jssaustintx
Member Since 2012
Hello my new found relaxed friends! OK, confession, it's my first post, but George was diagnosed in April and we have been HTing and curvin' for awhile. The problem is, he's unregulated and I'm at my wits end. Here's a summary (though I fear it will be a long one):
George is 13ish and currently about 12.5 lbs (down from 14 at Dx). We started at 1u BID (Lantus) and continued to increase dose in 1-2 week increments. At 3 units he went down to 60 at 6hrs (human gluc) so my vet had me stop insulin and watch. As his BG started to climb over the next couple of days I started to administer insulin if over 150. I was leaving town for a week so the dose the vet and I determined for that week was 1 u a day (BF administered). When I returned, George was at 450.
So we started over. 1u BID (1 week), 2 u BID (1 weeks), 3 u BID (1 week), 4 u BID (1-2 weeks). All BG in the 400-600 range! Maybe a 350 here or there. My vet suspected insulin resistance and after a negative urinalysis and ok blood work, recommended an ultrasound. So we went to the INTERNIST: mild pancreatitis perhaps, but nothing exciting (whew!) She recommended Fancy Feast LC foods (we now use Tender Beef since its one of the lower fat LC and non-fish options) and increasing to 5 u BID with close monitoring. Wow, that was an expensive trip for a food change and 1 more u.
The good news: its working! We have had many healthy BG readings (100-200). The bad news: we have had many elevated BG readings (250- 375, but thankfully nothing over that). So my dilemma now is that I am in this pattern of ALWAYS testing before dosing and determining his dose based on the test. I don't think that's necessarily right. My goal is to get to occasional testing, few times per week and having a CONSISTENT dose. This can't be good for either one of us!
Last night, perfect example, BG 100 (which is recent that he is that low, before yesterday 150 was his lowest). I didn't give him any insulin. This morning 365. Granted, my BF had fed him an 1 1/2 hours before I tested (guilty, caught me sleeping in on a Sunday. BF will give insulin, but doesn't HT and he knew about last nights low BG), but that still seems awfully high. So what- all 5 u? 4u? I haven't consistently given 5u since the first week at that dose because George started to respond almost immediately and I was presented with 150-200 BG and afraid to give the full 5u. Thats how this vicious cycle began. My regular vet hasn't really been too helpful, she supports giving lower dose for lower BGs, but that means I must continue constantly testing and modifying. ( I have a few times been bold and given a full 4-5 u at 200 but still nervous anything under that! That's what got us to 100 last night; that was 10 hrs after insulin and half a can of food half way in.)
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I have my BG log- but don't really know the best way to share, or if any one would be remotely interested. I also can share more about our 'routines'. I will say that when I reduce his dose- he almost always seems to rebound. I have thought about going back to 3u BID and following that U of Queensland (april 2009 article on main page) guide. I don't really understand the change in dose column though. Sorry, I'm not always this wordy, but this is my "Meet George" post so trying to hit all the highlights. If anyone should be kind enough to respond I promise I'll stick to the facts. (He's a one-eyed cutie so I wish I knew how to post photos to hook y'all in to his cause, lol. )
Thanks for listening. jssaustinx
George is 13ish and currently about 12.5 lbs (down from 14 at Dx). We started at 1u BID (Lantus) and continued to increase dose in 1-2 week increments. At 3 units he went down to 60 at 6hrs (human gluc) so my vet had me stop insulin and watch. As his BG started to climb over the next couple of days I started to administer insulin if over 150. I was leaving town for a week so the dose the vet and I determined for that week was 1 u a day (BF administered). When I returned, George was at 450.
So we started over. 1u BID (1 week), 2 u BID (1 weeks), 3 u BID (1 week), 4 u BID (1-2 weeks). All BG in the 400-600 range! Maybe a 350 here or there. My vet suspected insulin resistance and after a negative urinalysis and ok blood work, recommended an ultrasound. So we went to the INTERNIST: mild pancreatitis perhaps, but nothing exciting (whew!) She recommended Fancy Feast LC foods (we now use Tender Beef since its one of the lower fat LC and non-fish options) and increasing to 5 u BID with close monitoring. Wow, that was an expensive trip for a food change and 1 more u.
The good news: its working! We have had many healthy BG readings (100-200). The bad news: we have had many elevated BG readings (250- 375, but thankfully nothing over that). So my dilemma now is that I am in this pattern of ALWAYS testing before dosing and determining his dose based on the test. I don't think that's necessarily right. My goal is to get to occasional testing, few times per week and having a CONSISTENT dose. This can't be good for either one of us!
Last night, perfect example, BG 100 (which is recent that he is that low, before yesterday 150 was his lowest). I didn't give him any insulin. This morning 365. Granted, my BF had fed him an 1 1/2 hours before I tested (guilty, caught me sleeping in on a Sunday. BF will give insulin, but doesn't HT and he knew about last nights low BG), but that still seems awfully high. So what- all 5 u? 4u? I haven't consistently given 5u since the first week at that dose because George started to respond almost immediately and I was presented with 150-200 BG and afraid to give the full 5u. Thats how this vicious cycle began. My regular vet hasn't really been too helpful, she supports giving lower dose for lower BGs, but that means I must continue constantly testing and modifying. ( I have a few times been bold and given a full 4-5 u at 200 but still nervous anything under that! That's what got us to 100 last night; that was 10 hrs after insulin and half a can of food half way in.)
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I have my BG log- but don't really know the best way to share, or if any one would be remotely interested. I also can share more about our 'routines'. I will say that when I reduce his dose- he almost always seems to rebound. I have thought about going back to 3u BID and following that U of Queensland (april 2009 article on main page) guide. I don't really understand the change in dose column though. Sorry, I'm not always this wordy, but this is my "Meet George" post so trying to hit all the highlights. If anyone should be kind enough to respond I promise I'll stick to the facts. (He's a one-eyed cutie so I wish I knew how to post photos to hook y'all in to his cause, lol. )
Thanks for listening. jssaustinx
