Just a little nervous..

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Jeanne & Dottie

Jeanne & Dottie

Member Since 2016
Quick question: I am about ready to go to bed. I gave Dottie 1 unit of PZI (100u/ml) exactly 7 hours ago, after testing her BG and getting a reading of 291, 15 minutes before. Her shots are BID so her next shot is in 5 hours.

Now it's 7am here, and I just tested her to see where she's at, and she's at a BG of 95. I just fed her a little FF..should she be ok for about five hours so I can get some sleep, or would you want me to wake in two hours to see where she's at? Nervous mom here. I need sleep but I also need a live cat.

Since she dropped from 291 to 95 in the space of 7 hours, and she's just eaten a tiny bit..oh about a quarter ounce..she's a grazer.

Her next shot, of 1 unit PZI (100u/ml) is due in 5 hours. So can I manage 5 hours sleep or should I stay up and keep testing since I just restarted her on her insulin 7 hours ago...well 7 and a half.
 
Addendum: I think I might have discovered the answer to my own question. Apologies for the panic attack, folks. I see that PZI usually bottoms out in effectiveness at about 7 hours. So I'm going to test one more time and if Dottie's BG looks good, I'm going to bed.

Again, sorry for the panic attack. I just want to get some sleep:pNitey Nite..
 
Well, I tested again and she'd dropped to 75, in spite of eating a little, so I grabbed a higher carb food, FF Delights, and let her have a few bites..she wolfed it down. Will test again in a few. Geeze, this was only 1 unit of PZI. What the hey...I don't need sleep.
 
Sleep often becomes a wishful thought when starting off with a diabetic cat :)

The numbers you are getting are still within a safe range and even though she has dropped a little further it is still safe. I am not familiar with PZI but I believe the nadir (lowest number) can vary the same as with some other long acting insulins. Also the nadir may not always be at the same time.

You could try posting on the PZI forum. There are some long time people there who can offer more suggestions for dosing etc. This is the link to the PZI forum:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/prozinc-pzi.24/

Also, especially since you are new to treating diabetes, it would be most helpful to get a spreadsheet started. If you need help just post...I oersonally am useless with setting up a S/S but there are many others who can help if you have problems.


Akso to get more attention you can add the "?" icon to your title, from the drop down box
 
Aha, thanks, Tuxedo Mom. I didn't know that. I'm still waiting to test again...

I did go into the PZI forum to snoop around....did some more reading and found that sometimes this insulin can be a bit more persistant,:nailbiting: lasting 9 hours. Hopefully after the last tidbit of FFDelights, she's on her way back up. She's going to be mad when she doesn't get any more of it, tomorrow, though.

I'll just learn to sleep in three hour shifts, LOL. :cat:Done it before, will do it again. I'll be glad when I'm an old hand.
 
Those are safe numbers, Jeanne, but I understand your nervousness. You don't want her to drop below 50 or so. If she is headed back up, you should be able to get some sleep. Maybe leave out some regular food and have her in the room with you?

It is lovely (though, for you, a little nerve wracking) that she is getting such nice numbers on one unit. What a change!
 
Yes Mam! I think I might be beginning to understand a bit now. I am going to put out some food, but I have to watch Gizmo who will scarf it if he wakes. He hasn't been asleep for hours though and he just nodded off, so I think I'm safe.

She sleeps right next to me, in her little round bed. I can reach out and touch her. I can touch them both. Just in case, I'll sleep a little, wake a little. G'nite for real!
 
Glad she is doing well. Just checking though - are you giving shots every 24 hours or every 12 hours?
 
hi--
I used pro zinc and for us it lasted about 8 hours but every cat is different…. Data was the only thing that has begun to give me some sanity… knowing his cycles and responses (unless of course it changes LOL) good luck! try to get some rest...
 
Sorry I haven't been able to answer questions. We're due for a big snowstorm here and we had some shopping to do. I've been so busy with Dottie I have fallen behind in my everyday routine.

Dottie's BG was too low for me to give her her noon shot. Looks like, at least for a while, she'll be on 1 unit of PZI per day. I am testing every three or four hours to keep an eye on her BG. Sorry to not have the spreadsheet up, but I am working with Chris on it. I have multiple physical issues as to why I'm such a slowpoke, but without a long dreary explanation, it will sound like I'm whining and I don't want to do that. I am keeping track in my own way, so at least I know where she is. It is the grid pattern, design and color system on the spreadsheet that is hard for me. I don't visually see things the way most people do, and make heavy use of a speech to text and audible 'readback' to function on message boards. Hard to explain. I can manage to use Dottie's syringes only because the area of line markings is very narrow, and there are only a couple of numbers on the barrel to deal with.

Jayla, it looks like Prozinc takes about 9 hours to bottom out with Dottie. I will know more when she goes through her next shot.
 
Ok it's Protamine Zinc Insulin. That's what it says on the bottle.

And while you all will look at your spreadsheets and see something linear, after many days of tracking, I will actually see Dottie's numbers as a landscape in my mind. Like I'm standing in the middle of a mountain range.
 
Jeanne Skadowski said:
Sorry I haven't been able to answer questions. We're due for a big snowstorm here and we had some shopping to do. I've been so busy with Dottie I have fallen behind in my everyday routine.

Dottie's BG was too low for me to give her her noon shot. Looks like, at least for a while, she'll be on 1 unit of PZI per day. I am testing every three or four hours to keep an eye on her BG. Sorry to not have the spreadsheet up, but I am working with Chris on it. I have multiple physical issues as to why I'm such a slowpoke, but without a long dreary explanation, it will sound like I'm whining and I don't want to do that. I am keeping track in my own way, so at least I know where she is. It is the grid pattern, design and color system on the spreadsheet that is hard for me. I don't visually see things the way most people do, and make heavy use of a speech to text and audible 'readback' to function on message boards. Hard to explain. I can manage to use Dottie's syringes only because the area of line markings is very narrow, and there are only a couple of numbers on the barrel to deal with.

Jayla, it looks like Prozinc takes about 9 hours to bottom out with Dottie. I will know more when she goes through her next shot.
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I have aspergers myself and trying to understand everything had my mind like mush for awhile.i had to take breaks and come back or it wouldn't sink in.was too full of info for awhile lol.im still trying my best to figure things out but what is important is you are taking care of your fur baby the best that you can.it don't hurt to let people know your story as well cause another person with same problems might read your post and think"hey if she can take care of her diabetic cat with (disability or other issues)so can I!"can give a person a new hope and out look in their time of need.:)
 
I feel sooo lucky to be in such good company! My girl's going to be ok, thanks to you all.

Tonight Dottie ended up with a furshot. Dang it. I thought the needle was perfectly placed but she squeaked, and I immediately realized that something was wrong: Grrr:banghead: Her next shot will be at noon.

Silver lining though... I will have a chance to catch up on sleep tonight.
 
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