Luckyducky
Member
Hi everyone, my cat's name is Lucky and he's on Lantus (using Solostar Pens and 31 gauge needles purchased at the Walmart pharmacy). I posted an introduction in the Health forum here (not sure if anyone remembers, but I'd like to say again that I'm so thankful for all your help). Well, after going through a few expensive trips to the vet for glucose curves, I recently started taking glucose curves at home using the Walmart ReliOn glucometers and testing strips. I'm encountering some worrisome values on a recent curve though, and was hoping you all might be able to help give some advice. It's much appreciated!
During Lucky's first week of home-testing (last week on Wednesday), I was administering 1 unit once a day in the morning (I rotate between injecting behind his left forearm, between his shoulders near the scruff, and behind his right forearm). He generally ate 1/4 can of wet food (Fancy Feast Classics) after every test. His 24-hour curve that week was the following:
6:40a.m. - 299 (1 unit insulin shot administered after test)
9:40a.m. - 208
12:40p.m. - 70
3:40p.m. - 45
6:40p.m. - 117
9:30p.m. - 165
1:00a.m. - 270
3:40a.m. - 266
I spoke with his vet, and because we were concerned about how low his numbers dipped from just the 1 unit, we decided to put Lucky on 0.5 units twice daily. Since he seemed to still be hungry after eating, we also decided to increase his food intake to 1/3 can of wet food (Fancy Feast Classics) after every test, which seemed to fill him up fairly well. After a week of putting Lucky on 0.5 units twice daily, I did another 24-hour glucose curve yesterday (a week after the first 24-hour curve), and the results were the following:
6:30a.m. - 284 (0.5 unit insulin shot administered after test)
9:30a.m. - 225
12:30p.m. - 187
3:35p.m. - 187
6:30p.m. - 347 (0.5 unit insulin shot administered after test)
9:35p.m. - 351
12:25a.m. - 353
3:30a.m. - 336
6:39a.m. - 333
I'm really confused about these numbers, and very worried that they're so high (and I can't understand why the second shot doesn't seem to have had any effect whatsoever). Worse yet, I just took a reading a few moments ago (6:30pm), and his BG number was 398. I have no idea what's going on. Could it be that the 0.5 unit dosage is insufficient? Could increasing his food intake from 1/4 to 1/3 of a can have caused such a dramatic change? Could his insulin have gone bad? Could he be experiencing the Somogyi effect? I have no clue what's wrong, or what to do in this situation.
Lucky does seem to have urinated more than usual yesterday, and he's been more restful than usual (previously, he was always energetically craving food). His vet was unfortunately out today and I won't be able to get in touch with her until tomorrow. Also, I just administered another 0.5 unit dose of insulin at 7:30 p.m. Central Time, using a new solostar pen just in case. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you all so much!
P.S. - I was thinking of posting this in the Lantus forum, but I haven't figured out all the terminology just yet.
During Lucky's first week of home-testing (last week on Wednesday), I was administering 1 unit once a day in the morning (I rotate between injecting behind his left forearm, between his shoulders near the scruff, and behind his right forearm). He generally ate 1/4 can of wet food (Fancy Feast Classics) after every test. His 24-hour curve that week was the following:
6:40a.m. - 299 (1 unit insulin shot administered after test)
9:40a.m. - 208
12:40p.m. - 70
3:40p.m. - 45
6:40p.m. - 117
9:30p.m. - 165
1:00a.m. - 270
3:40a.m. - 266
I spoke with his vet, and because we were concerned about how low his numbers dipped from just the 1 unit, we decided to put Lucky on 0.5 units twice daily. Since he seemed to still be hungry after eating, we also decided to increase his food intake to 1/3 can of wet food (Fancy Feast Classics) after every test, which seemed to fill him up fairly well. After a week of putting Lucky on 0.5 units twice daily, I did another 24-hour glucose curve yesterday (a week after the first 24-hour curve), and the results were the following:
6:30a.m. - 284 (0.5 unit insulin shot administered after test)
9:30a.m. - 225
12:30p.m. - 187
3:35p.m. - 187
6:30p.m. - 347 (0.5 unit insulin shot administered after test)
9:35p.m. - 351
12:25a.m. - 353
3:30a.m. - 336
6:39a.m. - 333
I'm really confused about these numbers, and very worried that they're so high (and I can't understand why the second shot doesn't seem to have had any effect whatsoever). Worse yet, I just took a reading a few moments ago (6:30pm), and his BG number was 398. I have no idea what's going on. Could it be that the 0.5 unit dosage is insufficient? Could increasing his food intake from 1/4 to 1/3 of a can have caused such a dramatic change? Could his insulin have gone bad? Could he be experiencing the Somogyi effect? I have no clue what's wrong, or what to do in this situation.
Lucky does seem to have urinated more than usual yesterday, and he's been more restful than usual (previously, he was always energetically craving food). His vet was unfortunately out today and I won't be able to get in touch with her until tomorrow. Also, I just administered another 0.5 unit dose of insulin at 7:30 p.m. Central Time, using a new solostar pen just in case. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you all so much!
P.S. - I was thinking of posting this in the Lantus forum, but I haven't figured out all the terminology just yet.