Thinking of skipping insulin this morning, first shot last night still at his "nadir" this am.

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J

Jasper Blue and Jay

Member Since 2019
We gave Jas insulin for the first time last night. .5 of prozinc... He was 327 Pre-Shot and at about +5 he was 267.
This AM he is at 264.

I know this isn't a huge decrease at all, but since this is his first day on it and my partner is going to work in a couple hours and I'll be home alone and have health issues of my own...and no car to take him to the vet if something happens.. I'm thinking of skipping insulin this am.

Intellectually I think... its still plenty high enough to give him insulin. But from everything I read, it seems like his numbers should have gone back up to 327ish this am. And the fact that they didn't, is making me want to proceed slowly.


Also, the last few mornings he's been coming upstairs to look for us for food and he didn't do that this morning, in other words his hunger was totally normal this am, he just begged at the same time and with the same intensity as his brother lol

(I'm not positive I fully understand what "nadir" is lol, we didn't do a curve but I think that +5 is when its supposed to be that right?)

Adding for more background because I haven't started a SS yet...


264 is the lowest we've ever seen him.

He was 506 at dx, 480 5 days after that.
6 weeks after that I started testing him at home, we got three tests in, all first thing in the morning after not eating for many hours... and they were all in the mid 300s...362/352/366.

He was 299 with the pet meter at the vet on tuesday. Which at that point was the lowest I'd ever seen. And 267 at +5 his first dose of insulin ever. ... I know I overreact but...it seems like his numbers *are* consistently going down on their own... if he wasn't so underweight... I don't think I'd be able to inject him with insulin at all... and actually he was over 8lbs at the vet on tuesday (he's a small cat), which isn't even the lowest he was when he was sick...

I'll try to update later tonight with his ps numbers .
 
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Your signature says you are using Prozinc. You should get dosing advice from the Prozinc users in that forum, they are your best resource in that regard. Read the stickies at the top of the Prozinc forum, get as educated as you can about using that insulin.
I know you are new at this, and it's nerve wracking, but Jasper is not going to get full benefit if you aren't using the insulin properly.

It would be very helpful to anyone that can respond to your dosing concerns and test results if you would set up the spreadsheet. Then we can see what dose of insulin you are shooting, you didn't mention that in your post.
It's easier to see the patterns the BG tests form on the spreadsheet, as it's color coded for the ranges of the blood sugar levels. The morning pre shot tests are AMPS and the evening pre shot tests are PMPS, the +1, +2 etc reflect how many hours after the injections. If you are unable to set up the spreadsheet, let us know. There are members who can help.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/understanding-the-spreadsheet-grid.156606/

A nadir is just the lowest blood sugar level between the two insulin injections. And there is no set time for that to happen. Just a general approximation. Every cat is different ECID. That's why you test in between the shots to see when Jasper's nadir is, and even that can be a little elastic on a daily basis. Nothing is written in stone when it comes to a living body.

If you are able, get tests at different times today, start filling in the bigger picture so the advising members can tell you what steps to take next and you will feel more confident about the insulin injections.

Regarding your fears of a hypo event and a mad dash to the vet or ER vet, that's where the reading, preparation and testing comes in. Most times steering with food is the solution, or a bit more help with Karo syrup, or honey (a faster BG raising action, but doesn't last long).
Read this information, print out the Hypo instructions if you are able, and prepare a Hypo Tool Box. You will probably never need them, but you may feel less nervous if you are prepared.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-treat-hypos-they-can-kill-print-this-out.15887/
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/jojo-and-bunnys-hypo-tool-box.2354/
 
Oh I realized I can add in the previous tests even though there was no insulin given those days, so I did that.


I am still just surprised that after only one very small dose he was still down to his lowest test result ever at the AM preshoot test...I plan to test him around 6pm tonight and then again before he gets his nighttime dose around 9pm.


"Start low go slow" is like my mantra for whenever I have to take something, so I am totally onboard with that for him too lol

Thanks so much for the advice and support.
 
If you can manage, get a couple of tests today, to see if the BG is rising or falling. The test this morning of 264 is lower than you have seen before, but it's not low. Plus you don't have a lot of testing data yet to see any patterns or trends. You need some tests between the pre-shot tests.

You have injected one time with only 0.5 Unit, and that dose would not likely have dropped his BG too low. You want Jasper to be able to move into the lower ranges on the spreadsheet: the blue range of 100-199, then hopefully into the range of green (50-99) - non diabetic cat BG. Staying in the green range is the ultimate goal of being a diet controlled diabetic cat. In some cases, the proper diet and insulin therapy can let the pancreas heal itself, and then it can take over the job of creating the insulin a cat needs.

Post these concerns in the Prozinc forum, they will be able to advise you and reassure you along the way.
 
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