Home testing commenced

Status
Not open for further replies.
forivadel

forivadel

Member
Okay, so yesterday in the mail, we just received a newb kit. Anxious to begin, we began. Tested 2 hours feeding time and read at 301. Since it was the first time, we sucked at doing it. But it was ultimately successful and i think will get easier from here on out. Paco was also tested this morning and evening, right before feeding time and read at 358 and 321 respectively. Since his hypo, Paco has only been getting 1 unit bid of Novolin N.

So a couple of quick questions:
What should his bg levels be at preshot when he's in regulation? How should i be interpretting his data? How much should i be changing the units of his shot? When should we do a curve, and at what intervals?

Information is sort of scattered all over and a bit overwhelming, but if i can get some pointers or links to such information, it would be much appreciated.
 
Fantastic! :RAHCAT :RAHCAT Welcome to the Vampire Club (secret handshake coming in the mail.....)

Has anyone given you the primer on N? It has great info in it: http://www.felinediabetes.com/phorum5/r ... 241,831241 Primer on N from Kimber and Bunny

At the beginning, you want a preshot above 200. Below 200, we urge you to wait 30 minutes and test again. You need to test before each shot to be sure it is safe to give insulin. With N, it would be nice if you could get some numbers around 3-5 hours after the shot. That will give you the nadir - or the lowest point in the cycle.

It would be very helpful for us and for you to set up a spreadsheet. It is color coded and makes it very easy to see patterns. The data will help you decide whether you need to increase or decrease the dose. Here are the directions: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=16
 
i guess i should know your first name since i mailed you a kit huh? but i don't.
is there any way possible to get paco on another insulin, perhaps pzi pro zinc.
it is slower acting..we all know more about it's usage and just over all better than what you currently have.
regulation is not the first thing we look for
the first thing is the best dose.
you get a steady stream of amps and pmps and give them to us.
you get several mid day tests to determine at what point is his lowest #. we call this the nadir.
that number ideally is in the 60-90 range. if you are achieveing that you have the right dose.
the tough part is not too many peeps here use your insulin and they all work diffently. sooo, i'd love to see you on the pzi.
Lori
 
i may have found you some pro zinc..waiting to hear if it's still available. please send me a pm so i can hook the two of you up.
 
Okay, i did his first glucose curve today. After a couple days of reading ~350 on the glucometer before meals, i increased his dosage to 2 units bid. Today would be his second day on 2 units and his curve is slightly startling, but im not sure if it's okay the way it is. his curve reads as following:

313 AMPS, 181 @ +3, 86 @ +4, 49 @ +5, 52 @ +6, 69 @ +7, 123 @ +9, and 207 PMPS.

i decreased his dosage to 1.5 units for now.
Any comments or suggestions?
 
jorge, it's not startling for an experienced user...but you came awfully close for a newbie. if and when you raise a dose...don't do whole unit raises, more like 1.2 or 1.5 U's...consider yourself lucky today.
you steered thru this yourself without any help???
and are you all set up for pzi?
lori
 
MY my same as Lori!

It's possible he went below 49 to.
Glad you cut back to 1.5u.
Don't be tempted to go back to 2u if the next test is a high one. His body could have panicked with those numbers and his lfe saving response kicked in and flooded his system with glucose (rebound). Sends you into a spiral.
Even if next preshot higher/lot higher stick with maximum 1.5u.

Novolin isn't considered a good insulon anymore (cos much better ones now :mrgreen: ) and is pretty fast acting with too short a duration. Hard to get a nice curve.
If your unsure post (though very few people with experience of this or similar insulin, but going with the above/below 200 is a good safe guide).Always err on the side of caution and if your moving to Prozinc, no major hurry.
FD is a marathon not a sprint :mrgreen:
 
jorge, wondering if you steered any of those #'s with food? were you concerned? you really went thru all that without needing us? wow, alot of newbie's would have been here with the 911 sign out :-D
 
let me start off by saying that Apocalypse is a trooper! the cat fights for his life. i didn't exaggerate about the things he's gone through, going through some near death experiences. and lives to see another day, like nothing has happened.
i wouldn't exactly consider myself a newb since Paco has been diabetic since early 2008 and he's gone through a couple of hypo episodes. BUT, i surely didn't like what i saw today. i didn't give him any food other than a little snack when i saw him at 49.
I really should have gone with 1.5 units instead of 2, it's just that habit of going whole units since the needles i used before were only whole integers. now that i've gone to 1.5, i'll give it a full week to let him adjust, even if his glucose level comes a little too high.

im aware that novolin isn't a good insulin for Paco. it's all i have at the moment and insulin isn't cheap. well at least not around here. but thanks to lori and pam, i should be receiving a bottle of prozinc within a couple of days.

thanks for the input! this is all still a learning experience.
 
I'm about to feed Paco, but am a little apprehensive to give him his insulin shot. after lowering his dosage to 1.5, his preshot readings have been hanging around ~230, but right now its at 163. not sure what to do, do i keep it at 1.5? lower it? or skip his shot?... any suggestions
 
ok, if i don't see you again tonight and you have'nt shot yet...i'd shoot a reduced dose, perhaps half. and give a +3 please.
 
i gave him his shot already. dropped to 1 unit. he's still on novolin but pam already shipped out the bottle of pzi. it should arrive here by tomorrow or thursday.

thanks for the quick reply.
oh, i'll check him again at +3.
 
jorge, always have yourself ready-set-go for low #'s ok.
i always think the 2 scariest times for fd is diagnosis and when your cat maybe starts going into remission. your lower than normal pmps is meant for you to brush up on your hypo skills before you need them ok.
if you ever need immediate help put out the red 911 above...that will get you attn.
lori
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top