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jadiekitty

Member Since 2025
Hello!

My name is Jessica and my diabetic kitty's name is Indiana or Indy for short. (I will update my username when it lets me in a week). He is 17.5 years and loving life...especially his heated bed and anything to do with turkey. He eats Smalls gently cooked wet food with freeze dried chicken for crunch and freeze dried salmon as treats. He was on insulin a year and a half ago after being on Prednisone for years due to IBD. Vet switched him to a low dose of chlorambucil and he was able to achieve remission for the diabetes.

Fast forward to now....Indy goes in for solensia injections once a month and I noticed he had lost some weight. I had the vet do blood work and his bg was 375. Restarted him on Lantus about a month ago at 1u every 12 hours and a week ago vet placed a libre 3+ sensor on him. First 5 days she put him on 2u because his numbers were still high. Friday she told me to increase to 3u. Did that and Saturday afternoon (yesterday) his numbers went down to 44. Gave him Karo syrup and food....but it stayed below 70 for 4ish hours. He was acting normal, so I tried to not freak out. Gave him 2.5u at bedtime last night and his numbers shot up back to 350+. Such a rollercoaster, I swear. I have generalized anxiety disorder and this rollercoaster is wreaking havoc on it.

So that's our story. I don't have any urgent questions right now. I will get my spreadsheet set up.

Unrelated....we have a bit of a zoo. 5 cats, 4 bearded dragons, 4 snakes, a leopard gecko and a Tegu. My heart is full from being a fur and scale mama. <3
 

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Hello and welcome. I have a soft spot for the tuxies, Indy looks like a real cutie.

On FDMB, we tend to change doses by 0.25 units at a time. Are you using 1/2 unit marked syringes to give the Lantus?

I tried opening the spreadsheet, but it says I need permission. You need to allow anyone with the link to have access. There are a few other things we like to see on the signature, detailed in this post: New? How You Can Help Us Help You!

Have you thought about blood testing Indy with a blood glucose meter? I just say that because the Libre often registers quite a bit lower than the human blood glucose numbers, in numbers under 100. The 44 you saw would be concerning on a BG meter, but may or may not be with the Libre. What you are now seeing with the high numbers is what we call bouncing:
Bouncing is simply a natural reaction to what the cat's system perceives as a BG value that is "too low". "Too low" is relative. If a cat is used to BGs in the 200's, 300's, or higher for a long time, then even a BG that drops to 150 can trigger a "bounce". Bouncing can also be triggered if the blood glucose drops too low and/or too fast.The pancreas, then the liver, release glucogon, glycogen and counter-regulatory hormones. The end result is a dumping of "sugar" into the bloodstream to save the cat from going hypoglycemic from a perceived low. The action is often referred to as "liver panic" or "panicky liver". *Usually*, a bounce will clear kitty's system within 3 days (6 cycles).
Click to expand...
Those higher numbers should resolve soon.

And one last thing, have you seen this post: PSA: Notice from Abbott - certain Freestyle Libre 3 devices giving false low readings
 
There is a typo on my post. My apologies. He has the Libre 2+ sensor not the 3.

His numbers are going down again today and I am trying to not freak out about it. Really hate anxiety.

I fixed the spreadsheet. And I will fix my signature.

We do have a human glycometer (my husband is diabetic). We were able to successfully prick his ear for the first time last night....so much blood! Glycometer said 110 when the sensor said 142.
 
Good to hear you don't have to worry about the Libre 3 issue.

Here are some testing tips for testing cats, along with videos, that might help. And reduce the amount of blood! Hometesting Links and Tips

I can see the spreadsheet now. Thank you. :) Please don't give him 3 units again. That dose has shown it is too much insulin. We determine how to dose the Lantus based on how low he goes on that dose. 46 is too low. You need to lower the dose for now.
 
I was nervous about giving him 3 units, but the vet wanted to keep at it. Makes me nervous to see conflicting information. I don't want to piss the vet off but I also don't want to deal with any hypo events if I can avoid them.
 
Remember, you hold the syringe. It is your choice what you give. The vet works for you. The vet likely won't be answering phone calls if he goes low again. We much prefer that people start with a lower dose and work their way up. That means much smaller increases than 1 unit at a time.
 
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