LAST POST: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/marley-dosing-02-16.243231/ So we've been struggling with Marley swinging to extremes just increasing or decreasing his dose by a little. He's known to have failed reductions even by just .1U. His AM/PMPS is usually 300-400s with the occassional 100+ which I usually reduce, but then he sometimes gets all wonky. Idk what to do for this morning. I'm currently stalling, but even if it goes up a bit from 146, I doubt he'd get into the range of shooting a full dose. Yet, shooting reduced doses gets wonky. He's been doing pretty well adjusting to this dose, but this AMPS has thrown a curve ball.
Looking at his previous reduced doses, I see that when I give him a smaller dose on low AMPS days, he stays in a good range, but then shoots up to HI for his PMPS. I'm thinking to do maybe a smaller dose, but closer to his regular dose. Like do 3U. I've done 1U down from 3U, 2U down from 3U, and 2.75U down from 3.5U. 2.75U kept him in the upper 100s, but then he shot up in numbers after nadir and went HI. So 3U for this morning?
Not much movement. Almost the same as your 02/16 AM cycle. He is >150 but I think a reduced dose is wise. Are you around to closely monitor today?
Yes and no. Due to the snow, my ordered test strips won't be here for another 2 days and he only has 6 left, so I need to go up to walmart and get more which is 30 minutes away. So I'd be gone no less than an hour and a half to two hours. There is a CVS 2 minutes away, though. Would I be ok buying a different human meter just to use until my Relion test strips come in? What kind of reduced dose do you think based on his previous lower doses?
I don't like that. Yes. I'd do a comparison test to get a feel if there is much difference between the two meters. I'm thinking 2.5u if you can monitor. Rather be safe now that his BG is showing movement again.
Well partial fur shot He was in an energetic mood and wasn't cooperating. Moved and got some on his fur. Idk how much ugh.
I know. But it's my first ever fur shot and I've been doing this for 8 months lol. I don't like having the exact info on what he got and I feel bad he will run high today, now.
Will give you a chance to get some more strips without too much worry (if you're like me you always worry though)
You're right. Always worrying lol. Luckily my SO offered to go to CVS for a new meter. Got a CVS brand meter. I hope the numbers line up fairly well.
So, I need some advice. Please look at my SS again. With the fur shot and reduced dose this morning, I'm afraid. He has a history of DKA and I'm starting to freak out. Since he obviously isn't getting any affect from his AM insulin, should I go ahead and give it to him early tonight? I can slowly work my way back up to his normal schedule over the next few days, but I'm worried about him today. He's not a stranger to HIs especially during AM/PMPS, but not this early in the day. So, early shot?
I can see why you're worried. I have no experience seeing anyone shoot this early. Please add that info about DKA history to your signature and have you tested for ketones today? I've seen @Deb & Wink pop in early the odd day, let's see if she's around early today.
Will do. And yes I have. I believe it's negative. I'll be honest and say I'm not good at looking at those strips and telling the difference between negative and trace, but I'm 75% sure it was negative. I already went ahead and shot. He was feeling icky and I was really worried him going up so high.
I have no idea what shooting 3 hours early is going to do. So closely monitoring Marley is a good idea. Glad you were able to get a different meter and some test strips. You'll need them. Shipping delays all over the country because of that TX storm. I think a lot of us will be in situations where we might need a backup meter and extra test strips.
Thank you for the response. I'm not too thrilled about shooting early, but with his history and he started acting lethargic and not wanting his food, I just wanted to make sure I could get his BG to a decent level since he's been at HI for about 4 hours now? Definitely monitoring him closely. I got the new monitor from CVS, but literally an hour after it was bought, the test strips showed up at my door, so I guess their tracking information is having some delays, too! Now I have a backup with 200 strips and I have 400 strips for the Relion.
I'm also not sure if you read, but I have an order of Lantus coming in so I'll be switching to that later this week so I hope these issue start to resolve.
Shooting that early with Lantus? Wouldn't do it, since lantus is a depot insulin. You'd be much more likely to cause a hypoglycemic episode. You're going to need to be much more consistent with the dose when you use lantus. Do read all the sticky posts over in the lantus ISG group. Different style of posting over there too. And different dosing methods.
I know. That's what I was saying. I know it's more gentle and a depot, so this issue shouldn't happen. Prozinc hasn't done well for him. I'm pretty much as consistent as I can be except for when he has a low day and I can't give him his full dose. This is the only time I've ever shot early... I wasn't saying I'm shooting early with Lantus.
Learning to shoot those low numbers with lantus can be nerve wracking, but totally worth it. Some people have compared using lantus to steering a huge cruise ship and using Prozinc to driving a speed boat. Responses can be slower with lantus. There's even a sticky that explains how to do that "Shoot low to stay low", although it's not called that. I'm sure you'll see it.
Ya that's why I'm hoping Lantus will be easier on him. People on here have noticed that his nadirs hit and he like, goes straight up without a steady incline. It's very.... speedboat like with him like you said lol. I'm getting more comfortable shooting lower since I see that a lot of the times a reduced dose doesn't do much for him, but I think I'll be even more comfortable after the switch.