Starting Smokey on Insulin Again

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wendiz23

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I am updating my spreadsheet in a few minutes so you can see what has been going on but Smokey has been hanging out in the 200's so we started him back on .2 units of insulin this morning hoping it does something for him.
My only question is why is my guy so HUNGRY, he could eat 4 cans a day if we gave it to him.
 
Hi Wendi,

How exciting you are starting insulin, I think Smokey will be a micro dose kitty.

He's so hungry because the diabetes doesn't let his body properly use the food he is eating so he is literally starving. For now let him eat as much as he wants, once he's getting the right amount of insulin he will go back to eating normal amounts.
 
OKAY spreadsheet updated now! :-D

I assume I'm okay to give breakfast, snack, dinner & snack again or should I just stick with the 2 daily feedings to watch his numbers better?

Thank you everyone for following us again, we appreciate it a lot.
 
You're off to a great start.

The feeding schedule is an ECID thing. What ever works for you and how sensative to the carbs he is. Some have found that only feeding twice a day keeps their bg's lower and some find that feeding snacks during the day helps to support their P.
 
Looks like he's been diet controlled for almost a month - that's impressive! Big change from the reds to the yellows! But I would've restarted him too. I think starting low like you did was a really good choice.

If the numbers are most important, then you may not want to do this, but Grayson's appetite has almost continually been strong. He'd eat a can every hour if he could figure out the pull top! I know that's a factor in his "flat" numbers (known as "hanging out at IHOP"). But he's still losing some weight, so feeding him is more important than pretty colors on my spreadsheet, despite me wanting to see them!

Some folks feed consistently sized meals at regular intervals. Libby does every 6 hours. It doesn't seem to affect Hershey's numbers, from what I can tell. I know Grayson gets about a 30 pt food spike from each can... and it takes about 3-4 hours before he starts to drop. When I give him 0 carb food, like FF Ocean Whitefish, I see more movement. I've recently started tracking food type, quantity and time on his SS, so when I look at his numbers, I can assess how he's doing based on fewer variables. You may wish to do that too.

Hopefully Smokey will respond to the low dose, and it will bring him down into even lower (but safe!) numbers. Good luck!

Lu-Ann
 
In the last 2 months Smokey has lost what I know is too much weight so I hope this helps him. I am afraid to feed him all these snacks not knowing if it'll really mess with his number. Smokey & his brother aren't in to the seafood or beef variaties so I have them eating the Classic Chicken, Liver & Chicken and Turkey & Giblets cause that's all the choices I have. It upsets Smokey's will eat it but it really upsets his stomach and last time I gave it in dry food he ended up at the emergency vet on a Sunday for an anal prolapse (poor guy) & his brother Tommy won't even touch it so I just assume avoid it. I'm hoping .2 is where I will stay till he's OTJ, I hated putting him back on insulin. :sad:
 
You've done the best thing for him! He's looking good today, and you made a good call on the .2u rather than going higher....looks like someone else has a sensitive kitty too!

*anyone else think that a 200 point drop by +3 is a little steep? What are the thoughts about what the .2u did today?
 
That was a little steep, you might see a bounce.

But overall a really good day. I wouldn't go any higher than the .2u for now.

Good job today.
 
Nice PMPS, looks like you're getting a delayed bounce...he may stay high and flat this cycle, but that's alright and he'll come down soon. Good job today with the dose and testing!
 
Wendi,
If you want to buffer the sharp drops, you can space out the food, like give him a serving at shot time, and then a snack at about +3 or +4, which should help slow down the drop, or make it not so low. That'll slow down the bouncing from the low numbers.

As far as this cycle's numbers, my guess is that Smokey has gotten used to being in the 250-300 range in the recent past. So those blues he saw today, caused by his first insulin shot in weeks, caused his liver to react by dumping glucose and hormones into his system. As he gets used to having curves again, that will stop happening, so the best thing to do is try to ignore them and let them clear on their own. That might take a couple of days. If you increase the dose it can get worse as you set up a fight between his liver and your needle (plus any insulin he produces on his own). I would stick with the .2 for another few cycles unless we see something drastically different like a low green or some reds.

Carl
 
How upsetting, we just did a +5 and he's @ 375 & very hungry so is a snack okay to give?
BTW We thought the 375 was odd tested again it was 390 then a third time & 338, is our meter going bad already?
 
No, all meters have a 20% variance, so 375 could really be 300 to 415. Variance is then huge at high numbers and small at low numbers, so if you got 100 it could be 80-120...does that make sense? Carl is absolutely correct, smokey's liver freaked out and those numbers will go away on their own if you just hold that 0.2u dose.
 
Meters will vary from one test to another - 30 points is actually <10% variance. Not to worry. It's good, however, when you get a number that looks kinda kooky to take another test. I usually post all 3 numbers in the spreadsheet when that happens.

The number may still be reflecting the food spike (Grayson's sometimes takes 3-4 hours to clear), or you might have done a fur shot. I woudl be convinced that the shot was good, then the numbers would tell me something different. It's all part of the learning curve.

I feed Grayson when he's ravished like that. just be sure to note that in his spreadsheet, so down the road you can see what the extra food registered.

Or a treat will be fine - preferably something low carb - like the freeze-dried chicken. Grayson LOVES those!!! 0-carb!
 
No, the meter is okay. There's a 20% variance allowed in glucometers, so take that first reading of 375 and the actual range that would be within that variance is 300-450. Not a warm and fuzzy feeling, huh?

You did right by retesting. If a number just doesn't seem to fit, retest if you have the strips. I'd write 375 on the SS if subsequent tests are close. This is just one of those "what the heck is THAT???" numbers that everyone gets on occasion. But it's only one blip on the data chart.

Yes, a snack is okay to give. If he insists, he's hungry. It might boost his BG, but it'll be worn off by shot time. We just advise no food in the 2 hours leading up to shot time, so that the number you are basing your dose on doesn't include any excess BG from eating.

You're using U100 syringes, right? Can you eyeball a lower dose than .2? It may come down to mini-micro-dosing. But remember, this is his first day back on the juice, so just like before, it's going to take some time for him to settle into a dose, even a teeny one.

Carl
 
I'm heading to the store tomorrow to pick up half marking needles, the ones we have are hard to read. Probably 30 units 3/10ml, is the U-100 what I should get?
 
Yes, those would be great. And eyeballing less than .2 (which would be .5 on those syringes) would be somewhat easier. At least you will be able to tell when you are below that first line on the syringe. I've seen people say that you should insist that they open the box before you buy it to make 100% sure the half unit marking are on them. A few people apparently got different needles than they had asked for.


Carl
 
You will also need to print out and use the conversion chart that tells you how much to pull up into the U100 syringe to make the U40 dose correct. I'll find you a link....

Carl
 
Give him the 0.2u again, see if he'll come down for you today. You have to get through the bad numbers (bounces) to get to the good numbers....he'll come down.
 
We gave him the .2 this morning but I'm gone today for awhile so I won't be able to see numbers till dinner time but can watch numbers tonight.
 
Unfortunately bounces are just a part of the process. Once his body gets used to having normal numbers again the bouncing will stop.
 
I know it's hard. I believe everyone will want to let Smokey settle in for a few more cycles and see if he starts doing better. You're not hurting him, and you're doing great!
 
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