What to expect the first week of insulin?

[ajsandbe]

Georgie and I have just begun Insulin treatment. It has been two and a half days and I am so happy to say that I feel like his energy is improving. Does anyone know any other clinical signs to be aware of when starting insulin treatment? I just want to be diligent in his care.

Ps. Shots are so easy! You all have been such a support for me and Georgie! Thanks!!!!

 

[TheBowHuntress]

I haven't read your posts backwards; are you blood glucose testing? Physical improvements that I saw when Gobbles' sugar was lower: more energy, less water drinking, less pee, more sociable....

 

[BJM]

Tale a look at my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for some of the assessments you can make to evaluate his health:
appetite and weight
thirst and urination volume and frequency
activity level
grooming

 

[Deb & Wink]

Would you be willing to put some information into your User Control Panel, Profile tab, Edit Signature for us? It would help us to help you better.

Something like this:

Your first name and cats name (sex, age)
Diagnosis date
insulin used and meter used for testing
food being fed
any complicating medical conditions such as CRF or asthma or Hyper-t, etc.

 

[ajsandbe]

I just updated my info.

 

[Wendy&Tiggy(GA)]

I see from your signature that you are home testing? Can you share some numbers with us? Many cats go into remission in a few weeks and it would be good to see how he is doing..

 

[ajsandbe]

I will definitely post some numbers. I have yet to begin because my vet told me to wait two weeks then do a glucose curve. After that he advised me to come in a check the numbers then give me some pointers on home testing and how to interpret the results. I hope that he goes into remission. Fingers crossed

 

[BJM]

Nudge:

It is critical to test your cat before every shot to make sure it is safe to give insulin.

If you are not testing, or at a minimum, checking for urine ketones and glucose, you run the risk of overdosing your cat on insulin, which can kill, or under-dosing which trigger ketone development, too many of which can become diabetic ketoacidosis, which also can kill.

 

[ajsandbe]

Thanks for the advice! I assumed after talking with my vet that I would start daily testing twice a day after our next appointment. My vet said he would go over numbers with me at my next appointment so I will start asap.

 

[BJM]

We suggest using an inexpensive human glucometer with pet-specific reference numbers. One many of us use is the WallMart Relion Confirm, or Confirm Micro, which is also sold at American Diabetes Wholesale as as the Arkray USA Glucocard 01 or 01 Mini (same manufacturer - Arkray USA). It uses a tiny blood droplet and the cost is significantly lower for test strips (like $0.36 each).

[Glucose reference ranges are unsubstantiated and have been removed by Moderator]

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Examples of using the chart:

Ex. You are a new insulin user and you test your cat before giving insulin. The test is 300. It probably is safe to give insulin.

Ex. You are an established user of Lantus, following the Tight Regulation protocol. You've tested around +5 to +7 to spot the nadir. It is 200 mg/dL. You probably need to increase the dose, following the instructions for the protocol.

Ex. Your cat is acting funny. The eyes are a bit dilated. You are concerned and test the glucose. The number is 35 mg/dL. ACK! The cat may be in a hypoglycemic state. You quickly follow the HYPO protocol linked in the glucose reference values chart. (which we really, really, suggest you print out and post on your refrigerator.)