New Member: First ever BG home reading!

steph_frances

steph_frances

Member
Hi! Oh my goodness! We did it! Granted he had about 3 purebite treats by the time we actually got the blood drop, but WE DID IT!

Okay. A little concerned though- 57 at +3 was his reading. He had breakfast at 7 & his shot of Prozinc at 7:30am... he got 3.5 units (which is lower than what the vet wanted me to administer- she had prescribed 5.5 U- ugh!) Anyway, is this too low? This is his very first home reading. Thanks!

More notes: we are very new at this. He's been on insulin for 3 weeks exactly. Vet's starting dose was 4 units & switching to Royal Canine Glycobalance (wet & dry food). Obviously, if i knew what I know now, that would not have been our path with this.
 
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steph_frances said:
Hi! Oh my goodness! We did it! Granted he had about 3 purebite treats by the time we actually got the blood drop, but WE DID IT!

Okay. A little concerned though- 57 at +3 was his reading. He had breakfast at 7 & his shot of Prozinc at 7:30am... he got 3.5 units (which is lower than what the vet wanted me to administer- she had prescribed 5.5 U- ugh!) Anyway, is this too low? This is his very first home reading. Thanks!

More notes: we are very new at this. He's been on insulin for 3 weeks exactly. Vet's starting dose was 4 units & switching to Royal Canine Glycobalance (wet & dry food). Obviously, if i knew what I know now, that would not have been our path with this.
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Congrats on getting your first reading! Are you able to get another test at +4? He may go even lower than that, and anything under 50 is a “take action” number.

3.5 units (and the 4 and 5.5 that the vet recommended) is a really high starting dose. Most cats are started around 1 unit and then are gradually increased if necessary. I would actually recommend potentially posting on the main forum for some dosing advice…there will be more eyes on it there. You could just copy/paste this on a new thread over there if you want.

Have you had a chance to look at the Prozinc dosing methods? With Start Low Go Slow (SLGS), he would earn a reduction any time he falls below 90, so he would have already earned one today, although I expect the recommendation will be to decrease the dose more than that.
 
Hshray said:
Congrats on getting your first reading! Are you able to get another test at +4? He may go even lower than that, and anything under 50 is a “take action” number.

3.5 units (and the 4 and 5.5 that the vet recommended) is a really high starting dose. Most cats are started around 1 unit and then are gradually increased if necessary. I would actually recommend potentially posting on the main forum for some dosing advice…there will be more eyes on it there. You could just copy/paste this on a new thread over there if you want.

Have you had a chance to look at the Prozinc dosing methods? With Start Low Go Slow (SLGS), he would earn a reduction any time he falls below 90, so he would have already earned one today, although I expect the recommendation will be to decrease the dose more than that.
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Hi! Thank you for this response! I did read all of the Prozinc dosing methods. I'm at a loss for what to do since we started with such a high number.
 
Hi! So we did only 1 unit last night & 1 unit this morning. He's still quite low. 69 at +3 today.

Any advice for how to proceed from here. This is the cat who was originally prescribed 4 units twice a day, & after his glucose curve the vet wanted to up him to 5.5 units (he was high - over 400- all day long on his glucose curve on August 31.)

His poops seem a bit messy from time to time right now. He's eating well. Not drinking a whole lot. Going to the bathroom. Seems alert ish. Any feedback or recommendations appreciated! Thanks!
 
steph_frances said:
Hi! So we did only 1 unit last night & 1 unit this morning. He's still quite low. 69 at +3 today.

Any advice for how to proceed from here. This is the cat who was originally prescribed 4 units twice a day, & after his glucose curve the vet wanted to up him to 5.5 units (he was high - over 400- all day long on his glucose curve on August 31.)

His poops seem a bit messy from time to time right now. He's eating well. Not drinking a whole lot. Going to the bathroom. Seems alert ish. Any feedback or recommendations appreciated! Thanks!
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Nice job getting another test! And good idea going down to 1 unit.

69 is a beautiful number. Are you able to get another test at +4 to see if he’s going any lower?

At a minimum you should also test before giving each shot…that way you know his numbers are high enough to shoot. If you do decide to follow SLGS, then you should reduce to 0.75 units tonight since he has already dropped below 90 on the current dose.

It is highly likely that his numbers were so high at the vet due to stress, which wouldn’t give an accurate picture of how he is doing on the insulin.

Are you feeding him the wet or the dry Glycobalance?
 
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Hshray said:
Are you feeding him the wet or the dry Glycobalance?
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I've gotten him away from all dry food other than the Purebite chicken treats he's been having after I poke his ear. He's mostly having Wellness/Wellness Core, FF, & Glycobalance wet food (but is nearly out of those cans).
 
Hshray said:
Nice job getting another test! And good idea going down to 1 unit.

69 is a beautiful number. Are you able to get another test at +4 to see if he’s going any lower?

At a minimum you should also test before giving each shot…that way you know his numbers are his numbers are high enough to shoot. If you do decide to follow SLGS, then you could try reducing to 0.75 units tonight since he has already dropped below 90 on the current dose.
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Planning on trying to get another test in before his dinner. If you don't mind: 150-200... shot or no shot? Any thoughts on how to proceed?
 
steph_frances said:
Planning on trying to get another test in before his dinner. If you don't mind: 150-200... shot or no shot? Any thoughts on how to proceed?
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If it’s at all possible, I would try to get a test at +4 or +5 today too and then a pre-shot test at night. He could be going even lower on this dose, as he may not be hitting his low point until around +5 or +6 (maybe even later). With more test data it will be easier for people to give you good advice…George was extremely hard to test at first though, so I definitely understand it can be challenging to get into a testing routine. With the diet change it is likely that he’s seeing even better numbers (based on these greens that you’ve gotten). Since you’re brand new to testing, I’d recommend posting for dosing advice if you get a pre-shot number under 200 tonight. Depending on what they actual numbers is, they may recommend that you skip or do a reduced dose.
 
Hshray said:
If it’s at all possible, I would try to get a test at +4 or +5 today too and then a pre-shot test at night. He could be going even lower on this dose, as he may not be hitting his low point until around +5 or +6 (maybe even later). With more test data it will be easier for people to give you good advice…George was extremely hard to test at first though, so I definitely understand it can be challenging to get into a testing routine. With the diet change it is likely that he’s seeing even better numbers (based on these greens that you’ve gotten). Since you’re brand new to testing, I’d recommend posting for dosing advice if you get a pre-shot number under 200 tonight. Depending on what they actual numbers is, they may recommend that you skip or do a reduced dose.
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Thank you! This is so helpful. I really appreciate your feedback. I will try to get more testing in.
 
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