Introductory Post for Micky and I

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Haylee and Micky

Haylee and Micky

Member Since 2021
Hi everyone!

I am finally posting an introductory post for myself and my pal, Micky!

Micky was diagnosed with diabetes on May 30th of this year. He is almost 11 years old, and has been on almost the same 'low-no carb' diet for several years now, with the occasional slip up from Mom leaving bread or butter out.

Admittedly, his diagnosis was actually better than what I had thought he had going on (one of his littermates passed from Feline Leukemia several years back, so I'd assumed the worst). It was still, and still has been a difficult thing to accept into our lives, but we are adjusting!

My Vet started Micky on 2 U of Prozinc a day, 1 U in the morning, 1 U 12 hours later. Fast forward to now, and Micky is on 6 U (3 U x 2) a day, and only eats Weruva and Dave's wet foods, that, if not mistaken, all fall on the 'Approved Foods List.

Admittedly, I have not done as due dillegence as I could regarding his situation (the amount of information becomes very overwhelming, quite quickly), but what I have gathered here is that most veteranarians don't know as much about diabetes as they should, and that concerns me. I have also learned that I have a lot to learn.

Micky and I are doing his second home Glucose Curve and I am hoping we don't increase his dosage yet again, however all I want is what is best for my 'Used To Be Chonky' boy.

Please feel free to share any advice regarding anything mentioned above, or just pop in to say hey!

Thank you all for gathering together to create a community where we all can learn how to better care for our 'sugar babies'.
 
Hi and welcome to you and Micky. Would you like to tell us your name?

It sounds as if you are hometesting the blood glucose. Is that correct?
Can you tell us what type of meter you are using please?
It would be very helpful if you could set up a spreadsheet and add all the data you have into it. Then we can have a look and see how we can help
HERE is a link that contains the link to the spreadsheet and also the signature if you could also set that up to tell us about Micky please. It also has the link to how to set up a hypo kit which is most important.

How did you reach the 3 units twice a day? We recommend only going up in 1/4 unit increments at a time.

Here is a link to PROZINC BASICS

Here is a link to the PROZINC DOSING METHOD
Please ask lots of questions, we are happy to help.
Bron
 
@Bron and Sheba (GA) @JanetNJ

Haylee started a thread in the Prozinc ISG too
New To Group - Lots of Questions

I won't be around this morning but part of her post inserted below concerns me. Copying to this thread to get more eyes on it.

Which brings me to my first question/concern: Micky's numbers were in the low 80s this morning and (I think against my better judgement) I gave him his shot, which makes me fear he will continue to drop today. His next test is within the half hour, so I'll be watching his numbers as well as him. But in the event that his numbers get too low, what should I do?

I test currently with an AlphaTrak 2, as that's what the vet recommended before I put some research into it. She did mention to me last curve that numbers below 100 are concerning, so 80 is kind of scaring me.
 
Oops! I supposed that would be nice to know my name is Haylee. I have Micky, my sugar baby, and his adopted brother Anubis, as well as two big ole Huskies, Izzy and Lena.

Currently I am using an AlphaTrak 2, per recommendation of my vet, but I will be purchasing a Relion Prime (I believe is the highly FDMB recommended one) in the very near future.

I plan to start a spreadsheet today, so thank you very much for sharing the link. I will also get a hypo kit together for us.

Micky started his insulin I believe the first week of June, and vet started him at 1 U, twice a day (2 U/day).

She wanted him in-clinic for the first glucose curve, but my boy is a stubborn one and wouldn't allow them to do his tests. A couple days later, I went in for a fructosamine (I hope I spelled that right) test, and determined she wanted to up his dosage to 2 U, twice a day (4 U/day).

14 days later was our first glucose curve at home, and admittedly it was probably more stressful than it needed to be on both Micky and I, but she took the results (numbers in the mid 400s, if I remember correctly) and upped him once more to 3 U, twice a day (6 U/day).

I have recently really began to dive in on the resources available to me, and I don't want to discredit anyone (i.e my vet), but I worry we've gone up much too fast with his dosage.

My vet seems to be a pretty nice lady, but I worry (just like with doctors, sometimes) about putting 100% faith into her. How do I discuss 'taking things into my own hands' with her? Is a more at home approach something that most vets work with?
 
That number was concerning to me as well. His second test at 6 this morning was at 106, which was low, but slightly less concerning to me, I think.
 
Hi Haylee,
@Shelley & Jess has just posted and said you posted on the Prozinc page and said you gave insulin this morning when the preshot was low 80s. Is that correct?
How much insulin did you give?
Can you please get a +1 or if it is later than 1 hour past the shot, test now as we need to know if the BG is dropping .
 
I am not sure what +1 means quite yet, my apologies. But I gave his 3 U shot 4am, tested again at 6 am and his reading was 106. His next test is at 8 am, I will share his results.

He's been snuggled up next to me all morning, so I've been keeping a close eye on him.
 
Haylee and Micky said:
I am not sure what +1 means quite yet, my apologies. But I gave his 3 U shot 4am, tested again at 6 am and his reading was 106. His next test is at 8 am, I will share his results.

He's been snuggled up next to me all morning, so I've been keeping a close eye on him.
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Haylee, would you mind testing him now please? I am concerned he may be dropping low because he had 3 units when the BG was only In the 80s on the alphatrak meter. When you give insulin when the BG is low, especially the first few times, it is important that the BG is tested early in the cycle to see it is not dropping too much. Thanks:)
 
Haylee and Micky said:
His test read at 65. Going back to the hypo guide. Will update.
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@Haylee and Micky
Haylee, please give some high carb food or /and a drop of honey or karo now .
65 is very low on the alphatrak meter and we need to bring his BG up over 68. As it is early in the cycle, we need to bring the BG up to around 100 on the alphmeter.
Please press the like button so I know you have seen the post.
 
You will need to reduce the dose after getting the 65. I will tag @JanetNJ as she is a Prozinc user.
Can you tell me please Haylee when the 75 was please? Was it +3?
Also are you able to set up the spreadsheet or do you need some help with that?
Have you given the high carb food and honey/Karo?
 
Hi again. I was I'll prepared for this situation, and had to run around quick to get what I needed.

I fed Micky a can of Gravy Lovers FF, and a drop of honey and retested 20 minutes later - it read 78.

I will test again in a half hour to make sure we're still moving up.

I might be skipping insulin this evening depending on what his numbers look like. And going forward, I'm going to give him 2.5 U insulin a dose.

Thank you for your help this morning. Having this information really helped me avoid panicked feelings.
 
Micky has been his normal self today, despite his numbers being low so I ran and got the supplies I needed, and it looks like we are on the rise.

My apolgies for any worry I might have caused! Unlucky things (usually caused by my own hand ) are a common occurrence for me. Thank you for your patience and help.
 
Thank you for replying. We do worry if we don’t hear back especially if the BGs are low.
Depending on how far along the cycle you are, you will need to keep testing as the high carb and honey will wear off and he could drop again.
Cats can look normal when they are very low and suddenly they can get hypo symptoms so please don’t just go on how he looks. Keep testing.
If you are using an alphatrak meter, the take action BG is 68 and under that you need to give HC and maybe honey. Then test again 20 minutes later to see it is going back up again.

Yes you definitely need to reduce the dose. If you get a BG preshot under 200 on Prozinc I would stall, don’t feed and test again in 20 minutes to see if the BG is going up. And post and ask for advice. Hopefully @JanetNJ will be along soon and can advise you Re the dose of Prozinc. I do not use Prozinc.
I am heading to bed as I live in Australia and it is very late but I have asked a couple of people to look in on you. ‘
 
Haylee and Micky said:
I am not sure what +1 means quite yet, my apologies. But I gave his 3 U shot 4am, tested again at 6 am and his reading was 106. His next test is at 8 am, I will share his results.

He's been snuggled up next to me all morning, so I've been keeping a close eye on him.
Click to expand...
+1 means reading taken one hour after his insulin dose. So +4 is four hours after the dose, etc.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Thank you for replying. We do worry if we don’t hear back especially if the BGs are low.
Depending on how far along the cycle you are, you will need to keep testing as the high carb and honey will wear off and he could drop again.
Cats can look normal when they are very low and suddenly they can get hypo symptoms so please don’t just go on how he looks. Keep testing.
If you are using an alphatrak meter, the take action BG is 68 and under that you need to give HC and maybe honey. Then test again 20 minutes later to see it is going back up again.

Yes you definitely need to reduce the dose. If you get a BG preshot under 200 on Prozinc I would stall, don’t feed and test again in 20 minutes to see if the BG is going up. And post and ask for advice. Hopefully @JanetNJ will be along soon and can advise you Re the dose of Prozinc. I do not use Prozinc.
I am heading to bed as I live in Australia and it is very late but I have asked a couple of people to look in on you. ‘
Click to expand...

Pleasant dreams!
Thank you so much! I tested 20 mins after HC food. And it was back up to 78. Half hour later (10am) it was at 137. I am going to continue testing every half hour to make sure his levels don't drop.

I believe what you are saying makes sense. If this evening his preshot is below 200, I should wait an additional 20 minutes and retest to make sure his levels are going up before giving 2.5 U of Insulin?

Later today I am going to be grabbing a Relion Prime, so I'll need to find the correct numbers for that as well.
 
Haylee and Micky said:
wait an additional 20 minutes and retest to make sure his levels are going up
Click to expand...
Wait 20 minutes DO NOT FEED and post here with that number. Reason being, he could be going up, but still be low enough for 2.5U to be dangerous.


When in doubt, ask the Forum or your vet for advice BEFORE dosing your cat.
  • The proper sequence for dosing insulin is: Test/Feed/Shoot. In the beginning, if your cat’s BG is not up to at least 200 mg/dL {11 mmol/L}, if your schedule allows, you can stall (without feeding) for 20+minutes, then retest the BG. You are looking for a number that is rising, not falling and up to 200 mg/dL {11 mmol/L}. If you stall once, but can’t do another round of stalling and your cat hasn’t reached a BG of 200 mg/dL {11 mmol/L}, you’ll need to skip the dose and wait until the next cycle. NOTE: Because pet-specific meters (such as the AlphaTrak2) often read higher than human meters, you may want to adjust the NO-SHOOT number to 225 mg/dL {12.5 mmol/L} or even 250 mg/dL {14 mmol/L} This gives you an added margin of safety when using an AlphaTrak2 or other pet-specific meter.
  • IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not feed your cat within the two-hour window right before the scheduled dose time; doing this can raise your cat’s blood significantly, giving you a higher BG number based on food. This could result in your giving insulin when you should not, or giving more insulin than you should.
 
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