New Member - Sabu high numbers

Kathleen Tyrrell

Kathleen Tyrrell

Member Since 2019
After administering his AM shot, we did a BL test two hours after and it read in the mid 400. I called the vet but they say that as long as he is acting ok it is not an emergency and it might take awhile to stabalize him since he is so newly diagnosed. Any advice would be appreciated.
 
Welcome to the group!

Your vet is correct. Because Lantus is a depot-type of insulin, it takes 5 - 7 days for the depot to form and stabilize. What complicates matters for Sabu is that you skipped several shots. When you skip a shot (or change a dose), you destabilize the depot and it takes several days (usually 3 days/6 cycles once the depot is fully formed) for the dose to re-stabilize. (If this doesn't make sense -- and it probably doesn't given how new Sabu is to feline diabetes -- you may want to read over the sticky note pertaining to the insulin depot.)

The other factor that may be influencing the high numbers is that Sabu's numbers dropped from 388 to 184 last evening. A drop of roughly 200 points may have caused his liver and pancreas to "panic" in so far as that's a large and relatively fast drop. When this occurs, or if numbers drop rather low or even lower than the range a kitty has grown accustomed to, the liver and pancreas dump a stored form of glucose along with counterregulatory hormones into the blood stream. This causes numbers to spike up. We refer to this as a "bounce." It's the body's way of protecting itself from unduly low numbers. It's also especially annoying to us!

When you have some time, you may want to look over all of the sticky notes at the top of the board. It will help to familiarize you with all of the nuances of posting here as well as provide you with the basics of using Lantus to manage Sabu's diabetes. There's a huge volume of information in the notes and associated links so please don't hesitate to ask questions.
 
Just wanted to say welcome as I see Sienne has answered your question and given you some guidance.

I was wondering, on your signature block it says diet change, when did that happen?
When are you feeding with respect to your shot times?
 
Gill & George said:
Just wanted to say welcome as I see Sienne has answered your question and given you some guidance.

I was wondering, on your signature block it says diet change, when did that happen?
When are you feeding with respect to your shot times?
Click to expand...

Thank you for the warm welcome.

On 4/19/2019 we were told Sabu is diabetic. We researched online about treatment and learned that carbs are bad and are a high percentage of the dry food we gave him. We cut out all the dry food the same day and started him on only wet food - sheeba perfect portions pate in chicken and salmon and tuna and whitefish. A couple of days later we ordered firstmate wet food in salmon and chicken and started him on that on 4/23/19 once each day at 1/2 cup in addition to 1/4 cup once each day of the sheeba. Sabu is used to getting food whenever he wants but his diet is more restricted now and he eats just before his shot and a little right after his shot. We also give him 'purebites' dried snacks after BL to make the testing a positive experience he looks forward to.
 
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