Impatient beginner here :)

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ShayBug

Member Since 2023
Hello!

I'm new here with a 9 year old female cat who was diagnosed last month on 12/12/22. I took her to the vet because she just seemed to be a little bit off. She had thrown up (not normal for her), had some watery poops, and seemed a bit tired. The vet did blood, urine, & fecal tests and sent me home with some medicine for her belly which helped. 2 days later they called with the results and her BG was 569.

I brought her in that night so they could show me how to give her shots. They prescribed 1 unit of Pro Zinc 2x day. On 12/29 I brought her in to have the Libre 2 monitor put on. I was hopeful it would stay on for 7 days. I stopped feeding her dry food on the day they gave me the Libre. Her sugar level stayed above 400 for most of the time. The monitor doesn't read above 400 so it was very frustrating to not even be able to see how numbers were changing. The Libre fell off after 2.5 days. I felt helpless and then I took matters into my own hands. On 1/5 I started testing at home. Her numbers are rarely getting below 300 and still go above 400. I started making her 1 unit shot a little fatter 2 days ago, but I've decided this morning to increase to a full 1.5.

I've seen physical improvements since 12/12. She's drinking less, peeing less, and her poops are healthier so I know it's working. But I'm feeling impatient, because I just want to see better numbers. Reminding myself that slow and steady wins the race...

If anyone can look at her SS and provide any additional tips, I would greatly appreciate it.

This site really is so helpful. Thanks everyone!
 
1 ½ units seems better. I would keep that for a couple of days unless you get a low BG that would necessitate a lower dose. Iyoi you get consistent BG@1 ½ nunits I would increase to 1.75
 
Welcome!

Linking the ProZinc dosing methods we use here - https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/prozinc-dosing-methods.225629/

Given that's she's on a low carb diet, you're testing enough, and mentioned impatient (lol!) I'd lean towards the Modified ProZinc Method. The primary differences between the SLGS and MPM are how long you hold doses (a week vs 3-7 days based on BGs), at what point you take reductions (90 vs 50), and how much to test (minimum AMPS and PMPS, or those tests + one additional each cycle).

MPM allows you to increase more quickly, provided you can test enough to keep her safe.

For now, hold the 1.5U. she's currently bouncing from the blue the other night...see where she lands after the bounce clears then I'm assuming she needs an increase. Bouncing is when they drop faster and/or lower than they're used to; the liver panics and dumps stored glycogen and counterregulatory hormones in order to spike BG back up. Effects can last up to 6 cycles. Very much normal, will take some time to settle down.
 
FrostD said:
Welcome!

Linking the ProZinc dosing methods we use here - https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/prozinc-dosing-methods.225629/

Given that's she's on a low carb diet, you're testing enough, and mentioned impatient (lol!) I'd lean towards the Modified ProZinc Method. The primary differences between the SLGS and MPM are how long you hold doses (a week vs 3-7 days based on BGs), at what point you take reductions (90 vs 50), and how much to test (minimum AMPS and PMPS, or those tests + one additional each cycle).

MPM allows you to increase more quickly, provided you can test enough to keep her safe.

For now, hold the 1.5U. she's currently bouncing from the blue the other night...see where she lands after the bounce clears then I'm assuming she needs an increase. Bouncing is when they drop faster and/or lower than they're used to; the liver panics and dumps stored glycogen and counterregulatory hormones in order to spike BG back up. Effects can last up to 6 cycles. Very much normal, will take some time to settle down.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I've been reading everything on this site for the past few weeks. I'll re-visit the modified method on the Prozinc thread. My fear of a hypo situation might out weigh my impatience and I'll just have to suck it up and take it slow (and safe). I also forgot about how the bounce can work against the dose increase so thanks for that reminder. I just gave her an afternoon test and she's down to 244 so maybe I just had to put it out into the universe today. haha. Thank you!
 
You can certainly always switch methods later. You can follow MPM until nadirs get better, then make a decision whether to stay or switch to SLGS on mce she gets close to 90s. More often than not each increase is a slight reduction in nadir,nothing drastic. But, every cat is different!
 
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