Sleeping next to water bowl

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Red'sMomHeather

Red'sMomHeather

Member Since 2015
That's how much water Red has been drinking tonight. The dish is right next to my bed. It's 4 am and I'm lying awake listening to him drink drink drink and then when he finally stopped I turned the light on and found him actually resting his head on the edge of the water dish.
His BG is still not regulated. I'm not home testing - yet. Last check at the vets was still way too high. I know PUPD is the standard symptom but this is blowing my mind and breaking my heart. So worried right now. :(
 
Oh god, that is so stressful. My Dweezil's symptoms have increased again for unknown reasons, and whenever he's been in the bathroom for a while, i am almost too scared to check in case he's drowned in the water bowl or something.
 
We've been working for a month now at getting his blood sugar lowered. This is so frustrating. And so $$$. It's like one step forward, six steps back.
 
I feel for you. I just joined a couple of weeks ago, working on Spike has been heart-breaking and frustrating process. But this is the right place for you. If you have the internal resources to work with your cat, and your health, you have at least 1/2 the battle won, in my opinion.

I can't offer you any technical tips or expertise at this point, I just wanted to let you know you're definitely not alone with the one step forward, 6 steps back process. God bless us all for trying!!!
 
Hi Heather, this must be so worrying for you. (((Hugs)))

Is there a particular reason why Red can't be hometested? And if not, what can we do to help you to learn? If you can learn to hometest it could make things a lot easier and less stressful for you.

Are you testing Red's pee for ketones? (You can get ketodiastix test strips from most pharmacies).
And does he have any history of kidney problems?

Eliz
 
What are you feeding? A low-carb, commercial canned food is best.
As other have said home testing is very desirable.
What insulin are you giving and how much?
What were the vet BG values and how long after the shot were they taken? Vet stress can artificially rains BG by 100 points or more.
I would check Red's urine for ketones using a urine dipstick that you can purchase at human pharmacies. Ask the pharmacist since they are usually behind the counter. You can get dispstics that measure both ketones and glucose.
 
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
Hi Heather, this must be so worrying for you. (((Hugs)))

Is there a particular reason why Red can't be hometested? And if not, what can we do to help you to learn? If you can learn to hometest it could make things a lot easier and less stressful for you.

Are you testing Red's pee for ketones? (You can get ketodiastix test strips from most pharmacies).
And does he have any history of kidney problems?

Eliz
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Home testing was dependent on my choosing the expensive alphatrak suggested by the vet vs the human meter she did not think I should use. I did actually end up buying the alphatrak so I'll be home testing from now on.
I wasn't aware about the ketones issue. You say these can be purchased from any pharmacy? I'm still such a noob. Can you explain to me why you suggested them?
He's had no problems with kidneys but he had elevated liver values after not eating when first diagnosed. He's on medication for that. Had blood tests done again today and will get results tomorrow. *Fingerscrossed* the medication is working.
 
Currently
Larry and Kitties said:
What are you feeding? A low-carb, commercial canned food is best.
As other have said home testing is very desirable.
What insulin are you giving and how much?
What were the vet BG values and how long after the shot were they taken? Vet stress can artificially rains BG by 100 points or more.
I would check Red's urine for ketones using a urine dipstick that you can purchase at human pharmacies. Ask the pharmacist since they are usually behind the counter. You can get dispstics that measure both ketones and glucose.
Click to expand...
Currently feeding calorie control wet food from royal canin. Supplementing with the diabetic dry from medical as I try to switch him over to a fully wet diet. He eats so slowly it's hard to get him to eat what he needs while watching that neither of the other two cats eat it (only bc of $$ feeding this to all three is not an option atm).
He is getting caninsulin - started at 1 unit 2x a day, slowly raised to 7 units 2x a day. His BG today was 32.7 mmol/L 5+ after shot. After which vet said to do 8 units 2x a day.
 
When the glucose is very high, and unable to be used due to insufficient insulin, fat may be broken down for calories. Ketones are formed as a byproduct of fat breakdown. Too many of these in the blood/urine may indicate diabetic ketoacidosis, a potentially fatal, expensive to treat complication of diabetes. See my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for some tips on urine ketone testing.
 
The other assessments in Secondary Monitoring Tools are helpful, too - your cat is more than a glucose number :)
 
The ketones are the most important test; finding glucose in the urine wouldn't be a surprise since the blood glucose is high.
 
Oh my, I feel for you, I remember when Dusty was the same way. I'll be blunt with you, don't listen to your vet. You could have bought a Walmart ReliOn glucose tester for less than $20, they work great as many of us use them. Stop feeding dry food or any prescription food your vet sold you. Get Fancy Feast Classic canned pate style foods in chicken, liver, or turkey. They're low carbs and are key to regulating your kitty. *** You need to be home testing before switching food because your kitties insulin needs will drop dramatically ***. That's how I got Dusty regulated and into remission. Used a good insulin like Lantus every 12 hours, was home resting using ReliOn and was feeding Fancy Feast. You can get all the support you need here, just use your vet to get the insulin.
 
Dusty Bones said:
Oh my, I feel for you, I remember when Dusty was the same way. I'll be blunt with you, don't listen to your vet. You could have bought a Walmart ReliOn glucose tester for less than $20, they work great as many of us use them. Stop feeding dry food or any prescription food your vet sold you. Get Fancy Feast Classic canned pate style foods in chicken, liver, or turkey. They're low carbs and are key to regulating your kitty. *** You need to be home testing before switching food because your kitties insulin needs will drop dramatically ***. That's how I got Dusty regulated and into remission. Used a good insulin like Lantus every 12 hours, was home resting using ReliOn and was feeding Fancy Feast. You can get all the support you need here, just use your vet to get the insulin.
Click to expand...
I'm definitely going to look into the non-prescription foods, if for no other reason than just the price ($2/can). I'm honestly taking this one step at a time, perhaps moving slower than I could be, but trying to do it in a way that I don't become too overwhelmed.
The relion meter (unless I'm mistaken) would mean going to the states (I'm in Ontario), and that is problematic at the moment so buying the alphatrak was financially harder but overall easier for now.
You say a "good insulin like Lantus." Does this mean I should perhaps look into switching to a different insulin than the caninsulin? If so, what are the reasons?
 
Caninsulin generally lasts 8-10 hours in most cats. It was developed for dogs, which have a slower metabolism.
Lantus and Levemir last over 12 hours and are over the counter in Canada, so you wouldn't need to do another visit and get another prescription. They are depot insulins and the dose is adjusted based on the nadir. Because they last a bit more than 12 hours, there is overlap between shots.
ProZinc last around 12 hours, too, however there is no carryover between shots. It can be adjusted based on the pre-shot AND the mid-cycle test data you collect. You would need a prescription from your vet for it.
 
I have been using Friskies Special Diet and Charlie's numbers have been doing very, very well. I would bet you see a dramatic difference if you switch to a truly low-carb food.
 
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