetic and injects, so I'm hoping she'll be ok - if not I'll need to find a local cattery as sadly I don't think my 19y old shift-working son will be reliable enough.

Do you find many issues with Sam having pancreatitis and how it affects his Diabetes?

 

[Djamila]

Unfortunately yes, the pancreatitis causes all kinds of issues with his diabetes. When he stops responding to the insulin and his BG goes up, I know he's getting sick, even before I see obvious symptoms. Then I have to start increasing his dose to try to stay on top of it because it's not good for him to be in higher numbers. That gets tricky though because he isn't eating well, so I'm increasing and sometimes shooting after he's barely had two bites of food, then just hoping and praying I'll be able to get him to eat if I'm wrong about the increase. We've been through enough of theses ups and downs now that it's getting less stressful, and I'm more comfortable just giving him the insulin despite his lowered appetite, but it's been a process, and a matter of collecting enough data to know I'm making decisions that will keep him safe.

Then when the p-titis flare eases, I have to be paying attention enough to lower his dose fairly quickly too. It's like a slow moving roller coaster.

It's so great your daughter can help out while you're away. That 1.5u dose is looking good for him while you're away, assuming his food is stable. I do worry a little though that he's so new to the process. Will your daughter be able to test him at all around nadir while you're gone?