? Insulin and blood sugar questions

[Carol & Murphy (GA)]

I decided to post another thread since it's different from Murphy's horrendously high readings (please don't stop helping me dose him on the other thread - I really need the advice)

How long does an open vial of prozinc stay good for after you start using it? -
what exactly is a bounce?
does the pre shot glucose level decrease as the cat gets better controlled, or does each cat have a set point (a naturally occurring baseline when all the insulin has been metabolized)

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

How long does an open vial of prozinc stay good for after you start using it? -
what exactly is a bounce?
does the pre shot glucose level decrease as the cat gets better controlled, or does each cat have a set point (a naturally occurring baseline when all the insulin has been metabolized)

A very simplistic explanation:
A bounce is when the body perceives a level lower than it is used to and panics. It releases extra glucose and then the levels jump up - higher than they might normally be. It usually takes a while for the numbers to drop back down into "normal" numbers. Cats bounce until their body quits panicking at lower levels - some people call it liver training.

We generally a cat regulated if they are in the lower 200s at preshot and double digits at nadir, but not below 50. Cats are considered in remission if they range from 40-120 OFF insulin for 2 weeks.

 

[Merlin]

My Prozinc bottle seems to last six months. I use it till it is almost empty. I always leave a little at the bottom for an emergency like just in case I drop my current bottle and break it. Then I always have another back up bottle even though it may be old. Here are the dates that I have bought a bottle since Merlin's dx. I keep track of my bottles on my spreadsheet which is indicated by a darb blue line.

Oct 2013
March 2014
Sept 2014
Feb 2015
Sept 2015

 

[BJM]

A bounce may happen when
1) the glucose drops rapidly,
2) the glucose drops to an unfamiliar number (ex 200s, when it had been in 400s), or
3) the glucose drops too low for normal (below 50 mg/dL on a human meter)
... or a combination of these!