When insulin stops working?

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RobinCot

RobinCot

Member Since 2013
Has anybody ever had an insulin just stopped working? I know that sugar cats can become insulin resistant but it was working great (lantus) and now it is like he is not getting insulin at all. I am dosing up instead of down. Should I switch insulins?
 
Looks like to me its working. I see you just went up to 1.75u, so lets see how that dose does. I felt the same way with Doogle for a LONG time. I thought we would never see any light at the end of the tunnel. He went DKA because his numbers were either high or all over the place. Then I went and had his teeth cleaned at the end of Sept and now we are doing sooo much better. We were at 3.75u before and now we are at 2.75u in a month. Dont get discouraged. Even if he is on insulin for the rest of his life, he is getting a much better and healthier life.

I did noticed you arent getting any test numbers in at night. Some cats tend to go lower at night. It would be really great if you could get in a test between +5-+7 which is the typical lowest point in the cycle (nadir).

Keep up the good fight and try and be patient. Believe me, I know exactly how you feel. :-D
 
Give it a good 6 months following one of the protocols for dose adjustment diligently before assuming it is a problem with the insulin.
 
Really? Even with a 407 this morning? I guess all I can do is keep him comfortable at this point until it is time to let him go.
 
BIG HUGE LOOOOOOOOOONG HUG! I'll stomp and holler with you for a bit - %#@$#W$R@@$EW....

Whew! I don't know about you but I feel a bit better! Now...back to poking....
 
Hey there!

I didn't know you had another diabetic kitty!

The insulin looks to me like its working fine.

I hate to nag but I really believe the issue is you aren't getting the full picture. Its great you are testing but you are missing a lot of data. I suspect he may be dropping low and its causing bounces. Even if you can get a daily before bed test and a couple of spot checks every weekend that would help see if he is dropping low. And if not, only at that point would I increase.

Otherwise how do you know if he has earned a decrease by going under 50? Most cats drop low at night. Or every few days he spends the day all green and bounces at night.. likely especially when his pre shot is blue...

Wendy

PS ever hear how Nuzzles is doing?
 
Yeah, I plan to get some before-bed tests starting tonight. This will give me a +5 but I can see if this morning's red number is a bounce. His cycles are usually really flat as it was on Saturday so I raised the dose.

I got Snoball in May as a foster and then Nuzzles came in temporarily in August. I would have kept her but Snoball was first. After Nuzzles left, I adopted Snoball and revealed his real name - Alska.

Nuzzles is doing well with her new foster family. She is down to 2.5u BID and has gained two pounds. She has started grooming her mats off and her new fur is growing in where the vet shaved her. She is continuing on Orbax to get rid of that nasty UTI. They are taking her to their vet often and certainly have the means and the desire to get her a lot of medical attention for all her problems. She loves them and they obsess over her and their other cats. She is still on wet food and even though there is dry DM down for their other cats, she refuses it (thank goodness.) They want to adopt her.

They still do not test which may prohibit them from adopting her which would be a shame because it really is a good forever home for her. The woman is a nurse and can do sub-Q if needed and Nuzzles has really attached herself to the man. They take their cats to groomers so Nuzzles will be looking snazzy when she is healthier. They have a diabetic cat on this vet's care and he does curves. They trust this vet and their sugarcat is doing well under his care - so they don't test. Bummer... but I am really happy that Nuzzles has a really good home to live out what is left of her years. Thanks for asking, Wendy.
 
There's a saying I've been told that sometimes you have to drop the dose to drop the numbers. From that 407, I'm also thinking you might have bypassed a good dose and that's why you're seeing higher pre-shots these last few days. If you don't have time to get some more mid-cycle tests throughout the week, I'd suggest you try grabbing a curve and testing every 2 hours on your next day off to see how low this new dose is taking Alska. It could also just be New Dose Wonkiness and you might start seeing some better numbers in the next couple of days.
 
Thanks KPassa. I think he is finally settling into this dose which is the highest he has ever needed. We went to this dose early in his dance and then started coming down and got all the way down to 1u where he was doing so well - and then the bad pen happened and we are starting over. I think what I have learned is that it takes a little longer for him to settle into a dose. I usually give a full seven days but maybe he needs more like ten days. Hopefully we can start marching down again. I try to get mid-cycle tests over the weekend. He only allows one ear to be tested and he prefers the tip. I tend to run out of real estate at the same time he runs out of patience. What I have seen with him is that his cycles are rather flat.
 
thats good news on the before bed tests - the key ones I would like to see are when his pre shot is blue or low yellow... want to see how low he is going...

Wendy
 
I'm liking that 166 you got last night. :thumbup It shows promise that it's just taking him a bit longer to settle into this dose.

RobinCot said:
He only allows one ear to be tested and he prefers the tip. I tend to run out of real estate at the same time he runs out of patience.
Click to expand...
Mikey is the same with his ears! He'll flick and move and twist if I try testing his left ear and will actually tilt his head to give me access to his right whenever I try testing on his left (rarely, he'll let me do it). :lol:
 
Sounds like Mikey and Alska are on the same page. I am kind of thinking that it is because I am right handed and have better angling with the right ear. They are too funny. I will have to teach Alska to offer his ear :lol: He is pretty good about getting up on his testing spot by himself and waiting. Impressed the heck out of the new sitter when he did that for her.
 
I think it's actually Mikey who's "right-handed" because he only likes to eat from the food dish on the right (same with Henry, so Henry has to come at the food dishes from the back-end so he can also eat on the right), he only likes his shots given on his right, he only likes me to approach him on his right, and he swats Henry away with his right paw. :lol:
 
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