Oliver 10/22 AMPS 92 New to forum

Bec and Oliver

Bec and Oliver

Member Since 2018
Hi,

I am new to the forum, I am copying some info over from my introduction thread.

Oliver has always been a big boy, peaking at about 10kg a few years ago. He is now 12 years old and about 6.5kg. He has been treated for diabetes for just over a month now.

Since his diagnosis, he has been fed equal portions twice daily of kangaroo mince cat food (very Australian, I know!) and a small amount of kibble. He used to be fed a bigger portion for dinner and a little snack of kibble for breakfast.

He was initially in at the vet for glucose curves for a few days and then started on a routine of 3u Lantus 2x daily and improved dramatically! Last week he had another glucose curve done at the vet to check everything was going well and his numbers came out lower than expected, they suspect he might be going into remission. My vet ran this glucose curve on both their pet monitor and my human monitor so that we could compare/calibrate the readings.

Since then, my family and I have been trying to test before each feed where possible. We are still getting the hang of collecting blood samples and sometimes we have to walk away and come back another time. It is not always possible for us to do a full glucose curve, but I am testing 2 hourly today to get some more data. I have set up a spreadsheet with his data today. I wish I had all the data from his previous curves at the vet. All I remember from conversations is that some of his higher numbers were around 340.

My vet's advice while we are 're-calibrating' him is to give no insulin if he is less than 90 (5mmol), 1 unit if he is between 90 and 180 (5-10 mmol) and 2 units if he is above 180. So far he has either had 1 or 0 units per dosage.

I am a bit nervous while he is not stable! The syringes I was sold by my vet do not have markings for less than 1 unit and I am concerned that he may need less than 1.

Today:
AMPS: 92
+2: 68
+4: 61
+6: 79

Bec
 
Welcome. I do agree with no insulin if below 90. Can you get or order syringes with 1/2 marks?

With those readings today, I actually think a reduction in dose has been earned. Normally it would a reduction of 0.25 but not sure how you would do that. If you have calipers you could use them to calculate dose.

in the Lantus forum there are information guides. There are two protocols most follow here. Read them over and see which one fits for you.

Others should be along soon.
 
Hi Bec,
Am answering you over here instead of the intro page.....
Oliver is gorgeous!
I am at Frenchs Forest so we are probably not too far from each other.
It's great you have the SS up and running and are testing. The meter you have is good. I use that one. You can buy the strips for that meter much cheaper on eBay by the way.
Also good he is on a low carb diet. Best to ditch the kibble if you can as it is much higher in carbs than the low carb food. But if you ditch it, just be aware that it could drop the BSL, which is what you want really but you need to be closely watching the BSL during the transition over to a full low carb diet. To get and keep Oliver in remission you will need to have him on a low carb diet for life.

With the insulin......3 units was a lot to start a cat on. We recommend you start on 1 to 1.5 units depending on the weight of the cat.
In regard to where you are now with the insulin..........Lantus works best if the same dose is given all the time unless you are increasing or decreasing. If you are finding that one of the BSLs is too low to shoot....the best idea is to reduce both the doses to be the same so you are able to shoot each time.
See what others think, but I would reduce the dose to 1/2 unit (0.5 unit) for each dose and see if that works better. Just draw up to half way between the 0 and 1 units.....I found a magnifying glass very helpful.
Try and always test before every shot to make sure it is safe to give the insulin. It usually takes a couple of hours for the onset of the insulin to take place so if you can test around +4 and +6 that gives us an good idea of what is happening. Try and get a before bed test to see Oliver will be safe overnight. Cats often drop lower at night.

We don't have any 1/2 unit syringes here in Australia but you can buy them from O/S and they will arrive in about a week. I have the info....just have to find it and I'll post the info.

Ask lots of questions, it's a steep learning curve in the beginning. And if you are concerned at all about anything, always post and ask for help.......we have people from all over the world here so there is usually someone who can help you.

I'll get back to you with the address of where to get the 1/2 unit syringes
Bron
 
I noticed you said you were feeding twice a day. With Lantus, it is absolutely fine to feed several smaller feeds during the day/night.
A lot of people divide the food up and feed at shot time and then +3 and +6 or +2 and +5. Whatever works for you. Giving them some food when the insulin is working the strongest can help stop them dropping too low.
Do you have an auto feeder? A lot of us use one for when we are not there and at night. They are about $45 on eBay. I used to put raw/canned food in them at night or if I was away.
https://www.crazysales.com.au/onlin...MI1ZmsoK6Z3gIVUR0rCh1kLQ1NEAQYByABEgKycfD_BwE

Also blood sugar level taken at the vets are almost always higher than at home because of the stress of the cat feels at the vet, so don't be surprised if that happens. It is much safer to take the curves at home because they are true readings.
 
Kia Ora from New Zealand and welcome to the FDMB.

Looking at your signature, you have kangaroo mice ? :p

I have some unused half marking syringes here which I bought from hyperdrug UK. If you would like me to post them to you to get this up and running please let me know. I think post from Nz to Oz is only 2 /3 days.

You will need to let me have your Oz postal address. You can do that with a private message. ---->
Click on my profile pic and username . Choose 'Start a Conversation'

Happy to post .
 
PussCatPrince - GA said:
you have kangaroo mice ?
Click to expand...

There's actually such a thing!!….But it lives in the deserts of the southwestern part of the USA
kangaroo-mouse.jpg
 
Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the input! And the kangaroo mice :joyful:

I have bookmarked the hyperdrug link and messaged PussCatPrince so hopefully I will have more control over Oliver's dosage soon!

I'm hesitant to change the schedule of Oliver's feeding at the moment. I do have another cat called Amelia, who has been quite food obsessed since she was rescued (eats until sick). I worry that if I had an auto feeder she would probably eat it all. When people are home during the day Olly gets little snacks here and there, especially as rewards for BG tests.

Depending on the remaining readings tonight, I will probably aim to give Oliver 0.5 units with his dinner and take another reading before bed. When his readings are a little higher I will reduce/cut out his kibble.
 
Just finished off the curve. Preshot is 4.2 (76) so no insulin tonight. We will start with 0.5 units tomorrow morning and hopefully be able to get a bit more consistency.
 
Good call no insulin tonight. Hopefully the BSL will be high enough to shoot in the morning. He’s certainly doing very well for a recently diagnosed cat.
I would definitely try and find a way to give Oliver some food about +4 or +5 each or most cycles if you can. I do understand about other cats gobbling it up. I have to seperate my two at mealtimes to ensure they get the proper meals and one doesn’t eat more than he should.
 
@Bec and Oliver
Well done getting the am Preshot. I see you gave 0.5 units.
With a Preshot of 88 try and get a few in between tests to see Oliver is not dropping too low. Also a few snacks during the cycle if you can.
Bron
ETA. If he drops below 3 give him some higher carb food..... not dry as it takes longer to be absorbed. If you have no higher carb food give some honey mixed with normal food and test in 20 mins to see he is on the way back up. Honey only lasts about an hour to an hour and a half so you will need to keep testing.
 
Last edited:
Thanks Bron. I've started a new thread here for today. At this stage I am not too worried because his AMPS is only 0.2 lower than yesterday, and he received a whole unit then, but I will keep an eye on him.
 
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