Oyster is In the Black and Im nervous

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kallima_butterfly

kallima_butterfly

Member Since 2015
My kitty seems to be in the black before every shot. I have yet to do a second curve on him as I work all day and live 1/2h away from work so lunch test is out of the question. I'll retest on Saturday. My worry is he might be so close to having a hype episode and I will not be there for him! I wish those black numbers would go away!!!!!!!. I have corn syrup but its had to use when you are not there.....Im scared to open up the door sometimes, what with him and my 15 year old dog and my 14 year old dog....Its a relieve when I see them looking at me in one piece. What a way to live: dreading to go home and yet rushing to be with them at the same time. Why cant animals live as long as humans! And learn to use the telephone if they are in distress:arghh::(:nailbiting:
 
I can understand how distressing this is. The one curve you did, he did drop almost 50% . And the lowest point was +6 which is unusually long with Canninsulin. For many cats, it starts going back up around 4 hours after the shot. It could be that he is dropping low mid cycle and bouncing back up. Since you can't be home during the day, you might try getting some numbers at night. Many people get a before bed test to see how the numbers are looking and if you are up anyway at night (like lots of us are :D) get a test then. At least that gives you some idea of what is happening.

He could be bouncing, but my guess is that the Canninsulin is just not lasting long enough. He was back up in the 500s by +10 the day of the curve. That is common with the insulin as 8 hours is the usual cycle time frame; he is lasting longer than some cats on Canninsulin, but not long enough for a shot 12 hours apart. And, unfortunately, increasing the dose doesn't extend the duration of the insulin. It may just mean a lower nadir and higher bounce.

Do you have a chance of getting another insulin that has a milder onset and lasts longer?

Meanwhile, if you care worried about him dropping low, you can leave out food. They will generally eat if they feel themselves dropping low. With two dogs who might enjoy the extra lunch, you could put it up high where only he can get it?
 
OK, I've already had to be reminded of this one this morning so I'm going to pass it on....breathe! My Rosa is also in the black - all the time so far. High is bad but too low would be much, much worse. No syrup - syrup is for low numbers, not high ones. Do you have a reason to think he's dropping too low in between all the black? There's nothing on his ss that indicates that he might be - the mid-cycle tests you did get are still in the yellow zone. He'll get there and start getting less black numbers and more of the nicer color ones. It takes time - I'm just as impatient as you to see results with my kitty, but as I've been reminded a few times, they won't be rushed into getting better instantly.
 
manxcat419 said:
No syrup - syrup is for low numbers, not high ones.
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No Sorry I just meant I have the syrup for if he goes low...but does something happen to him if he's too high (hyperglycemia). That's what the ketone testing is for right? And if its negative than I shouldn't worry how high he goes, just work on regulating right?
 
OK, I figured you probably did, but thought I'd better mention it just in case. Yes, ketone testing can help if his numbers are consistently high - it will help you pick up any problems early enough to get him help. As long as there aren't any present, then it is a case of getting him regulated. Though if you get any ketones at all, that would need a vet visit before they get any higher. From everything I've been able to find out, high levels cause damage over time so although they're not good, you have time to work on fixing them provided you're getting a negative ketone result each time you test for that. It's the very low levels that are an immediate danger. Of course there's always the possibility he could be bouncing but he'd have to be dropping a huge percentage - about 80% or so - to be getting into a danger level. If he was only diagnosed in December, you must still be working on calibrating his dose, right? I'm "lucky" enough not to be working right now so I'm able to keep a close eye on Rosa while I work on that. I know I'd be even more worried if I had to be away from her a lot of the day, so I do understand your concern completely. Once you can get a second curve at the weekend, you'll be able to see much better what's happening in between those shots and then hopefully you'll be able to feel more comfortable leaving him while you have to be at work.
 
Sue and Oliver (GA) said:
Do you have a chance of getting another insulin that has a milder onset and lasts longer?
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My vets thoughts were to give Canisulin a good try and regulate him. He's hesitant to switch until we did all we can on the Canisulin. But I think your right, even if I get him into the good numbers he will just bounce up.

Sue and Oliver (GA) said:
Meanwhile, if you care worried about him dropping low, you can leave out food. They will generally eat if they feel themselves dropping low. With two dogs who might enjoy the extra lunch, you could put it up high where only he can get it?
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Yes those dogs love the cat food...they and my three other cats are loving this because when oyster gets feed wet food so do all of them....extra treat!!!!! I don't mind because it gets them off of kibbles which Im learning isn't good for them at all. However with 3 other cats to contend for the extra bowl of food it would be hard to make sure Oyster is the one getting it. Especially since he's a chubby one and two of the others are skinny so I couldn't even put it in a tight spot. They are free feed dry nutro max kibbles however so he may eat those if he wishes. I'd love for him to take the initiative and find that pesky mouse that's in the house for his snack but I think he and mousy have a Garfield like relationship! And don't even thing about asking my other cats. One is scared of mice, one only hunts birds (bad kitty) and one will only hunt outside. (seriously....he brings me 3 mice a day during the summer but I saw a mouse run by him in the house once and he didn't even lift his tail!)
 
manxcat419 said:
If he was only diagnosed in December, you must still be working on calibrating his dose, right? I'm "lucky" enough not to be working right now so I'm able to keep a close eye on Rosa while I work on that. I know I'd be even more worried if I had to be away from her a lot of the day, so I do understand your concern completely. Once you can get a second curve at the weekend, you'll be able to see much better what's happening in between those shots and then hopefully you'll be able to feel more comfortable leaving him while you have to be at work.
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Yes we are still calibrating :)
 
Sue and Oliver (GA) said:
Does he eat the dry food too? If so, eliminating that completely from his diet might bring down his numbers.
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WE got him as a rescue cat and he needs to have food at his disposal all the time or he will scarf and vomit. Ive accidently locked him out of the house for a couple hours and as soon as he gets in its right to his bowl of crunchies the two minutes later barf undigested crunchies. If the kitty feeder is too low he guards it because he's worried food will not be replaced. One of my other kitties will not touch wet food (tried all kinds on her, even raw meat) so I have to have kibbles down for her as well. Since Oyster has been getting half a can of wet fancy feast in the morning and 1/2 can of wet in the evening I have noticed he does not touch the crunchies very often ( maybe a mouthful here and there). Im not sure how I would take the kibbles away with three other cats and free feeding everyone for 10 years or more
 
Caninsulin may last only 8-10 hours in the cat, resulting in very high pre-shots after the insulin has worn off.
If your schedule permits it, shooting every 8 hours, or TID, might help smooth out the numbers.
If this is something you want to try, total up the daily dose, and divide by 3 to get the dose you would give every 8 hours.
 
BJM said:
Caninsulin may last only 8-10 hours in the cat, resulting in very high pre-shots after the insulin has worn off.
If your schedule permits it, shooting every 8 hours, or TID, might help smooth out the numbers.
If this is something you want to try, total up the daily dose, and divide by 3 to get the dose you would give every 8 hours.
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No :( Unfortunatly my schedule does not allow for every 8 hours as I am away from home from 8:30 to 5:30 on weekends ( 9hours)
 
Sue and Oliver (GA) said:
You might try a lower carb dry? There are several threads on this page about lower carb dry.
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I think Im going to try EVO. ASW much as Id like to take away the dry food completely Oyster needs to know there is food available all the time or he gorges and throws up when he gets it. I have noticed with the 1/2 can of wet, then a small helping of raw hamburger or chicken at dinner when I can and the 1.2 can at night he may eat 1/4 cup of kibbles at the most....way better than what he was eating before I learnt he was diabetic. I do worry about my one kitty as all she will eat is Nutro Natural Choice. The few times I've switched her she will not eat and pees on my bed. I may have to keep a small bag for her and place it under the bed since Oyster never goes under there and that's her hiding spot.
 
kallima_butterfly said:
No :( Unfortunatly my schedule does not allow for every 8 hours as I am away from home from 8:30 to 5:30 on weekends ( 9hours)
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Another option, if you cannot change to a longer acting insulin, is to split the dose in half and give the 2 halves about 1.5 to 2 hours apart. It spreads out the insulin action. Only consider this if you can do some testing over a weekend or holiday to see how it works.
 
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