Newbie with a question about altering injection times

[MerlinTrusler]

Hi
Firstly thanks to everyone on this site, just for being here.

Merlin was diagnosed in the middle of December and finding this site really helped us to understand and come to terms with what having Feline diabetes would mean for him. Merlin on the otherhand has been fine throughout the whole thing and is just annoyed at having to go to the vets so often.

My question today is, Is it ok to alter the timing of his injections?
We currently give him 1.5units of Caninsulin twice a day at about 7.30am & pm.
In 5 days time we need to be leaving the house at 5.30 am - So can we adjust the time of this jabs by half an hour each day so that on the day in question it's at a time we can do i.e 5.30 am & pm? and then do the reverse afterwards to bring it back to the regular time?

This is likely to be a recurring situation for us, i.e that we occassionally need to jab him at a different time but that the 'best' time for us is normally 7.30or8.00. We don't have anyone else around that can give him his injections if we aren't around, mainly because he was a rescue cat and only likes a handful of people, those he likes are not comfortable with the responsibility and those that are he doesn't like and hides from.

Our regular vet said it's ok (so that's what I was planning to do) and then another today said it's not... (I trust my regular vet because Merlin likes him!) so now I'm confused. How does everyone else cope? I'm sure we can't be the only ones that has come across this issue?
Background Info
- Merlin is 12.5 y.o
- He started on 1 unit twice a day, that was raised to 1.5 last week and might well be raised again today..
- He Is currently going to the vets one day each week to get his BG done (our regular Vet is happy for us to begin home monitoring when we can and has even shown us how, but wants to review our results and will then give us guidelines on what he is happy for us to do about his injections, I think he is making sure we don't make any mistakes and has given us his personal mobile as well as an emergency number) but we haven't started checking his BG at home yet as we haven't found a suitable monitor.
- He also has a long medical history which includes urinary crystals so is on 's/o' diet food a mix of wet and dry which the vet wants him to stay on but is otherwise healthy

thanks for any help you give us.

Dawn
(London, England)

 

[KarenRamboConan]

The short answer is "yes" - that should be fine.

Caninsulin is a fairly short acting insulin, so is usually well out of the body by the next shot time, so a half hour is not likely to cause any problems. You often have to be a bit more careful of timing with the longer acting insulins.

It's another good reason to hometest. By hometesting, you'll know if the BG is high enough to risk shooting early. You'll also learn when the insulin peaks, how low he goes, and when it starts going up again. That's the kind of data that helps you make those time-change decisions. Knowing how low he goes at peak is also important when considering increasing the dose - you don't increase based on the preshot numbers alone, you have to factor in the peak low number.

Knowing how to hometest will also allow you to test if you ever suspect he is going hypo.

And you'll save SO much money!

A belated welcome aboard!

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

Welcome Dawn,

As you have probably read, our protocol differs from your vet. It is hard to get conflicting advice; all I can say is that it has helped hundreds of cats into regulation and remission. We feed wet lo carb food: http://www.catinfo.org The vet who maintains that site discusses crystals: Dr. Lisa’s Urinary tract page

Canninsulin seems to be the insulin of choice in England. We have several members who are trying to get another insulin prescribed in the UK because it is a short lasting insulin and harsher than some of the insulins in the US. Here is a primer on it: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=302

If you include UK advice needed in your subject line, you will get ideas on where to buy a meter and what kind others use. It is wonderful that your vet is willing to teach you how to hometest; that will be an invaluable tool and will help you gain some control over this whole thing.

Glad you are here; hope we can help.

 

[Phoebe_TiggyGA_NortonGA]

Welcome to FDMB --

Regarding glucometer - most of us use human glucometers -- they work just fine for cats.

The biggest expense is usually the test strips, so choose a meter that:
1. you can afford the test strips (plan for at least 2 tests per day before each shot)
2. sips a tiny amount of blood (0.3 to 0.5 microliter are the best)
3. ....
other specs as you prefer -- upload data to computer? beeps or silent?