Hi from me and Molly, any advice please

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I think the one Monica uses is for sale in Boots for around £25 including probably ten strips. You may find it slightly cheaper, I don't know. One of the things to be aware of when choosing a meter is availability/cost of strips - the pet meter ones could be as much as £1 each but human meter ones much less. Unless you have pet insurance that covers these supplies, you may want to shop around. Many people here buy their strips from ebay - as long as you check to make sure the seller is reputable you should be ok.
 
I love my pet meter.... I use an Alphatrak. That being said, the strips are about 2-3x more expensive then most human meters. It is worth the trade off to me but if the cost were an issue I would get a human meter. What you want to look for its a meter that takes a tiny 0.3 sample size.
 
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JanetNJ said:
I love my pet meter.... I use an Alphatrak. That being said, the strips are about 2-3x more expensive then most human meters. It is worth the trade off to me but if the cost were an issue I would get a human meter. What you want to look for its a meter that takes a time 0.3 sample size.
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Thanks Janet x
 
Diana&Tom said:
I think the one Monica uses is for sale in Boots for around £25 including probably ten strips. You may find it slightly cheaper, I don't know. One of the things to be aware of when choosing a meter is availability/cost of strips - the pet meter ones could be as much as £1 each but human meter ones much less. Unless you have pet insurance that covers these supplies, you may want to shop around. Many people here buy their strips from ebay - as long as you check to make sure the seller is reputable you should be ok.
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Thanks Diana
 
Looks like the 1.0U did well. Don't be disheartened as she is probably still bouncing from the green the other morning. As Eliz stated, a lower dose can sometimes help them balance out. Definitely keep getting those before bed tests, the majority of kitties run lower overnight for an idiopathic reason :rolleyes:. Also, as Diana stated, most of us use human meters because strips are more affordable. I do have an AT2 as well but I mainly use it if I'm doing a curve or I get a low number and my boy is acting fine. He'll still get a snack but it helps me from over carbing him :cat: but I have learned how he responds, which is not to say another kitty will do the same. Our other saying is "know they cat" :).

Have you considered purchasing syringes to draw the insulin from the pen cartridge? I'm sure Eliz, Diana, and Monica can help you find some :).
 
I had some syringes from my vet when the cartridge stock had run out, but they only go up in 0.5u so might as well stick to the Vetpen, I've looked for them, but nowhere does it say they can be used with Caninsulin, Caninsulin ones only seem to go up in 0.5u, i don't know where I can get the right ones....This is all really beginning to stress me out....It's so up and down all the time, yet a couple of weeks ago during the day it was pretty steady. And also the +3 am tests as well...
 
Sue Hammond said:
Strange readings this morning. Molly's amps was 13.1, gave her 1u, and her + 4bg was 18.1...?
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Not wildly strange... she was probably rising at amps anyway, and I'm guessing you have fed her since that test, so a smallish rise isn't overly alarming... but do whatever tests you can for the rest of the day so we can see the fuller picture.
 
Diana&Tom said:
Not wildly strange... she was probably rising at amps anyway, and I'm guessing you have fed her since that test, so a smallish rise isn't overly alarming... but do whatever tests you can for the rest of the day so we can see the fuller picture.
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She had breakfast but nothing since 9am
 
Sue Hammond said:
She had breakfast but nothing since 9am
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We still need more data though to see if the 1u on a rising bg will hold her reasonably steady or whether she will zoom up high again... one or two numbers in isolation don't give as much info as more during a full cycle.
 
Diana&Tom said:
We still need more data though to see if the 1u on a rising bg will hold her reasonably steady or whether she will zoom up high again... one or two numbers in isolation don't give as much info as more during a full cycle.
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I'll do regular tests throughout the day
 
Hi Sue, for some reason I din't get any notifications for the latest comments, good thing I wanted to check on you anyway..
Interesting yellow AMPS this morning but did not go down much at all mid cycle last two days.. Again I am all too familiar with this, similar thing happened to Josie on many occasions.
We are all so eager to find a pattern in Molly's response to the insulin but it might not happen, she might just carry on giving us random readings in the mix for no apparent reason..

You are concerned that 'all this bouncing is surely not good for her' which is true, it is not ideal but it's mainly for cats bouncing over a long period of time.
I know it's hard to watch them being in high numbers as I've been there too, but it's important to hold the dose for a few days to eliminate the bounce if there is one and give the numbers a chance to flatten out. Then you can see more clearly whether it's the right dose or needs adjusting.
For the first time in weeks Josie got some beautiful blues mid cycle today which was a very nice surprise but sadly pmps shot right up into the reds so I have my own bouncing to deal with at the moment as well..:banghead:
Hang in there, we'll get through this together bounce buddy!:)

As for meters yes I am very happy with our Accu Chek and we find it very convenient that we can just to go to Boots and take the box of strips off the shelves whenever we are running out of them. ( and we seem to be going through a crazy amount! )
Then again luckily we have Pet Insurance through Tesco and they pay for most of Josie's meds and supplies at the moment..
 
Monica Lewis said:
Hi Sue, for some reason I din't get any notifications for the latest comments, good thing I wanted to check on you anyway..
Interesting yellow AMPS this morning but did not go down much at all mid cycle last two days.. Again I am all too familiar with this, similar thing happened to Josie on many occasions.
We are all so eager to find a pattern in Molly's response to the insulin but it might not happen, she might just carry on giving us random readings in the mix for no apparent reason..

You are concerned that 'all this bouncing is surely not good for her' which is true, it is not ideal but it's mainly for cats bouncing over a long period of time.
I know it's hard to watch them being in high numbers as I've been there too, but it's important to hold the dose for a few days to eliminate the bounce if there is one and give the numbers a chance to flatten out. Then you can see more clearly whether it's the right dose or needs adjusting.
For the first time in weeks Josie got some beautiful blues mid cycle today which was a very nice surprise but sadly pmps shot right up into the reds so I have my own bouncing to deal with at the moment as well..:banghead:
Hang in there, we'll get through this together bounce buddy!:)

As for meters yes I am very happy with our Accu Chek and we find it very convenient that we can just to go to Boots and take the box of strips off the shelves whenever we are running out of them. ( and we seem to be going through a crazy amount! )
Then again luckily we have Pet Insurance through Tesco and they pay for most of Josie's meds and supplies at the moment..
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Banging heads is right, it's really getting me down, but we'll carry on with 1u and see how we get on. Glad you had some good numbers today xx...Bounce buddies, I like that
 
Sue Hammond said:
I had some syringes from my vet when the cartridge stock had run out, but they only go up in 0.5u so might as well stick to the Vetpen, I've looked for them, but nowhere does it say they can be used with Caninsulin, Caninsulin ones only seem to go up in 0.5u, i don't know where I can get the right ones....This is all really beginning to stress me out....It's so up and down all the time, yet a couple of weeks ago during the day it was pretty steady. And also the +3 am tests as well...
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Caninsulin is a U-40 insulin. You can order U-40 syringes with half unit markings online :).
Here's a link to the one's I used with a U-40 insulin: https://www.adwdiabetes.com/product/16363/carepoint-vet-u-40-syringe-29g-half-unit

ETA: Just remembered you are in the UK. Ignore that link :facepalm:. @Elizabeth and Bertie or @Diana&Tom should be able to help you with places better than I ;).
 
Sue Hammond said:
Hi yes I can can do a pm before shot test at 9pm...A lady in a group I used to be in did the spreadsheet, I have since left that group after her having a go at me about dosing etc...she wasn't a very patient person with a lot of us, when she said I could end up killing Molly, id had enough and left....her name is Gayle Charambura, she runs a group called Feline Diabetic support group on Facebook... she does still have access
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Omg this chick. So a new member came in whose cat was just diagnosed that day and prescribed 5 units to start. So gayle and I were saying how that's not safe. I put a link to fdmb and she's like don't put any references to fdmb and how that group is not helpful. And I'm like Seriously? Ok I need to leave this group then. And I got out of there. Crazy! Wth is her problem? She must have had a personal problem with someone. Lol. Crazy.
 
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
@Sue Hammond , this is the cheapest place to get U40 syringes (ie suitable for Caninsulin) in the UK. These syringes have half unit markings, but you can also 'eyeball' .25 of a unit or less...
https://www.vetuk.co.uk/insulin-syr...nsulin-syringe-with-needle-box-of-100-p-11335
.
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Thank you D
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
@Sue Hammond , this is the cheapest place to get U40 syringes (ie suitable for Caninsulin) in the UK. These syringes have half unit markings, but you can also 'eyeball' .25 of a unit or less...
https://www.vetuk.co.uk/insulin-syr...nsulin-syringe-with-needle-box-of-100-p-11335
.
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Thanks very much for your help x
 
JanetNJ said:
Omg this chick. So a new member came in whose cat was just diagnosed that day and prescribed 5 units to start. So gayle and I were saying how that's not safe. I put a link to fdmb and she's like don't put any references to fdmb and how that group is not helpful. And I'm like Seriously? Ok I need to leave this group then. And I got out of there. Crazy! Wth is her problem? She must have had a personal problem with someone. Lol. Crazy.
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Gayle is not helpful at all, and just ends up making owners, myself included feel very bad, she actually said to me I will end up killing Molly if I don't get her Diabetes under control, she was also extremely rude
 
Well I don't know what's going on again with Mollys bg, the last two days, she has been in the pinks section, this morning she's in the dark green 5.5 bg, so I'm not giving insulin this morning... have a look at her spreadsheet, see if anyone can work out what's going on, I'm sure I haven't a clue.... Nothing has changed in regard to diet, still feeding Mac's low carb wet food..
 
Sue Hammond said:
Well I don't know what's going on again with Mollys bg, the last two days, she has been in the pinks section, this morning she's in the dark green 5.5 bg, so I'm not giving insulin this morning... have a look at her spreadsheet, see if anyone can work out what's going on, I'm sure I haven't a clue.... Nothing has changed in regard to diet, still feeding Mac's low carb wet food..
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Huh, interesting. Well it does show that the 1 unit was def enough. Maybe her pancreas is kicking in a bit on its own. Could mean a slightly lower dose might be the answer. I know you can't do 0.75 yet, but you could try.5 for a few days and see what happens. it may help even out the numbers so you get two shootable numbers instead of one high and one low.
 
JanetNJ said:
Huh, interesting. Well it does show that the 1 unit was def enough. Maybe her pancreas is kicking in a bit on its own. Could mean a slightly lower dose might be the answer. I know you can't do 0.75 yet, but you could try.5 for a few days and see what happens. it may help even out the numbers so you get two shootable numbers instead of one high and one low.
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Hi Janet, won't giving just .5 give her higher results throughout the day? I still don't really understand how all this works,
 
She's also losing a little weight, as she was/ is still overweight, so maybe that's reflecting in her bg results? X
 
Sue Hammond said:
She's also losing a little weight, as she was/ is still overweight, so maybe that's reflecting in her bg results? X
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Right now when you do 1 unit it was too low to shoot in the morning. I'm wondering if the dose is lowered a little if by morning it's only a yellow number rather then green, it can be shootable..... Therefore bringing the overall preshots down. Balancing out the preshots rather then having her boomerang from high to low. You could continue with the one unit a few more days if you want to see what happens. This is just an idea. It's all trial and error.
 
JanetNJ said:
Right now when you do 1 unit it was too low to shoot in the morning. I'm wondering if the dose is lowered a little if by morning it's only a yellow number rather then green, it can be shootable..... Therefore bringing the overall preshots down. Balancing out the preshots rather then having her boomerang from high to low. You could continue with the one unit a few more days if you want to see what happens. This is just an idea. It's all trial and error.
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So give 0.5 at night and see how that goes?
 
Molly's bg this morning 20.1, can I ask why this keeps happening, up one morning and throughout the day, the next low in the morning, and good reading for most of the day apart from evenings, she has been on the same food
 
Sue Hammond said:
Hi Janet, won't giving just .5 give her higher results throughout the day? I still don't really understand how all this works,
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Hello bounce buddy, just looked at your SS, with these numbers I'm not surprised you still haven't been able to figure out how all this works!:)

I'm sorry, sadly I don't have an explanation for you but your SS just got me thinking and I just wanted to say that with such various preshot numbers like Molly's, her case is the perfect example of why it is so important that you are testing her every time to see whether it is safe to shoot or not and how good it is that you are doing all these important tests! Many people don't know they should they just shoot kitty with the same dose every day cos their vet told them to...

I don't think you said before why your vet refuses to prescribe ProZinc? I'm just curious.
Also I think I asked you before but not sure if you replied, has Molly had any recent bloodwork done to eliminate any underlying issues that might influence her fluctuating readings?
 
Sue Hammond said:
Molly's bg this morning 20.1, can I ask why this keeps happening, up one morning and throughout the day, the next low in the morning, and good reading for most of the day apart from evenings, she has been on the same food
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I think as Janet and Elizabeth have suggested, there could be some pancreas activity going on which would explain the fluctuating readings. In such a case all you can do really is keep monitoring and trying to dose appropriately (much easier said than done I know). It may be that with time, numbers will even out more which would enable you to be more confident with a "usual" dose. And I echo what Monica has said as I've been typing - this is the perfect example of why testing is so important. You're doing that and keeping Molly safe which is the main thing. Sadly there is no quick fix for a lot of cats with FD, it is an ongoing labour of love to be watchful and just do the best we can on a day to day basis.
 
Thanks everyone, I would never give shots without testing first.. My vet and the nurse said there's no need to test at all, i was shocked they could even suggest such a thing...She has had full blood work done a couple of weeks ago, with nothing abnormal found....Is it best to stick to 1u for the next few days. I find it very bewildering that sometimes her amps has been only 5.5 and stayed pretty good (for her) throughout the day... 7.8bg+3 and 10+6, then shot up to 20.1...My husband was insulin dependent diabetic, and I must say looking after humans s relatively easy, compared to our fur babies
 
Hi all, Molly is all over the place again, her bg pre shot was 14.3, now +3 it's 24.1.. yesterday was the same more or less.. started 11.6, and rose to +3 19.9bg
 
Can I also ask how long you can keep insulin for once it's started to be used...I've seen 28 days, is that correct?.... If that's the case, a lot is going to be wasted
 
The syringes I have been sent are 0.5 which is the same doses as the pens, I thought they had 0.25 doses...Are there any with that dose
 
These are the ones sent
 

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