Starting Senvelgo soon- process

[Glassgoblin]

Hello, I have not received much instruction from my vet yet, but the meds are supposed to be delivered today and I am trying to get everything ready to begin. I have the ketone strips and got a new glucose meter, and even started a spreadsheet just now with the test from the Vet office and a home test from today. I am just trying to work out a process to dosing and tracking progress. I know to watch for DKA, and stop meds and get to Vet asap if I see signs of ketones or DKA. I know to check ketones and get a current weight before first dose, and to keep checking regularly. But that is about all I know after reading the posts about Senvelgo. We have our first eval Vet appointment scheduled for next Thursday, and I was hoping to start giving Electra the med on Monday afternoon so it will be when I am home to watch for any reactions for the rest of the night.

I am familiar with the insulin process; fasting tests and curve tests, and determining if bg is too low for a shot. How does that work for these meds though? I want to track BG but how often do you test, and does timing change? Is there is a BG test that would make you skip a dose, or is that just determined by development of ketones? Is there any way to determine if your cat is going into remission? All questions to ask the Vet probably, but I was hoping to hear from others who are dealing with it day to day also. I guess I am hoping someone might be willing to share their routine for dose/testing?

 

[BellaBlue82]

Hi Glassgoblin!
Sadie is about 2 and 1/2 weeks in, so we're fairly new to Senvelgo ourselves.

I approach it similarly from the testing perspective. I test her in the morning before I leave for work, and also try to test her ketones in the morning (that is when they will be the highest.) If I am home, I will do a midday test. Then I will test at dinner, and in the evening before bed. At the very minimum, I'm testing before AM and PM feeding. But it's good to have at least a few tests through the day to see if the Senvelgo is regulating her BG. This does not include days I do a curve; I have done one, and I tested every two hours for that.

The leaflet in the box for Senvelgo is also very helpful, I must admit. There's a lot of info, but if you have time I would suggest reading through most of it. That is how I found out about the best time to test ketones, how to administer the dose, etc. (Sad, I read more about my pets medication than my own lol.)

The dosing is pretty straightforward - the syringe is marked by weight in lbs. They recommend you monitor your ctas weight weekly in case you need to adjust the amount. You can also admin any time of day that works best for you and your pet, but recommend you give it the same time every day. I give Sadie hers every day around 6pm. This way I can almost guarantee I'll be home to give it to her.

I wish you luck! I know it is not ideal for every pet, but I really hope it works out for your kitty.

 

[Glassgoblin]

The dosing is pretty straightforward - the syringe is marked by weight in lbs. They recommend you monitor your cats weight weekly in case you need to adjust the amount. You can also admin any time of day that works best for you and your pet, but recommend you give it the same time every day. I give Sadie hers every day around 6pm. This way I can almost guarantee I'll be home to give it to her.

I am thinking I will be giving it in the late afternoon/evening also. One of my torties has Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome and she gets half her gabapentin and her clomicalm pill every day at 5 (or as close as possible), so it might be nice to group all the meds together and get it organized and taken care of at the same time. They get their second meal of the day around that time too.

*Have read the medication insert twice through, and I think I can see where her values were in the acceptable range to use this medication. Did a second ketone test (gotta catch her when she is going to pee) and negative again. I really hate how the negative and trace colors are so similar- negative more tan, trace turning pink on this test. I ordered another brand of strips to see if I can do a double check in case one gives a false reading. I have urine sample cups, test strips, my fitbit timer seems to be a great resource to watch the seconds, but of course when it comes her Electra's life I am still nervous about missing something.

 

[Glassgoblin]

First dose was given tonight; she was drinking water before, ate some food just after, rested for about an hour and 20 minutes and now is drinking again. No vomiting so far and she is vocal and sassing me/grabbing my hand (which is normal behavior for her). Negative ketone test earlier in day, got her weight, and was going to get BG but poked her four times without getting enough blood to test, so decided to wait a couple hours after dose to see if it will be down compared to the last few days tests pre-meds. Have been adding notes as we go, ketone test in morning if I can catch her; this is my early week for work which gives us over an hour less time in the morning, but good for afternoon/being home all evening after the dose is given. If all goes well, she will have had three doses before seeing Vet on Thursday.