? When to stop insulin?

[SuziB]

Hello! I haven’t posted in awhile, as things here have been pretty steady, but now I have some questions.

Reece is down to .1u of Vetsulin 2x’s a day. Her numbers AMPS and PMPS have been, for the most part, in the blue range. I will try to get a curve done today, to see what’s going on mid-cycle, but I’m wondering if I keep shooting this teeny tiny amount or stop and see what happens with her BG. What do numbers typically look like when they’re heading to or in remission?

My other question/concern is that she’s not eating as much as she had been. Is this a good sign or bad? When she was first diagnosed, she was around 6 pounds and was eating up to 3 1/2 cans of FF a day. Now she’s right around 7 1/2 pounds (which is good for her, she’s very petite) and is eating between 1 1/2 - 2 cans of FF a day. She’s back to more of a grazing eating style, rather than gobbling everything down immediately, too. I’m not sure if I should be happy about this or concerned. She doesn’t seem to be losing weight and she seems very happy, healthy and active.

I would love some input! Her spreadsheet is up to date!

Thanks!
Suzi and Reece

 

[Julie and Honey]

She should be able to eat less now that her BG is regulated and her body is actually using the food properly. So that is a good thing!

When their BG is high, they can need a lot more calories just to keep from losing. I know I was feeding my 7 lb kitty almost 3 cans a day in the beginning just to keep her at 7 lbs. since she’s been on insulin a while she is eating slightly less but has gained over a lb in the last couple of months, where before I could not get any weight on her and she was eating 8 times a day!

For a cat with healthy BG, One 3 oz. can per 3 to 3 1/2 pounds to maintain weight (now that she’s regulated). So 2 cans sounds right, any less she might start losing.

Congrats on the progress, you might also want to link this thread in the Vetsulin forum regarding the dosing tapering.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

I’m wondering if I keep shooting this teeny tiny amount or stop and see what happens with her BG. What do numbers typically look like when they’re heading to or in remission?

No, she's not ready....in fact, she may need a tiny bit more (but getting more tests in will help us know for sure!)

Before we consider doing an OTJ trial, we like to see them in normal numbers for at least a week....so numbers between 50-120 with most of them under 100

 

[Amina&M'row]

M'row eats 3-4 cans of fancy feast classic a day, free-feeding. He hasn't gained all his weight back yet. His normal weight was 11.5#, he went down to 8.5#, now at 10#. Maybe he will eat less when he gets back to baseline and his body heals.

 

[BBelshan]

The numbers are looking pretty good but not quite there yet. For Vetsulin I don't give below 120 after Beast had a sprain the next morning. My spreadsheet is awful, but I seemed to get better tests when he had higher numbers. It wasn't that I stopped giving insulin, it was that his numbers were too low to shoot. Then again that night, and the next. He went a straight month with no insulin before he had a small spike. I tried to give as low as possible, the syringe barely moved and that little bit dropped his number in half (144 down to 72 at +3). I am glad he didn't go hypo or bounce. As low as he went I don't give insulin if I don't have a number. Luckily his few good test show that he is back on track. The last test I actually had a second meter brand I was testing out. Contour Next One had him at 103 but On Call (new meter) had him at 92. Don't forget about the variance.

 

[SuziB]

PMPS was only 81 tonight, so I didn’t shoot. We’ll see what the morning brings!

Ended up being too busy to do a curve today. I’ll try again next weekend. For now, I’ll keep giving her the .1u dose and hope her numbers drop more!

 

[BBelshan]

Your spread sheet has that you gave him .1 so you might want to update with 0 since you skipped. If you don't have time for a full curve, just having a mid-cycle test might help. There does seem to be a trend on this dose. Yellows are disappearing and a few greens are popping up. Fingers crossed for you!