Newly diagnosed 15 year old

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Still can't access.

Was the link you copied to your signature in the user control panel the one from the " Publish to the WEB" pop up window, down towards the bottom?
 
Husband is gone - can't test alone. When he returns in a couple of hours (?) we will re test - TWO QUESTIONS:

1) what to do if he tests high inbetween the insulin? - Just chart it?
2) If she tests high at the 12 hour mark - dose her with 1.00U ? Or, should I drop it to 0.50? Or, do we go with the 1.00U until she "levels" a bit ?

THANKS!

PS. Have you been able to see my SS? Did I do it right?
 
Just re did the signature and hopefully you can pull up SS - funny, it's showing on MY posting? - Meaning, I can see it and click on it (under my post)
 
Yes, I can see the SS just fine now.

Anything you put in your signature will show up at the end of every post you do. That is why we ask people to put things like your name, your cats name age and sex, the insulin you are using, the meter you use for testing, food fed. Think of it as a quick snapshot of your cat to help us help you better.

1) what to do if he tests high in between the insulin? - Just chart it?
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Yes, just chart it on the SS. High or low. Nice to post also so we know there is a change to look at.

2) If she tests high at the 12 hour mark - dose her with 1.00U ? Or, should I drop it to 0.50? Or, do we go with the 1.00U until she "levels" a bit ?
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Don't know yet. She needs to be over 200 tonight at PMPS for you to shoot the 1U like you did this morning. I would like to see a few tests today to see what she does, especially around your +6 time.

You could try for a BG on your own. :mrgreen: You may not be ready for that yet, but lots of us test alone. I have to because there is no one else around to help.
 
Will test as soon as he gets home - just not ready to make a mess of things and freak her out - right now she is staying "visible" and that is easier for me to watch her. I will post update as soon as she is tested. I'll try to get more info in the signature line ASAP. THANK YOU!
 
Thank you for the more signature info. That always helps.

She certainly showed you this morning with that high 500 number that you definitely need to be giving her some insulin. Now we will have to get a few tests and see how she is trending to see about the right dose. It might take a bit to find a dose you can give twice a day, 12 hours apart and keep the BG's out of hypo territory. (Above 50).

It's always better to start low, like at 0.25U, and work your way up the dosing scale. Especially since Tashie is such a tiny kitty.

Has she gained any more weight? Is her appetite good? All 5 P's present today? (peeing, pooping, preening, playing, purring). Remember, your cat is more than just a set of numbers. The 5 P's plus appetite tell us how she is doing. We call it the WCR or Whole Cat Report.

ETA: And we have a picture now! She looks so big in her picture. Hard to realize she is a tiny 5 pounder. How long is her fur?
 
Just poached her some chicken - should I hold off from feeding until tested? Will post numbers ASAP after.

Tashie was the BEST on Friday - this is when we were far more confident that she was receiving the insulin - when we switched to the syringe. She got 1.00U morning & evening. She ate like a little pig that day and had gained an ounce when weighed yesterday - she was 4.15 Thursday and 5.0 yesterday.

She is peeing & pooing. Neither cats are big purrers. She's on her hammock sunning herself, a favorite thing to do & it makes her visible unlike last week under the darn bed.

When she is in full coat, she looks huge! Right now it's her summer coat, much less ;-)
 
The only time we ask you to withhold food is 2 hours before the pre-shot tests. Those are the ones we do not want to be food influenced if at all possible. It they are, just note it on the SS and in a post. Life happens.

We might also ask you to withhold food if the pre-shot is under the shoot/don't shoot threshold. but only to get another test or two and see if the BG is rising enough to give insulin.

Tiny Kitties with big fluffy coats! So cute. I bet her coat makes her look like a ten pound heavyweight.
 
Did test at 2:55 she tested 176. Received 1.00 U this morning at 7:30 when she tested high. She isn't eating much. Now, when we test again right around 7:30 - is she is ABOVE 200 - give 1.00U? If she is low, hold off and re test? What about feeding, hold off?
 
If she is above 200 at PMPS, it should be ok to give insulin. I would like to be more conservative, and only have you give her a 0.5U dose tonight.

Here is why:
You skipped the shot last night because she dropped too low on the one unit from yesterday morning. She is really high this morning because of that skipped dose, bouncing we call it. Once you put the insulin into Tashie, there is no way to get it out. She is such a tiny kitty, I think a 0.5U dose is more appropriate.

We can increase the dose after a minimum of 6 cycles or 3 days if the 0.5U of lantus is not working. We will need some test data to determine if that would be a good idea. Would you be able to try for a test tonight just before you head to bed?

We also want to hold the dose to give the insulin depot time to rebuild, refill.

We are trying to find a dose that is low enough that you can give it consistently every 12 hours, no skipped shots.

p.s. I think your SS got messed up a bit. Would you take a look and make and corrections you need to do? Also, for that shot last night that you skipped, please put a zero in the dose column. That way, we know you did not simply forget to update the SS, but did a skip.
 
Sorry about the SS - Just completely did a new one - not as focused as I usually am! Think I caught all the mistakes and actually looked up the testing times and put them in appropriate boxes. What do you mean when you say "hold the dose"? Are you suggesting BOTH morning & evening dropping her to 0.5U or do 1.00 in morning and 0.5 in evening? Thanks!!
Bernadette
 
When we say 'hold the dose', we mean to keep giving the same dose of insulin. Do not increase the amount. Do not decrease the amount.

Are you suggesting BOTH morning & evening dropping her to 0.5U or do 1.00 in morning and 0.5 in evening?
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I am suggesting you give 0.5U in the morning and the same 0.5U in the evening.

With Lantus, a consistent dose for at least 3 days will let the insulin depot refill. Then we can see the effects of this dose change. We may need to stay at this dose longer than the 3 days. We may need to decrease the dose before the 3 days is up but ONLY if Tashie drops below 50.

We are trying to find a dose low enough so you can give it every 12 hours without a BG drop below 50, and without having to skip a shot.
 
GOT IT!!! Thanks! Will do - and I just caught her eating! Think it took most of the day fro her to "recover" from the high. Now to take it S L O W and monitor her - is it better to test at the SAME time every day or change it up? I don't want to prod her more than 3X a day or I'll never see her!
 
Always get the pre-shot tests. Always. Please. We have seen too many kitties here go hypo and don't want to see that with Tash.

Then a good one to get is a test before you turn in for the night, what we call a "before bed test".

Early on in this journey, you may need to get a few more tests than the 3 you want to do. A +5-7 is good on your day off, to check for that nadir time. Dose changes with Lantus are based on those nadirs, not the pre-shots, so we will need to see a few of those tests.

If she is acting funny and you think something is off, do another test. Look over the list of hypo symptoms and check for those first. The only hypo symptom Wink ever showed, was gigantic, dilated pupils in his eyes. Even with bright light.

A random test at different times during the day helps to fill in the SS and gives us more clues.
 
Hello guys - great job on the SS

This mornings 556 could also have been a result of a "bounce" from yesterdays low green - maybe more likely even than the skipped shot.

Ok we need to discuss ketones.. In your shopping list was a pack of ketone urine test strips - did you get any? If not, you should as soon as possible. Ketones are a sign of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) which is very serious and very expensive to treat. They tend to happen at high blood sugar with not enough insulin.

You should be testing the urine a few times a week, and whenever Boris is over 350. If you ever read more than trace and/or if you smell nail polish remover from his breath then an immediate call to the vet is in order!

Maybe pick some up tomorrow? They are pretty cheap. we have tips on how to get urine sample too.

Wendy
 
Just took reading and updated Tashie's SS. She was 109 - we gave .05 U - as you said unless she was BELOW 50, go ahead with the new lower dose. I just put food down, will check on her soon. Will try to re test in a few hours. Please confirm we are on the right track! Thanks!
 
Yikes - Deb said to only shoot if she is over 200! The 50 number was the indicator of a dose change only - yes I know its confusing but right now we have to deal with the fact you shot at a low number! SYou definately you want to get a +2. She may drop low tonite so you are going to have to get more tests in and be ready for a possible low..

Do you have spare strips? Syrup or honey? High carb food? Coffee (for you)

Wndy
 
Crap! PLEASE TELL ME WHAT TO DO - should I give her Karo now? OMG! FREAKING OUT! WHAT TO DO - I'M A WRECK - husband is ready to kill me!
 
With Lantus, a consistent dose for at least 3 days will let the insulin depot refill. Then we can see the effects of this dose change. We may need to stay at this dose longer than the 3 days. We may need to decrease the dose before the 3 days is up but ONLY if Tashie drops below 50.


WHAT DID I READ WRONG?
 
No need to freak out.. this is perfectly controllable and easy to manage but you will need to do a bit more testing.

Do you have enough strips (at least 10)?
Syrup or honey?
any high carb canned food with gravy?

Lets get a test in two hours to see what she is doing. I also posted a 911 on the "expert" board to have a member come over. they will sit with you ALL NIGHT if they need to.

the good thing is you caught it. Many owners will never test a day in their lives and shoot low and go to bed and the cat has a hypo. You know you shot low, lets handle it. The under 200 rule is for newbies only. I shoot regularly around 60 and no worries. The only danger here is that you dont know how Boris will behave so we have to be careful this first few times.
Wendy
 
BorisV said:
- we gave .05 U
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Do you mean you gave .50 dose (1/2 unit)? As Wendy said, please get a +2 test and post the results as soon as you get it, okay dear? Someone here will stay with you. It will be okay. Accidents happen; it is not your fault.
 
With Lantus, a consistent dose for at least 3 days will let the insulin depot refill. Then we can see the effects of this dose change. We may need to stay at this dose longer than the 3 days. We may need to decrease the dose before the 3 days is up but ONLY if Tashie drops below 50.


WHAT DID I READ WRONG?
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You read nothing wrong. What I think was missed is that newbies are advised to not shoot under 200 until they have enough data to know what the cat does. It could be fine and Boris could go up over the next few hours, or stay flat, or go up and suddenly dive into low numbers. Without the data we dont know. So we play it safe and advise newbies to come here if the preshot numbers are low for the first few times.
 
Also, with regard to hypo symptoms: Gobbles only showed a symptom one time (and there were many times he was very low). Other than the one time he showed a symptom (slightly shivering), I would have never known he was low if I hadn't tested him.
 
hello, I am the husband involved with Tasha. I have not seen all the posts concerning the "when to dose, when not to dose" subject. I would just like to know what is the number on the glucose meter when we should give her a shot and when not to. As of now the indicators I have is that above 200 is not good (insulin shot), below 200 is good (no insulin shot). Am I correct ? We had a reading of 106 and thought the magic number to not dose at was 50 and gave her a .50 injection.
PS we just gave her some food mixed with a little Karo and she ate some of it.
 
hello there

Ok here is the logic.... we advise new members not to shoot under 200 because they dont have enough data to show how the cat is going to behave .I routinely shoot as low as 50 because I know how my cat will behave and how to handle low numbers. Look at my sheets for reference if you like.

If the cat follows a typical lantus curve it will drop down and come back up. Given you shot at 109, how low will the cat drop.?. you dont know.. and If he goes under 50 this is a hypo. However there are many factors at play and the cat could instead stay flat or go up. Over time we get enough data to know what the cat is doing. So the first few times a newbie shoots at a lower number than typical we coach them through it. and over time the newbie gets used to shooting at lower and lower numbers as the cat approaches regulation or remission.

Now the issue with giving her karo is that it wears off fast and they can come down again, so you should get a test in an hour to see where she is then. Then you may need to keep testing at regular intervals (depending on what she is doing) to see how she behaves. Now this isnt a reason to worry - she may well not drop down - and if she does we are prepared. We are just playing it safe here.

how are you doing for strips? For now too, dont give any more syrup.. you want to see what she is naturally doing so we can decide if and when to give syrup and to keep her hungry enough to eat it if and when needed.

Wendy
 
I'm popping over from Lantus TR ISG at Wendy's request.

First....let's just breathe and be calm.

Bernadette and DH: while we like to have a little data before a new member shoots 109, it's ok. You can test, and if you don't have HC food/gravy, you have LC and karo. You've got alot going on and alot of stress so sometimes things happen but you did good by posting :-D

Also, below 50 is not a hypo. It's considered a hypo when the cat has clinical symptoms. Clinical hypos on lantus are rare. But we are a very long way from there.

I need to look at her SS but just wanted to pop on quickly. Before I suggest which test you get next, I just need to peek at her SS. Be right back.
 
Please get a test at +1. Please do not wait until +2, ok?

Did you feed her? What did you feed please and did you feed at her shot time?
 
There is a very helpful video on YouTube on how to test a diabetic cat. Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to even find the link to post here. :-x The name of the video is
How To Test Your Diabetic Cat's Blood Sugar At Home
By Mark Portier.
You're doing a great job with everything. :-D
Liz
 
Bernadette her - just re tested and updated SS - she is at 126. What now? I REALLY appreciate your help - it's a freaky situation and we are trying to hold it together! Please advise.
 
It's really ok. We deal with low numbers all the time. It's best to be cautious.

It would be helpful if you can let me know how/when you feed and the tests in terms of how many hours since you shot.

PMPS 109 fed LC and syrup? How much
+1 or +1.5: 126

Please correct any of that. The 126 is a spike from the food/syrup. I can let you know the next test time once you let me know when you fed last and what exactly. Sound good? I'll be here for your response.
 
Just so you know, there are a few people here watching as well as Marje but we will be letting her take the lead on this. You are in good hands with Marje.

Wendy
 
Lantus onset is approximately at +2...depending on the cat and the rate of absorption. I don't want to go past +2 for the next test. Could you please see my above post and let me know where you are in the cycle?

I know the SS shows 126 at +2 but new members often get confused where to put an in between test so I want to be sure, as soon as possible, where we are.

Thanks :-D
 
Marje, I have NO idea what you mean when you say at +2???? What does that mean? We injected AND fed (low carb) at 7:30. Just retested at 9:00. There is not a place in the spread sheet for 1/2 hours. What now? Just did her 25 minutes ago
 
Ok....we are all in different time zones so when you say you Shot/fed at 7:30, that doesn't mean anything to me. So think of the injection as zero time. One hour after you shoot is +1, two hours is +2, etc.

So it sounds like the 126 was 1.5 hours after you shot, correct? And you did NOT feed any syrup/karo when you shot or since, correct?

You can put the 126 in the +1 box on the SS. Just put 126 @ 1.5.

Ok...please get a test at +2. ....which should be now.
 
Any update? Just checking...I need to test and shoot Gracie but I will still keep an eye out. Don't worry if it just takes me a second to respond, ok? I'll be right back.
 
Just popping in to see whats going on?

Tashie - Do you have an updated reading for us? We are waiting and watching to help keep your kitty safe and worry when we dont hear from you.

We dont want her to do anything unexpected so some more tests will keep her safe. Marje is very experienced and will be able to give good instructions to help.
 
Okay, so you had me wigged - just took another test - she is at 63. Tested at 10:30. Recap - tested at 7:30 107 - gave 1/2 unit of Lantis. Re tested at 9:00 and then now at 10:30. What now? I THINK she peed outside of the litter box - on that bathroom tile. No biggie, just noting. I have noticed this a few times in the last few weeks- BTW, have 2 cats - one with a history of cystitis so you don't think I'm crazy! So, now what? She is "quiet" and sick of being tested :?
 
Ok....this is not something that we normally do but I think we should in this instance. We are going to "abort the cycle" which means I want to get her up.

If you have HC gravy, please feed her two heaping tsp of the gravy. Normally I would ask that you test in 30 mins. That is the best thing to do but if you think she will not allow you to do that, please give her 3 tsp of the gravy and test in 45-60 mins.

If you don't have any HC gravy, please feed her two good tsp of LC food with a large drop of honey, syrup, karo...any of those will work...and test in 45-60 mins.

It's very important to do one of the above. Preference is test in 30 but do what you can. Please let me know if you have a question.

PMPS :107 LC
+1.5: 126
+3: 63
 
I'm sorry...I thought the Health folks went through some of this.

HC is high carb. Do you have any foods like Fancy Feast gravy lovers?

Right now, please feed the two tsp of low carb food with a good drop of honey, karo, syrup whichever you have.
 
Good job. Please give her three tsp if you can.

I'd really like a test 30 mins after she eats the gravy. We can slack off testing once we get her up.
 
You are fab! If I EVER sound ungrateful - I'm NOT! Just Soooo tired! And husband does not do stress well!
 
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