Insulin or no insulin?

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Angela

Angela

Member Since 2015
Hi there,
I'm hoping for some advice. I am just getting more confident in testing my cat's BG though I have yet to do a curve. I didn't test him this morning (Yes, bad mom) but when I tested him tonight his BG was 6.9 (124.2). My question is should I give him his insulin tonight? He's currently on 2 units of Lantus 2 times a day. This was before I fed him. Thanks!
 
I don't see any info on your ss so it's impossible to know what to do. Also are you following TR or SLGS. Are you using a human or pet meter? How much after feeding did you get the latest number?
 
I haven't started charting it yet unfortunately. I bought the moniter awhile ago (human) but initially gave up on home testing because I was not having much success drawing blood. Right now all I have been doing is giving him his insulin every twelve hours (give or take). The second reading was about twenty minutes after food. Last time I tested him was an hour after food and it was 396. This was on the 17th- the last day he got dry kibble.
 
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What did you feed him? Depending on how much and the carb percent it might take a little longer for it to kick in. How long has he been on insulin? Has your vet been checking him? When we stall before shooting we don't feed so that we know if the rising number is from food or not. When should he gave gotten his insulin ?
 
I fed him FF Turkey and Giblets and some freeze dried chicken. He ate about half a can. He's been on insulin since March. The only reason I tested after feeding is because I bought a different gauge of lancet and wanted to see if they were better than the ones I had tried to use initially. Tonight's BG was before food. The vet hasn't seen Spaz since we got him regulated - about two weeks after he was diagnosed. They basically told me to continue with the insulin and moniter his water intake and urine output. No follow up from them since :/.
 
Since you stopped dry food that might very well decrease his insulin needs. Since he is lower and not rising after eating, I think you should skip tonight. Where do you live? How much past insulin time is it?
 
It does appear that wet food only is improving his BG. I'm in British Columbia, Canada. Right now it's an hour and a half past his regular dose time though it does vary for him if I get stuck in traffic on my commute home from work. I will leave it for tonight and see how it is in the morning. I'm hoping to do a curve soon-it's a bit tough to find a good day to do it right now as I'm working a lot of overtime on the weekends.
Thanks for your response, I know I'm not giving you a lot of information regarding his levels for you to go on, so I appreciate you taking the time to respond.
 
Until you can do a curve get tests at different times during the day and night cycles when you can. For example get a test one day before you leave for work either +1or 2 and then when you get home then at night get a +3 and one at +5-7 Fill in at different times on different days. Now that you are seeing lower numbers it gets more important to find out the nadir when possible.
 
I agree with Elise that it was a good idea to skip tonight.

A couple of things to add:

1. The Start Low Go Slow is great for people who aren't able to test as much as those who want to follow Tight Reg. Here is the link for SLGS. It's safest if you persevere and get the hang of hometesting. Cats have the ability to have their pancreas heal, and if Spaz's pancreas is doing any healing it may be sputtering out some insulin. If that happens, the dose that was ok before may become too much now. Testing will let you know if that is happening and then you can adjust the dose. Getting rid of the dry food can make a huge difference in the amount of insulin needed.

2. Capillaries in a cat's ear will grow in response to poking, so as you try to get test, it's stimulating their growth. Even if you don't get blood every time, the poking is still doing some good. So hang in there because it's actually doing some good. It typically seems to take about 2 weeks of poking multiple times a day until the capillaries have increased to the point where you will get blood every time from then on.

Here's a link to the post on Testing & Shooting Tips. Maybe something in there will help you.

Keep asking questions and we'll try to help you and Spaz. And welcome to the group!
 
Yes, I am definitely going to start keeping a closer eye on his BG. Guilt from poking him in the ear and lancets that were too fine made me reluctant to test him a lot, but now that I know his levels are dropping I definitely want to keep a close eye on him!
 
That's a very good plan.

The thing about the longer lasting insulins like Lantus and Levemir, because of the way they work, a cat can get into very low numbers without showing any symptoms. By the time symptoms are evident, the cat is in serious trouble. Hypos on Lantus/Lev can last for more than 12 hours.

You definitely want to know how low he's getting on a dose so you can adjust it as needed.
 
Thank you for the link and for the tips Julie (and for the welcome!) I'm hoping the lowDr numbers will be a trend now that I took away the dry food (he was eating the purina DM dry and FF pates. I'm definitely going to be more vigilant about testing him from now on.
 
Hi Angela - just popping in to say Hi to you and Spaz from another British Columbian. Welcome! Lovely picture of your boy. :)
 
Thanks for the welcome :D. I'm definitely going to start posting more often and tracking Spaz's BG more diligently. This morning I tested before feeding and it was 8.2 (147.6) so his levels are definitely dropping since I took away the dry kibble. Prior random tests I had done in April and last weekend were in the 200s and low-mid 300s. Overtime may be cancelled this weekend and if so I am going to do a curve. I'm in the Fraser Valley Wendy so not too far from you :)!
 
I gave Spaz his regular dose this morning as his BG was 8.2. When I got home from work 12.5 hrs later it was 5.4 :D. I think the wet food only diet is helping immensely!
 
It can make an enormous difference!

Do try to get in the habit of putting tests in his spreadsheet. When folks are trying to help you, that's the first place they will look. Because of the way Lantus works, it's important to see when tests were in relation to the shot, ie, how many hours after the shot the test was taken. We also look at the context compared to other tests. It helps us decipher what's going on. Once you get the habit going, you'll find that it's easy to keep it going, and as people point things out to you, you'll learn how to see what's going on in his body by looking at the spreadsheet. It's a great tool!
 
Yes, I will definitely start using the spreadsheet to track his BG. I was planning to do a curve tomorrow as overtime at work was cancelled but if his levels stay at under 100 I don't really want to give him insulin...I tested again almost two hours after food and it was the same.
 
Disappointed this morning to discover Spaz's BG was very high. Started a curve at 5:30 this morning. Disappointed with the high numbers after the low numbers from last night but as long as he's happy and healthy I am happy :). Oh, and I have entered the curve into the spreadsheet and will start tracking all the tests I do from now on.
 
Good for you! I'm seeing the tests on the spreadsheet. And hey - not too bad to see that he's gotten to 155 today! That's pretty good.

It can be helpful if you go ahead and put any old data in, even if you have to approximate. It's good to put the diagnosis date in there too.

As you're reading up on things, I'd suggest starting with the New to the Group sticky. Lots of good stuff there for everyone new.
 
Where on the spreadsheet do I add date of diagnosis? Anywhere I can find a spot? I'm still trying to get my head around how the spreadsheet works, lol.

I'll add the old data in as well once I'm finished with his curve. Not a lot so far, but I guess every little bit counts!
 
You could add his diagnosis date to your signature line, along with other info like what insulin you're using, what type of meter, any other health problems he might have, etc....and a lot of us put our location in too
 
Thanks Chris, I will do that later tonight! I added all the prior tests into the "world" ss but it didn't copy over to the other one. Once I get up off my lazy butt and go to the computer instead of trying to do this all on my iPhone, I'll see if I can fix it.
 
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