Should I hold insulin

[Dewey’s Mom]

Last evening Dewey’s blood sugar was 70 at 4pm. His last insulin was at 6:30 that morning. He is on Lantus 1 u twice a day. I gave him some wet food with gravy and 2 Temptations treats. It came up to 80 20 minutes later. He showed no symptoms. I held the insulin and fed him his pate food at 6:30. He has been up since 4am looking for food. His blood glucose is 190. Should I give his regular dose at 6:30 this morning? He has no vet appointments and she told me they will do a curve in 3 months. I have no guidance as to what to do.

 

[squeem3]

Your previous thread: Need help

Are you doing TR or SLGS? Both are explained here: Sticky - Dosing Methods: Start Low, Go Slow (SLGS) & Tight Regulation (TR) SLGS is best for most newbies to start with.

Are you still using the CGM? Are you able to download the data and share that with us or create a Google spreadsheet and manually enter the blood glucose numbers in? Without seeing your cat's numbers, it's hard for members to help you.

In general, it's ok to skip a shot. Blood glucose levels will likely get high but that's ok. Give the next insulin dose at the usual time so you can stay on schedule.

What was your cat's blood glucose level yesterday morning? At +9.5 (9 and a half hours later) he was at 70 which is a fine healthy number for that late in the cycle. No hypo treatment is needed. If you're following SLGS, any number under 90 means an immediate dose reduction by 0.25 units. Your cat's dose starting today is now 0.75 units. If the syringes have half unit markings, you just eyeball 0.75 between the 0.5 line and the 1 line. If the syringes are only marked in whole units, it's harder. You'll want to get half unit marked syringes as soon as you can.

You don't need the vet to do a curve which is not only expensive but also inaccurate because stress affects blood glucose levels. You have your cat's daily numbers on the CGM. Just share that data with the vet.

Did you decide to give insulin this morning? What was your cat's blood glucose level?

 

[Dewey’s Mom]

I have not been doing regular blood glucose levels. So I have no chart. My cat is very stressed when held and I have to hold him and take the blood and use the Relion monitor. So it is very difficult. I have had many issues with error messages. So I try to test when possible or I feel something is off. I gave him 0.5U this morning instead of his usual 1U. We tried the Libra initially but he would run every time I tried to get a reading, so it was removed. He has always been this was when he had to be picked up or held.

 

[squeem3]

I think the Libre automatically sends reading to an app on a phone that is kept near the cat? @Staci & Ivy can help but it might be a day or two due to the holiday tomorrow and the typical holiday plans people have around this time of year. In the meantime you can look through this thread and post new thread for questions: Getting Started With Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) for Diabetic Cats

Most error messages are from not enough blood on the test strip or the meter timing out before you get the blood drop applied. Tips here: Hometesting Links and Tips

 

[Connie & Moonie]

I have not been doing regular blood glucose levels. So I have no chart. My cat is very stressed when held and I have to hold him and take the blood and use the Relion monitor. So it is very difficult. I have had many issues with error messages. So I try to test when possible or I feel something is off. I gave him 0.5U this morning instead of his usual 1U. We tried the Libra initially but he would run every time I tried to get a reading, so it was removed. He has always been this was when he had to be picked up or held.

I see that our resident Libre expert has been tagged . Staci will be able to offer great advice. Ivy is gorgeous and magnificent and fluffy, and being as beautiful as she is, she knows she can get away with quite a lot. So my understanding is that she is almost as spicy as she is beautiful.

For manual testing though, something I’ve done is save our highest value treats only for testing. I don’t know how food motivated Dewey is. But I get one of those slow lickers and squirt churu on it, and Moonie is so busy licking that she doesn’t even notice the lancet. This is the only time Moonie gets churu. No testing = no churu.

I also started out by rewarding her with churu every time I would massage her ears with warm hands. (Reward for just massage, no testing). Because for us, warming her little ears made all the difference in getting a blood drop in one prick with a much smaller gauge.

Not sure if this helps but sharing what has worked for me at least.

 

[Staci & Ivy]

I think the Libre automatically sends reading to an app on a phone that is kept near the cat? @Staci & Ivy can help but it might be a day or two due to the holiday tomorrow and the typical holiday plans people have around this time of year. In the meantime you can look through this thread and post new thread for questions: Getting Started With Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) for Diabetic Cats

Most error messages are from not enough blood on the test strip or the meter timing out before you get the blood drop applied. Tips here: Hometesting Links and Tips

Yes, when using the Libre, if you are using a reader, then you have to manually scan the cat to get a reading.
However, I strongly suggest using a dedicated phone that you leave at home all the time within 33 feet of your cat and it automatically takes readings of the Libre and that way you do not have to bother your cat by taking a physical reading of their sensor.
(you can use an older phone as long as it is compatible with the Libre sensor. You can check the phone you would like to use on Abbott‘s website. You do not need a data plan so there are no costs involved in using a phone as the reader).
Perhaps you have an older phone that you don’t use any longer or someone you know has a phone they do not use.
Or you can purchase them pretty inexpensively either on eBay or through other channels.

The phone acts as a scanner and sends the data from the Libre up to the cloud and you receive it through the LibreLinkUp app on your phone and that way you can see the cats glucose 24/7.

I hope this helps.