Looking For Advice

R

Rwilkinson

New Member
Hello first time poster.

Mumford (10 year old male) has been diabetic for 2 years. He takes 1.5 units twice daily of Glargine insulin. I’ve been home testing more frequently the last 6 days to get an idea of where’s he’s at. The last few days he’s been testing between 9-13mmol but today before dinner (after 14 hours due to work) he tested at 3.5mmol. I skipped the dose tonight and will test again in a couple hours but he’s showing absolutely no signs of hypoglycaemia.

If he’s still low in the morning, should I be adjusting his dose? Or is this a one off? He was DKA last August and spent some time in the ICU but has been great with no issues since.

He eats diabetic management Purina pro plan (3/4 of a can twice daily).

Appreciate any and all assistance, thanks .
 
The drop to 3.5 likely indicates a dose reduction is needed. We recommend making dose adjustments in increments of 0.25u.

We do need more information, though. Which insulin are you using? Are you using a human glucometer or one specifically for pets or are you using a continuous glucose monitor like a Freestyle Libre?
 
I am using Lantus. I did bring him for a checkup two months ago (blood test) and they noticed he’d been high mmol for a while so they suggested the increase to 1.5 from 1.

I am using the AlphaTrak2.
 
I'd encourage you to take a look at this post on helping us to help you. We encourage caregivers to set up a signature which provides us with information about your cat so we don't keep asking you the same questions. We also encourage setting up a spreadsheet so you can keep track of your cat's blood glucose test data and so we can follow along. With regard to the spreadsheet, there are two versions. One is for those of us based in the US. The other has two pages. Since from your reference to readings in mmol, I'm assuming you're outside of the US. The World template allows you to enter numbers in mmol and it automatically converts the numbers into the format used in the US.

With Lantus, there are two dosing strategies that we follow -- Start Low Go Slow (SLGS) or the Tight Regulation Protocol (TR) The dosing methods are in a sticky note at the top of the Lantus board. There are also other sticky notes that you may find helpful. With SLGS, you reduce doses if the numbers drop below 90. With TR, you reduce the dose if numbers drop below 68 if you're using an AlphaTrack meter.

If you're not already feeding Mumford a low carbohydrate diet, I'd encourage you to do so. We consider low carb as under 10%. Depending on where you live, we have food charts that will be a resource.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
I'd encourage you to take a look at this post on helping us to help you. We encourage caregivers to set up a signature which provides us with information about your cat so we don't keep asking you the same questions. We also encourage setting up a spreadsheet so you can keep track of your cat's blood glucose test data and so we can follow along. With regard to the spreadsheet, there are two versions. One is for those of us based in the US. The other has two pages. Since from your reference to readings in mmol, I'm assuming you're outside of the US. The World template allows you to enter numbers in mmol and it automatically converts the numbers into the format used in the US.

With Lantus, there are two dosing strategies that we follow -- Start Low Go Slow (SLGS) or the Tight Regulation Protocol (TR) The dosing methods are in a sticky note at the top of the Lantus board. There are also other sticky notes that you may find helpful. With SLGS, you reduce doses if the numbers drop below 90. With TR, you reduce the dose if numbers drop below 68 if you're using an AlphaTrack meter.

If you're not already feeding Mumford a low carbohydrate diet, I'd encourage you to do so. We consider low carb as under 10%. Depending on where you live, we have food charts that will be a resource.
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Thanks for the help. I am in Canada.

Mumford’s reading was 17.7 mmol tonight before dinner so I’m keeping him at 1.5 for now and will continue to monitor.

Is there any chance a respiratory issue would cause the readings to fluctuate? I notice he has been sneezing the last few weeks but I do not know if it’s frequent enough to warrant any worries. May just book a vet visit again to be safe.
 
If the sneezing is the result of an upper respiratory infection it could easily have an effect on Mumford's numbers. Any inflammation (and allergies can be an inflammatory process) or infection can cause blood glucose to be elevated. The sneezing may not be anything to worry about but I'd vote for getting it checked out. If you notice any "colorful" (think greenish) mucus when your kitty sneezes, he likely has a URI and needs an antibotic.
 
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