My cat has been on insulin little over 2 weeks or so. His first glucose curve was last Monday, numbers were in the 400's all day. Today he started in 200's after I fed and gave him his shot, few hours later in the 500's. They stopped and asked me to bring him tomorrow, to feed right before i come and they will give him his shot. I am scared I don't understand any of this. I know 500's is bad but what does it mean? I do not want to lose him. I have never felt so dumb or helpless in my life. thank you
New here, numbers too high
- Thread starter Stacy1698
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Chris & China (GA)
Member Since 2013
Hi Stacy! Glad to see you over here from the Facebook group. If all the testing was done at the vet's office, you can pretty much disregard it. Just like our blood pressure is higher at the doctor, our cat's glucose is higher at the vet.
I know from Facebook that your vet is recommending going from 1U of Lantus to 2U. That's too much of an increase for cats. We recommend raising dosing by 0.25 unit at a time unless the nadir (the lowest point in the cycle) is above 300. In that case, we raise by 0.5 unit.
Did your vet discuss home testing with you at all? There's no better way to know what's truly going on than to home test....and you don't need an expensive pet meter either. Most of us use a human meter like the Relion Premier Classic from WalMart. It's $9 and 100 strips are $17.88. A box of 25-28 gauge lancets are less than $2 so it doesn't cost a fortune.
Cats withstand high blood glucose numbers a lot better than humans do so while 500 is high, considering it was at the vet, some of that was stress-induced. It takes time for high numbers to do damage so as long as he's eating well and acting normally, it's not something you should be scared about. There are lots of people that can help you here.
If he were to start acting sick, hiding, refusing to eat, we'd be concerned about ketones so it's a good idea to have some urine ketone strips in the house just in case. They're about $6 for 50.
Here's some information that will help us be able to help you better. If you need help setting up a spreadsheet once you're home testing, you can contact me on Facebook and I'll be happy to do it for you!
Welcome to the FDMB too! The best place you never wanted to be!
I know from Facebook that your vet is recommending going from 1U of Lantus to 2U. That's too much of an increase for cats. We recommend raising dosing by 0.25 unit at a time unless the nadir (the lowest point in the cycle) is above 300. In that case, we raise by 0.5 unit.
Did your vet discuss home testing with you at all? There's no better way to know what's truly going on than to home test....and you don't need an expensive pet meter either. Most of us use a human meter like the Relion Premier Classic from WalMart. It's $9 and 100 strips are $17.88. A box of 25-28 gauge lancets are less than $2 so it doesn't cost a fortune.
Cats withstand high blood glucose numbers a lot better than humans do so while 500 is high, considering it was at the vet, some of that was stress-induced. It takes time for high numbers to do damage so as long as he's eating well and acting normally, it's not something you should be scared about. There are lots of people that can help you here.
If he were to start acting sick, hiding, refusing to eat, we'd be concerned about ketones so it's a good idea to have some urine ketone strips in the house just in case. They're about $6 for 50.
Here's some information that will help us be able to help you better. If you need help setting up a spreadsheet once you're home testing, you can contact me on Facebook and I'll be happy to do it for you!
Welcome to the FDMB too! The best place you never wanted to be!
FrostD
Member Since 2020
(ignoring all that clutter form the Facebook post -)
Chris has given you the basics of what you need, and what you need to know. I find some people like prioritized lists in order to sort through the deluge of information, so -
As Chris mentioned, the spreadsheet is our best tool to be able to help you. There's a lot of eyes here very experienced at reading them and spotting trends and potential issues. Starting in the 200s (which is good!) and going up to 500s tells me he was probably lower over night and then bounced up because his body wasn't used to the more normal numbers (thank his liver for that). Increasing to 2U is definitely too big of a jump.
Chris has given you the basics of what you need, and what you need to know. I find some people like prioritized lists in order to sort through the deluge of information, so -
- Gather the supplies you need. Chris covered them (or the link she provided did). Primarily a glucometer + strips+ lancets + cotton rounds + Vaseline, urine ketone strips, and some supplies for a hypo kit
- Learn how to home test and record the data. We all struggle with it at first, there is a learning curve. A Libre is also an option, but they are pricey, often fall off or die before the 2 week span, and sometimes give inaccurate readings at very high or very low numbers. If you have trouble testing, there's a wealth of tips here as well as the Facebook page. Focus on testing before you give the shot, and again about 6 hours after you give it.
As Chris mentioned, the spreadsheet is our best tool to be able to help you. There's a lot of eyes here very experienced at reading them and spotting trends and potential issues. Starting in the 200s (which is good!) and going up to 500s tells me he was probably lower over night and then bounced up because his body wasn't used to the more normal numbers (thank his liver for that). Increasing to 2U is definitely too big of a jump.
Hendrick Cuddleclaw
Member Since 2022
Hi and welcome to the group. The folks who have posted are incredibly knowledgeable and their advice is sound. I felt the same as you, so dumb and helpless. I compare it to drowning, I felt like I couldn't even barely keep my head above the water but then -- I joined this group and the people here like FrostD were a strong, firm hand reaching down to lift me out of the water. They saved me and saved my boy Hendrick -- today he is no longer on insulin, he is in diabetic remission.
dammit where's that tissue box, my eyes are leaking again. @Diane Tyler's Mom
So take it from me -- listen closely to what they say, follow the instructions, trust their expertise. You will be glad you did.
On a side note, what is your kitty's name, how old, post a picture of the cutie-pie! (upload is broken, drag and drop a pic into a post or copy/paste it into a post)
dammit where's that tissue box, my eyes are leaking again. @Diane Tyler's Mom
So take it from me -- listen closely to what they say, follow the instructions, trust their expertise. You will be glad you did.
On a side note, what is your kitty's name, how old, post a picture of the cutie-pie! (upload is broken, drag and drop a pic into a post or copy/paste it into a post)
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