Prozinc just prescribed but questionable numbers

[Deb & Wink]

A gradual reduction in your decision point BG number sounds good. Some people call that the "shoot/no shoot" BG, but it's more of what you will do - stall, token dose, skip the shot.

Ideally, you would find a dose you could give both AM and PM cycles.

 

[Vinnie Van Gogh's Mom]

He seems to hang in the low 100s at PMPS time and has yet to be above 151 (tonight was 138 which is a number he's hit 3 times in the past day and a half). Would you recommend giving a lower am dose on the days that I shoot to see if he ends up in "shootable" range in the evening? I just ordered some U-100 syringes so I can get a more accurate 0.20 and 0.10 dose.

One more question: Is it best to feed at set times? Currently, I only take his food away for the two hours prior to "shoot time". The rest of the time, I make sure he has access to his FF. He lost a lot of weight (went from 15 pounds to 12.3 pounds) and he likes to graze so I am trying to get him back up weight-wise. He's currently at 13.75 so he's getting there. But is the free-feeding making it difficult to get good glucose data?

 

[Deb & Wink]

Would you recommend giving a lower am dose on the days that I shoot to see if he ends up in "shootable" range in the evening?

Yes.

I just ordered some U-100 syringes so I can get a more accurate 0.20 and 0.10 dose.

Digital calipers can help also. There is a thread in the Health Links / FAQs about Feline Diabetes Index Sticky, about using calipers. Here it is: Dosing with Calipers

You have the chart, for the conversion from U40 syringes to U100 syringes, with a U40 concentration insulin like the Prozinc you are using? Basically, it's the U40 insulin dose, multiplied by 2.5 to get the amount to draw up in your U100. Still record the U40 amount on your SS please. http://www.felinediabetes.com/insulin-conversions.htm

Is it best to feed at set times?

Sort of. By that response I mean it's best not to feed much after the middle of a 12 hour dosing cycle, because the insulin gets "used up" processing the food from earlier feedings. If Vinnie's own pancreas isn't producing enough insulin on it's own, then feeding later COULD be keeping the BG levels higher.

He lost a lot of weight (went from 15 pounds to 12.3 pounds) and he likes to graze so I am trying to get him back up weight-wise. He's currently at 13.75 so he's getting there. But is the free-feeding making it difficult to get good glucose data?

What is Vinnie's "ideal weight"? Just because he weighed 15 pounds before, does not mean that he should weigh 15 pounds now. You really want to take the body condition score into account, not simply the weight.

Here is a sample body condition scoring chart. https://www.clenthillsvets.co.uk/how-to-assess-your-cat-or-dogs-weight-using-body-condition-scoring/

One of the cats I just adopted definitely needs to lose a bit of weight. She is a bit overweight right now, around a score of 7 I estimate. Can't feel her ribs hardly at all.

 

[Vinnie Van Gogh's Mom]

Thank you for getting back to me with all the awesome info! I will check out the digital calipers and experiment with lower insulin doses to see if that helps. Today, his BG actually went up after the insulin which is frustrating.

I'm getting a timed feeder so that I can cut him off of food 6 hours into the cycles and see how that goes. It will arrive tomorrow. And yes, 15 pounds is Vinnie's ideal. At one point he was up to 16.5 and was a bit chubby, but below 14.5 he's getting too thin and his ribs start showing. Right now his ribs are visible (but not nearly as bad as they were at 12.3) and the indentation above his hips is very pronounced. He's a big boy.

 

[Deb & Wink]

It's not only if the ribs are showing, it's if you can feel a layer of fat over the ribs. Or if you can clearly see each bone is his spine, that is too thin.

the indentation above his hips is very pronounced

Cats should have a "waist".

New thread please? This one is getting long, at over 50 replies and we like to keep them shorter than that.
Please link this old thread in at the top of the new thread. Thanks.