Testing

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BoogiesMama

BoogiesMama

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Is it best to obtain a PS number before feeding? I usually obtain a PS number in the evening within an hour after feeding, but AM PS are difficult. Also, Steven is now eating only FF wet food and completely off of dry food. Should I leave wet food out during the day for him to eat when needed and while I am away at work? I plan on increasing the evening dosage to 3.5 tomorrow night. Any insight and guidance is most appreciated.
 
It is hard to know what to advise as Stephen is all over the place. There are several things that might help.

It is important to get a number before each shot so you can see what the insulin does. If he has been eating dry high carb food (wonderful that you are switching over!) and your tests have been an hour after eating, they could be heavily skewed by food. Sometimes numbers are up +100 points after wet low carb; dry could mean even higher rises. It would be best if you could test, shoot and then feed - or feed as you shoot. Is the issue that he is anxious to eat in the am? If so, you can give him a little bit of food or a treat to keep him occupied while you get a test in. It would just be much better not to feed a whole meal and then test an hour later.

I would urge you to get more data, before you increase the dose. Because you are switching food, it is possible that he can drop. Yes, leaving food out during the day will let him eat and bring himself up if needed, but it is not guaranteed.

He is definitely in high numbers. I am just not sure whether he is on too much or too little insulin; they can look the same. And I wonder what the change to completely wet food will do. (What percentage carb have you decided to go with?)

Are you getting regular ketone tests? They are very important when a kitty is running high. You use the regular human ketone strips and stick them in his urine stream.

It would help us help you if you could get those before shot am tests and post regularly so we could get an idea of how Steven is doing with his new diet.
 
Well I was going to give you some advice but Sue beat me to it and gave better advice than I could, lol. :p All I can do is echo her sentiment that morning tests pre-shot are important.
 
So my routine has been the following: feed 2-3 oz. of FF (avg. 0-8 carbs) prior to injection or PS, if a PS is completed. So it seems that I should try a PS before feeding and of course before dosing. Right? I will be testing for ketones this week, and I plan on completing a curve tomorrow.
 
welcome to the prozinc forum - yes, testing should be before any food is given - the food will cause the reading to be high - avoid feeding 2 hrs prior to testing - I also have a lot of trouble testing Murphy, especially in the morning when he is very hungry - in that case, a little treat like freeze dried chicken while you are poking the ear is a good distraction - then you get the test and feed Stephen. Many people give the insulin while the cat is eating and distracted. I usually wait until after he has finished eating but not always. So the sequence is test, feed, shoot. This way, if they don't eat for some reason, you can adjust the insulin dose.
 
Well, he drops but has a lot of room to drop further. If you can monitor, you could increase to the 3.5 you were thinking. If you can't monitor during the day, then it might be safest to increase at night and plan to get a before bed test and another test 5-7 hours after the shot. It is good to see what a new dose will do during a cycle when you can test.
 
I just administered 2.5 u less than 10 minutes ago. Can I load 1 u and shoot again? I can get another 2 tests in before the 6 hours of the PM dose. I'm sure I could get another curve in tonight too if you recommend.
 
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I think you could add 0.5 and give the 3 again. (I am nervous about adding insulin. It SHOULD be okay, but it makes me nervous.)

Then on the first cycle you can monitor, try the 3.5? I am interested in your dose of 2.5 tonight. Were you thinking you'd try a reduction?
 
I feel safe with the 2.5 tonight since he was slightly lower at PM PS than the morning. I will stay with the 2.5 u administered tonight and get in at least the 3+ and 6+ test before bed. I will try 3.0 in the AM if the PS test warrants such. Good thing out of today's testing is that I was able to get in all tests, and Steven was most accommodating.
 
Sue, could you take a moment to look at Steven's SS? I'm at a complete loss as to what I should do next. I have the ketone test strips now and will try to get a test in before bed.
 
I don't know what to think. The insulin works as he drops 100+, but he is too high.

Is he on all wet low carb now? Any chance he has an infection or needs a dental? Does he get low carb treats? What dose did you start with in October? Did you increase slowly?

All I know is to keep increasing - 3 cycles and then increase by .025 /0.5 on a cycle when you can monitor. If he has been eating high carb food since October and been in higher ranges, his body may have gotten used to them. The theory is that you increase until you break through that threshold.

Your other choice might be another insulin. If he has been on ProZinc since October, maybe another insulin may work better.
 
All wet low carb diet since 1/6/16. I don't suspect an infection, but we have an appt. with the vet on Saturday. He is 2 months past due for the annual dental cleaning. He was diagnosed with diabetes in 10/2016, during the visit for which he was to have the annual dental cleaning. Not giving treats of any kind on a regular or semi–regular basis. Initial ProZinc does in October were 1 unit every 12 hours. 3 weeks after diagnosis the dose was increased to two units every 12 hours. The increase occurred after a blood glucose curve was performed at the vets office . I increased the two unit dosage up to 2 1/2 units sometime in mid November . I started giving three units every 12 hours at end of December, and we are currently at 3.5 units every 12 hours.

I tested for ketones tonight and it was negative.
 
Looked at the numbers again and after reading your history, it does seem like you increased pretty fast and by larger amounts. I have an idea, but if you decide to try it, understand I am only guessing. I wonder about a trial of a lower dose for a couple cycles and see if the numbers are any lower. Maybe cut back to 1.5 this weekend and see if his numbers drop at all. If you decide to try it, be sure to test for ketones daily.

It makes no sense to me that increases just increase the numbers unless the insulin is bad or he is getting too much, not too little.

I'm sorry that it is a reversal of my earlier idea but the increases of one unit at a time when you weren't testing yet might be hiding some decent numbers at a lower dose.

I would only do it a few cycles and if you see no improvement, go back up and perhaps consider another insulin.
 
Hello. I was reading through the thread and looked at Steven's SS. I think that sounds like a great plan to go back to square one to make sure that you didn't miss a smaller dose that may be a better dose for Steven. At least you will be able to rule out this little bit of mystery. I wish we knew what the pre-shot number was for 1/10. It may have given us a small clue. It could very well be that Steven needs more insulin or the insulin is not good or Steven needs a different insulin. But since you have quite a bit of Prozinc, might as well check out if a smaller dose would work and if that doesn't work, quickly move up to increasing the dose. Please be sure to check for ketones as we don't want Steven to be high for too long. Way to get those extra tests in...that helps alot.

I do have a few extra questions. Is Steven at an ideal weight? What meter are you using? Also, where did you get your Prozinc insulin? Are you using U40 syringes or U100 syringes? If you are using U100 syringes, are you using the conversion chart?
 
We had a visit with the vet yesterday, and the news was really good. It seems as though the tests results I captured for 1/21 to 1/22 were errors, as I accidentally used the wrong formula for my human meter to feline meter conversion. I have since updated the SS to reflect the previous numbers.

So, yesterday while visiting the vet, together we took a blood sample from Steven's rear paw pad. The result was within 50 points difference from my meter (under) than that of the AlphaTrak used by the vet.

Although I did find out that I had been using the wrong insulin string (i.e., U100 for a U40 ProZinc insulin), fortunately I had only used the errant syringe for approximately 10-14 days, but still not ideal to have done so in the first place. Per the vet, I have taken the insulin dosage back down to 2 units every 12 hours, and by looking at the curve for today it seems to have had a positive improvement on the BG.

The vet and I also discussed the suggested kcal intake for Steven and have decided that 200 kcal per day is best for now. The vet wants to see if Steven can loose another pound or two and possibly be OTJ, as a result of diet and exercise. Steven is currently 15 lbs. and has fully transitioned to wet food, as well as daily exercise including chasing the laser for about 10-15 minutes.

Thank you all so much for your time and support.
 
Thank you for the conversion info Sue. The 2 units does seem to be working better. Tested for ketones tonight, and it was negative. I may be on the right track! Thank you so much for your help.
 
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