Help with perspective on numbers

Status
Not open for further replies.

RobbiesMom

Active Member
I'm getting confused. Many here are saying that the dose for my boy Robbie (4u's BID) is too high. I agree it seems high and I lowered it to 3 and have a call into the Vet to discuss. However this is not making as much sense to me as it did the first time around when there seemed to be more reaction to the insulin.
Question - is there a difference between 299 and 313 or are they so close that inaccuracy of the equipment etc. could be the reason and so if he goes from 299 (as he did tonight) to 313 an hour AFTER his shot (without having any food except for a small piece of white chicken meat after the ear pricking) I shouldn't worry that it seems to not make sense?
I'm trying to catch up on the reading on this site to re-educate and further educate myself but currently my dad is in the hospital with complications that so far have no answer and work is insane so I'm VERY pre-occupied and a bit over whelmed.
Tonight rIght before the top of the hour for me to check his BG (+1 hr from 3u's) he started crying for food (which is what he would normally do when he was feeling fine) so I checked his BG got 313 and with him screaming at me I fed him some more (typically while he was OTJ he would get a can of FF at about 5pm for dinner and than 1/2 can at 8pm and the other half before we went to bed around 10:30 and he'd STILL be looking for more that stopped the other night and is part of the reason I realized he was in trouble, he didn't want to eat as much). So now when I check hiim at 11pm before I go to bed he'll have food in his system and who knows what his number will be.
I'd just love to see something closer to 200 and I know it's very early and I'm being impatient and impossible. Seeing 300 or close to it or over is stressing me out - perspective please?
Thank you
 
RobbiesMom said:
Many here are saying ...4u's BID is too high. I agree ... this is not making as much sense to me as it did the first time around when there seemed to be more reaction to the insulin.
Question - is there a difference between 299 and 313... could be the reason and so if he goes from 299 (as he did tonight) to 313 an hour AFTER his shot (without having any food except for a small piece of white chicken meat after the ear pricking) I shouldn't worry that it seems to not make sense?

You've got a lot on your plate right now - sorry you're having these issues as well, but most importantly, take a good deep breath (or several) and just take things one at a time.

You are correct - the two numbers are essentially the same. Did you give him a fair amt of the chicken - enough to count as a meal? I usually see a ~ 30 point rise from feeding - which I do AFTER the preshot blood test and BEFORE giving the shot - to ensure he eats first. You don't want to shoot on an empty stomach, and if he's been reluctant to eating, I would think you'd want to hold off until he does. Not much of an issue w/ Grayson, he rarely skipped a meal at 21.6 pounds, and still doesn't at 13.4! But he, too, is ravenous. Libby & Doug give Hershey the same amt 4 times a day every 6 hours. This works well for Hershey and he wasn't eating the table legs, scavenging for dry cat food, or dog kibble like Grayson would!

4 units is high - that's about where Grayson is now after 2+ months. We started at 1u, reduced down to .2 as he was marathon dancing all night and day - 24 hour cycles on a 12 hour insulin. Then had a ketone scare, and we upped very quickly (although not as quickly as the vet suggested - as I was guarded with the increase to begin with!). The "Start low, go slow" mantra is a good one. That way you don't miss the correct dose. And if he's been OTJ, he may only need a little bit to get him back there. Come over to the Prozinc Board if thats the insulin he's using, or the other board if it's a different type. The collective wisdom/experience will be a tremendous help to you.

Good luck!

Lu-Ann
 
thank you LuAnn I'm going to go read more on the Prozin section and post there as well - I really am feeling much more confused and over whelmed by this than I had anticipated. Part of trying to make sense of the numbers is also that I'm trying to adjust him from a 11am/11pm time to something I can actually do and get to work on time. So the first PM shot was at 10 not 11 and the next morning, his first am shot at home (yesterday) was at 9:30 and his PM shot last night was actually at 9:15pm. This am shot I'm going to do at 8:30am. If I don't start getting to work on time (I've missed some time due to my fathers illness) things won't be good at work. So that's probably part of the issue with the numbers.
I'm going to give him 3 again (down from that Vet recommended 4) and take a few deep breaths. I'm using the chart but it's hard to get the right info in since I'm moving the times and also trying to include the info on when he's eating. He isn't not eating- he's just not eating as much or as aggressively as he has typically. His shots have been with food in his stomach - maybe not right after he eats but close. He's being such a good boy about the ear pricking which he HATED last time around - The amount of chicken I give him is SMALL - like 2 little bites about half an inch big so not really a meal at all, at least not for this big boy. thanks again
 
HI Ellen, I don't know if this helps any but when my cat was first put on insulin it took her three weeks to have her blood glucose numbers settle down - they were all over the place from 200 to 400 at any given time. If you can give it another couple of days to see if it gets better before upping the insulin that might not be a bad thing. Jan
 
THank you - I'm not planning on upping the insulin. Last time around (original diagnosis) after about a week he started having some crashing episodes and I had a few scary nights with some members here holding my hand (cyberly of course) while I rubbed maple syrup on his gums... So I'm not rushing to up I'm just confused and frustrated. Vet said 4 I've stuck at 3 - numbers seem wacky to me but I'm also sleep deprived, working long hours and trying to drive an hour 1/2 to visit my dad in the hospital so ... it's just one of those things.
Thanks again.
 
got home early today 4:30 and checked Robbie's BG and it was 190 - he was very affectionate and alert once I woke him up a bit more like himself than he's been. At 5ish he began screaming for dinner so he ate around 5:15 and I did BG again at 6:30 and he was 272. He continued to act very active and more social - went nuts again at 7:15 for more food so gave him half a can with some water and more metemucil (he's not pooping well) I need to give him his shot at 8:30 so I can get him eventually on an 8am/8pm schedule. So breaking 200 felt like something of a move in the right direction but we'll see what happens next.
Thank you all for the support and feed back.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top