intro and question about time between injections

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SweetAngel

SweetAngel

Member Since 2014
hi, I'm from Uk and my 8 year old boy cat Angel was diagnosed 2 days ago. In a way it was a relief because I thought it was his kidneys, I lost his sister to RF last August. Angel had his jab at 7.15 am this morning uk time. I am going out with friends 6pm tomorrow and wondering how to time his injections. Maybe 7pm tonight, 6.30am tomorrow, and 5.40pm tomorrow evening so I have 20 mins with him to make sure he's ok? He's on caninsulin, which I gather is not great. I have a glucose meter ordered, should be arriving in a few days. Vet said when Angel had his curve test yesterday, sugar levels did not go below 20, I believe the US equivalent is 360.
Have seen the post about the rvc study and e mailed them. So glad this board exists, I've joined a couple on Facebook and everyone is so kind and supportive,
Cassandra and Angel xx
 
With Caninsulin, if you are testing at home, you can adjust his dose on the fly and timing is less critical.

If he's been running high, changing 30 or so minutes earlier may be OK. In general though, we recommend home testing be in place before changing doses or schedule.
 
Thanks so much for the info. I have a glucometer ordered. I talked to the vet and they said as long as it's not more than an hour early/late it shouldn't be a problem. Meanwhile I've read more about caninsulin and how it works.
I've done so much research in the few days since Angel was diagnosed, my head is spinning!!! I just hope my sugarAngel takes to home testing. He is SOOO good when I give him his shots, 3 so far and he just purrs away!! I'm giving him the dry food the vet recommended until I start home testing, plus a lowish carb wet as a treat. Thank god I found this board and the 2 on facebook, I don't feel alone.
 
While you wait for the glucometer - most of us use human ones with pet-specific reference numbers due to cost - see my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for some other ways to assess your cat's health.

Also, did your vet give you a list of hypoglycemia (too low glucose) to watch for? Sometimes, the vets start with a dose that is too high.

How to Handle A Hypo
 
hi BJM,

The vet did give me advice on hypos and I have also printed out the info from the board. I bought some honey and I have some normal carb wet food. I've e mailed my vet and said I'm going to try home testing, and also mentioned the low carb food. He is usually very supportive and he did mention someone who home tested their cat but said it was extremely expensive. I'm guessing this person bought a pet meter.

I've looked at your link too, Angel does seem to be drinking less and eating less since he's started with the shots. I'm going to try testing his wee too, there is enough of it!! I have to keep him indoors at night now, as his shots are 5.30 am and pm as at the moment I need early evenings free. There's a possibility Angel may be suitable for the uk trial, fingers crossed.

Hope you and your cat are doing well,
Cassandra (and Angel x)
 
Hello Cassandra and Angel, and welcome to FDMB! :smile:

I'm in the UK too. There are a few of us here.

The pet glucose meter, Alphatrak, is pricey to use, but most of us use meters made for humans instead. ;-)

In the UK the Accucheck Aviva is quite popular, and is usually easily available from pharmacies. And you may well be able to get the test strips on Ebay for around half the price of those in pharmacies. (The test strips are the main cost involved in home testing).

Although Caninsulin isn't considered the easiest insulin to work with here, please do be reassured that some cats do just fine on it.

What are you feeding Angel at the moment?

Eliz
 
hi Elizabeth,

Co incidence, I just pm'd you!!! Until my meter arrives, Angel is on Hill's mature, but after reading up I'm also giving him a low calorie wet. I don't want to do a drastic change until I've got the hang of home testing. I'm supposed to be picking up some Hill's m/d on Wed but I have e mailed the vets and mentioned the home testing and very low carb foods. I ordered a 'codefree' meter from Amazon after doing a bit of research, it's not a bad price and seems pretty reliable.

Looking forward to getting to know you and Bertie,

Cassandra and Angel x
 
Its the test strips that can get expensive; you'll want to check around for those, even UK Amazon from our shopping link above (we get a tiny % if you purchase from the link and that helps support the message board)
 
thanks, will definitely support this board as much as I can.
The test strips for the one I bought are not a bad price compared to most, and some hospital in Switzerland found it to be the most accurate meter for humans.
x
 
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