Numbers, dosing, & curve question

[Mary Cornelsen]

Hello everyone!

I am running a curve today since I am home all day. Paddington had a low number this morning so I skipped his shot, figuring I could give him a late bump dose if needed. However we are at +4 from morning meal and he is still hovering around 105. His numbers have been the best I’ve ever seen lately.

1. any chance we might be flirting with remission with these good numbers?

2. I have never deviated from his 2u dose. Should I back off his dose a bit?

3. On Vetsulin, what is the range most are comfortable not giving him a dose? Please keep in mind I work away from home and can not monitor throughout the day for spikes.

appreciate all the help!!
Paddington’s human, Mary

 

[Librarianista]

Welcome, Mary!

So you don't have to add this info every time you have a question, could you please add this info to your signature? These are the recommended bits of data we usually use:

• Caregiver & kitty's name (optional)
• DX: date
• Name of insulin (do not include dose or date insulin started)
• Name of your meter
• Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo"
• Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable)
• DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable)
• Acro, IAA, or Cushings (if applicable)

In general, this group does not advise dosing that late after the normal shot. Maybe 60 minutes for a full stalled shot, or shoot a 1/2 dose if you cat is prone to ketones so they have some insulin in their system.

We say a cat is in remission when they can hold normal BGs (generally <100 on a human meter) without insulin for 14 days. He may be headed there eventually, but we need more data, and possibly a more cat-friendly insulin.

Also, I am unable to expand the spreadsheet to see whatever data you might have collected before 9/1. Could you leave that expanded? We need to be able to see long-term patterns to help with dosing guidance.

Did you recently change Paddington's food to LC wet food by chance? If he was eating dry or high carb wet, that shift alone can make a HUGE difference in a diabetic cat's numbers.

I think it's very probable 2U is too much insulin. We tend to change in increments of .25U rather than full units because it's such a strong hormone in such small bodies. I'm not a dosing expert, so hopefully one of the moderators will chime in here. If you put Vetsulin in the subject line, you might grab their eyes or at least those who know whom to tag.

 

[Mary Cornelsen]

Welcome, Mary!

So you don't have to add this info every time you have a question, could you please add this info to your signature? These are the recommended bits of data we usually use:

• Caregiver & kitty's name (optional)
• DX: date
• Name of insulin (do not include dose or date insulin started)
• Name of your meter
• Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo"
• Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable)
• DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable)
• Acro, IAA, or Cushings (if applicable)

In general, this group does not advise dosing that late after the normal shot. Maybe 60 minutes for a full stalled shot, or shoot a 1/2 dose if you cat is prone to ketones so they have some insulin in their system.

We say a cat is in remission when they can hold normal BGs (generally <100 on a human meter) without insulin for 14 days. He may be headed there eventually, but we need more data, and possibly a more cat-friendly insulin.

Also, I am unable to expand the spreadsheet to see whatever data you might have collected before 9/1. Could you leave that expanded? We need to be able to see long-term patterns to help with dosing guidance.

Did you recently change Paddington's food to LC wet food by chance? If he was eating dry or high carb wet, that shift alone can make a HUGE difference in a diabetic cat's numbers.

I think it's very probable 2U is too much insulin. We tend to change in increments of .25U rather than full units because it's such a strong hormone in such small bodies. I'm not a dosing expert, so hopefully one of the moderators will chime in here. If you put Vetsulin in the subject line, you might grab their eyes or at least those who know whom to tag.

Thanks for the reply! I updated my signature with as much info it would let me add. Can you clarify what TR or SLGS and Acro, IAA, or cushings mean?

I have an appointment with my vet next week to check things, do blood work, and talk about switching to a better insulin. Hopefully the vet is agreeable.

spreadsheet expanded. I still need to back enter all the data from my old meter so there is a longer term view there.

nothing has changed recently. No food changes, dosage changes, routine changes.

thank you again!

 

[Sarah&Soph]

TR and SLGS are two dosing methods that are specific to Lantus, so you don’t need to worry about that part since you are using Vetsulin. Acromegaly, IAA, and Cushings are medical conditions associated with insulin resistance

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out this sticky on Vetsulin. Anytime his blood sugar falls below 90, you should reduce his dose by 0.25 units, until you are more familiar with how he responds to the insulin

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/beginners-guide-to-caninsulin-vetsulin.231587/

 

[Librarianista]

Thanks for the reply! I updated my signature with as much info it would let me add. Can you clarify what TR or SLGS and Acro, IAA, or cushings mean?

I have an appointment with my vet next week to check things, do blood work, and talk about switching to a better insulin. Hopefully the vet is agreeable.

spreadsheet expanded. I still need to back enter all the data from my old meter so there is a longer term view there.

nothing has changed recently. No food changes, dosage changes, routine changes.

thank you again!

You got the most important bits in there, so awesome! And thank you for expanding your SS.

Good luck with the conversation with you vet. If you need something to back up your request, here’s the publication from AAHA with updated insulin recommendations for treating diabetic cats: https://www.aaha.org/globalassets/02-guidelines/diabetes/diabetes-guidelines_final.pdf