Tabby diagnosed with diabetes worried and scared

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Matt & Tabby

Matt & Tabby

Member Since 2015
Tabby has been in my life for 6 years now and just became diabetic. She is a tabby and yes I named her tabby just went with my feelings on the name so don't laugh. We are in are first week of shots and blood monitoring from home. Vet clocked her at 500 bg with lab work. So far he lowest home reading has been 321. . We had her at 1 unit on prozinc. Just bump up to two yesterday and no big change in numbers besides the 321 I took at the 6 hour peek. She was hiding alot and drinking slot and eatting more then normal. She has been more social lately but numbers are still high. This is frustrating for the both of us. Wondering how to get here numbers down safely and effectively. Vet keeps telling me it takes a while for the new dose to work in. Been giving shots above her shoulders with the tent aproach as I guesd they call it. Any help and support would be great in this journey to submission I am hoping for.
 
Tabby has been in my life for 6 years now and just became diabetic. She is a tabby and yes I named her tabby just went with my feelings on the name so don't laugh. We are in are first week of shots and blood monitoring from home. Vet clocked her at 500 bg with lab work. So far he lowest home reading has been 321. . We had her at 1 unit on prozinc. Just bump up to two yesterday and no big change in numbers besides the 321 I took at the 6 hour peek. She was hiding alot and drinking slot and eatting more then normal. She has been more social lately but numbers are still high. This is frustrating for the both of us. Wondering how to get here numbers down safely and effectively. Vet keeps telling me it takes a while for the new dose to work in. Been giving shots above her shoulders with the tent aproach as I guesd they call it. Any help and support would be great in this journey to submission I am hoping for.
 
Welcome Matt and Tabby. I'm new here too and it can be a bit overwhelming at times! One thing I've learned is that it takes time to regulate. Are you home testing? What meter are you using? Also what food are you feeding. I found a lot of improvement in Colin by changing what and how I fed him. He's on Fancy Feast Pate-a low carb canned food and no dry food at all. He's hungry all the time, poor baby, but everyone tells me that'll get better when he gets regulated. Can you set up a spreadsheet for Tabby? That way people with a lot more experience than me can help you better. There are instructions how to do that in the forums and if you need help ask and someone will help you. BTW I love the name. Had a 'Tabby' once myself and he was the best cat!
 
Hello Matt! WELCOME to you and Tabby. Don't worry Matt, things will begin to improve immensely if you stick around here!! There is an excellent chance of remission! The experience and dedication by veteran members here will simply amaze you.
If you have looked around, I'm sure you have seen that we like completed profiles :)..if you could add some pertinent details about Tabby that would be great. In order for folks to assist, we need to SEE your blood glucose values, in a spreadsheet like this.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...te-a-ss-and-link-it-in-your-signature.130337/
Ask for help if you need it, Matt ANYTIME, about ANYTHING. Ask alot of questions!! We've all been where you are.
May I ask what, how much, and when do you feed?
I'm sure you're ngoing to get plenty of responses, so this post is my contribution for now!
Stick around, you'll never regret a minute.;):):cat:
 
Sharon14 said:
Welcome Matt and Tabby. I'm new here too and it can be a bit overwhelming at times! One thing I've learned is that it takes time to regulate. Are you home testing? What meter are you using? Also what food are you feeding. I found a lot of improvement in Colin by changing what and how I fed him. He's on Fancy Feast Pate-a low carb canned food and no dry food at all. He's hungry all the time, poor baby, but everyone tells me that'll get better when he gets regulated. Can you set up a spreadsheet for Tabby? That way people with a lot more experience than me can help you better. There are instructions how to do that in the forums and if you need help ask and someone will help you. BTW I love the name. Had a 'Tabby' once myself and he was the best cat!
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I home test her. I wanted to know real time numbers of what is going on not taking her to the vet all the time I work alot so I'm only home in the mornings and late evenings . Makes things hard. I bought a relion prime for my tester . Walmart brand. I talk to the pharmacist that seems very nice and helpful and told me other have been in there looking amd asking same questions as a tester goes. I prick her ears to get blood. Right now she is on hills dry food. I purchase that from pets supplies plus. I live in ohio and that's the closest store to me. The prescription stuff cost alot and honestly just in the dark on information . I lies be her food out as I always did since I had her. She pretty much nibbles throughout the day sloth now it seems she is going to the food bowl more often now. I would love to get her on a better diet. Thinking that would help with her numbers. Also found a company online that sells an herbal mix u drop on there food to help with diabetes support. I forgot the company as I will have to look that up.
 
PS Matt, I didn't set up my own SPREADSHEET, just so ya know! Someone can and will set it up for you, all you need to do is ask.
 
The Hills dry food is high in carbs and is expensive. You need a low carb food. I use the Fancy Feast pate, but there are other canned foods that are just as good. Go to
catinfo.org to see a list. I see you're using Pro Zinc, so am I. You may want to post on that forum as well. There are many people there knowledgable in it's use. Good luck and keep us posted!
 
Matt & Tabby said:
Also found a company online that sells an herbal mix u drop on there food to help with diabetes support.
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Sounds good, but don't waste your $$. Insulin is the only thing that can regulate her.
The dry food is definitely a problem. And most likely the reason you're seeing such high values. We have an excellent food chart, I'll try to find and attach. But it is there for the reading under the newbie stickies, that say 'Start here'.
Fancy Feast Classics are fed by many members here! It's available and cheap. Most of the classic flavors are under 8 carbs, which is suggested. The food switch alone can drop your kitty's levels by up to 100..you must be careful and be home testing when you switch!
I'll locate the food list, if someone doesn't post it for you soon, OK?
 
Welcome Matt and Tabby,

The protocol we put together for ProZinc is in my signature, in blue.

Tabby's numbers are probably higher because of the Hills dry food. It runs in the 30% range. We suggest 8%. A vet explains why wet low carb food is best on this website: www.catinfo.org If you switch, it would be best to do it on a weekend when you can monitor carefully. Our Oliver dropped 100 points when we switched from dry to wet.
 
Yea I'm clueless on spread sheets and limited with my Internet access as well. Any help would be great. My gf lives an hour from me so I go there on the weekends and just started taking tabby with me as she can not be left alone now. .. are there any dry foods that are low in carb or must u feed tabby canned foods for now on and is it ok to let her graze throughout the day as I'm not home during the day to administer food for lunch to her or what not.
 
There are some lower carb dry foods, but wet is much better. It helps with dehydration. Check out the website to see why it is the best food for diabetics. You can leave it out for her to eat during the day. I freeze mine in a silicone cupcake pan; a can of Fancy Feast fits perfectly. Then it can thaw and they can eat it over several hours.

I can help set you up with a spreadsheet. I need an email address and you don't want to put it out on the forum. Check your private conversations at the top of the page.
 
Tucker&Me said:
Sounds good, but don't waste your $$. Insulin is the only thing that can regulate her.
The dry food is definitely a problem. And most likely the reason you're seeing such high values. We have an excellent food chart, I'll try to find and attach. But it is there for the reading under the newbie stickies, that say 'Start here'.
Fancy Feast Classics are fed by many members here! It's available and cheap. Most of the classic flavors are under 8 carbs, which is suggested. The food switch alone can drop your kitty's levels by up to 100..you must be careful and be home testing when you switch!
I'll locate the food list, if someone doesn't post it for you soon, OK?
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Sounds great. She tested at 412 this morning and was at 332 last night before her shot. I heard her going to the food bowl last night and this morning when I woke up the food was empty. My guess is she ate alot probably to much. Seems her apitite has gone up. A food chart woukd be great. She has alway been a grazer. I have always left her food out for her to eat on all day she use to just nibble. Thinking I may need to change that or administer food in the morning before work and when I come home from work I guess. I don't know. Makes me frustrated seeing her go through this. :-(
 
Hi Matt, and welcome.
I started the journey about three weeks ago, and the support from people here has been amazing.
I still remember how scary and overwhelming everything seemed. It's hard to believe how far I've come since then, and FDMB is a big part of how I've coped.

I have three cats, and they are all grazers. This can actually be a really good thing for a diabetic cat, as long as you don't put down too much food so they overeat. When Tabby starts seeing lower numbers, an instinct that gets her too eat so she doesn't go too low is a GOOD THING. My Martian's numbers have gone down dramatically in a short period of time (this is not a typical response, so don't be worried that Tabby's haven't, it can take a month or two), so I'm really glad he will go and eat when he feels hungry.

I used to feed my lot a combination of wet and dry food, and I phased the dry food out before Martian started on insulin. They get fed twice a day. I leave wet food down for them while I'm at work and overnight, and they graze just the same as they did on the dry food. I often add a little water to the wet food, which helps keep it moist, as well as putting more moisture into their diets. They've pretty much stopped drinking water since I changed the diet over. You could also look into purchasing a timed auto feeder (some info here http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/7-1-peyton-ambg-4-64-otj-trial-day-8.121121/#p1262140).

If Tabby isn't used to eating wet food, you'll probably need to make the transition pretty slowly. There are tips on how to do this on the http://www.catinfo.org/ website. And you will have to monitor closely to see how it affects her Blood Glucose numbers (you don't want her to drop too far, too fast).

I second the recommendation to join the ProZinc forum. The people there have experience with the same type of insulin as you, and can guide you in how to manage things like food, dosage, BG highs and lows, etc. Most importantly they can provide moral support when things get tough, and help celebrate when things go well. I'm in the Lantus/Levemir forum and people there have been great.

Good luck!
 
Insulin is a hormone which allows glucose to enter the cells and be used for fuel. Without enough insulin, there's less fuel, more hunger, and less activity.
Fat breakdown happens which creates ketones to be used for fuel. Too many ketones may turn the body acidic, resulting in a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis, which is potentially fatal and very expensive to treat. That is why we recommend testing for urine ketones.

See my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for other assessments you may make to evaluate how she is doing - she's more than a glucose number.
 
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BJM said:
Insulin is a hormone which allows glucose to enter the cells and be used for fuel. Without enough insulin, there's less fuel, more hunger, and less activity.
Fat breakdown happens which creates ketones to be used for fuel. Too many ketones may turn the body acidic, resulting in a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis, which is potentially fatal and very expensive to treat. That is why we recommend testing for urine ketones.
See my signature link Glucometer Notes for some info on meters and feline-specifix glucose ranges.
See my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for other assessments you may make to evaluate how she is doing - she's more than a glucose number.
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I HAVE TESTED FOR KEYTONES WITH STRIPES I BOUGHT FROM WALMART. SHE IS NEGATIVE SO FAR. MY VET SAYS TO GIVE HER TIME ON THE INSULIN PROZINC AND DO NOT ADJUST DIET YET WHICH SHE IS ON HILLS DRY FOOD RIGHT NOW. I FIND THIS TO BE FRUSTRATING AS SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE HERE SOON HAVE BEEN DOING 2 UNIT IN THE AM AND AND 2 UNITS IN EVENING. THIS MORNING AROUND 5:45 AM SHE TESTED AT 412 HIGHEST I HAVE SEEN ON HOME TESTING. MAKING ME THINK THIS VET DOESNT REALLY CAR OR TO BUSY TO CARE
 
This is a common theme here.
There are so many reasons vets recommend the "prescription" foods. Some don't know much about feline nutrition, some have bought into the prescription food company hype, some are playing it safe by sticking with what's familiar. It doesn't mean they don't care about Tabby. They could also have a genuine concern that you can't monitor enough to keep her safe while changing the food over, because it will affect her BGL.

I had a similar discussion with my vet. My recommendation: Stick with what you know for now. Do your research - which food would you like to switch to, and why (protein/carb levels, cost, variety of flavours). Make a transition plan, including how quickly you plan to change from one food to the other and how you are going to monitor Tabby's BGL during the transition. Write it all down so you don't get mixed up when you're having the discussion (maybe email it to your vet so they can have a look before you meet).

Ultimately, you are Tabby's carer and you get to make the decisions. People here will support you whatever you decide.
 
Welcome. It is goot that yo are home testing BG. What meter are you using? Most of use here record the BGs and other info in a spreadsheet that can be viewed by other. Tio create the SS see:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...te-a-ss-and-link-it-in-your-signature.130337/
What are you feeding? A low-carb food is best and those are all canned. There is no reason for a prescription food from your vet. Here is listing of low-carb, commercial canned food.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/shortcut-shopping-list-all-8-or-less-updated.117688/
 
Larry and Kitties said:
Welcome. It is goot that yo are home testing BG. What meter are you using? Most of use here record the BGs and other info in a spreadsheet that can be viewed by other. Tio create the SS see:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...te-a-ss-and-link-it-in-your-signature.130337/
What are you feeding? A low-carb food is best and those are all canned. There is no reason for a prescription food from your vet. Here is listing of low-carb, commercial canned food.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/shortcut-shopping-list-all-8-or-less-updated.117688/
Click to expand...

Here is a pic of my blood readings we seem to be climbing and I don't know why.. I'm all ears
 

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Her food is akways out so she eats when she is hungry.. she grazes.. maybe that's the problem. . She is still on dry food. Vet keeps telling me to hold off on switching. Honestly um ready to makes some moves here regardless what she is saying.
 
If and when you decide to switch to a low carb canned food, be sure to test her BG Before you inject insulin. You really need to start a spread sheet. Others can help you with that if you need them to. Have you started a thread on the Pro Zinc forum? People there know a lot about that particular insulin and how it works. They'll be glad to help
 
Oh wow Matt! Tabby is a tortie! She's really beautiful!
Did you respond to @Sue and Oliver (GA) yet? Let her help you with your spreadsheet! You can even access on your phone, since you have limited internet access. (I KNOW you have a smartphone)
Listen, you are getting super advice from some veterans here right now, people I learned from! I can't add alot, but I will say this.
I've heard that some kitties are die hard dry food addicts. I thought mine would be too, when I decided to make the switch for them all, after Tucker was diagnosed :nailbiting: But they all transitioned very well, in a short time to Fancy Feast! I had to use a 1/4 tablet of Pepcid AC a time or two, for one of them. That's it!
Be sure and take Sue, and CarolynE's advice about visiting this site
http://www.catinfo.org
You are doing GREAT so far by home testing already, and seeking further knowledge about this crappy disease.
Of course it is affecting you watching Tabby in her distress!! And it will continue to be up and down, BUT we are all here for each other! You'll be able to crack a few jokes about it all, believe it or not.
I wasn't a forum person - but I sure am now!!
We're very glad to have you and your sweet Tabby-girl!
 
Sharon14 said:
If and when you decide to switch to a low carb canned food, be sure to test her BG Before you inject insulin. You really need to start a spread sheet. Others can help you with that if you need them to. Have you started a thread on the Pro Zinc forum? People there know a lot about that particular insulin and how it works. They'll be glad to help
Click to expand...
IL
I have no idea how to use the spread sheet. Someone sent it to me and looks like a foreign language to me lol.. been so busy at work today makes it hard. Worrying and working is killing me today
 
It took me awhile to learn to use it too. Did Sue set it up for you? She did mine and I had to ask some very stupid questions, but she was very patient and answered them all. You need to take the food away from Tabby 2 hours before you test, then feed then shoot. Then if you can, test every few hours to find her nadir-lowest BG reading. I know how you feel about having to leave them. It has actually made me sick some days. Fortunately I'm self employed and can run home every once and awhile to check.
 
Matt, I had crazy values too because I was WEAK and fed within that 2 hr window, pre shot!
Improved immensely when I realized, and stuck to the "2 hr no feed" window.
I had to man up. Lol
 
Sharon14 said:
It took me awhile to learn to use it too. Did Sue set it up for you? She did mine and I had to ask some very stupid questions, but she was very patient and answered them all. You need to take the food away from Tabby 2 hours before you test, then feed then shoot. Then if you can, test every few hours to find her nadir-lowest BG reading. I know how you feel about having to leave them. It has actually made me sick some days. Fortunately I'm self employed and can run home every once and awhile to check.
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So should I only feel her before I shoot and not leave the food out to graze on? She's on dry food thinking I may add some wet into the mix and go slow to see what numbers I get... when should I do my meter tests on her. I have been doing them in the morning before her shot then at noon when I come home from lunch when I can and then I test in evening when I come home before her second shot
 
Test pre-shot without fail. You have to know if it's SAFE to give the insulin. Right?
And. When you're going to test ( pre shot, for now)
No food for 2 hrs prior.

Anytime you choose to test, you must observe the 2 hr no food window.
Pre shot is a must.
 
Matt & Tabby said:
I may add some wet into the mix and go slow to see what numbers I get... when should I do my meter tests on her. I
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Yes, if you do that Matt you'll definitely want to be testing to see where her levels go.And you will need some help here during that. We'll get ya the spreadsheet instructions,you'll see..not hard. No math required!
Over the weekend, or whenever you have enough time to dedicate..you can try testing her a bit more often, so that you can find her nadir. ( when the insulin takes her the lowest) Read up a little ( in yer spare time lol) on the ProZinc Sue linked you to. So you know a bit about your insulin. OK?
 
Matt
Sorry for all the posts! I realize you're at work.
Until @BJM can shoot the instructions... You could take a look at mine, or anyone's in their profile.
It's Tucker's SS. Just click on it.
AMPS = A.M. PreShot ( your test result prior to shot)
PMPS = P.M. PreShot

The +1, +2 etc..are the hours past the shot time
I.e. If you shoot at 6 am then 7 am is +1, and so forth
Enter your values, always click the arrow when done.
I'm probably leaving out something.
See what you think.
 
Vet returned my phone call finally .Just got off phone with vet. She said she is not concerned of her higher levels yet amd says to watch her moods and switch to a prescription dry food and still come in for our follow up on Friday the 28th. What she says makes no sense from what u guys are experiencing first hand on here. . I feel like it's gonna be trial and error and being ballsy and tring thongs on my own to see what results will happen. I will try to get spread sheet up this weekend if I can figure it out. Vet said pricking her ear everyday can cause a sore ear. I was like well how else are we suppose to check levels. My question is I guess. What high high levels are bad. Vet rather her be high then low right now. Gonna clear my head here for a bit. Thanks everyone helping me and chiming in. Nice to feel not so lonely on the journey . Will keep u posted with outcomes tomorrow. If anyone wants to give me a call there welcome to as well.. as I'm off this weekend
 
Bojangles and I (Marcy) are three weeks in. She's responding well to insulin, though she's on Lantus. Her numbers were in the 300s to start, but by week 2 were in the 200s and this week have been mostly in the 100s, we've been very fortunate - I wish the same for you. The post from Tucker & Me above explains the spreadsheet pretty well. Bojangles numbers improved once I removed the dry food (this includes the prescription dry). She's been eating Fancy Feast & Friskies pate as recommended here. Canned prescription food was $$$ and she didn't like it - I returned it to the vet. At the vets her numbers showed high 500 & 600s. Much better numbers testing at home when she's less stressed.

She is fine with the ear pricks. Note, a baby sock filled with rice and warmed in the microwave (for us about 15 seconds, but try it on yourself first so you can let it cool off if necessary) and held against her ear helps. Also vaseline or neosporin, a small strip, spread along the edge of the ear helps the blood to bead up instead of spread into the fur. It still sometimes takes us 3 or more attempts before we get a bead of blood, but she doesn't react and it's for her health so we have to do it.

Bojangles grazes/free feeds all day long - half a can out in the morning, half a can out in the evening/overnight and her numbers are still improving.
 
PS - Make sure to avoid the foods with gravy/sauce if possible - the board members here agree those are bad and will spike the sugar with the carbs.

Bonito flakes & freeeze dried salmon treats sprinkled on the food sometimes help to encourage Bobo to eat...someone else mentioned parmesan like you might sprinkle on spaghetti, but Bobo didn't care for that.
 
Feel free to check out Bojangles sheet as well - just click on the blue text "Bojangles' Spreadsheet" in my signature line. We aren't able to test as much as some do as I'm away from the house work days 6:30-5. We do the curves (checking her sugar with ear pricks) on the weekends and my vet has me check every 2 hours for a 12 hour period - AM Pre-Shot (AMPS), 2 hours later (+2), 4 hours later (+4), 6 hours later (+6) and so on through the PM Pre-shot (PMPS). Others on here are able to test more frequently. We're mostly moving to .5 unit 2x daily because her numbers have been lower - this is by my vet's recommendation.
 
Bojangles' Mom said:
Feel free to check out Bojangles sheet as well - just click on the blue text "Bojangles' Spreadsheet" in my signature line. We aren't able to test as much as some do as I'm away from the house work days 6:30-5. We do the curves (checking her sugar with ear pricks) on the weekends and my vet has me check every 2 hours for a 12 hour period - AM Pre-Shot (AMPS), 2 hours later (+2), 4 hours later (+4), 6 hours later (+6) and so on through the PM Pre-shot (PMPS). Others on here are able to test more frequently. We're mostly moving to .5 unit 2x daily because her numbers have been lower - this is by my vet's recommendation.
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Yea that's my problem is having tine to do a 12 hour check. So you check every 2 hours? So if I do an ear test every 2 hours for 12 hours and record it all down on the sheet with the 2 unit does twice a day what will this information tell me. Sorry I'm clueless on this stuff why I'm in sales lol...
 
The series of tests every 2 hours from preshot to next preshot test provides you with a curve that shows:

1. The lowest point in that cycle (a.k.a. the nadir) - you need to make sure that the dose doesn't take Tabby too low.

2. The length of time the insulin dose is effective in lowering Tabby's blood glucose levels. (a.k.a. the duration).

.
 
Critter Mom said:
The series of tests every 2 hours from preshot to next preshot test provides you with a curve that shows:

1. The lowest point in that cycle (a.k.a. the nadir) - you need to make sure that the dose doesn't take Tabby too low.

2. The length of time the insulin dose is effective in lowering Tabby's blood glucose levels. (a.k.a. the duration).

.
Click to expand...
So from 8am to 8 pm every two hours.. when do I feed her on this test of 12 hours. She normally grazes
 
1. You need to make sure Tabby has no access to food from just before 6am. This ensures that you get a fasting blood glucose level for the AM preshot test (AMPS on the spreadsheet).

2. Just before 8am do the morning preshot blood test then give Tabby her breakfast. After you're sure she has eaten a reasonable amount administer her insulin. (@Sue and Oliver (GA) - is there a minimum amount of time Matt should wait before giving the insulin?)

3. Every two hours, measure Tabby's blood glucose. If she normally grazes, then let her graze. You need to see how the insulin and food work together and how her blood glucose levels are affected.

4. Make sure that Tabby doesn't eat anything from just before 6pm (AM+10), so that you fast her ready for the evening preshot test (PMPS on the spreadsheet).

The weekend curves can be backed up with spot-check tests during the week. For example, if her normal evening shot time is 8pm then maybe you could get a test just before going to bed during the week (e.g. 11pm, which would be a PM+3 test).

I hope I've explained the process OK. The idea of running the curve is to give you an approximate idea of how Tabby is doing on a given dose of insulin. With the curve and the spot checks, you'll be able to check her dose is safe, and also to see whether it needs to be adjusted to better improve her glucose regulation.


Mogs
.
 
What Bojangles & I do is:

Weekdays AMPS (morning/am pre-shot) 6am and feed (food left out all day). Sometimes we check at 5pm (+11 or 11 hours after shot). PMPS (pm pre-shot) is 6pm, then feed and food is left out until she eats it all or until 6am.

One weekend day we do AMPS 6am, feed, and then test at 8am (+2), 10am (+4), 12noon (+6), 2pm (+8), 4pm (+10) and then PMPS 6pm and feed. On the weekends, I encourage Bojangles to eat occassionally (sticking food bowl in front of her face and she'll eat) as she definitely doesn't eat only at meals. Different cats react differently to insulin, but Bojangles has done well while grazing ONCE I totally removed all dry food (including the prescription dry - that was useless for us).

Note the NADIR (lowest reading in the 12-hour cycle) will not necessarily fall at hour 6.

PS - She gets her insulin as soon as she's eaten a few bites of food, so shortly after 6am & 6pm.
 
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Critter Mom said:
2. Just before 8am do the morning preshot blood test then give Tabby her breakfast. After you're sure she has eaten a reasonable amount administer her insulin. (@Sue and Oliver (GA) - is there a minimum amount of time Matt should wait before giving the insulin?)
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As long as she is eating well and not "off her food", you can wait till her head is buried inside her breakfast and give the shot. Matt, I hope you can be switching over to wet before you do this curve. That will give you more valid info (not so inflated by high carb dry) and be a good predictor of how much lower wet food might take her than the previous dry.
 
ProZinc is dosed and works a lot like Canninsulin, which you are familiar with, Mogs. The only differences are no need to have food on board before the shot, and it usually is less harsh and lasts longer.
 
And a BIG THANK YOU to Critter Mom & Sue and Oliver and all of the others on this board who have helped me and continue to help and educate others on this process. We're still new and learning, but wouldn't be where we are today without everyone on this board. As much as we all wish we didn't have to be here, it is comforting to know there are others to turn to who understand it. So many people look at me like I'm crazy for doing all of this for Bojangles, but she's my baby and I think they are crazy for saying they wouldn't do this for their furry family members! She's not only my baby, but more often than not she's my best friend.
 
Critter Mom said:
1. You need to make sure Tabby has no access to food from just before 6am. This ensures that you get a fasting blood glucose level for the AM preshot test (AMPS on the spreadsheet).

2. Just before 8am do the morning preshot blood test then give Tabby her breakfast. After you're sure she has eaten a reasonable amount administer her insulin. (@Sue and Oliver (GA) - is there a minimum amount of time Matt should wait before giving the insulin?)

3. Every two hours, measure Tabby's blood glucose. If she normally grazes, then let her graze. You need to see how the insulin and food work together and how her blood glucose levels are affected.

4. Make sure that Tabby doesn't eat anything from just before 6pm (AM+10), so that you fast her ready for the evening preshot test (PMPS on the spreadsheet).

The weekend curves can be backed up with spot-check tests during the week. For example, if her normal evening shot time is 8pm then maybe you could get a test just before going to bed during the week (e.g. 11pm, which would be a PM+3 test).

I hope I've explained the process OK. The idea of running the curve is to give you an approximate idea of how Tabby is doing on a given dose of insulin. With the curve and the spot checks, you'll be able to check her dose is safe, and also to see whether it needs to be adjusted to better improve her glucose regulation.


Mogs
.
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Ok what is U on the spreadsheet for? And what is pmps? And what have u folks been putting on the remarks side? Cam I test every two hours instead of hour?
 
Matt & Tabby said:
Ok what is U on the spreadsheet for? And what is pmps? And what have u folks been putting on the remarks side? Cam I test every two hours instead of hour?
Click to expand...

AMPS = Morning pre-shot test result.
PMPS = Evening pre-shot test result.

U = Insulin dose in units.

There is no need to test every hour. The spreadsheet is essetially a grid for recording test results; you simply put the test results into the appropriate 'pigeon holes'. For example, one day you may be able to grab a test at AM+3 and PM+2. Another day you might be able to snag a test at AM+4 and PM+7. By adding test results into the grid, it can help you spot patterns in Tabby's response to her insulin and that can be a great aid to improving her regulation.
 
Matt, I can set up your spreadsheet for you, then email it to you. You can then save it with whatever title you want. I will just need an email address, and what time you normal shoot.
 
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