Need Injection Advice

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Mewsette2001

Member Since 2014
Hello to anyone online now. My name is Susan and I am new to this since Monday and need injection advice. I will need to inject my cat Mewsette in 2 hours. She is on Prozinc. Her first injection was this Monday 6/23/14 at 12:30 PM. Here is some history that will help you to advise me how many units to inject in 2 hours after I test her:

Diagnosed at vet late March and her level was 568. Since the next day, and until 2 days ago, was trying to regulate it with food (95% raw) after doing much research online. It seemed to be working great and planned to get her in for a vet retest in a few months to see what her levels would have been (which would have been this month). The day she was diagnosed, I researched FD and found out dry was the worst thing which is most of what she ate, though high quality. The next day, on March 24th, I switched her to raw diet (Rad Cat). Noticed that with the raw diet she absolutely loved it and she would turn her nose up at the dry and never ate it so I kept it around just in case she needed it, being diabetic and not on insulin. I had been working from home for months so I was able to hawkeye her and make sure she was feeling good and no bad symptoms and monitor her intake of dry by watching her and measuring it. She ate very little, and only during the night. I didn't know about home testing then so I don't know what her levels were, and the new raw diet was making a great difference for some of her symptoms. However, last week I noticed neuropathy in her legs and at that moment I knew I needed to get her on insulin. I had joined a Facebook forum and got injection advice there Monday and yesterday (while this board was down). All dry food has been removed since yesterday morning 5 AM. I got rid of her canned which was high carb Rx Science Diet R/D which she had available late at night and overnight. About 2 tablespoonfuls per night. Instead, last night I fed her, per advice on the Facebook page, Wellness Grain Free canned food and she had it available last night. Today she has had only raw meat from very early this morning.

Her numbers. Complete history:

Monday 6/23 12:30 PM - 578 - 1 unit of ProZinc given. First injection ever.
Monday night 6/23 - per advice, skipped in order to get into a 12/12 schedule
Tuesday 6/24 9:45 AM - 468 - 1 unit given
Tuesday 6/24 +6 test - 167
Tuesday 6/24 9:45 PM - 334 - 1 unit given
Wednesday (TODAY) 9:45 AM - 405 1 unit given
Wednesday (TODAY) +7 test - 244

Will anyong be around in 2 hours when I need to inject? I really need advice. Very new to this. Thank you!

That is her full history. Will anyone be around in 2 hours to advise injection amount based on test?
 
Can you post on the pzi board and see if they can advise? I will PM a few people too qnd see if they can advise.

First I would not shoot at all if she is under 150. Will you be able to get up in the night to test? If not , again I would not shoot or shoot a lower dose.
 
She will not be under 150 tonight. The only one that was nearly that low was a +6 test. I read something on her about not going to the PZI board at first, until you're invited, and to post here first. This is my first time on this site. I can try to find the PZI board. Thank you for PMing some people. I have to leave for an hour and will be back to pretest her and get back on here for advice. If I don't see anyone on here, I will go the the PZI board and cut and paste my previous message. Thank you!
 
Unfortunately, I don't use that insulin, so no dose advice from me. When you have time, could you set up a spreadsheet to help track Mewsette's numbers? You can put a link to it in your signature and it is a great tool to for advisors to reference quickly so they can give the correct advice. Here's the instructions:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207

Hope you get some good advice for your kitty soon.
 
Hey Susan! Glad you made it over here!

It's important for you to get that spreadsheet up and running. You're already home testing (GREAT!) and getting on the low carb food too (GREAT!) and having the spreadsheet is the 3rd really valuable tool so people can help you!

Here's another site it might be easier for you to follow on setting it up Getting a spreadsheet and sharing

Once you have that up and put those tests you already have into it, it'll be so much easier for everyone to help you!

Also, if you'd go ahead and fill out your signature line, it'll keep us from having to ask the same questions over and over again.
Go to the User Control Panel at the top left side of the page. Click to open.
Go to "Profile", then "Edit Signature"
In the little box that pops up, put your name/cats name
date of diagnosis
type of insulin
type of meter
what type of food
any other health problems?
and when you get the address for your spreadsheet, you'd add the link to that too by "copying" the address from your spreadsheet, then use the URL tab along the top and then "paste" the address in between the YOUR LINK HERE[url] Once you've go...ver to the appropriate insulin support group.
 
Hi Susan and Welcome,

Here is the PZI protocol. It may give you some guidance for dosing.


http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=109077

I would stick with the one unit unless you get a preshot number under 200 or a midcycle number under 40. It will take awhile for her body to adjust to the insulin and diet change, so she may continue to lower on the same dose. If the preshot is under 200, wait 20 minutes without feeding and retest. You want to be sure the number is rising and near 200. Once you get some data and see how she is doing, you can shoot under 200.

The dose is based on the preshot number and midcycle number (the lowest point of the cycle usually 5-7 hours after the shot). If the preshot number is under 200 or the midcycle is under 40, it is time to reduce the dose. A regulated cat is generally considered to be in the low 200s at preshot and in double digits at midcycle, but not below 40.

You definitely can post on the PZI forum where everyone has experience with your insulin. We can help you get your spreadsheet set up.
 
I would stick with one unit. It may take awhile for her body to adjust. In a couple cycles, if the preshots remain in the 300s and the midcycle doesn't drop much, you could up it to 1.25
 
It is confusing to me that her numbers all day today are up from her numbers all day yesterday. Any insight?

I will give her the 1 unit now.

Thank you.
 
And I have to go as I am not feeling well. I have been so busy (work) and frantic in the past several days that I haven't been able to even breathe and keeping long hours. I will be back here tomorrow. Thank you for all the help.
 
I think it is too early to draw any conclusions. She was high this am but she was more than 12 hours without a shot, so not unexpected. She went down more than 50% at midcycle today which is certainly a good drop. Just consider these early days as gathering data and giving her time to settle in.
 
Can anyone tell me if I can feed Mewsette 100% meat 30 minutes before her her pretest for insulin? She is starving and she was last fed (purposefully) what would be 2 hrs before her test time which should be in 30 minutes. If it is 100% raw meat (that I mixed myself) then it shouldn't affect her test numbers, correct? So it should be okay?

Also, I haven't read the posts after I logged off last night as I just logged on here (yay, it recognized my username today!), but will do so soon.

Thanks!
 
What is her number? It would be okay to shoot a little early, if she is above 200. I think any food impacts the number but for most cats it takes 20 minutes or so. So you could test, feed and then shoot - as long as the number is high enough.

To see all the posts, start at the top and choose "unread posts" so you get any you missed.
 
Thank you Chris for the spreadsheet! I have been insanely busy and frantic with work since I started testing and injecting her on Monday, and this was down all day Tuesday. I registered on Monday here, but yesterday AM it wouldn't recognize my user name and getting that fixed is apparently takes a long time. So, yesterday evening I registered again and used the same user name and when I logged in this time it recognized it! I wlll be working and coming home intermittently to test Mewsette and then back out again so I won't be able to do anything with the spread sheet until Saturday.
 
Hi Sue,

I don't know what her number is because it's too early to test. However, she has stopped insisting and went to lie in the sun. What a good girl!
 
Well, that's good. It isn't often cats get their minds off food. :mrgreen:

The usual plan is test, feed and shoot. (Shooting while her head is deep into the food is fine too). You want no food 2 hours before the test so the test is not food influenced (food generally raises bg levels.). A automatic feeder is great for this, if you want her to have several small meals. You set it for when you want her to eat and then set it to move to an empty slot 2 hours before testing time.
 
Help!!! Her ears will NOT bleed!!! I stuck her 7 times. Yes I am warming the ear. Yes I am in the sweet spot! I have gotten blood each and every time I have tried previously, even the very first test I ever did earlier this week (Monday). I finally just gave her her food. She was getting upset. I think it would be fine to just five her 1 unit right now and test later, correct?
 
The one unit should be okay, but it is a little nerve wracking because she is new to insulin and lower carb food. If you are worried, you could give her .5. She might run higher but higher is always better than lower. Or give one unit and plan to check at +3 and +6 to make sure she is doing okay with numbers.

You can always double poke - a quick second poke in the same spot as the first. And you can try milking the ear - moving the blood down the capillaries toward the spot you poked. Or aim for the vein if you really need a number. You'll probably get more blood than you want, but get the test and then hold the ear for a few seconds to help with bruising. You can also get the blood on your fingernail and test from there. The vein isn't ideal but will work in a pinch.
 
Sue, she is not at all new to low carb. She has been on 99% raw meat (zero carb) diet since late March. Her dry was only overnight if she needed it. I measured it and it was almost nothing she was eating over night. She has enough of a history that I am comfortable giving her 1 unit. The range you gave me (or someone gave me) on here last night is so vast and she has always tested well within it to give her 1 unit. I have to leave and get back to work now and will probably not be able to get back here for a + test. Is there something I can get for the pain to put on her ear before testing? She is now feeling it and it hurts her. Neosporin w/pain relief? Also, I have been injecting without putting anything on the injection site to sterilize beforehand. Is that ok? None of the videos I watched showed them putting anything on either.

I do massage the ears, milk the ears, etc. I didn't know I could aim at a vein as I have read not to. I will try again later. Thank you for your insight!
 
Yes, Neosporin with pain relief is good to put on the ears. You can put it on before poking - a thin smear shouldn't interfere with the test - and it helps the blood bead up. And then after poking also. You don't need to put any sterlizing agent on before.

I am sure she will be fine on one unit.
 
Just make sure it's the Neosporin with pain relief ointment, not the cream. The ointment helps the blood bead up...the cream just soaks in

You can dab a little on about 10 minutes before poke time to let it get working, and then wipe enough off so you're not going to gunk up your test strip with Neosporin

It's important that after about 3 tries you walk away for a few minutes. As you get more stressed, your cat will feel that stress and get more upset too. It's better to just walk away, calm yourself down, take some deep breaths and try again in a few minutes.
 
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