? Need Assistance ASAP! 150 ish-

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Outcast

Outcast

Member Since 2016
AS some of you all know me...I have a 17yr old calico diagnosed on new years eve 2015. She is on Vetsulin and her numbers in the beginning when diagnosed was 499 BG and Fructosamine was around 600. Her numbers have dropped significantly since being on 1 unit twice daily. Testing prior has indicated that her numbers are around 150ish to 160 pre shot. A few days back I did give her 1/2 unit and tested a few hours later and she was 63. Yes, still technically in range, but she was sluggish, did not want to really engage at all. This was even with FOOD! yes, she was eating all though the 2 hours and still she was at 63. Concerned over this, gave her some Karo syrup to bring her up and tested an hour later and at 67. Because of the low drop (Vetsulin does this, hard and fast) I was concerned and tested again at night and she was around 157. I decided to skip a dose. Tested again in the morning and she was 153. Skipped that one...Night, she was around the same and then this morning she was 155. I need to consult with the vet, but I believe that either, her body is stabilizing around 150ish and might need to be on a softer less 'heavy duty' insulin so that her body might be able to regulate just with food. She is on D/M but primarily a wet food (Welness chicken) 1.9% Carb - 4%
 
I think you are wise not to shoot in the 150 range. My guess would be that her pancreas may have revived to some extent and be helping out. You can see if this is the case by testing before eating and then 40 or so minutes later. If the number has dropped instead of risen with food, then it is likely her pancreas is helping out.

With a milder insulin, we might encourage you to give a tiny dose - like a drop of insulin. But I would be reluctant to do that with Vetsulin. Maybe watch carefully and if her numbers ever rise to the 180 range (on your human meter) you might consider giving a drop.

For now, I would continue with the low carb (the lowest of the low carb perhaps) and test regularly. My hope is that she continues to drop on her own.

With a human meter, our general range for remission is 40-120 OFF INSULIN for 2 weeks.
 
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Sue and Oliver (GA) said:
I think you are wise not to shoot in the 150 range. My guess would be that her pancreas may have revived to some extent and be helping out. You can see if this is the case by testing before eating and then 40 or so minutes later. If the number has dropped instead of risen with food, then it is likely her pancreas is helping out.

With a milder insulin, we might encourage you to give a tiny dose - like a drop of insulin. But I would be reluctant to do that with Vetsulin. Maybe watch carefully and if her numbers ever rise to the 180 range, you Ishtar consider giving a drop.

For now, I would continue with the low carb (the lowest of the low carb perhaps) and test regularly. My hope is that she continues to drop on her own.

With a human meter, our general range for remission is 40-120 OFF INSULIN for 2 weeks.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info...I have an Alpha Trak and did test using a 1 Touch Ultra meter and they were 30 points different...The Alpha was 30 points lower...so, I would assume the Alpha is more accurate.
 
Yes, so if the 150 is on your AlphaTrak, it is nearing the upper limits of the remission number.

Could you please add ALphaTrak to your signature if that is the meter you normally use? It's important for us to know that, particularly when we are discussing lower ranges
 
I agree with @Sue and Oliver (GA)
AT is very accurate and with a senior kitty it is especially good to be cautious …
I also agree that vetsulin may be something to reconsider to a more gentle insulin…. I am sure some experts will stop by and offer more insight. It sods like you are on top of the situation :)
 
To all in pain and worry- You can see below that there are successes...I hope these remain and I will test daily to ensure that the numbers keep coming down. There is hope!!

Here it is...2 Days without Insulin!!! Here are her numbers-

1/1/2016 9:05pm (405) 1 Unit 2x Daily
1/6/2015 6:45pm (352) 1 Unit 2x Daily
1/10/2016 7:45am (247) 1 Unit 2x Daily
1/10/2016 7:25pm (207)
1/11/2016 7:15am (282) 1 Unit 2x Daily
1/16/2016 7:25am (163) 1 Unit 2x Daily
1/16/2016 2:00pm (104)
1/16/2016 10:20pm (63) Karo
1/16/2016 11:20pm (67) Karo
1/17/2016 8:00am (160) No Insulin
1/17/2016 7:30pm (157) No Insulin
1/18/2016 7:30am (155) No Insulin
1/18/2016 6:35pm (146) No Insulin

Calling Vet with these numbers tomorrow. Awaiting to hear what suggestions she has.

Thanks
 
Hi Outcast,

The situation you're in with Patches is pretty much identical to what I went through with Saoirse on Caninsulin after the diet change. I considered it far too risky to give even 0.2 units of Caninsulin with a preshot BG any lower than 180/10.0 (Alphatrak) even though I'm at home all the time (disabled). Even with a lot of data, I think it's I think it's safer with Caninsulin/Vetsulin to set a higher no-shoot number and to reduce the dose as soon as nadirs go any lower than 100/5.6 (Alphatrak). It is a harsh insulin in cats and it needs a bigger safety margin, especially when things like the following can happen:

Outcast said:
few days back I did give her 1/2 unit and tested a few hours later and she was 63. Yes, still technically in range, but she was sluggish, did not want to really engage at all.
Click to expand...

This sounds very familiar. Saoirse has had one - and only one - symptomatic hypo since she was diagnosed. It was in the early days of her treatment when she was receiving Caninsulin. I rang the vet before giving insulin that night because I wanted to reduce her dose but the vet told me not to. Wish I'd stuck to my guns: I went to do her before bed +3 test and found her to be extremely lethargic and, although she was awake, she did not respond normally to me calling her name. When I picked her up to do her blood test she was a bit 'floppy'. Her BG level? 4.3mmol/L on Alphatrak. Using the IDEXX UK lab reference range (3.9 - 8.0 mmol/L) Saoirse's BG at face value was above the 'technical' hypo threshold. However if you factor in meter reading variance parameters she may have been just below the threshold. Thankfully I got her numbers up with food, but she was a bit off the following day. Her insulin sensitivity increased, too.

Saoirse didn't get to the remission level on Caninsulin. I had to stop giving it to her for safety reasons but she started drifting back upwards within days of stopping it. I managed to get her switched to Lantus. This enabled me to keep her in safe numbers while prolonging her insulin therapy to allow her pancreatic beta cells to rest and recover capacity for insulin production. Perhaps have a word with your vet about switching Patches to a gentler insulin? If you can keep her in safe numbers toward the lower end of the healthy range it offers the possibility of a strong remission.


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