Is Dusty's numbers too high?

[Tom Shooter]

Dusty started on insulin Jan 2nd 1 unit twice a day.
His number then was 455 and he was put on a low card wet food diet.
Since he started his readings are in the low 300's as well as high 200's. Lowest reading I got was 246 4 hours after needle which I am told is the best time for a low reading.

When I talked to the Vet he said he was very happy with Dusty's progress and to keep him on 1 unit twice a day.

I have noticed that his weight has stabilized and he seems to be going to the washroom less as well as having decreased thirst (which I understand are all good signs). He has even started playing again with the other cats (or us).

My question is should I be happy with the number (after 3 weeks of treatment) as the vet suggests or does it need to come down more quickly. I should add I am boarding him at the vet next week while we go on vacation (booked before we knew he was sick) so I am thinking they will maybe increase the dose while they have the ability to monitor him. Does that make sense?

 

[FurBabiesMama]

Hi. 4 hours after his shot is probably not the lowest point in the cycle. Without doing a curve (testing every two hours for 12 hours from pre-shot to pre-shot) or having more mid-cycle testing data to go on, it is hard to say for sure when his lowest point occurs, but hopefully, it is somewhere closer to mid-cycle, 6 hours after the shot. I know that with Mia, she can drop a considerable amount between +4 and +6. Sometimes, she even has her lowest point later than that. So, it is possible he has been going lower than you realize. IF 246 was the lowest he was going each cycle, I would say a dose increase is in order. It is great that the clinical symptoms have lessened (I love that you refer to a cat 'going to the washroom'. ). That tends to be all that a lot of vets care about, but if your goal is set a bit higher than that.. maybe even remission at some point, then you want to do better than 246. I think you need more data to really understand the full impact of the current dose and make any decisions about a change.

Could you set up a spreadsheet to enter the testing results you have? That would be very helpful to you and to everyone here when you ask about dosing advice. Here is the link about setting it up: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/