Starting insulin tomorrow am. So nervous

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heather&giz

heather&giz

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In reality I shouldn't be nervous but I can't help it. Gizmo will be getting his first insulin shot Sat am around 7 am. We are using PZI the vet said 3G 2x a day but reading on here I'm thinking of going 2u for now. What does everyone think? He weights 15 lbs and started a canned food diet this week. I am going to test his bgs tonight so I will post that later.

When we give him a shot we were going to try to establish a curve so we will test him every 2hrs. His second shot will be around 7pm. What is the best time to give him the shot? After he eats or before? Do we need to test his bg every day before we give him insulin?

Wish us luck tomorrow!
 
I would start with one unit of PZI twice daily. If you start with two, and he really needed one, you are going to be over his ideal dose and it may cause rebound: Rebound It is easier to start low; you can always increase the dose as you need to. Especially since you are changing the diet, I would be cautious. When we changed Oliver from dry to wet, he went down 100 points overnight.

Yes, you want to test him before every shot, so you know it is safe to give the insulin in the amount you had planned. With PZI, it is a good idea to test around 5 or 6 hours after the shot so you know how low the insulin is taking him. We did the test and fed him while we gave the shot. He never noticed with his head deep into his food dish. You don't want to give him food first, as food increases the blood glucose level. Then the number you would get after feeding won't be a true number but would also reflect the food he ate.

You can wait at least a week before getting a curve. Sometimes a kitty takes at least a few days to get used to the insulin. After a week, it should be working well. Then test every 2 hours between the morning shot and evening shot. This will give you great information on how the insulin is working.

Good Luck! You'll do great.
 
I agree with Sue that starting at 1u would be wise. I hope it goes smoothly for you! You're on the right path!
 
Heather,

Test before you shoot insulin, and if the glucose is under 200 you will want to wait to give insulin. This is a good cut-off number for no insulin until you feel more comfortable treating Giz.

I might also suggest that the first day, just do a preshot test, and then maybe one or two spot-checks, say maybe +3 and +6, and then preshot for the evening shot. Save the 2-hour curve until after the insulin has had some time to settle, and you are more comfortable checking glucose levels.

Best,
Pam & Layla
 
Thanks everyone. I checked his glucose level tonight and it was 310. So we will definitely test tomorrow am before giving him insulin.
 
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