what are ideal BG levels

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Patty & Tiger

Patty & Tiger

Member Since 2012
Can anyone tell me what numbers I am wanting to be at? Tiger is eating and drinking now and I don't have a clue as to what he should be at as far as normal.
 
normal for a cat on a human meter is between 40-120. Normal on a pet only meter is between 70-150. Every cat will be slighly different on what they hold as their average BG throughout the day. My guy that has been OTJ for 2 years stays in the low to mid 60s, while I have one civie that I ran a curve on just cuz I could and she stayed in the low to mid 40s. At least on my meter which at the time was a Relion Micro.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang
 
Mel gave you great info as to what "normal" is, but that's the goal right now, and it won't happen overnight. Like people told me, this is a marathon, not a sprint. And it took a while to become diabetic, so it'll take some time to get back to "normal". Let's shoot for "regulated" first. :smile:
As far as where Tiger should be now...
What you will want to try to do is get some tests in the area of 5-6 hours after you give the shot. Knowing he started off at around 300 is good to know, but as far as how effective the dose is, you need to know how low the numbers go between shots. With Prozinc, you look at the start, middle, and end to figure out what dose makes sense.

You should be able to keep it at 1u or .75u for now, as long as you can test somewhere towards the middle of the cycle. It takes a few days to see what sort of patterns you're getting. If you keep adjusting the dose based on the preshot numbers, it'll be hard to see a pattern. And continue putting notes in the comments section about how he's eating, because that will help in making sense of the numbers too.

Glad he's eating well, and while 300 is not a great number, it's not terrible either. :-D

Carl
 
I am off work tomorrow so I can check often. So I should check 6 hours after his shot this evening and 6 hours after that and so on to get the PM and AM. I take Tiger to the vet tomorrow morning for a check up and to see if he needs to continue with the potassium supplement. When the vet saw him last (about 4 days ago) he wasn't eating, drinking or standing. He is doing all of those things now and even at a jog when I am fixing his food. :-D I hope and pray he keeps getting better. Thanks to everyone for their help here, I couldn't of done it without you all.
 
Yes, you always test before the shot, so that takes care of 2 out of the 4 "six hour" tests. And you can test at any time day or night, but it isn't critical to test both "mid-points" day and night. You have to sleep sometime :lol:

Tomorrow, check at AM shot time, and then at +6 if you can (based on when the vet visit is). Then again at PM shot time. On a day like tomorrow, when you are home all day, maybe check at +3 and +9. We call that a mini-curve, testing every three hours of a cycle.

Other good times to test.
Just before you go to bed.
Just before you go out the door to work.
An "in the door" test when you get home.

Just figure out how many hours the test is from the last shot, and put that number in the SS. All the data is useful and the more days you can look over, the more you'll see the patterns in the numbers.

Carl
 
I have been testing often today and trying to see how much insulin I need to be giving. The BG levels have been posted on Tiger's SS. Any advice would be appreciated. Also, should I be giving a snack at night?
 
The numbers are not looking bad. I'll stick with what I said earlier though. It will really help if you pick one dose, stick with it, and keep testing.
You should be able to keep it at 1u or .75u for now, as long as you can test somewhere towards the middle of the cycle. It takes a few days to see what sort of patterns you're getting. If you keep adjusting the dose based on the preshot numbers, it'll be hard to see a pattern. And continue putting notes in the comments section about how he's eating, because that will help in making sense of the numbers too
Click to expand...
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Your comments today about the vet visit and playing are encouraging:-)

Carl
 
I read your post again and I guess I missed the part about keeping the shot the same until I can get a pattern. I have been shooting according to the numbers. I think I only got 1u of the 1.5 in on the AM because he moved and his fur was a little wet. I will only do 1u from now on until I get the pattern figured out. I will need help with that. I can see that on the mid it is dropping like it is supposed to. Thank you.
 
I'm with Carl on staying with the one unit and getting midcycle numbers whenever you can. This is a steep learning curve dosing in the beginning, that is complicated by a change in diet. If you get a higher range of numbers the next few cycles with the one unit, you can consider increasing by a small amount.

Our idea is to start low and go slow, increasing as the home testing indicates. And yes, it is that marathon, not sprint thing. But I think you can be very encouraged about his eating regularly and responding well to a small dose of insulin. Take a deep breathe and pat yourself on the back. You are doing a great job!
 
Be aware that the vet office number will be affected by stress, and likely elevated.

Also know that your meter's numbers will NOT match the vet as they are different instruments, designed for different purposes. Its OK!
 
I tested Tiger about every 3 hours yesterday. After the AM shot not sure how much I got in. I had 1.50 units to put in, but he moved and some didn't go in. I have recently started to give 1.25 units regardless of what the numbers show per advice of this board (thank you). Tiger has been eating good and loves boiled chicken. Should I continue with the 1.25 for awhile longer or up to 1.50.
 
I am using ProZinc. When first diagnosed was told to give 2u twice a day. Tiger dropped to 28 one morning and I had to do the syrup and syringe feed, because he was severly dehydrated and not eating. He is eating now and has been doing good. I am trying to get a dose that will help him get to normal levels. I am home testing, too
 
Okay that is one of the insulin that I'm not terribly familiar with as Maxwell was on Lantus and Autumn is on Levemir, so I would suggest posting over on the PZI board about what to shoot. But I believe a dose is still held for 3-5 days to allow the cat time to settle on the dose. But again I'm not 100% sure, but everyone on the PZI board uses your insulin and can help you figure out what you need to do as far as how much to give. Or start a new thread here with a title something like: Dosing advice needed Prozinc that will get you the right eyes to help you out. :-D

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang.
 
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