Susie, Diabetic Cat
Index & Contents 

Susie's Insulin Graphs, 2003

• In some of the graphs there are periods where it looks as though her dosage was constantly cycling by 1/4 unit.  This is simply where I decided to change her daily dosage by 1/4 unit, so that her morning and evening injections were slightly different.

• Variable (whenever I got a sample) - sometimes more than 1 per day, or could be several days between samples.

• If the urine glucose reading fell between 2 of the colours I simply took an average.  If the colour on the stick reached the highest point, I took this as 2% if it took the full 30 seconds.  If it reached 2% more quickly I estimated a higher figure (e.g. I assumed 2.5% if it only took 25 seconds).  Whilst this was only a rough approximation, it illustrated more effectively where Susie's urine glucose was clearly high.

• A period of good stability, with just one increase in dosage, in Mid March.  This followed several high figures and a slight but noticeable increase in Susie's drinking.

• Another period of excellent stability, although there were some high figures in May.

• Early in May, Susie's fructosamine level was 334 µmol/l, in the "excellent control" range.

• Around late August there was some indication that Susie's insulin needed to be increased, with several high figures.  Good control was maintained by small increases twice in early and late September.

• Around this time, in early September, Susie had another fructosamine test.  At 446 µmol/l, it was the highest figure that I have seen for Susie, and is just inside the top end of the "good" range.  However, in the context of her previous figures it was a poor result.

• One positive aspect of this higher figure is that in the weeks leading up to the test, Susie's urine glucose figures were also high, so it clearly demonstrates the usefulness of fructosamine testing in managing a diabetic animal.

• The final quarter of 2003 was relatively uneventful with one exception.

• In November, there was one evening when Susie was ill several times after having been given her injection.  She ate no food that evening and the result was her first hypo in over 4 years of being diabetic.

• I've written about hypos and what to do on another page, but it feels totally different when it's happening for real!  I gave her a total of about 7-10 grams of syrup late in the evening.  She wouldn't take any food or drink, but fortunately she licked the syrup from my finger.  The next day, I chose not to give her injection in the morning and gave her a reduced injection in the evening.  Her urine glucose figures show that I had done enough to bring her back from the hypo and after that everything remained in good control.