Is needing more insulin than before normal?

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April & Quincy

April & Quincy

Member Since 2019
I'm just worried, as I've posted before, about Quincy's rising numbers. We were doing so good and then all of a sudden his numbers have been higher. We were resting in the low to mid 100's for months and then poof! He's rising.

He did have an overgrowth of ear wax and yeast which the vet gave some ear wash which then all of a sudden he got diarrhea. We then stopped the ear wash but I have recently started it up again as I can still see dark wax.

I'm not sure if the two were related (diarrhea and ear wash) but it seemed awful coincidental if they weren't. The vet then gave him a probiotic for the diarrhea which has worked miracles. But since then his numbers haven't really gotten better, some dips back into the 100's at the 6 hour mark but AMPS and PMPS have been high. I upped his insulin dose to .5 and today I'm upping it again to .75. Could more be going on or is this just a thing that happens sometimes? Where for awhile they're regulated really well and then all of a sudden they're not? Is that a thing? I'm freaking out a little. Thanks in advance everyone!
 
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Sans any infection going on, yes I have seen cats that are regulated needing more insulin. Sometimes it brings them back down sometimes not.
I am NO dosing expert so wait for more replies. Sure is an impressive spreadsheet.
 
jt and trouble (GA) said:
Sans any infection going on, yes I have seen cats that are regulated needing more insulin. Sometimes it brings them back down sometimes not.
I am NO dosing expert so wait for more replies. Sure is an impressive spreadsheet.
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Haha impressive is right. It's one big rainbow! I'd like to go back to some consistency. But it's good to know that some cats that are regulated sometimes need more insulin. I hope it brings him back down!
 
I would say if a cat has been well regulated and he hasnt gotten into any contraband and his numbers suddenly rise and stay elevated, its a good bet its teeth. NOT in every instance but yeah:oops:
 
jt and trouble (GA) said:
I would say if a cat has been well regulated and he hasnt gotten into any contraband and his numbers suddenly rise and stay elevated, its a good bet its teeth. NOT in every instance but yeah:oops:
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Oh brother. :( :( x100. I don't have money for a dental issue right now. I guess I'll keep an eye on it and if they keep going up or even stay the same I know I'm gonna have to take him in at some point. Thanks for your advice. :)
 
jt and trouble (GA) said:
I guess it never hurts to prepare in case of emergencies. I couldnt afford a dental either. :(
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I guess another question is, thought I hate to even ask it, is what if I DON'T take him in for a dental because I can't afford it? What's the worst that could happen? I don't mean that flippantly at all; I really want to know what could happen. I don't want him to be in any pain or not eat but if worse comes to worst and it's just not in the cards, at least not for quite some time, what could happen to my sweet baby?
 
Well sometimes nothing...but not eating means you cant shoot insulin... he could develop ketones... I'm in a little over my head so let me tag someone with more knowledge . hold on
 
I think he bounced ,cleared it and now is back with a green nadir. He doesn’t need an increase. He might bounce again. He actually earned a reduction for a bg under 90 since you follow SLGS. Back to .50.

I can’t answer your other question.
 
tiffmaxee said:
I think he bounced ,cleared it and now is back with a green nadir. He doesn’t need an increase. He might bounce again. He actually earned a reduction for a bg under 90 since you follow SLGS. Back to .50.

I can’t answer your other question.
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I've already increased twice. He was at. 25 (sorry, phone is sucking). So he may have earned one today but he was steady at. 25 so I'd like to know what happened that I had to increase at all.
 
jt and trouble (GA) said:
.but not eating means you cant shoot insulin
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Not true - not eating means you might have to syringe feed or give a smaller dose, insulin does more than work against the carbs in food. Cats undergoing anaesthesia who cannot eat can still get half a dose.

As for possible dental needed, have you tried cleaning his teeth yourself? A gentle rub along the teeth with damp gauze or baby face cloth. If you can get rid of tartar it might help.

As for cats suddenly needing to go up in dose, totally common. Just give the cat the insulin they need. Don't fixate on the dose but rather the blood sugar numbers. And Elise might be onto something. It's always good to put notes in the Remarks section if you ever change food, add medications, get a new Lantus pen, etc. That can help you track the reason for the numbers to be changing.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Not true - not eating means you might have to syringe feed or give a smaller dose, insulin does more than work against the carbs in food. Cats undergoing anaesthesia who cannot eat can still get half a dose.

As for possible dental needed, have you tried cleaning his teeth yourself? A gentle rub along the teeth with damp gauze or baby face cloth. If you can get rid of tartar it might help.

As for cats suddenly needing to go up in dose, totally common. Just give the cat the insulin they need. Don't fixate on the dose but rather the blood sugar numbers. And Elise might be onto something. It's always good to put notes in the Remarks section if you ever change food, add medications, get a new Lantus pen, etc. That can help you track the reason for the numbers to be changing.
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Thanks for this! I have never tried doing his teeth but I think he'd be up for it . He's very docile.

As for fixating on the dose ... Yes , that's what I've done . :( but you're right, I should focus on the BG numbers. I guess I just don't understand why they suddenly went up. Why?!

In the future I'll definitely use the remarks section. In fact , I totally forgot it was there!
 
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