Hi. This is my first time posting, but I have been reading here since I found out my cat has FD. This is probably going to be long, and I have a lot of question, so I hope you will forgive me. My cat's name is Gracie, and she is 9 years old. Found out on Nov. 27th that she has FD, and took her into vet on Nov. 29th for her first BG Curve, and insulin shoot. The vet prescribed ProZinc 1unit twice a day. The lab work showed that her BG was 599. My guess for the very high number was due to stress. When the vet did her curve, she also had high numbers, and told me Gracie was extremely stressed out, and afraid. I switched both my cats (Ebony is my other cat) to all wet food (Friskie's pates) on 12/3. Here is all of Gracie's numbers.
Vet BG Curve 11/29
8:00- 535
10:00-513
12:00-513
2:00-459
4:00-441
12/2 I did my own BG Curve:
8:00-355
10:00-349
12:30-349
2:00-356
4:00-396
The vet did tell me to do the testing twice a day before insulin. Here are the results for the days...these are A.M. and P.M.
12/3
No BG this morning because I did not give her insulin the night before. She refused to eat after the 4:00 testing on 12/2, and was not eating by the time I went to bed at 9:00. She seemed exhausted from it all. On this morning I gave her the insulin without testing.
8
op.m.-309
12/4
8:00-311
8:00-276
12/5
7:30-317
7:00-300
12/6 No BG. for the day. Gracie would not let me do the reading no matter what. No electricity that night.
12/7
9:00-234
9:00-312
12/8 Dr. wanted me to bring her in on Friday (12/6) to do another Curve since she had been on ProZinc for a week. I told her I wanted to do it at home, and I will call in Gracie's numbers on Monday. I didn't want Gracie to be stressed out, and not get the right readings. The vet was ok with this. Also, because her numbers were still high, I increased her insulin to 1.2 units. I was using a U40 syringe, so I eyeballed it by looking at the picture of the U100 syringe. Here is her curve.
8:00- 369
10:00-263
12:30-102
2:30-125
4:30-226
6:30-320
12/9 (overslept)
8:00-494
6:30-310
12/10
6:00-347
My vet was fine with the increase in dosage, but said Gracie's BG should be anywhere from 175-200s since she was diabetic. I explained to her what the AMA recommendations were with a reading under 150, but she insisted this wasn't true because she said Gracie was diabetic, and the range she gave me was acceptable for a diabetic cat, so I gave up trying to explain it. I am not comfortable with where she wants Gracie's BG to be.
Now the questions: I am still uncomfortable with using the U100 syringes until I understand the markings (I have looked at the pictures), but I hope to be using those syringes soon (slow learning curve for some things). Do I adjust the dosage based on the peak/nadir reading (12/8 example: 12:30-102. I understand, I think, no insulin with this low a number or the 125 reading either), or the high number after the peak (12/8 4:30-226)?
About the Sliding Scale: According to this, if Gracie's reading is, for example '251-290 BG, 3 units of Insulin to Inject," is this using the U40 syringe? I understand that with ProZinc the suggestion is to cut this 3 unit dose in half t0 1.5 units. Is this correct? If the SS is for the U40 syringes, do I next use the conversion chart to go from U40 to U100 syringes (example: 251-290 3 units...Prozinc user 1.5 units- U100 conversion-what is the conversion? I see 1/4 and 1.6?)?
Does anyone have any idea why the two-reading-per-day numbers are so high with Prozinc (except for the two reading that were in the 200s...don't understand that either)? I do not give Gracie any treats. All she gets is her wet cat food (Friskies pates).
Anyone have any suggestions on how I can test Gracie's BG by myself. I have tried before, by holding her, rubbing her ear, petting her, and also with her swaddling in a bath towel. Between holding everything, trying to prick her ear, and her flopping her ears, and squirming, it is impossible to do it myself. My husband had been helping me (he was on vacation last week), and at first I was pretty stressed out, but after a week and a half, I almost feel like a pro, plus Gracie is cooperating more, except when I try to do it myself.
Sorry this is so long, but I want to be sure I understand how to adjust her insulin, and use the U100 syringes properly so I do not harm my cat.
Thank you,
Linda
Vet BG Curve 11/29
8:00- 535
10:00-513
12:00-513
2:00-459
4:00-441
12/2 I did my own BG Curve:
8:00-355
10:00-349
12:30-349
2:00-356
4:00-396
The vet did tell me to do the testing twice a day before insulin. Here are the results for the days...these are A.M. and P.M.
12/3
No BG this morning because I did not give her insulin the night before. She refused to eat after the 4:00 testing on 12/2, and was not eating by the time I went to bed at 9:00. She seemed exhausted from it all. On this morning I gave her the insulin without testing.
8
op.m.-30912/4
8:00-311
8:00-276
12/5
7:30-317
7:00-300
12/6 No BG. for the day. Gracie would not let me do the reading no matter what. No electricity that night.
12/7
9:00-234
9:00-312
12/8 Dr. wanted me to bring her in on Friday (12/6) to do another Curve since she had been on ProZinc for a week. I told her I wanted to do it at home, and I will call in Gracie's numbers on Monday. I didn't want Gracie to be stressed out, and not get the right readings. The vet was ok with this. Also, because her numbers were still high, I increased her insulin to 1.2 units. I was using a U40 syringe, so I eyeballed it by looking at the picture of the U100 syringe. Here is her curve.
8:00- 369
10:00-263
12:30-102
2:30-125
4:30-226
6:30-320
12/9 (overslept)
8:00-494
6:30-310
12/10
6:00-347
My vet was fine with the increase in dosage, but said Gracie's BG should be anywhere from 175-200s since she was diabetic. I explained to her what the AMA recommendations were with a reading under 150, but she insisted this wasn't true because she said Gracie was diabetic, and the range she gave me was acceptable for a diabetic cat, so I gave up trying to explain it. I am not comfortable with where she wants Gracie's BG to be.
Now the questions: I am still uncomfortable with using the U100 syringes until I understand the markings (I have looked at the pictures), but I hope to be using those syringes soon (slow learning curve for some things). Do I adjust the dosage based on the peak/nadir reading (12/8 example: 12:30-102. I understand, I think, no insulin with this low a number or the 125 reading either), or the high number after the peak (12/8 4:30-226)?
About the Sliding Scale: According to this, if Gracie's reading is, for example '251-290 BG, 3 units of Insulin to Inject," is this using the U40 syringe? I understand that with ProZinc the suggestion is to cut this 3 unit dose in half t0 1.5 units. Is this correct? If the SS is for the U40 syringes, do I next use the conversion chart to go from U40 to U100 syringes (example: 251-290 3 units...Prozinc user 1.5 units- U100 conversion-what is the conversion? I see 1/4 and 1.6?)?
Does anyone have any idea why the two-reading-per-day numbers are so high with Prozinc (except for the two reading that were in the 200s...don't understand that either)? I do not give Gracie any treats. All she gets is her wet cat food (Friskies pates).
Anyone have any suggestions on how I can test Gracie's BG by myself. I have tried before, by holding her, rubbing her ear, petting her, and also with her swaddling in a bath towel. Between holding everything, trying to prick her ear, and her flopping her ears, and squirming, it is impossible to do it myself. My husband had been helping me (he was on vacation last week), and at first I was pretty stressed out, but after a week and a half, I almost feel like a pro, plus Gracie is cooperating more, except when I try to do it myself.
Sorry this is so long, but I want to be sure I understand how to adjust her insulin, and use the U100 syringes properly so I do not harm my cat.
Thank you,
Linda
