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Stray cat mama

Stray cat mama

Member Since 2020
Hi to everyone and thank you for all you are doing to help.
For the past year I have been caring for a stray that I took into my home. He was starving and injured and we managed to get him to a point where he was doing pretty well until recently when he was diagnosed diabetic. BG 502 since then the doctor started him on vetsuiln 1unit 2times a day. I did that for a week along with low carb diet and his numbers never dropped below 400. The doctor suggested I start giving him 2units a day and for the following week his numbers still are coming up high.here are some of the numbers from that week.

AMPS- 520 7am
+2 403
+4 503
+8 585
PMPS - 498 7pm
+2. 571
+4. 486

AMPS- 684 7am
+2. 491
+4 457
+6. 528
PMPS- 564
+3. 424

Now she wants me to give him 2 1/2units and his numbers on his first day are not dropping.

AMPS. 704. First dose of 2 1/2
+3. 526
+4. 502
+6. 529


How come I can't get his numbers to come down? Should I give him more? His numbers have been in the 400-600's for over a month now. I hope I did the above right. Thanks
 
Hello and welcome to you and your boy (name?)!!!

Couple questions to start: did the vet do a fructosamine test to diagnose diabetes, or test glucose in-house? Are you doing your own home-testing of blood glucose, or are these all vet numbers?

These numbers are helpful for understanding the situation, but it sounds like you have more data. Would you be willing to set up one of our spreadsheets and share it so that we can see all that you are seeing? We use a common template here: FDMB SPREADSHEET INSTRUCTIONS

Any chance it's an old vetsulin vial? I know you just started, but was the vial opened before you got it?
 
WELCOME to FDMB! Glad you found us! We are dedicated to helping any and all that find these pages. You have landed in a safe place!
I;m going to start you out here so you can get acquainted with how all this works:
New? How You Can Help Us Help You!
I see Nan has already got you started so thank you Nan!

There a WEALTH of information here with good people to help you navigate this disease.

WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY!:bighug:
jeanne
 
Thanks for getting back with me.☺ His name is Peaches that's the name the neighborhood gave him before we caught him and found out he was a boy..Lol...The first high number is from the vet during a blood panel he had done because he was drinking and urinating a lot . The other numbers are from me using the alphatrak 2. The vetsulin was purchased at Costco so it's new but my refrigerator did get down to 34 degrees the other day. I will see if my husband can help me set up the spread sheet tonight or tomorrow . Also I just checked his numbers again and he is +8. 415 so the numbers are moving a bit.
 
Hmmmm.....

Stray cat mama said:
my refrigerator did get down to 34 degrees the other day.
Click to expand...

Well, that can't be helping, but it sounds like you were getting these high, flat numbers for a while before this happened. As long as the insulin looks OK (no cloudiness or floaties), we'll just go ahead and assume it's not the problem.

As for what could be the problem, there are several possibilities. Once we have the spreadsheet in place and can see everything, we can start narrowing things down. It could be that Peaches is just one of those cats who needs a lot of insulin, and you haven't gotten to the right dose yet. I'm glad your vet is asking you to do smaller increments now, that will help keep you from overshooting the right dose (assuming you haven't already-- sometimes too much insulin can look like too little. If there's something in the spreadsheet that makes us suspect that answer, we'll explain in more detail then).

I should also mention that we've found that Vetsulin doesn't always work well for cats, the duration is too short. It's not likely to be the main problem here, I'm just mentioning it in case your vet might be open to switching to one of the longer-acting insulins. Lantus and Prozinc are two insulins used a lot around here.

Hopefully we can get Peaches on the road to the right dose and feeling better soon! When you get a chance, we'd love to see a picture of him!
 
A couple of quick questions:

1) Are you rolling the vial of insulin gently in your hands before drawing a dose?

2) What insulin syringes are you using? I’m looking for something like “U-40 3/10cc 29gauge 1/2 inch insulin syringes”. That should be on the barrel of the syringe or the box/bag they came in.
 
I've been shaking it because the package instructions said to shake. I then let it settle and roll it. I always check for air bubbles.
I'm using U-40. 1/2cc .5ml. 29G 0.33 12.7mm 1/2" Thanks for getting back to me I've been overwhelmed by all of this .
 
Stray cat mama said:
I've been shaking it because the package instructions said to shake. I then let it settle and roll it. I always check for air bubbles.
I'm using U-40. 1/2cc .5ml. 29G 0.33 12.7mm 1/2" Thanks for getting back to me I've been overwhelmed by all of this .[/QUOTE
Never shake it, just roll it gently. Let me check on that. I use Lantus. I have a cat named Stray, sort of.
Click to expand...
 
I found this for Vetsulin:
  • Mixing before use. Caninsulin (Vetsulin) is a suspension and must be mixed before use. Some people invert the vial/cartridge a few times before using; others roll the vial several times between the palms of their hands. In some countries the manufacturer’s advice is that the insulin should be shaken until a uniformly milky suspension is obtained. Any foam from shaking should be allowed to subside before using. The insulin, once mixed, should appear as an even, milky white solution.
 
  • It would be helpful if you can set up your signature
  • On the left, under Settings, Click on Signature. This is where you will put information that helps us give you feedback.
    • There is a limit of two lines which may include two links; you may separate pieces with commas, dashes, | etc. This is where you paste the link for your spreadsheet, once it is set up.
    • Add any other text, such as
    • Caregiver & kitty's name (optional)
    • DX: Date
    • Name of Insulin
    • Name of your meter
    • Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo"
    • Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable)
    • DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable)
    • Acro, IAA, or Cushings (if applicable)
    • Spreadsheet link. Please put the signature link on the bottom line of your signature information, on its own, so it is easy to find.
    • Please do not put any information about your location in the signature for security reasons. If you wish to add your country location, please add it to your profile.
Be sure to click the 'Save Changes' button at the bottom. If you need help urgently it is important we know these things at a glance. We don’t want to waste valuable time finding out information.


tap on your avatar where it says your name ,then hit profile page ,tap on that ,then go up to the very top, upper right hand side and tap on your name ,it will bring down a drop box, tap on signature, the signature will be under settings, tap on the signature then and you can start to add what I posted above, make sure you hit save ,
Welcome to the best place you could ever be and an awesome group of people
 
Thanks everyone☺I will try and set everything up later. I'm not very tech savvy.
As for his Vetsulin it doesn't look bad it looks uniformly milky.

So far his numbers on his 2nd day of 2 1/2 units

PSAM. 590
+3 524
+5 491

Do you think my syringe isn't the right one? It has unit markings on it and I've been using those.
Thanks again everyone ☺
 
Stray cat mama said:
Thanks everyone☺I will try and set everything up later. I'm not very tech savvy.
As for his Vetsulin it doesn't look bad it looks uniformly milky.

So far his numbers on his 2nd day of 2 1/2 units

PSAM. 590
+3 524
+5 491

Do you think my syringe isn't the right one? It has unit markings on it and I've been using those.
Thanks again everyone ☺
Click to expand...

it's going in the right direction-- down.
 
Also what food are you feeding him and are you testing before feeding. A low carb, high protein canned or raw food diet works best for lowering glucose levels. For preshot readings you should test, feed then shoot.
 
I'm feeding him FF chicken pate classic he gets 1 1/2 cans in the morning and 1 1/2 cans in the evening. I just tested him again and he's back up to 580 at +7. I do test ,feed and shoot as he's eating. I just don't understand why his numbers never get into a safe zone. Do you think I should start giving him 3 units ?
 
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