URGENT dosing question

[20Merlin24]

My kitty and I are very new to this. Vet prescribed "1/2 strength NPH" and I'm using the vial they gave me. Long story short, could someone please take a look at Merlin's Spreadsheet and give me advice on what dose to give him tonight if his BG continues to go down? (I believe the 2.5U I gave him this morning is effectively 1.25U if that matters).

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Sorry you didn't get an answer sooner! Looks like Merlin was high enough at PMPS to get the same dose as he got in the AM.

I am concerned that your vet is having you use NPH insulin though. It is much too harsh for cats and even if he told you it was "diluted", we never recommend using insulin that a vet has compounded. There's no way to know how sterile they were, how accurate, or even what drug is actually in the vial. (I see this has been brought up on your other post).

Hope that Merlin is doing well tonight!

 

[20Merlin24]

@Chris & China (GA) Thank you for your reply!

I agree completely, and asked specifically for Lantus after a few days when I'd had a chance to read up on this a little bit. It was refused. NPH is it. But since we're moving 1,000 miles away in a month I'll have to find a new vet anyway very soon, and figured I'll just need to deal with this kind of insulin for now. This diagnosis came out of nowhere, but I will be asking more questions and seeing about getting a fresh vial directly from the pharmacy at our next appointment.

Just to explain, this area is very 19th century thinking. People in general are not interested in new ideas. "This is what great great grandpappy did so that's how it's done!" My vet is not from here originally and I know he's very fed up with it too. The majority of people see animals as disposable, and I've been fighting this attitude since I got here. They are more or less farm equipment and if they're no longer useful they're simply disposed of. It's very unlikely that a rancher will take the time to check his cat's glucose levels, so I imagine this is just not done here. At least not very often. I'm on my own.

 

[20Merlin24]

@Chris & China (GA) We have entered the BLUE range! Yay! Any advice ahead of the evening dose?

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Any advice ahead of the evening dose?

YEAH for BLUE!

Let's see where he's at closer to the PMPS. You might want to get a +11.5 so you have some time to get advice if it's lower than usual.

I will be asking more questions and seeing about getting a fresh vial directly from the pharmacy at our next appointment.

I totally understand the "rural thinking". I live in a very rural area in the US and the attitude towards what we consider our furry family members is that they are just "rodent control devices" and if they don't work, they don't eat.

Lantus is a human insulin though, so if your vet will write the script, you should be able to get it at any human pharmacy.

 

[20Merlin24]

I will do that! Thank you.

"Rodent control devices" - perfect description! Yup, I hate this mindset.

He says he knows nothing about it and so won't prescribe it. Apparently he doesn't care to know, and I don't have the energy to argue right before leaving. I'm probably the only one ever asking for weird stuff.