New all-time low, 245! Yay! & a Question

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ohiogal

ohiogal

Member Since 2012
Hi all,

I tested Casey this morning and gotten the lowest reading I've ever gotten, 245. So yay!

I gave her her 1.5u, and now I'm thinking - what pre-shot number am I shooting for here? It looks like the shot drops her BG about 100ish points, and I have to be at work today - should I worry about her going hypo while I'm gone? Is there a number below which I shouldn't give her a shot at all? Now that the numbers MIGHT be starting to come down, where do I go from here?

Thanks for any advice! Have a great day!
 
Well that is where that Every Cat Is DIfferent comes into play...Usually you are fine to shoot a full dose as long as they are over 200 at preshot which is why we use it as a cut off point for newbies. This is also where testing comes into play, and your own comfort level. Once you know how your cat handles a particular dose you can lower your preshot "no shoot" number. At first it is 200, then it gets dropped to 150 and then some go with 120 -100 others like myself who have months and months of testing under our belt will go to the "shoot low to stay low" Yesterday I went ahead and gave Musette her full dose on a 68, okay that one almost backfired on me, and the only reason I shot that low was because I was going to be with her all day to monitor her. However, if I had to leave her yesterday I would have reduced her dose so I would have known she was going to stay in a safe range albeit higher than she would normally be on a full dose. Ideally you want to find a dose that will keep them in normal numbers (40-120) all day long. As it is in that range that allows the pancreas to heal and start producing insulin again on it's own. That is if you are striving for remission, the other way to look at it, is striving for simply regulation, where they stay in the 200s at preshots and dip to the 100s or double digits by nadir.

While remission is something we all hope for, even just regulation keeps the cat happy and healthy. There is nothing wrong with working towards regulation and then not going any further, many a diabetic live long and healthy lives by being simply regulated, Tight Regulation (keeping them in normal numbers the majority of the time) takes a lot more testing and close monitoring than simply regulation.

So while that doesn't really answer your question with a hard and fast rule, it is about the best I can do to explain it.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
 
Eva & Butters & 5 Others said:
Nice, sunny yellow preshot numbers for Casey, Sarah! :-D

Have a good day.

Eva
Click to expand...

:-D I'm liking it too! At least she's that way most of the time in the AM. Not sure why her PM number was so high today...I'll test her at +2 and see where we're at.

My thinking is that I'll keep her at 1.5 for another week, but I bet I'll have to nudge it up to 2. Her numbers are coming down, but still aren't near where they need to be. If I could get her under 200 at any point in the day, I'd be happy!

Unfortunately, for some reason her nueropathy has gotten worse over the past week. She's still walking pretty much OK, but stops and sits/lies down frequently and seems wobbly when she climbs into and out of the litter box. I've been testing her ketones every day, getting 'trace' but nothing above that. Any ideas on the neuropathy? Should I call the vet and get something from her?
 
Hi, Sarah ~

"Not sure why her PM number was so high today..." -- Sarah, it's very possible that Casey went lower during the day (maybe into the blue numbers?), but there's no way to tell that for sure. If so, those higher PM numbers are likely bounce off Casey's lower numbers. That's why a curve done now could be helpful for you to see better what Casey's doing mid-cycle. Weren't you planning to run a full curve over this weekend, Sarah?

Sarah, many members of FDMB treat their cats' neuropathy with either Methyl B12 or Zobaline, the cat version of Xobaline. I did a search on the Main Health board on Methyl B12 and Xobaline to treat neuropathy. Here's what I found:
http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/search.php?keywords=methyl+b12+or+xobaline+for+neuropathy&fid[0]=28

http://208.131.143.77/FDMB/search.p...id[0]=28&sid=127339d9b044bf4f1ef77b64403c70b5

Zobaline is the new cat-specific version of popular Xobaline, made without fructose or any other sugar-based flavors:
http://www.ilifelink.com/zobaline-for_diabetic_cats-3_mg_x_60_tablets.html

Hope you and Casey have a pleasant weekend.

Eva
 
Thanks, Eva! I'll check out the links.

I am planning on doing a curve today (until I have to leave at 5, anyway) so we'll see what happens. She started out pink today but I'm hoping she goes down into the low 200s at the nadir. Stay tuned! :-D
 
ohiogal said:
Hi all,

I tested Casey this morning and gotten the lowest reading I've ever gotten, 245. So yay!

I gave her her 1.5u, and now I'm thinking - what pre-shot number am I shooting for here? It looks like the shot drops her BG about 100ish points, and I have to be at work today - should I worry about her going hypo while I'm gone? Is there a number below which I shouldn't give her a shot at all? Now that the numbers MIGHT be starting to come down, where do I go from here?

Thanks for any advice! Have a great day!
Click to expand...

The only way to know for sure what's going on is to do curves and test.... so at the start of giving insulin, it's best to try and gather as much info as you can to understand how YOUR cat uses and reacts to the insulin. And once you know, you don't need to test as often at all. Once you know YOUR cat's style and curve and nadir range, it is alot simpler.

I have two cats with very different styles, curves, and nadirs.

Shadoe has more of a range in her numbers - from a 300, she could drop to 100 or so by nadir, and her nadir is somewhere around mid-cycle, maybe +5 or so. That's her style. If her ps was around 150, I would be like whoa... let's see if she is still dropping or if she's rising. I would hesitate to shoot her with a ps of 150.

Oliver is entirely different. His range is smaller, and his curves are the opposite - his nadir is close to +11, so if you can picture his curve as a line, it would look like a mountain. I would have no problem shooting his ps of 150 because I know that his curve/style will have his numbers rising up till at least +5 and then he starts his decline down the mountain curve to his next nadir, just before his ps.

As you can see, the above shows you two very different cat reactions to insulin.
How I learned that info was by doing curves at the start of their being on insulin, and you will learn the same sort of knowledge, info, from your own curves. Over time, as you look over the numbers you have gathered and put on the ss, you will begin to see the pattern, and combining that understanding, along with knowing the visual and physical signs YOUR cat has when high or low or hungry or sick, you will be able to judge what needs to be dosed.

Ultimately, you want to get the highest BG to be under 240 and you can avoid harm to organs, and you would love to aim for that goal of a curve being within the 40 - 120 range.
In time, you will learn what are good numbers for YOUR cat; I have one civvie that asks to be tested sometimes, and she has tested at a 42 before. .... which is not a problem at all because she does not have diabetes or get insulin - that's just her natural zone.

Good luck on your curve, and remember that ALL data is good to get. Get it, record it, then study it to know.
 
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