George diagnosed 2 weeks ago, on gliclaside

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Gill & George

Gill & George

Member Since 2015
Hi there,
George was diagnosed as a diabetic just over two weeks ago, with a blood sugar at the vets of 360, kidney function was normal, no protein in urine, and he had lost 1lb in weight. He's a rescue we have had him for 8 years and was about 5 when we adopted him, so he is about 12.
We took him to the Vets as he hadn't been himself, lazier than usual, unsociable, his coat was in poor condition as he seemed to not be grooming much, drinking a lot, and peeing a lot.
Following his bloods Vet suggested gliclaside and we have now been on that for 2 weeks, (2.5mg twice a day 12 hrs apart), I have also changed his diet, he had been on Hills metabolic for weight loss (recommended by the vet) for a number of years as he is obese , which to be honest, didn't work. (he was 18lbs, his ideal weight should be 15lbs and he currently weighs 17lbs), anyways he is now on wet food with a high protein content
https://thrivepetfoods.com/cats?flavour=16 George loves his food so have had no problem swapping him from the dry to wet.
Since the change of diet and gliclazide he's been more like him self, his weight is stable, and his coat is back in good condition. However, I finally got my home blood testing kit today, (was a bit nervous at how george would react, but he was a star) I took my first reading about 1hr after his meal, (6hrs after his med) and got a reading of 404. I was really disappointed, I had hoped that the tablets would be doing the trick :(
I'll be doing a glucose curve tomorrow, so lets see how that goes.
 
Oral meds like gliclazide seldom work on cats. I would start with insulin.

Welcome.
Good insulin are the human Lantus and Levemir and the pet insulins ProZinc and BCP PZI. For those two human insulin it is best to get the 5 pack of 3 ml disposable pens via a 10 ml vial. Although per ml the vial is less expensive most cats will not use up a 10 ml vial before the insulin goes bad/becomes ineffective. The human insulin N/NPH is sometimes prescribed but only lasts 8-10 hours. Same for the pet insulin Vetsulin/Caninisulin.
It is good that you are home testings. What meter are you using? We test before each shot and periodically between shots. We record our reading and other info in a spreadsheet. See:http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...te-a-ss-and-link-it-in-your-signature.130337/
As you know, low-carb canned is best. Here is a list of commercial low-carb cannedhttp://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/shortcut-shopping-list-all-8-or-less-updated.117688/
 
Hi there and Welcome. I am so glad you are home testing as it is so important to help keep our kitties. We all use a spread sheet to store our information and it also helps to see patterns and trends and for the members here to help you with dosing questions. I see where Larry provided the link to set one up and link it to your spread sheet. Here is a quick easy explanation of how to use it:

AMPS is the AM Pre-shot test (always test before shooting to make sure they're high enough to give insulin)...then the U column is for "Units" (how much you gave)

The +1, +2, +3, etc are for how many hours since shooting...so +2 is 2 hours after the AM shot, +9 is 9 hour after, etc.....Since we're all over the world here, saying "he was at 148 at 8pm" doesn't tell us anything...we need to know how long since his last shot

At the end of a 12 hour cycle, it's PMPS time! (PM Pre-shot) and the whole thing starts over.

Once George starts on insulin, let us know which one he is on and we can help guide you. You can set up a signature like the rest of us and put all pertinent information there, age and weight of cat,d ate DX, insulin, which type meter you use , and any thing else you would like to share. Instructions for setting up a signature are here:

In the upper right corner of the screen, within the dark blue bar, you will see ID, Inbox, and Alerts

Click on your ID.

On the left, under Settings, Click on Signature.
This is where you will put information that helps us give you feedback. You are limited to 2 hard returns, so separate pieces by | or -.
This is where you paste the link for your spreadsheet, once it is set up.
Add any other text, such as
your name | cat's name | date of Dx (diagnosis) | insulin | meter
general location (city and state/province)
any other pertinent issues like if there are any food issues, history of DKA, hepatic lipidosis, pancreatitis, allergies, IBD, etc.
Click the Save Changes button at the bottom.

Always click the Save Changes button at the bottom when you have changed anything.

Hope this helps and if you have any questions ask away, we are here to help one another.
 
Larry and Kitties said:
Oral meds like gliclazide seldom work on cats. I would start with insulin.

Welcome.
Good insulin are the human Lantus and Levemir and the pet insulins ProZinc and BCP PZI. For those two human insulin it is best to get the 5 pack of 3 ml disposable pens via a 10 ml vial. Although per ml the vial is less expensive most cats will not use up a 10 ml vial before the insulin goes bad/becomes ineffective. The human insulin N/NPH is sometimes prescribed but only lasts 8-10 hours. Same for the pet insulin Vetsulin/Caninisulin.
It is good that you are home testings. What meter are you using? We test before each shot and periodically between shots. We record our reading and other info in a spreadsheet. See:http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...te-a-ss-and-link-it-in-your-signature.130337/
As you know, low-carb canned is best. Here is a list of commercial low-carb cannedhttp://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/shortcut-shopping-list-all-8-or-less-updated.117688/
Click to expand...
Hi Larry, thanks for the reply, I had gathered as much about the gliclaside, but our vet wanted to try that first. I have discussed insulin with her and she seems to prefer the caninisulin, but from what I have read it seems that this is a little fast acting for cats, so I was leaning more towards the Lantus, which she said was also an option.
She's been supportive about the home testing and wanted me to do a glucose curve before switching to the insulin. I've refused to put george on hills diabetic dry food, explaining my reasons, not sure she's in agreement with that, think she is under the hills marketing spell.
Living in rural Spain makes this all a little more complicated, though we have been happy with our vet, I think George is probably the only diabetic Cat in her practice, in fact I don't think she has many cat patients, as a general rule cats are seen as 'second class citizens' in the pet world, relatively few are chipped, wormed, inoculated etc, so when they become poorly...........so sadly she hasn't got the experience, on the plus side so far she is willing to read up and research to help George, but this research is limited to anything written in Spanish.....and so far I haven't found up to date literature available in Spanish. I may try another local vet that a good friend uses, but I don't hold out any hope with them having any more experience! So finding this website has been an absolute Godsend.
 
Bobbie And Bubba said:
Hi there and Welcome. I am so glad you are home testing as it is so important to help keep our kitties. We all use a spread sheet to store our information and it also helps to see patterns and trends and for the members here to help you with dosing questions. I see where Larry provided the link to set one up and link it to your spread sheet. Here is a quick easy explanation of how to use it:

AMPS is the AM Pre-shot test (always test before shooting to make sure they're high enough to give insulin)...then the U column is for "Units" (how much you gave)

The +1, +2, +3, etc are for how many hours since shooting...so +2 is 2 hours after the AM shot, +9 is 9 hour after, etc.....Since we're all over the world here, saying "he was at 148 at 8pm" doesn't tell us anything...we need to know how long since his last shot

At the end of a 12 hour cycle, it's PMPS time! (PM Pre-shot) and the whole thing starts over.

Once George starts on insulin, let us know which one he is on and we can help guide you. You can set up a signature like the rest of us and put all pertinent information there, age and weight of cat,d ate DX, insulin, which type meter you use , and any thing else you would like to share. Instructions for setting up a signature are here:

In the upper right corner of the screen, within the dark blue bar, you will see ID, Inbox, and Alerts

Click on your ID.

On the left, under Settings, Click on Signature.
This is where you will put information that helps us give you feedback. You are limited to 2 hard returns, so separate pieces by | or -.
This is where you paste the link for your spreadsheet, once it is set up.
Add any other text, such as
your name | cat's name | date of Dx (diagnosis) | insulin | meter
general location (city and state/province)
any other pertinent issues like if there are any food issues, history of DKA, hepatic lipidosis, pancreatitis, allergies, IBD, etc.
Click the Save Changes button at the bottom.

Always click the Save Changes button at the bottom when you have changed anything.

Hope this helps and if you have any questions ask away, we are here to help one another.
Click to expand...

Thanks, it does, I've taken a look at the spreadsheet, seems straight forward enough, though what I am not clear on is how to link it to my signature????

I'll update my signature with Georges info shortly :cat:
 
I wish I could help you with how to add it to your signature. It was done for me as I am a tech mo-mo . One of the wise ones will weigh in soon and help you with that.
 
GTS said:
Hi Larry, thanks for the reply, I had gathered as much about the gliclaside, but our vet wanted to try that first. I have discussed insulin with her and she seems to prefer the caninisulin, but from what I have read it seems that this is a little fast acting for cats, so I was leaning more towards the Lantus, which she said was also an option.
She's been supportive about the home testing and wanted me to do a glucose curve before switching to the insulin. I've refused to put george on hills diabetic dry food, explaining my reasons, not sure she's in agreement with that, think she is under the hills marketing spell.
Living in rural Spain makes this all a little more complicated, though we have been happy with our vet, I think George is probably the only diabetic Cat in her practice, in fact I don't think she has many cat patients, as a general rule cats are seen as 'second class citizens' in the pet world, relatively few are chipped, wormed, inoculated etc, so when they become poorly...........so sadly she hasn't got the experience, on the plus side so far she is willing to read up and research to help George, but this research is limited to anything written in Spanish.....and so far I haven't found up to date literature available in Spanish. I may try another local vet that a good friend uses, but I don't hold out any hope with them having any more experience! So finding this website has been an absolute Godsend.
Click to expand...
After re-reading your original thread, you had said that the number at the vet's was 360. Keep in mind that could have been as much as 100 points higher due to George being stressed. To get a more accurate idea of his BG, test him prior to feeding and see what the number is. The one you got I think you said was 1 hour after eating and the food would raise the numbers.
 
After re-reading your original thread, you had said that the number at the vet's was 360. Keep in mind that could have been as much as 100 points higher due to George being stressed. To get a more accurate idea of his BG, test him prior to feeding and see what the number is. The one you got I think you said was 1 hour after eating and the food would raise the numbers.
 
GTS said:
I haven't found up to date literature available in Spanish
Click to expand...
Although not perfect, Google Translate can generally do simple words and short phrases. Maybe take an article or two in English and work your way through it to put it in Spanish. There may be a few folk here who could help with some of that.
 
BJM said:
Although not perfect, Google Translate can generally do simple words and short phrases. Maybe take an article or two in English and work your way through it to put it in Spanish. There may be a few folk here who could help with some of that.
Click to expand...
That's a good idea, I may have to resort to translating some articles, it is something I could do, I am bilingual. I don't want to come on too strong with our vet, I don't want her to feel that I'm trying to tell her how to do her job and loose the good will I have at the moment. She's the most forward thinking of the vets in our local town (there are only 2), and if we fall out that could leave us high and dry with a near 100mile round trip to the nearest city, which wouldn't be good for George (he hates travelling). So I'll go for the softly softly approach and see where that takes us. I'm sure that she will be amenable to reading articles about managing diabetes as long as she feels they are from a reputable source.
 
There is a company called ZooPlus which carries some low carb foods in Europe. The UK folks (tagging @Elizabeth and Bertie) have been using them, so you may find it helpful to check their food lists.
I believe I've seen Bozita and Granita Pet (?) Or something like that)
 
BJM said:
There is a company called ZooPlus which carries some low carb foods in Europe. The UK folks (tagging @Elizabeth and Bertie) have been using them, so you may find it helpful to check their food lists.
I believe I've seen Bozita and Granita Pet (?) Or something like that)
Click to expand...
Thanks BJM, I use zooplus for my pet supplies as choice is very limited over here, so it would be great to hear from Elizabeth and Bertie, to see what brands they have found to be useful. Looking at their profile we used to live just about round the corner from them.... small world
thanks
 
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